According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4,500 people drowned each year in the United States from 2020–2022. Most fire departments’ response district has some form of body of water, such as a river, creek, lake or retention pond. Whether your department provides water-rescue services or relies on mutual aid for these specialized rescues, prior preparation is essential to increase the chance of survival for victims and the safety of rescuers.
Why is ‘cold water’ different?
Despite no universally agreed upon definition, the National Center for Cold Water Safety defines cold water as a water temperature that’s colder than 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Although water rescues certainly can occur at any time of year, incidents that involve cold water can occur even when air temperatures are at or near summertime levels, and they can introduce multiple complicating factors that responders should consider.
First, water transfers heat away from the body as much as 25 times faster than air of the same temperature. This effect is exacerbated in water that’s colder than 70 degrees F and causes cognitive impairment that can have a direct effect on victim survival.
Second, extremely cold water might cause a loss of muscle coordination and control in as few as 10 minutes. This can affect a victim’s ability to self-rescue or to perform survival actions. For example, if a victim isn’t wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) upon entering cold water, the individual might not be able to hold on to a piece of floating debris, a PFD or a rescue device, such as a throw rope.
Therefore, because of reduced cognitive and physical performance, a victim who might be able to assist with rescue procedures during a warm-water rescue incident might require more direct intervention up to and including a go rescue when in cold water.
PPE
The most important piece of water rescue PPE is the PFD. Regardless of what type of PFD your department has, you must be proficient in rapidly donning it, and the department must ensure that a PFD is worn by all rescuers who are within 15 feet of water. As a general rule, whether a water rescue occurs in the middle of summer or the dead of winter, turnout gear shouldn’t be worn by people who are close enough to the water to require a PFD.
When responding to ice-rescue incidents or cold-weather water rescues, ice rescue suits often are the first choice for flotation and thermal protection. Many ice rescue or immersion-style suits are inherently buoyant, but rescuers should confirm whether their manufacturer requires the use of a PFD in conjunction with the suit.
Although these suits provide good thermal protection, keep the wearer dry (at least in theory) and provide relatively easy mobility while on ice, their inherent bulk makes effective swimming almost impossible. Therefore, ice rescue suits should be avoided (if other options are available) whenever rescuers are faced with cold-water rescues in moving water or when the situation dictates a go rescue.
A popular PPE option for cold-water rescues that protects the wearer while allowing the flexibility that’s needed for swimming is the swiftwater dry suit. Although these suits don’t inherently have insulation, rescuers can don thermal undergarments quickly and easily prior to donning the dry suit. Keep in mind, however, that swiftwater dry suits always require the use of a PFD.
Depending on the rescue situation and suit type that’s selected, other cold-water rescue PPE might include helmet, gloves, boots, neoprene hood, ice awls and/or tether.
An essential but often overlooked piece of PPE is the throw bag. A good practice is to have at least as many throw bags as PFDs, so everyone who is near the water has one. Not only can a throw bag help to rescue a victim, but if a rescuer were to accidentally enter the water, a throw rescue can be initiated immediately by anyone who is close to the water.
Size-up
While en route to a water rescue, responders should obtain as much information as possible, such as type of water (river, pond, etc.), number of victims and whether the victims are on or below the surface, closest access points, etc.
On arrival, responders should attempt to confirm or update through witness interviews the information that was obtained while en route. To allow witnesses to explain what happened in their own words, open-ended questions should be used early in the witness interview before asking specifics. Questions to ask in a witness interview include:
- What happened?
- How many people are missing or in the water?
- What were they doing when they entered the water or when the accident occurred?
- How long ago did this happen?
- What were the victims wearing/did they have on a PFD?
- Where were you at the time? (Have witnesses take you to where they were.)
- Did you notice any landmarks (trees, houses, etc.) beyond the victim(s) on the opposite shore?
- About how far from shore do you believe that the victim was?
Interviewing at least two witnesses who saw the victim from two different locations allows responders to triangulate a point last seen (PLS) from which search and rescue operations can begin. If a dive team is responding, the PLS is essential information that lets the team members begin targeted operations in the area that provides the greatest probability of locating a victim. This is particularly important in cold-water rescue operations, because victims have an increased chance of survival if submerged in cold water. For ice-rescue operations, triangulating a PLS might be somewhat easier by looking for where the victim broke through the ice.
Request additional resources
Whether in warm or cold weather, water-rescue incidents are resource-intensive operations that often require the use of mutual aid to obtain specialized assets, such as public safety divers, sonar systems and underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). If specialized water-rescue resources aren’t dispatched automatically, request their assistance as early as possible.
If you are one of the companies to arrive first at a water rescue, resist the temptation to park as close to the water as possible. Not only might this prevent a boat from being launched when it arrives, but it also forces specialized units, such as dive teams, to carry their heavy gear a longer distance to where it’s needed.
Additionally, ensure that there are enough EMS resources assigned to the incident. In a perfect world, there would be enough ambulances or medic units on scene to assign one to each victim and at least one for rescuers. Although this might not be realistic for many agencies, departments should develop automatic or mutual-aid agreements that provide a minimum of two ambulances for water rescues: one for victims and one for rescuers.
Lastly, for prolonged incidents in cold weather, incident commanders should consider requesting support from external agencies, such as buses for warming stations, canteen services, etc. Although rescuers often become mission-focused and forgo their own comfort or safety for the sake of a rescue, for longer incidents in cold weather, particularly those that transition to recovery operations, it’s important to track the work/rest cycle of personnel. This ensures that the personnel are provided with a chance to warm up and recover while other members rotate into the operation.
A simple but often overlooked consideration at cold-water incidents is having a supply of dry towels, disposable coveralls and a heated area, such as the back of an ambulance with the stretcher removed, for victims who already are out of the water or for rescuers who have unintentionally entered the water. This also is important for divers and surface rescuers to don and doff their PPE and to keep the PPE warm when it isn’t being used.
Self-survival
If you find yourself unexpectedly in the water, certain steps should be taken to increase your chances of rapid rescue and survival.
If you fall into moving water, assume what’s called the defensive swimming position, aka nose-knees-toes, for the view rescuers have as they look downstream. By keeping their head above water and their feet high, this position helps to prevent rescuers’ feet from getting trapped in underwater obstacles and allows them to make visual and, perhaps, voice contact with other rescuers as maneuvering around downstream obstacles is attempted.
Consider this: You are on a boat in a larger body of water, such as a lake or pond, when you somehow end up in the water. Remember the 5 Stay Rules: stay afloat, stay warm, stay dry, stay still, stay with the boat.
Another self-survival tip that might prove essential in cold water is the Heat Escape Lessening Posture (HELP). To assume this position, cross your arms and draw your knees up toward your chest to help to slow the loss of body heat. If in a group, huddling together closely helps to keep everyone as warm as possible.
SOPs, mutual aid, training
Although there are many similarities between cold-water and warm-water rescue strategies, there are inherent challenges when the incident occurs in cold weather. Although the danger of rapid heat loss in cold water almost always causes an already time-sensitive operation to become even more critical, the chance of survival for a victim who is submerged in cold water is increased; agencies should strive to plan for cold-water incidents before they occur through the use of standard operating procedures (SOPs), automatic/mutual-aid agreements and training.
PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
CMC
A versatile, multiseason workhorse for almost any terrain or water type, the RIT-Craft, which is made by 2Tinga and available from CMC, can be towed behind a boat or a personal watercraft or dragged by an ATV, a snowmobile or rescue personnel. On ice or snow, it slides smoothly across the surface. In open water, one or two people can paddle the craft easily to allow swift patient retrieval. The patient can be placed on the working deck, so vital signs can be monitored during transport. The RIT-Craft inflates in a little more than a minute.
North River Boats
While aboard their 44-foot North River Boats Voyager Walk Around—the Codfather II—Gayland Looney and Ryan Morin received a distress call about a capsized vessel. They quickly responded, navigating rough seas to reach the scene. They found five people who were stranded in a life raft that was tied to their sinking boat, surrounded by debris. With precise maneuvering and their vessel’s advanced stability, Looney and Morin safely rescued all five. The reliable design of the North River Boat craft was vital in this challenging, cold-water rescue.
Water Rescue Hierarchy
Regardless of water temperature, rescuers always should strive for the fastest and most appropriate rescue technique that exposes the rescuer to the least amount of risk necessary. This sequence of rescue techniques is known as reach, throw, row, go.
Reach rescues can be a fast and effective technique that even might be conducted by bystanders who have items that they found in the immediate vicinity of the incident prior to fire department arrival. Examples of reach techniques that rescue technicians might employ include fire hose charged with air, pike poles and ladders.
Throw rescues often consist of either U.S. Coast Guard Type IV (throwable) personal flotation devices (PFDs) or water rescue throw bags. With occasional practice, most rescuers can become proficient in consistently placing the throw bag on a target.
Row rescues utilize watercraft to make contact with the victim. This might be conducted by other boaters who are in the area prior to the arrival of rescuers or by rescuers who use commandeered vessels or department-owned rescue boats.
Go rescues involve a rescuer entering the water to make direct contact with a victim. These pose the highest risk to rescuers but might be the only realistic option in a given scenario. Because the rescuer will be entering the water, choosing the proper PPE is essential.
Jake Hoffman
Jake Hoffman is a private with the Toledo, OH, Fire & Rescue Department who is assigned to Rescue Squad 7. He has spent time assigned to both the Special Operations Bureau and the Training Bureau. Hoffman is a HAZMAT team manager with the Ohio-Task Force 1 Urban Search and Rescue Team. He is a co-owner of Squad 5 Fire Training.
