Level 3: River Safety & Rescue

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Course Overview

The River Safety and Rescue workshop teaches recognition and avoidance of common river hazards, execution of self-rescue techniques, and simple rescues of paddlers in distress. Emphasis is placed both on personal safety and on simple, commonly used skills. Fundamental techniques for dealing with hazards that carry greater risks for both victim and rescuer, such as entrapments, and pins, also are taught.

PFD designed for whitewater use, whitewater helmet, protective clothing suitable for extended swimming in cold water, protective footwear, boat, paddle, whistle and throw rope.

NOTE: The CCA brings a gear bag with lots of extra prusik cords and climbing webbing for knot tying practice.

This is a one day class to be taught on rivers up to class II rapids.

ACA Official Curriculum: Level 3: River Safety and Rescue

Introduction, Expectations, & Logistics	Rescue Philosophy
Welcome, introductions, paperwork	Accident avoidance and proactive rescue
Student & instructor course expectations and limitations	Accident timeline
Course itinerary & site logistics	Prevention and “what if…?” strategy
Review waiver, assumption of risk, challenge by choice, medical disclosure	Prior planning for accident management
About the ACA	Priorities
PFD policy (always wear on water)	Me, my group, bystanders, the victim
Appropriate personal behavior	Simple and fast to complex and slow
No alcohol / substance abuse	Liability and Ethical issues
Proper etiquette on & off the water	Trip Organization
Respect private property	Lead and sweep
Practice Leave No Trace ethics	Know the group, the river and the weather
The Paddling Environment	Plan the trip and communicate the plan
Wind	Scene Management
Waves	Locate, access and assess, stabilize and transport
Weather	Prioritizing the rescue
Water	Most rescues performed quickly, without a formal structure
Personal Preparation	Larger groups and longer rescues often need more structure
Personal Ability	Incident Command structure
Swimming Ability	Leader
Water comfort & confidence	Safety
Fitness, conditioning, and warm up	Rescuer
Safe paddle and boat handling	Complete the rescue without compounding the situation
Safety and rescue considerations	Communication (AW signals)
Personal equipment (reviewed by Instructor)	Hand and whistle signals
	Cell phone or radio if appropriate
	Medical Issues
	This is NOT a first aid class; perform medical care to your level of training
	Don’t make the situation worse
	Obtain more training; calling 911 is rarely an effective option
	Rescuers need to be able to handle common medical problems including hypothermia, drowning, cuts and scrapes, and dislocations/broken bones
	CPR and Wilderness First Aid skills are essential for rescuers

Level 3: River Safety and Rescue

Article Index

Course Overview

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