For well over a decade, Rapid Entry Rescue Swimmer has been training Rescue Swimmers from around the country.

Do We need this course?

Water rescue has been an area that most departments leave to another agency, reasoning that there is no need to duplicate services.

Here lies the major flaw with this thought process, firefighters, police, park rangers and the like arrive at the scene of a water emergency. They have limited training, maybe an old mask stored in a compartment and a department policy that states personnel shall not perform surface or subsurface rescues. So what happens? Personnel with no training and limited equipment enter into the water and violate the policy. After violating the policy, the rescuer is often disciplined by receiving a medal of valor.

Does this sound familiar? This was my department’s policy for a number of years. So, what changed.

We realized our firefighters will perform water rescues. They will push the limits because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s what the community expects us to do. Also the first responding unit should have the skill to give the victim a fighting chance.

Seeing the need for this type of training, I wrote the Rapid Entry Rescue Swimmer program and I got it certified as a PADI distinctive specialty. The course has since caught on and we are surpassing our 10th year of instruction to personnel around the country.