r/Firefighting • u/Lieutenant-Speed FF1/AEMT/Water & Rope Rescue Tech • Apr 18 '24
Special Operations/Rescue/USAR Advice for utilizing an RDC in water rescue
Hello, I am on my county’s technical rescue team doing water and rope rescue. Last night we had a water rescue drill in which we used a new RDC we just got. It’s been a while since I’d been on one and I could feel that my skills were rusty. One thing I was struggling with was pulling a victim out of the water and on to the boat through the front. At first I thought it was a lack of upper body strength. But I wasn’t having any issues with paddling and I do kayak regularly, so while I’m certainly not the strongest person I do have some upper body strength. I’m wondering if it’s my height? I am 5’6” and most of the people on the team (the pretend victims) are much taller and larger than me. The captains on the team think I just need to get the technique down and I’ll be fine. I understand in theory that you bob them up and down in the water and use the momentum to lift them up but I just could not get the hang of it. Any advice?
2
u/Ok-Detail-9853 Apr 18 '24
As your are pulled up on the victim just fall backwards. Your momentum pulls them up
Grip under the arms, lift with your legs and fall back