May Training

Ord Hill, Inverness

The Inverness, Nairn and Cromarty teams took part in a Rope Rescue training exercise this evening.  The night started off with Cromarty performing a Immediate Rescue scenario to a casualty that had fallen approximately 50ft and required to be stabilised. The Inverness and Nairn teams backed up with the full Rope Rescue recovery system which includes a 5:1 pulley system called a tugger or a winch and the rescue stretcher to evacuate the casualty to safety.  20 Coastguards plus the Sector Manager participated.

Rope Rescue Training (Feb)

Rope Rescue Training

Library Picture

This evening the team carried out Rope Rescue training to ensure their skills were up to date and to provide training to other team members in the Officer In Charge (OIC) compentency.  Rope Rescue is one of the core functions of the team and due to the dangerous situations in which it is used it is important all team members can use the equipment safely and correctly.

February Training

Training – Inverness Marina

This evening Inverness, Nairn & Cromarty teams met up at Inverness CRE for a water search based in the new Inverness Marina.  This was to improve water search techniques for the Water Rescue Team at Inverness, to allow Nairn and Cromarty to gain a understanding of the teams capabilities and inter-team working.

21 people took part and put to use their search, communication and first aid skills.  The teams were given a brief of 8 targets to find around the new Marina which had been placed in the water or around the pontoons.  Upon locating each target the team had to perform First Aid to the observing First Aid trainer.

Library Picture

Once all 8 targets were located another scenario was set up to rescue a person with possible spinal injuries from the water.

Library Picture

All be it a cold night, temp zero celcius everyone enjoyed the evening and learnt new skills.

Monthly Training 4th May

Training with Fire Service and Kessock ILB SRT at Muirtown Basin. Using fire hoses to place across water. Water entry and boating operations.

 

 

 

10 of our team Attended

+ 4 North Kessock RNLI SWR team 

+ 1 Fire Service SWR team

Training On The River Ness

Tonight the team along with 4 members of the Red Cross took part in some Flood Training exercises on the River Ness. We carried out some basic throw bagging,used the dingy to recover a dummy form the Island and then carried out some live bating where a swimmer leaves the bank and swims to catch the casualty as they come down the river.(This is alway a last resort)

New Rope Rescue Training

On Sunday the 13th April the team had another training exercise with the new Rope Rescue Equipment held by the Sector Manager who attended an instructors course. The team is almost up to speed with all the new techniques and hope to go live in May. The new Rope Rescue Equipment will replace the old Cliff Rescue Equipment and will allow the team to be trained to the same level as other services in the rope access industry world-wide. This equipment is being rolled out throughout Her Majesty’s Coastguard Cliff Rescue Teams and aims to bring an improved service to the public.

The training is tailored to two levels, Technician and Operator. Operator is individuals who are trained in setting up of equipment and its safe use. Technicians are trained to be the edge person or the person going “over the edge”. The reason for the two levels is it has been recognised that the person going “over the edge” requires further specialist skills in casualty rescuing and the setting up of an immediate rescue. Immediate Rescue only requires two people who must be Technicians and they can descend quickly to stabalise a casualty before the full backup team arrives.

Below: Arrowhead hold fast. Allows for main, safety and edge person lines to be attached to a 5 anchor point.

Below: Quad Pod in the distance which keeps the main line up off the ground and the edge man monitors the progress of the descending Technician.

SRT Training Monday 7th April 2008

The team on Monday night practiced their Swiftwater Rescue Training in the River Ness. Training is carried out regularly for this skill as it requires great knowledge and precision timing. Firstly the team placed a diagonal zip line which is used to transfer rescuers and casualties from one side of a fast flowing river to another or taking people from an piece of land cut off by rising water around them. The second part of the training which requires precision timing is the snatch and grab method. This is the last resort. The steps we follow first is

Shout (Get the casualties attention and get them to try to swim)

Reach (Try reach out to the casualty)

Throw (Deploy a throw line)

Row (Try to locate a boat to row out to the casualty)

Go (Entering the water should be a VERY last resort)

The ‘Go’ part is where the Coastguard wearing the correct PPE, drysuit, buoyancy aid, helmet and gloves is attached to a line and jumps in to the water as the casualty approaches, grabbing them and being pulled back to the rivers edge. This is a last resort as it carries the highest risk for everyone.

The photos below show the dummy we used. Unfortunately it wasn’t caught on the last attempt and headed off down the river. This part was used as an excercise to see how long it would take a person to float down stream. Thanks to Kessock Lifeboat for retrieving it!!

Untrained people should never jump in fast flowing waters as it carries a HIGH RISK OF DEATH.

Dial 999 and ask for the COASTGUARD

New Coastguard Helicopter Rescue 100

Today some members of the team managed to get a tour round the new Stornoway Coastguard Helicopter, the Sikorsky 92 when it landed at the Raigmore Hospital Helipad after dropping off a casualty. First impressions when it was coming into land was “What a down-draft!” but the inside gives better casualty comfort and has all the latest state of the art technology for Search and Rescue Missions. It even has a cargo ramp at the back for easy access for stretchers and as like the old S-61 it has the double winch capability.

Monthly Training Evening

We carried out a spot of cliff training tonight in the Bucht Park in Inverness. Not a cliff to seen anywhere apart from a pretend one (a grassy slope). The purpose of tonight’s training exercise was to check individually each team member’s ability to carry out the following tasks:

• Setting up an in-direct hold fast
• Setting up a direct holdfast
• Setting up the quad-pod
• Setting up the breastman
• Preparing the luff
• Kitting up as the cliff man
• Starting and operating the winches
• Setting up a holdfast using the ‘spider’ short stake system

Rounded off with the setting up the whole cliff system against the clock. A useful night of everyone getting to grips with all the skills involved in setting up the cliff rescue equipment.

Of course since we were in a grassy park on a hot summer’s evening (16 degrees) there was no need for helmets to be worn. The caps were necessary to keep the sun out of our eyes or as this member thought to make himself look like a ‘cool dude’.

Flood Training – Loch Achility

Tonight the Swiftwater Rescue Technician’s in the team, held a flat water training session on Loch Achility in order to practice using small inflatable boats. The boats would be used in a flood situation to recover people from their houses to a place of safety. Hence being very familiar with handling the boats and recovering people in and out of them is a critical skill. Naturally as well as developing skills a bit of fun was had – can you guess what happened next?