WATER SAFETY AND RESCUE TRAINING T H E N AT I O N A L O U T D O O R C E N T R E F O R WA L E S
Plas Menai is one of the leading providers of water rescue and safety training in the UK. Offering unrivalled water rescue training facilities, and expert water safety courses for all groups and scenarios. Developed by Rescue 3, the internationally recognised Swiftwater Rescue training scheme follows DEFRA module guidelines, and covers a range of scenarios for those using boats or ropework to safely manage an on-water incident. Plas Menai is the National Outdoor Centre for Wales, based on the banks of the Menai Strait, overlooking the Isle of Angelsey. Owned and operated by Sport Wales, the Centre and facilities are set in seven acres of landscaped grounds with a large waterfront and dedicated slipway. North Wales is one of the top locations in the UK for Swiftwater Rescue training, due to the nature of the Menai Strait, which provides a wide range of different moving water conditions, and the challenging river locations of Snowdonia. 2 WATER SAFETY AND RESCUE TRAINING AT PLAS MENAI INDEX Why Plas Menai? 4-5 Rescue Boat Operator (RBO) 6 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician (SRT) 7 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator (SFRBO) 8 Swiftwater and Flood First Responder (SFR) 9 Swiftwater Paddle Boat Handling (SPBH) 10 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Advanced - (SRTA W) 10 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Instructor (SRTI) 11 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator Instructor (SFRBOI) 11 Lifejacket Competent User 2 (LJCU2) 12 Water and Flood Awareness (AW) 13 Water and Flood Awareness Instructor (AWI) 13 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator Recertification (SFRBO) 14 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Recertification (SRT) 14 How to get in touch 15
WHY PLAS MENAI? You can rest easy knowing that Plas Menai provides everything you could possibly need under one roof. along with the centres ideal launching location, means that Plas Menai can always make full use of the natural resources the area has to offer. The various locations on hand means the Centre can easily incorporate manoeuvring within marinas, and the interpretation and application of tidal information, all whilst gaining a sound understanding of the areas buoyage, and other interesting navigational features. In fact, this is the perfect coastal environment to work on planning, and chart work. With the River Seiont just a few miles along from the Centre, it means that additional paddle boat skills can be easily integrated too. Plas Menai operates throughout the year, launching from it s very own private slipway directly onto the Menai Strait. The naturally occurring stoppers and weirs, and unique tides of the Menai Strait, are just the tip of what is on offer here. Being able to reach the incredible natural flooded environment of the world renowned Swellies within a 10 minute boat drive, means that the transition between classroom and practical delivery is seamless. The fabulous architecture of the arches and straight walls of the Menai Suspension Bridge excellently simulate a flooded street scenario, ideally replicating potentially treacherous real-life situations that many rescue teams may find themselves in. This is the perfect training environment to ensure your teams are best prepared for every eventuality. The Centres instructors have spent years working along the Menai Strait and the river locations of Snowdonia, and are prepared for every weather and tidal condition, meaning you are in very capable and qualified hands with a range of experienced trainers. Anglesey Ynys Môn Llandudno Llangefni A55 Conwy A55 Colwyn Bay Bangor Caernarfon Llanberis A5 Using either of the Centres military grade 50hp 2 stroke Zodiac ribs, or the 30hp 2 stroke Vanguard Excel 435, Lleyn Peninsula Pen Lly n 4 Whilst you are welcome to wear your own kit, you will be provided with boots, helmets, buoyancy aids, throw bags, and full Aquatek dry suits during delivery, at no additional cost. Betws-y-Coed Porthmadog With over 140 beds available at the Centre, catering facilities operating 7 days a week, indoor changing rooms with hot showers, and spacious teaching areas all available onsite, you needn t look any further for your training needs. The centre also has a fleet of vehicles, meaning easy access to the numerous river locations within the area. Blaenau Ffestiniog Pwllheli 5 Bala
RESCUE BOAT OPERATOR (RBO) The Rescue Boat Operator course is suitable for people with little or no powerboat experience, who wish to attain an inland boat handling and rescue boat capability on flat or slow-moving water. SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE TECHNICIAN (SRT) The Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician course complies with Defra Module 3 content requirements, and for many years has been seen as the benchmark training course for swiftwater and flood rescue teams. This training course is intended for personnel who may be required to carry out rescues in a swiftwater and flood environment, including emergency services personnel and mountain rescue teams. Course Length 2 days Launching & recovery Crew operational roles Scope of operations Boat & hull types Boat handling under power and with paddles Drive units Towing Maintenance Anchoring Course Length 4 days Scene management Pre & post trip checks & procedures Crew person overboard & recovery Contact and in-water rescues Rescue boat equipment Casualty pick up Hydrology Basic incident command PPE Casualty management Crossing techniques Introduction to technical rescue equipment Weather Hazard identification & risk assessment Must be a confident swimmer Flat water boat handling Navigation Dynamic risk assessment Equivalent to a Defra Module 3 - Water Rescue Technician - Specialist rescue operation. Introduction to rope systems Swimming in moving water Medical Search Operations Must be a confident swimmer Minimum age:18 Basic boat-handling skills 6 7
SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE BOAT OPERATOR (SFRBO) This course is intended for emergency services, or rescue teams who will be required to carry out rescues in a swiftwater and flood environment. Incorporating all elements from the FRBO course, adding a swiftwater capability suitable for fast moving rivers and flash SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD FIRST RESPONDER (SFR) flood conditions, it is based on the philosophy of self-protection, and application of low to high risk solutions. This course aims to introduce basic Swiftwater rescue principles and techniques, in order to allow personnel to support Swiftwater Rescue Technicians (SRTs) at incidents. To enable Course Length 5 days Boat and Swiftwater boat handling under this, a First Responder should have the ability to self-rescue and perform conditional power and with paddles rescues, as well as basic shallow water techniques. First responders may perform basic Scope of operations Controlling boats with ropes shallow water work in areas where the risk and consequence of a malfunction is negligible. Boat & hull types Crew person overboard & recovery Equivalent to a Defra Module 2 - Water First Responder To work safely near and in water Pre & post trip checks & procedures Casualty pick up and management, and using land-based and wading techniques. Rescue boat equipment and PPE Swiftwater casualty pick up Course Length 2 days Basic Swiftwater swimming and selfrescue Boat based throwbag rescue Weather, navigation, and helicopter Transferring & transporting diffcult loads Rescuer safety Bank based rescue options Boat based stretcher management Water and flood dynamics and hazards Shallow water techniques Dynamic risk assessment Rescues from elevated positions Personal and team equipment Two and four point boat and rope system Other craft sleds & platforms Boat based tethered swimmer rescues On-scene safety briefing and site control Inflated fire hose Flood & moving water hazards Searching swiftwater & floods Pre-planning and incident management Continuous loop shallow water rope Medical & decontamination Night / poor visibility operations in Medical and personal welfare system Rescuer safety & training swiftwater Weir Considerations for night operations Launching & recovery Must be a confident swimmer Mud, ice, and unstable surface Crew and Swiftwater crew operational Minimum age: 18 roles 8 9
SWIFTWATER PADDLE BOAT HANDLING (SPBH) Designed for Rescue 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technicians who wish to improve and expand on their paddle boat handling ability. It follows on from the basic boat handling section in the SRT class, and covers, in more depth, swiftwater boat handling and rescue scenarios, using the paddle boat as a rescue craft. It is a supporting course to assist trained swiftwater rescuers, rather than a qualification to be used by professional river users. It is designed as a paddle boat handling course only, and does not cover use of powered craft, however it may be used to support Rescue 3 powerboat courses. Course Length 2 days Rescue 3 philosophy Water rescue training standards Personal equipment Dynamic SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE TECHNICIAN ADVANCED - (SRTA W) Course Length 3 days Weir risk assessment and pre-planning Advanced swiftwater swimming True and conditional rescues Night and poor visibility in water operations Swiftwater & flood search management Pre-requisites Must hold a valid Rescue 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician qualification Minimum age: 18 The Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Advanced Water course, is for existing Rescue 3 Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technicians looking at advanced rescue situations, both in and over water, including search management in a swiftwater and flood environment. Technicians who are working towards their SRT/WRT Instructor qualification, will need to do the SRTA-Water as a prerequisite to their Instructor Training course. Mechanical advantage systems High energy tethers Paddle boat handling Current Rescue 3 SRT Certification Minimum age: 18 SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE TECHNICIAN INSTRUCTOR (SRTI) The Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Instructor pathway is designed for emergency services personnel or rescue training professionals who will be teaching clients who need a swiftwater and flood response capability. Course Length Instructor Training: 5 days Instructor Assessment: 3 days Candidates are expected to further develop their personal skills and knowledge between their training and assessment courses, following an individual action plan outlined in the training course debrief. Advanced Water, or Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Advanced Water & Rope EMT or Advanced First Aid qualification, appropriate for the environment in which they will be working Qualification Valid for 2 years SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE BOAT OPERATOR INSTRUCTOR (SFRBOI) The Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator Instructor (SFRBOI) pathway is designed for rescue professionals who want to teach the full suite of boat classes - RBO, FRBO, and SFRBO - and includes flat/slow moving water rescue techniques, flood rescue techniques and swiftwater rescue techniques. Course Length Instructor Training: 5 days Instructor Assessment: 3 days Candidates are expected to further develop their personal skills and knowledge between their training and assessment courses, following an individual action plan outlined in the training course debrief. Logged experience of powerboat / swiftwater operations (1 year) Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician course Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator course EMT or Advanced First Aid qualification Qualification Valid for 2 years 10 11
WATER AND FLOOD AWARENESS (AW) A classroom-based course, designed to provide personnel who may be working near water with suffcient knowledge to be aware of the hazards created by this environment, and develop an understanding of water rescue techniques. Equivalent to a Defra Module 1 Water Awareness. LIFEJACKET COMPETENT USER 2 (LJCU2) Course Length 1 day Water rescue standards Rescuer instruction philosophy and absolutes Rescuer safety Water and flood dynamics and hazards Basic Swiftwater swimming and selfrescue Personal and team equipment On-scene safety briefing and site control Pre-planning and incident management Drowning, medical, and personal welfare Mud, ice, and unstable surface The course is designed for personnel who are tasked with operating in the warm zone at a water rescue incident, and personnel who will operate near water as part of their key job function, eg water hydrometry staff etc. As such, it is not intended that they will enter the water, and a manual or auto-inflation lifejacket is worn as PPE for accidental water entry only. This course includes content from the Rescue 3 Water Awareness and Safety course. You do not need to take the LJCU1 course before you can take the LJCU2 course. Course Length 1 day Planning for rescue Training standards & legislation Hydrology & water hazards Personal equipment Risk assessments Safe systems of work Medical and decontamination Consideration for night/poor visibility operations Accidental immersion Floodwater dynamics and hazards Lifejacket types and standards Lifejacket firing mechanisms Selection and correct fitting of lifejackets Adaption of lifejackets for high risk areas and tasks Periodic maintenance and inspection regime of lifejackets Pre and post use lifejacket checks Protection of lifejacket from sharps Lifejacket inflation and deflation auto/manual Swimming and self-rescue in a lifejacket Exiting the water Conditional rescues talk, reach, throw Must be a confident swimmer Minimum age 18 Flood theory WATER AND FLOOD AWARENESS INSTRUCTOR (AWI) The Water and Flood Awareness Instructor pathway enables the candidate to deliver the classroom- based Water and Flood Awareness course. Course Length 1 day Water rescue standards Pre-requisites Swiftwater and Flood First Responder First Aid at Work qualification, appropriate for the environment in which they will be working Qualification Valid for 2 years 12 13
SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE BOAT OPERATOR RECERTIFICATION (SFRBO) Course Length 3 days Logged experience of powerboat/swiftwater operations (1 year) course Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator course EMT or Advanced First Aid qualification SWIFTWATER AND FLOOD RESCUE TECHNICIAN RECERTIFICATION (SRT) Course Length 3 days Logged experience of powerboat/swiftwater operations (1 year) course Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator course EMT or Advanced First Aid qualification *2 day weekend assessments can be arranged upon request, providing the candidates are up to the required standard to pass without additional training. 14 If you are considering any of the training courses on offer, and would like to talk to somebody, please contact the centre on: info@plasmenai.co.uk
WATER SAFETY AND RESCUE TRAINING T H E N AT I O N A L O U T D O O R C E N T R E F O R WA L E S Delivery of Rescue 3 Europe courses Ideally located on the Banks of the Menai Strait, with a private slip way for direct access Stones throw away from the Swellies and the Snowdonia National Park Experienced trainers in these challenging environments Fully inclusive training packages, including all kit and PPE