Special Equipment Rescues

scuba diving lots of fun if you follow the rules this diver hasn't she's diving alone and in an unknown area getting tangled in the weeds has panicked her she's lost her mouthpiece and swallowed water how would you [Music] react drop your weight belt drop your weight belt all right relax relax relax relax we got you blow your vest blow your vest relax Lifesavers should be familiar with the various types of equipment that can help make rescues easier faster and safer as we'll see the Lifesaver will usually carry this equip equipment with him but sometimes like in this situation he'll use the victim's own equipment to help out let's take another look and see how on the way to the victim the Lifesaver tells her to drop her weight belt drop your weight Bel but in her panic she can't do it so The Rescuer Dives and releases the belt himself divers weight belts are required by law to have quick release buckles so they can be removed moved rapidly in emergencies like this with the belt gone the victim will be much more buoyant then The Rescuer surfaces and removes her mask since she's above water The Mask isn't helping her and may actually be making it more difficult for her to breathe relax relax we got you blow your vest if the life vest fails to inflate automatically when the lanyard is pulled The Rescuer should inflate the vest manually by blowing into the vest inflation tube the inflated vest will make the victim quite buoyant and any convenient carry can then be used to take her ashore Rel here's an even more dangerous and difficult problem the victim is unconscious on the bottom and has probably stopped breathing St ahead straight ahead [Music] [Applause] [Music] mouth-to-mouth resuscitation may not have been possible in this situation without the victim's life vest let's look at it again once again The Rescuer removes the weight belt then he immediately swims the victim to the [Applause] surface this time the gas cartridge in the life vest works and the vest is automatically inflated additional buoyancy is provided by the victim's wet suit since the victim is not breathing mouth-to-mouth artificial respiration is started at once in deep water mouth to mouth is only practical when flotation equipment of some sort is used without the added buoyancy provided by his own life vest the victim would have to be taken to shallow water before effective resuscitation could be started the paddle board is an extremely useful piece of rescue equipment it is very buoyant and easy to maneuver and use it's fast too and will probably get the Lifesaver to the victim much more quickly than swimming rolling the board over like this gives the victim immediate support and makes him easier to handle a second flip and the victim is brought onto the board the Lifesaver should be sure the victim's head stays out of the water as the board is rolled rotating the victim so that his head is toward the bow of the board gives him even more support and makes it easy for The Rescuer to position himself for proper balance and paddle for sure paddle boards should be standard rescue equipment at any large [Music] Waterfront sometimes in open surf paddle boards aren't available for emergencies but standard pleasure surf boards frequently are while surfboards aren't made to be used for rescues they'll work very well if they're handled carefully here there's no need to roll the board because the victim is able to reach up and hang on if no other assistance is available the victim can be helped to a prone resting position on the board and pushed to show swimming surf rescues are dangerous without proper equipment one of the most useful devices is the rescue tube it's lightweight rugged and buoyant and with the loop around The Rescuer shoulder can be used to tow victims back to shore the tube will snap around the victim's waist or can be held by a conscious victim [Music] once the victim is in shallow water additional help can be used to bring him ashore this guard is using a Saddleback carry [Music] a torpedo boy is sometimes used instead of a rescue tube for surf emergencies [Music] rescue lines are often used to help bring victims through heavy surf this one is on a reel and has a rescue tube attached to the end [Music] with the rescue line the guards don't have to tow the victim and this lets them devote their full attention to his condition the proper equipment can help Lifesavers do their job better knowing how to use equipment properly can be the difference that saves a life n [Music] oh [Music]