FD holds in-house water safety, rescue training

Michael Burchfiel/Siloam Sunday First responders practiced navigating the Siloam Springs Kayak Park using an inflatable raft.
Michael Burchfiel/Siloam Sunday First responders practiced navigating the Siloam Springs Kayak Park using an inflatable raft.

During the flooding event in late April, Siloam Springs' Fire Department successfully responded to calls for seven swift water rescues and several more calls for submerged vehicles. This week, the department took steps to ensure preparedness for both the next flood and the summer, when more people will be spending time in and near Siloam Springs' rivers and creeks.

Members of the department gathered at the Siloam Springs Kayak Park Wednesday as part of a week-long training program focusing on water safety and water rescue. The program was hosted in-house, and is the first approved program through the Arkansas Fire Academy.

Participants got practice operating the Zodiac boat owned by the Fire Department and a raft loaned by Arkansas 59 Canoeing & Rafting. Teams also went through exercises to teach rescue from shore and self-rescue.

"A lot of these guys have operated boats, but it's been mostly for boat fishing," said Derek Bergthold, a member of the Fire Department and one of the two instructors teaching the class. "A lot of it's getting out here and getting experience."

The class features a short dry-land classroom session, with the emphasis on giving first responders as much practical experience as possible, Bergthold said.

Some other area departments went out to see Siloam Springs' training program, he said. Those departments would have the option to ask for training from Siloam Springs instead of a private company, which would be much more expensive for the department getting trained.

The training is especially important for members of Siloam Springs' department, which, because of its proximity to the kayak park, has many water-related responses per year.

"We've been looking for a chance to do this type of training in-house," said Bryan Garbutt, who taught the class along with Bergthold. "The number one special operations hazard is water."

The department will aim to have quarterly one-day classes to help keep first responders trained, Garbutt said. Ideally, each shift would have at least five trained technicians to make responses. Everyone else on the shift would be trained to support the technicians.

Any time the department has to make a swift-water rescue, it eats up half of the shift's manpower, Garbutt said.

"It takes a lot of people to perform one of these (swift water rescues) - even the simple ones," said Fire Chief Jeremey Criner. "These are complex operations."

When responding to a call, first responders will include a team to rescue the victim, which would involve reaching out, throwing a rope or even swimming to the victim as a last resort. That team would be supported by more responders on the shore and spotters upstream and downstream to ensure the team's safety.

This week's training session is the first of what Criner hopes will be annual training sessions. There is also a chance that the department will conduct additional training this year, depending on interest from other departments and fire/EMS personnel that were not able to attend the first session.

General News on 05/21/2017