Beach Haven emergency personnel joined forces last week for a multi-agency drill to familiarize members of the local police department, fire company and first aid squad with the procedures of responding to a beach incident. The rescue drill, which was the first of its kind in town, took place early in the evening at the Centre Street beach Wednesday, July 20.
 |
| Photo via Beach Haven Beach Patrol Borough emergency personnel perform a mock sand collapse rescue on the Centre Street beach. |
The police department, which is in charge of patrolling the beaches at night after the lifeguards have left for the day, has six class one officers who have been cross-trained by the beach patrol in water safety and rescue.
“The drill was to refresh the skills that our class ones have been taught during their training,” said Sgt. Tom Medel, noting that the officers fortunately haven’t had to make any such rescues. “It goes without saying that if there should be a water emergency, they would be the first ones on scene to access the situation, go in the water and to effect the rescue.”
Although beach patrol most likely would not respond to a rescue after-hours, the fire company’s water rescue team would, he added.
“It is important for agencies to be able to practice together so that when the real thing happens it takes the guesswork out of what should happen next and puts more focus on the emergency at hand,” stated Medel, who helped organize the drill.
During the three-hour instruction, members of the fire company and first aid squad had to leave to respond to calls, though they returned afterward to continue with the training.
Beach Patrol Chief Mike Lawrence shared information on how to rescue an individual from a sand collapse, which he thought was pertinent considering the unfortunate happenings that have occurred in other places, said Medel, noting it’s “a matter of time” before such an incident takes place in town. All three agencies performed hands-on training at the beach, including how to safely dig out a victim.
Other firsthand training included spinal immobilization for neck and back injuries since recent beach replenishment has created an amplified risk of such injuries due to a change in wave breaks. Beach patrol personnel educated police on in-water cervical-spine stabilization and how to bring a victim to safety.
“The lifeguards demonstrated the skills to the police on each other, and then they played live victims for the officers to practice on,” said Medel.
Procedures and best practices were also taught in case officers have to make a water rescue. Medel explained that one officer would handle communication and observation while another officer would go into the water to stabilize the victim, keeping him or her afloat until the fire company showed up, launched its Jet Ski and retrieved the victim.
“Once again the lifeguards acting as the victims entered the water to be rescued,” said Medel. “The officers swam out to them, stabilized the victims, and the fire company Jet Ski operated by Deputy Chief (Ted) Johnson and rescue swimmer Capt. Matt MacCrea scooped the victims out of the water and transported them back to safety.”
Medel said the emergency personnel trained “very well” collectively and were enthusiastic about learning from one another. The agencies have decided to continue practicing these types of drills.
“This being the first of this type of drill, it went exceptionally well,” he concluded.
— Kelley Anne Essinger
This article was published in The SandPaper.
No comments:
Post a Comment