For those people not interested or capable of participating in the full 9-hour Water Rescue, the Water Rescue Awareness (WRA) course is a classroom-only program and is the same classroom session required for the Water Rescue Technician and Swiftwater Rescue Technician courses.
The WRA is a fast-paced comprehensive 4.5-hour classroom session specifically designed for Public Safety and Rescue Professionals. It is designed as a foundational course for all public safety and rescue personnel, regardless of their swimming ability or experience in, on, or around the water.
The focus of this half-day training program is on the prevention, recognition and management of drowning and aquatic injuries, surface water rescue and survival principles and procedures. It is designed to provide public safety and rescue professional with the knowledge required to safely and effectively respond to rescue and recovery incidents in, on, and around the water.
The Water Rescue Awareness (WRA) course is designed to provide First Responders with the knowledge required to safely and effectively respond to incidents in, on and around the water. This 4.5-hour classroom-formatted course is a fast-paced, educational program specifically designed for Public Safety and Rescue Professionals, including Law Enforcement, Fire, Rescue, EMS, and Lifeguard personnel. It meets the didactic requirement for the Water Rescue Operations and Technician level, as well as the Swiftwater Rescue Technician courses, and is designed as a foundational course for all public safety and rescue professionals, regardless of their experience in, on or around the water.
Subjects include the following:
- Mechanisms & Physiology of Drowning
- Drowning & Aquatic Injury Prevention
- Emergency Resuscitation Protocols
- Principles of Water Rescue & Survival
- Personal Protective Equipment & Specialized Equipment
- Types & Uses of Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)
- Cold Water Rescue & Survival Principles
- Ice Rescue and Survival Principles
- Swiftwater Rescue & Survival Principles
- Firefighter Survival in the Water
- Management of Aquatic Spinal Injuries
- Shore-based, Non-Swimming Rescues
- Boat-based Rescues
- Escape & Rescue from Submerged Vehicles
- Cold Water Hazards, Survival & Rescue
- Swiftwater & Flash Flood Hazards, Survival & Rescue
- Rip Currents, Survival & Rescue
- Ice Safety, Survival & Rescue
- Suction Entrapment & Prevention
- Incident Command
The focus of this half-day training program is on surface water rescue and survival principles and is designed to provide the public safety and rescue professional with the knowledge necessary to assist in rescue and recovery operations in, on and around the water.
A written exam is administered at the conclusion of the course and is based entirely on the classroom presentation. Upon successful completion, graduates will be awarded a Course Completion Certificate and Insignia, valid for 5 years from the course completion date. (Note: this course meets/exceeds NFPA 1670 Standard for Technical Rescue).