UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
MARYLAND FIRE AND RESCUE INSTITUTE
BULLETIN JULY - SEPTEMBER 2024 VOL.54 NO.3
SWIFTWATER STUDENTS TAKE ON THE C&O CANAL After completing educational sessions in the classroom and a strenuous swim test in the lap pool at University of Maryland, 16 students took on the whitewater at the C&O Canal in Bethesda for four consecutive days of swiftwater rescue technician training. Gearing up in dry suits and helmets, students plunged into the moving water, training individually and as a team to learn how to extricate victims from swiftwater and flood conditions. During the initial drill, students acclimated to the whitewater one by one, riding the rapids and then swimming strongly against the current to the shore. Drills escalated in difficulty to the live bait rescue where one student plays the victim, and the rescuer, attached to a rope, times their water entry and then grabs the victim by the back of the life jacket as another rescuer pulls them to shore. The students also trained with throw bags from the wooded banks of the canal, having to aim and time their rope throw and pull victims to safety. Students worked in groups with rigid inflatable rescue boats, honing their paddle skills and righting them in simulated capsize events. The final challenge for the class is conducting a night search. photos: After passing a rigorous swim test, swiftwater students converged on the C&O Canal to start their extensive training.
continued on page 3