The Rescue / Recreational Boater Gap

Recreational river users from time to time both come into contact and conflict with the professional rescue community. In this interview Trevor set out to understand the mindset of the professional rescue community. Recreational river users like private boaters and commercial guides have a very different mission on the water to that of the fire service. To help understand this Trevor got exclusive access to several training opportunities with the professional rescue community to see how their mission and culture impacts the work they do in the outdoors. Sean Norman From CalFire's Butte County Division helped share some thoughts about what the rescue community is up against and how their mission impacts the way they operate on the water.

Sean’s team as well as other rescue professionals have been making a concerted effort to engage more with the recreational boating community and extend the olive branch so that we can understand their mission. At the end of the day these are the folks who are coming when we really need them. Sean also offered up a few tips for recreational boaters who are interacting with rescue services:

When you call 911:

1. Give a location including GPS Coordinates or Common names of rapids.

2. Give the point and time last seen so rescue teams know where to search.

3. Share the missing parson / victim’s river skills and knowledge

4. Give an accurate description of the person including clothing, age, hair color, etc.

If you are interacting with rescue services:

• Feed information through your trip leader or the person who called 911

• If you want to help with the rescue first ask how you can help.

• Tell rescuers your years of experience, relevant certifications, and any relevant resources you have at your disposal to assist.

• Understand your state of mind and physical abilities and ask yourself if you are an asset or a liability.

• Remember the risk tolerance of rescue services and understand that they don’t trade lives. They will not allow their crews to expose themselves to risk without a mitigation plan in place, however they will risk a lot to save a life.