News

The Transport Hitch (Poldo Tackle) is a self-tensioning, self-releasing hitch most commonly used to tension a line across a section of river for an in-water tensioned diagonal (zip line), in-water wade assist or to unpin a boat.  Below is a video from our H2O Rescue Youtube page where we put it together.   You can see the video here - Transport Hitch    

Many water rescue teams do not have the funding to purchase personal PFD's for every member so they purchase universal fit PFD's.  The PFD may be universal fit but, the belt on the rescue harness may be too long which, can possibly create an entrapment hazard.  If you have taken a swiftwater class, hopefully, you have been made aware of this potential issue - as a belt slides through the tri-glide and cam buckle it can potential get pinched not allowing the rescuer to get away.  I have personally seen this happen a number of times.  To solve the problem...

If you find yourself facing a water rescue always remember to cover your A.S.S.! Assess the scene - make an overall assessment of the scene and keep your safety first! What is going on? What happened? Where is the victims? Who needs help first? How should we get to them and get back? Is there hazards downstream to be concerned about if I go after them? Can I accomplish this rescue?  Do we have the right gear?  This may seem like a lot of questions to answer but for some, it can take seconds.  Set up Downstream Safety and a...

Tip of the week!  If you want to increase the accuracy and distance of your throw, gripping the throw bag properly is important.  Instead of pinching the mouth of the throw bag with your fingertips, take out 5 to 10 feet of rope (depending on the length of your rope) and grip the top like a bottleneck.  The bottleneck grip secures the bag in your hand until you want to release it instead of slipping out of your fingertips.  The bottleneck grip also allows you the option of throwing the bag overhand or underhand.     Stay Safe! Aaron

Swiftwater rescues in general are ‘high risk’ rescues and in the dark that risk is compounded.  Disclaimer - there is more than 7 tips but, I don't want to write a novel! Here are the seven key tips to help your team minimize that risk: 1.  Assessment of the scene is even more important at night– especially identifying what is happening downstream. Assessment of the scene should always be the priority, but in daylight you can possibly see what is going on downstream from the scene itself. However at night that visual goes away. Make sure to go downstream and...