Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician (SRT)
The Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician (SRT) course complies with Defra Module 3 content requirements, and for many years has been seen as the benchmark training course for swiftwater and flood rescue teams. This training course is intended for personnel who may be required to carry out rescues in a swiftwater and flood environment, including emergency services personnel and mountain rescue teams.
Contact hours
24 hours (4 days)
Prerequisites:
- Must be a confident swimmer
- Minimum age: 18
Course content includes
- Rescue 3 philosophy
- Training standards
- Best practice guidelines for water rescue
- Hydrology and water hazards
- Floodwater dynamics and hazards
- Flood theory
- Personal equipment
- Technical and team equipment
- Pre-planning
- Risk assessments
- Incident size-up
- Incident management and site control
- Medical and decontamination considerations
- Considerations for night/poor visibility operations
- Mud, ice and unstable surface considerations
- Introduction to searching rivers and floods
- Helicopter familiarisation
- Communications
- Weir (low head dam) rescue considerations
- Introduction to rescues from vehicles in water
- Animal rescue considerations
- Swiftwater swimming techniques
- Strainer swim
- Conditional rescues – talk, reach, throw
- Shallow water techniques
- Tethered boat techniques
- Tensioned diagonals
- Line crossing methods
- Belay systems
- True rescues – tethered
- People and equipment entrapments
- Casualty management
- Knots and anchor systems
- Tensioning systems and mechanical advantages
- Inflated fire hose (if used by agency)
- Introduction to paddle boat handling (if used by agency)
- Boat unwrapping (if used by agency)
- Flips and rights (if used by agency)
Course standard, learning outcomes and key teaching points
Rescue 3 Europe course standards, learning outcomes and key teaching points
The course standards, learning outcomes and key teaching points are provided as pre- and post-course reference for people involved in the delivery of Rescue 3 courses (eg Rescue 3 training providers, instructors and students). They are not to be used for any other purpose without the express written permission of Rescue 3 Europe.
Defra level:
Module 3 – Water & Flood Rescue Technician – Specialist rescue operation
View all Rescue 3 Europe Defra module courses
Qualification valid for:
3 years
Recertification is either by attending an SRT recert, Rescue from Vehicles in Water (RVW), Weir Rescue (WR), or Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Advanced – Water (SRTA-W)
Taught by:
- Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Instructor (SRTI)
- Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Advanced – Water Instructor (SRTAWI)
- Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Technician Advanced (Water and Rope) Instructor (SRTAI)
Recertification options
Instructor to student ratios
Student resources
Student resources for Rescue 3 courses can be accessed here.
Instructor resources
Instructor resources for Rescue 3 courses can be accessed here.
