Ice Rescue Technician (IRT)
The Ice Rescue Technician (IRT) course is valuable training for emergency responders who may have to venture onto surface ice to perform a rescue.
In a rescue situation, it is already clear that the ice is unsafe, and therefore this course does not spend a lot of time on ice formation and determining its strength. Rather, the emphasis is on self rescue and the full range of techniques and specialized equipment that can be used for rescuing others. The curriculum also includes the significant medical considerations for patient packaging and extrication posed by cold water immersion.
This course also includes an overview of skills and knowledge necessary for responding to incidents on surface ice over moving water, but for those who can expect a high frequency of call-outs on large volume rivers with open leads, you will need to the Ice Rescue Technician Advanced (IRTA).
Contact hours
12 hours (2 days)
Prerequisites:
- Must be a confident swimmer
- Minimum age: 18
Course content includes
- Rescue 3 philosophy
- Training standards
- Rescue 3 best practice guidelines
- Risk management and rescuer safety
- Ice properties, formations and types
- Ice hazards
- Hydrology
- Personal protective equipment
- Technical and team equipment
- Management and pre-planning
- Incident size-up
- ICS and site control
- Communications
- Medical considerations
- Animal rescue considerations
- Knots, bends and hitches
- Anchor systems
- Tensioning systems and mechanical advantage
- Ice testing procedures
- Walking on ice
- Self-rescue techniques
- Conditional rescues
- True rescues (contact rescues)
- Rescue craft
- Scenarios
- Inflated fire hose (if used by agency)
- Ladder rescue techniques (if used by agency)
- Co-worker rescue (one person rescue techniques) (if used by agency)
- Rope assisted self-rescue/belay techniques (if used by agency)
- Equipment recovery strategies (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.
Qualification valid for
3 years
Taught by:
Student resources
The Ice Rescue Field Guide is available to buy.
Instructor resources
Instructor resources for Rescue 3 courses can be accessed here.