Defra Mod 2 - Swiftwater and Flood First Responder

Primarily intended for those working in and around floods, our First Responder course is very popular with industrial clients as it so widely known and accepted by key stakeholders. Defra Mod 2 is often stated as the minimum requirement for operatives working around the water in tender documents.

When we run these programmes for industrial clients the programme is re-shaped with an emphasises on safety and prevention rather than rescue. We often also include lifejacket training which is a standard requirement for our industrial clients.

First Responders undertake bank based and shallow water operations  To enable this a responder require the ability to self rescue,  basic boat handling and rope work are also covered on the programme where relevant to your needs.

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
• Communications
• Swiftwater swimming techniques
• Strainer swim
• Conditional rescues – talk, reach, throw
• Shallow water techniques
• Casualty management
• People and equipment entrapments
• Tethered boat options (if used by agency)
• Inflated fire hose (if used by agency)
• Flat-water sled paddling (if used by agency)