Rescue 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician (Defra Mod 3) Training Course

Date and Location

27th-30th October 2026 – Staveley, Near Kendal

About

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.

Course content Includes:

Theory

• 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

Practical

• 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)