Lifeguard
The lifesaving includes all activities that have a direct goal in distress people in and around water, schwimmerischen non-through or schwimmerischen to free use of their plight. This not only requires physical fitness, but also theoretical and practical knowledge of recognizing, deciding and acting when providing assistance. Appropriately trained persons are called lifeguards , and in professional use also as water rescuers .
Legal foundations of lifeguarding in Germany
The legislature has regulated the duty to provide assistance, or rather the failure to provide assistance , in the Criminal Code § 323c StGB "Failure to provide assistance". This paragraph obliges everyone to provide assistance. However, this must not violate another duty, such as the duty of supervision under private law . However, there are also restrictions if, for example, there is no physical equality and thus no rescue is possible.
In times of modern communication, at least the emergency call for assistance is possible, since a large part of the population has a mobile phone. Incidentally, the emergency number 112 works in all European countries.
Since the duty to provide assistance is legally binding for everyone, the legislature has laid down comprehensive accident protection. This is a statutory accident insurance protection (GUV) that protects the helper in the event of an accident while providing assistance.
Dangers of lifeguarding
Even for trained and trained lifeguards , swimming means danger to life and limb. The lifeguard's own protection takes precedence in every rescue, even if this prevents the rescue from taking place for the time being.
These include dangers, especially in natural waters , such as waves and tides on coastal waters, currents in rivers, lakes and seas. There are special dangers in the area of structures, such as locks , barriers, weirs and port facilities, as well as shipping .
The drowning man is also in great danger. He can easily panic , clutch the rescuer and push underwater. If the rescuer does not react properly in this situation, he or she can drown himself.
Use of life-saving appliances
In many cases, swimming is to be avoided and carried out with life-saving appliances. The rescuer can use simple means such as a stick or stick, a ladder or other objects with which the drowning person can be reached. In addition, all buoyant objects that are within reach at the time of the rescue are suitable, even if they were not originally intended for rescue. If the water is shallow enough, the rescuer can also wade towards the victim.
On lake shores, docks and boats there are often suitable life-saving equipment , such as a life ring , life ball or life- throw line, which can be thrown to the drowning person. Lifebuoys and balls are often equipped with leashes, which make rescue from land easily possible. The rescuer can pull the drowning man ashore without endangering himself.
There are also special life-saving appliances for water rescue , which have been specially developed for swimming use. Lifebelts and buoys can a victim be fed enough. A belt rescuer can also be put on the victim if necessary. All devices have the great advantage that there is no direct contact between the rescuer and the casualty. A lifeline with or without a belt is used in strong currents , surf , ice rescue or diving . This means that the lifeguard can be secured ashore via a direct connection to a second person.
Water rescue organizations often use motor lifeboats , as they can be used to rescue faster and safer. A casualty can be rescued with little effort by the rescue workers and, if necessary, receive medical care on board.
Swimmer use of the lifeguard
A lifeguard should either call 911 himself or instruct someone to do it. When swimming, depending on the weather and temperature, it may be necessary either to undress or, in colder water temperatures, to go into the water with light clothes.
Fins are often used for swimming. With them, the lifeguard can carry out a rescue faster, with less effort and, above all, more safely.
The lifeguard training is very extensive, because a rescue must be carefully considered how the rescue is to be carried out. As soon as he understands an emergency situation, the lifeguard must be aware of how to get into the water, how to swim a person, what to expect and how to get the person safely ashore.
Leap
To get into the water, he chooses the safest way and not necessarily the fastest. If it is not possible to climb into the water, the lifeguard is forced to choose a low-risk jump.
In order to choose the right technique, a lifeguard is trained in various jumping techniques and made aware of dangers. In unfamiliar and murky waters, the safety jump or package jump helps to reduce the risk of injury from shallow water or underwater objects. Take-off and head- jumping are only to be used in known and safe waters.
In shallow areas of the shore (beach) the lifeguard runs until the water gets deeper and you have to swim. He jumps over the small waves and dives under the big ones to avoid the resistance of the waves and to allow himself to be drawn out to sea with the basic current that forms under the waves.
Swim up
Swimming towards an injured person is usually done with the crawl swim, whereby all swimming techniques can be used in the prone position in order to keep the victim in view. However, it is more difficult for the rescuer to keep an eye on the drowning person due to the posture of the head when swimming in the crawl. He must either lift his head ( water polo crawl ) or stop swimming regularly in order to control his direction and correct it if necessary. Visual contact with the drowning person is often not possible, especially when there are waves. The rescuer must then orientate himself at prominent points, for example a jetty or building on the bank, or be directed from the land by shouting. If the lifeguard has a helper on the bank who shows him the direction by means of arm signals and signaling devices, he should use the so-called "Indian crawl" (special swimming technique, in which approximately all three arm movements alternate between lying on the back and lying on the stomach and halfway) Longitudinal axis rotation is crawled) in order to make rapid progress on the one hand and to maintain regular visual contact with the helper on the bank without any further effort. It is always easier for a swimmer to observe signals on land than it is to observe other swimmers or objects in the water without losing sight of them. With two other helpers, the use of the cross bearing is useful in order to be able to instruct the rescuer even if the drowning person descends. When swimming, the rescuer divides his strength so that he can still make the way back, since the casualty may have to be transported or towed.
Transporting and towing a person
Transport
If a swimmer is exhausted or tired and therefore needs support to reach the bank, transport techniques such as pushing and pulling are used. However, the swimmer must be fully conscious and able to hold onto the rescuer independently.
Slide
When pushing , the tired person lies on his back with his legs apart in the water in front of the rescuer. This swims in the chest position. The tired man supports himself with outstretched arms on the shoulders of the rescuer. The rescuer can keep an eye on him.
Pull
When pulling , the tired person simply holds on to the shoulders of the rescuer who is swimming in the chest position. He can facilitate the rescue through footwork.
Transport with two rescuers
The raft technique can be used with two rescuers . Both rescuers swim to the left and right of the tired person using breast technique. He holds on to the rescuer's shoulders with outstretched arms. He can support the rescue through footwork.
Another technique with two rescuers is the bridge . The starting position of the first rescuer and the tired one is the same as when pulling. The second rescuer also swims in the chest position behind the tired person and takes his feet on his shoulder and has to adjust his pace to the one in front.
Towing
If the drowning person is no longer able to participate in his rescue, he must be dragged. This may be necessary because of loss of consciousness or exhaustion. A distinction is made between standard and tethered handles. In both techniques, the casualty is dragged on his back so that the rescuer can hold the casualty's face out of the water. Towing is more strenuous than transporting as the rescuer cannot use all parts of the body to swim.
Standard tow handles
Standard towing handles are only to be used if there is no danger of being gripped by the drowning person. This is given either in the event of unconsciousness or when an exhausted or quiet drowning person is towed away. With all drag grips, it must be ensured that the victim's face always remains above water.
- Head tow handle
- The head of the drowning person lying on his back is gripped on both sides in the head drag handle . The rescuer is also in the supine position. The fingertips are on the arch of the jaw, the thumbs on the temples, the ears remain free. This overstretched the head and made breathing easier. The drowning man lies very flat in the water here. This makes towing easier. If the body sinks, the rescuer must lift it up again by carefully pressing the knee into the drowning person's back. The locomotion is achieved solely by the legs in the straddle swing. This is comparable to the leg movement of the breaststroke .
- Forehead and neck grip
- With the forehead-neck grip , the drowning person is gripped by the forehead, the other hand supports the neck. Otherwise the procedure is the same as for the head drag handle.
- If several rescuers become detached while towing a drowning person, the head-towing grip and the forehead-neck grip should be used alternately. As a result, the victim is never let go.
- Armpit drag handle
- With the armpit drag , both the rescuer and the drowning person are again in the supine position. The rescuer grasps with both hands from below in or in front of the armpits of the drowning person. Here too, the movement is achieved through the straddle swing. This handle is not suitable for dragging unconscious casualties, as the rescuer cannot hold the unconscious person's face above the water and there is a risk that the casualty will swallow water and drown.
- Chest-shoulder towing handle
- The rescuer, who swims on his side, holds the drowning person lying on his back with one arm diagonally across his chest using the chest -shoulder towing handle. This makes another arm available for swimming . As with the armpit drag handle, this handle is not suitable for dragging unconscious people.
Handcuffs
If the drowning person shows fear and panic reactions, a handcuff must be used for their own safety. This serves to restrict the drowning person's freedom of movement and to protect the rescuer from being clasped.
- Standard tow bar
- The standard shackle drag handle , the final phase of all liberation handles . The rescuers and drowning are supine. The rescuer holds the left hand (or vice versa) of the drowning person in the area of the shoulder blades on his back with his right hand. Otherwise, the procedure for the head drag handle applies. The rescuer should also ensure that he is swimming on the side of the arm he is holding, as the drowning person can still be dangerous for the rescuer with the other, unrestricted arm through blows or attempts to clasp.
- Sailor's shackle towing handle
- The drowning man lies on his back when the sailor's handcuffs are used . The rescuer swims on his side next to him. He reaches with his right arm between the right upper arm and the back of the casualty and grasps his left upper arm. With his elbow he presses into the victim's back and pulls his body towards him while slightly bending his arm. The handle can also be done the wrong way round, e.g. B. by a left-handed person.
- Here, too, an arm is available as a drive in addition to the legs and the rescuer can orientate himself better by swimming forward. However, it should be noted that this chain handle offers little security against being grabbed.
Transport with rescue equipment
If the rescuer has taken a belt rescuer or a lifebuoy with him, the casualty can hold on to it, and the rescuer can swim ashore using any swimming technique, while the casualty supports him with footwork. However, there is a risk that the rescuer will lose the victim if he can no longer hold on.
The rescue board looks like a surfboard. It is used to cover greater distances in open waters. The rescuer lies on it and paddles with his arms towards the drowning person. The drowning person can be transported back on the rescue board. The advantage is the significantly lower water resistance.
More information on the individual rescue devices can be found in the corresponding articles.
Avoidance and release of clasps
A drowning person in fear of death can briefly develop excessive strength, which can endanger the life of the rescuer in the event of a clutch. Therefore, a grip should be avoided at all costs.
To avoid clasping, aids should always be used whenever possible. If no aids are available or if there is no time to intervene, the rescuer should first keep a safety distance of 2-3 m or about twice the body length of the drowning person. If the drowning person tries to grab the rescuer head-on, this can be averted by pushing away or pushing away / pushing away. If the rescuer cannot speak to the drowning person to calm them down, he should tire the person and then quickly swim from behind at an appropriate time and pull them into a handcuff.
However, should a grip occur, the lifeguard must be able to free himself quickly and safely from the grip. The release from a grip not only requires physical equality to a certain extent, but also knowledge of the release techniques. For this purpose, lifeguards are trained to free themselves from six different clasps. These are the neck strangle grip , the neck clasp and the abdominal clasp from the front and back. The release technique is similar for all types of clasps and essentially consists of keeping your own airways free, loosening the clasp and releasing it using lever techniques.
Diving
If the drowning person has already drowned before the rescuer can reach him, he must dive. Diving can be made easier with basic diving equipment (also called ABC equipment). This consists of a snorkel , diving mask and diving fins .
Distance diving
Distance diving is used to search the largest possible area with one dive. The technique of the dive move is similar to that of the breaststroke. The leg movement and arm pull is known up to shoulder height. However, the stretched arms are pushed further back below the central axis of the body, up to the thighs, and then a sliding break is performed. The diving pull is also known as a keyhole pull because the arm movement when viewed from above resembles the shape of a keyhole.
Dive deep
Deep diving is used to search for the missing person. You can dive head or foot. The rescuer must make sure that the pressure is equalized .
In order to dive head down, the upper body bends from the hips, the arms tucked. Then you direct your body downwards as in a handstand. Once the feet are underwater, the same technique as used in distance diving is used to reach the bottom.
When diving in the water, the rescuer pushes himself vertically upwards with his arms and legs in order to achieve a higher sink rate and stands vertically in the water. The downforce is only achieved through arm movement and exhalation. The speed is slower, the achievable depths less. However, after grasping the drowning person, one can push off directly from the bottom.
Landing
The technique of landing depends on the nature of the bank. A compromise must always be found between gentle and quick rescue.
On a flat, level bank , e.g. B. Beach, the rescuer will take the drowning person as soon as possible in the rescue handle (also known as the Rautek handle) and pull him backwards to land. If a second rescuer is available, he can support the landing by carrying his feet.
Is the bank flat and uneven , e.g. B. on a rocky beach or stairs in the swimming pool, the rescuer will carry the casualty over his shoulder on land (shoulder carry handle, also called fire brigade handle).
On a steep bank that does not protrude high above the water , e.g. B. the edge of a swimming pool, the drowning person is lifted with the deadlift. To do this, the rescuer positions the casualty with his stomach facing the edge of the pool and places the casualty's arms on it. The wrists are placed one on top of the other. The rescuer can then leave the water by resting one hand on the victim's wrists so that he cannot slide back into the water. Once the rescuer has left the water, he grips both wrists of the casualty. The victim's arms are crossed. Now the rescuer can pull the casualty out of the water with one jerk. With the crossed arms, the casualty turns while pulling out and then comes to sit on the edge of the pool. Then the rescuer can use the rescue handle to transport him further away from the edge. In practice, landing with the cross handle can be very difficult. The cooperation that the “drowning person” shows in exercises in order not to injure himself at the edge of the pool is missing in real casualties. As a result, the rescuer must pull the victim's buttocks up to the edge of the pool so as not to pull the victim's back over the hard edge of the pool. It is better here to work with two rescuers.
Does the landing need to be done via a ladder, e.g. B. on harbor walls, the drowning person is also taken on the shoulder. To do this, the rescuer puts one foot on the ladder and lets the casualty "ride" on his knee. Then he dives briefly and takes the drowning man on his shoulder. Then he climbs the ladder.
After landing, the rescuers must provide first aid and take action as required.
training
Lifeguarding involves great physical exertion. In addition, the rescue grips, towing and handling of rescue equipment in particular require a mastery of the technology. Therefore, a lifeguard should keep himself fit by exercising. It is a good idea to train strength, endurance and strength endurance through swimming. Diving should also be practiced again and again, as well as the release grips.
Competitions
Many lifeguards also compete to compare their performance. These are discussed in more detail in the article Rescue Sports.
Organizations
The lifeguard training is mainly carried out by the water rescue organizations. In Germany these are, among others, the Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund , the Deutsche Lebens-Rettungs-Gesellschaft , the RSSO Rescue-Swimming-Sport-Organization and the DRK- Wasserwacht , in Austria the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Österreichisches Wasserrettungswesen , in Switzerland the Swiss Lifesaving Association Society .
Qualifications
Active or future lifeguards can acquire various qualifications in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in order to acquire the necessary skills for lifeguarding or to improve existing ones. In addition to the lifeguard badge as a basic training, all water rescue organizations offer further training for the lifeguard (e.g. training to become a water rescuer ). Often there are also specialization courses for certain operational situations or locations such as the flow rescuer .
Web links
- International Life Saving Federation - world association of water rescue organizations
- Lifeguards at the DLRG
literature
- Klaus Wilkens , Karl Löhr: Lifeguards 5th, completely revised edition. Hofmann-Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-7780-5815-2 .