Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator’s course

Over the past three weeks five team members have undertaken a Rescue 3 Europe Module 4 (Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator) course, under the guidance of Austin Lewis and Andy Topping at A&A Technical Rescue.

All five team members were previously qualified to the Module 3 Swiftwater Rescue Technician standard; Module 4 essentially brings in the concept of operations of powered boats in moving water and floods.

The course took place over several evenings in Bolton and three full days in the Menai Straits between Anglesey and North Wales.

A wide range of subject matter was covered – and in the end all five students completed the course and achieved the Module 4 SFRBO qualification.

The team now has a large number of externally qualified members and specialist equipment that may be deployed on any water rescue or flooding incidents – 40 x team members qualified to Mod 1 (Water Awareness), 5 x Mod 2 (Water First Responder), 7 x Mod 3 (Swiftwater Rescue Technician), Included in the Mod 3 numbers are now 5 x Mod 4 (Swiftwater and Flood Rescue Boat Operator) and 2 x Mod 5 (Water Incident Manager).

Bolton MRT wish to thank Austin and Andy for a very informative and enjoyable course, and also the Lancashire Community Foundation, whose grant funding allowed our team members to partake in this cuorse.