Scoutmaster drowns while rescuing scout (UT)

[Eagle94-A1]

58 minutes ago, qwazse said:

However, first class rank requires knowing how to perform a line rescue, where a scout swims out with a line around his body to rescue a victim. (One of the many forms of "go, with support".) Personally, I am very nervous about this one. Attempting to rescue anybody without support is extremely dangerous - no matter how trained the guard. Doing so with just a rope and your buddies at the other end is a huge step of faith. Unless your patrol is real tight and practices it regularly, I say "Don't. Just don't. The day will be rife with sorrow. No need to double it."

I'm a former lifeguard and lifeguard instructor. I cannot tell you enough how dangerous ANY type of GO rescue is. And I was an instructor back when they taught you how to make rescues without equipment, something they no longer do today.  EVERY TIME YOU GO YOU PUT YOUR LIFE AT RISK. 

[oldbuzzard]

3 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

I'm a former lifeguard and lifeguard instructor. I cannot tell you enough how dangerous ANY type of GO rescue is. And I was an instructor back when they taught you how to make rescues without equipment, something they no longer do today.  EVERY TIME YOU GO YOU PUT YOUR LIFE AT RISK. 

I assume many of us got the Lifesaving merit badge back when this was the case and usually the teenage camp counselor tried to kick, punch, and drown you on the rescues. Unfortunately this didn't typically highlight the threats of GO rescues, rather it tended to instill a dangerous "illusion of competence".

[swilliams]

34 minutes ago, Eagle94-A1 said:

I'm a former lifeguard and lifeguard instructor. I cannot tell you enough how dangerous ANY type of GO rescue is. And I was an instructor back when they taught you how to make rescues without equipment, something they no longer do today.  EVERY TIME YOU GO YOU PUT YOUR LIFE AT RISK. 

What a tragedy.  I feel for this troop and its leadership.

My younger son's Cub pack just had an overnight trip to the Absecon Lighthouse in NJ.  One of the things the lighthouse keeper told us was that the rescue crew when the lighthouse was first built had a saying, "You have to go out, but you don't have to come back", which the Coast Guard still uses.  Apparently more of these brave men lost their lives practicing rescues than they did while performing actual rescues.  Yes, dangerous.  A tragedy happened, now we only hope that lessons will be taken from it.

[qwazse]

3 hours ago, oldbuzzard said:

I assume many of us got the Lifesaving merit badge back when this was the case and usually the teenage camp counselor tried to kick, punch, and drown you on the rescues. Unfortunately this didn't typically highlight the threats of GO rescues, rather it tended to instill a dangerous "illusion of competence".

In HS I qualified for ARC guard rescuing a very large college athlete.  Five us were in the class. And none of us had it easy ... most especially the petite high school sophomore. (Think guppy slowly landing an alligator and you get the idea.) But the moral of that long drawn-out battle wasn't that "illusion of competence", but rather the sobering thought that if someone her size and tenacity were the victim, we all would have a heck of a time rescuing her.

[Eagle94-A1]

4 hours ago, oldbuzzard said:

I assume many of us got the Lifesaving merit badge back when this was the case and usually the teenage camp counselor tried to kick, punch, and drown you on the rescues. Unfortunately this didn't typically highlight the threats of GO rescues, rather it tended to instill a dangerous "illusion of competence".

One reason why lifeguard training required a lot more hours of instruction than a lifesaving MB class. And like Q said, the constant drills were not to instill an illusion of competence, but to realize how dangerous a rescue can be.that 130# soaking wet cheerleader can kill you just as easily as the 320# head wrestling coach who cannot float to save his life due to muscle mass.

[John-in-KC]

A swim area is the final responsibility of ADULTS, not youth members.  Read the G2SS on this topic. 

If your unit is going to create a swim area from whole cloth, you need to do it right...that means checking the bottom, marking the area, and having equipment.  Spend the money to get the right equipment v

Having a PFD on a rope is a sorry excuse for a proper rescue tube or torpedo buoy. 

Finally, GO is, was, and will always be the rescue method of last resort. 

[RememberSchiff]

About 10 people die each day nationally from drowning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is about 3,536 fatal drownings annually.

The Utah Department of Health estimates 26 people in Utah die annually from unintentional drowning. Children 4 years old and younger have the highest drowning rates in Utah.

Forty-three percent of child drownings in Utah happen in open bodies of water, 30 percent happen in pools, 18 percent happen in bathtubs and nine percent happen in “other” situations, according to the Utah Department of Health.

For every child who dies from drowning, there is an average of five other children who receive emergency care for nonfatal submersion in water.

https://universe.byu.edu/2018/09/18/drowning-is-a-leading-cause-of-death-1/