What should you do if someone falls in?

8:47am Friday 8th August 2008

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WHEN little Evie Gauler fell into the river Severn at Worcester’s South Quay, her mother did what many parents would do and jumped in to rescue her.

After searching in the murky water, near Browns restaurant, Lisa Gauler, aged 33, of Wyld’s Lane, was able to grab hold of 17-month-old Evie.

Fortunately, with the help of passers-by, the pair were pulled from the river and both emerged uninjured from their ordeal in June.

However, while no one could criticise a mother’s instinct to protect her child, was leaping into the water the best move?

The answer, according to Rachel Timmis, from Droitwich Lifesaving Club, is no but she said very few people were aware of what to do in a life-threatening situation.

She said: “The mother went straight in the water after her, which is not what we are trained to do.

“I know that would be your basic instinct as a mother but really the general public don’t have that much awareness of what to do if it was their daughter that had gone in.

“It was a good ending but potentially both of them could have got into a lot of difficulties.”

Miss Timmis, who trains youngsters in lifesaving, said she recognised that Evie’s young age made the situation more complex.

However, she stressed that entering the water should always be the last resort for a rescuer.

She said: “The rescuer is the most important person. If you are in danger as well you will end up with two casualties.”

She added: “Not only are you at risk of the water but you are at risk of the drowning person using you as a buoyancy aid and drowning you.”

Instead, young lifesavers at the club are trained to follow a routine which includes initially shouting for help, checking for dangers and ensuring they are not going to fall in themselves.

They are then told to look for an aid, such as a buoyancy ring, large stick, piece of clothing or even a football, and to attempt a ‘reach rescue’ by throwing one end to the victim and telling them to pull themselves in or use it to stay afloat.

If that is not possible, the next step is a ‘non-assisted tow’ where the rescuer enters the water, throws the aid to the victim and tows them without making physical contact themselves.

The lifesavers are shown how to protect their own safety by using manoeuvres to evade casualties who try to grab hold of them.

Awareness about hidden dangers, such as undercurrents and the cold, are also taught as fatigue and hypothermia can kick in very quickly in open water.

For those reasons, lifesavers are sometimes taken for outdoor training at Upton Warren so they can see the very big difference between rivers, streams and lakes and the relative calm of a swimming pool.

As a last resort, rescuers are taught how to carry out the safest contact rescue.

Miss Timmis said: “If the casualty is face down and they don’t look like they are going to be moving then you can go in and get them out.”

If successful, you also need to know what to do next so first aid and resuscitation techniques also feature in the training offered by the club.

The group, which meets at the pool, at Droitwich Spa Leisure centre, between 6pm and 8pm on Sunday evenings is made up of members from aged 10 upwards.

The club splits into two groups including a ‘rookie’ group of those aged 10 to 13 and a senior group for over-13s.

Youngsters can put the training towards GCSE work, Duke of Edinburgh schemes or just take part for fun.

Of course, when an emergency situation arises no one knows quite how they will react but Miss Timmis said the training was invaluable.

She said: “It teaches them life skills and even down to phoning the emergency services and what to say. It’s best for people from a young age to have an awareness of what to do.”

Anyone interested in joining the group should contact Louise and Anthony Meeson on 01905 772801.