Rescue in artificial dams, weirs, and other hydraulic works.

November 26, 20243 Minutes

Weirs, artificial weirs, spillways and many names that vary according to function.

But what are they for? - Their functions are many and in many cases extremely useful. They are built to vary/control the speed of the river, prevent erosion of bridge piers, normalise a section of river for runoff measurements, protect pipe or cable crossings, serve to divert flow for irrigating fields or for hydroelectric power generation. And much more.

But are they really dangerous? - Most of the weirs are deadly. They are real 'washing machines' built into the river, in which if you fall, you get trapped.

The most frequent accidents - It is mistakenly thought that the only ones who risk their lives are canoeists and rafters. Statistics do not say this, unfortunately. The most frequent accidents happen to river construction site operators, technicians carrying out measurements, soundings, surveys of surface water bodies, civil protection teams supporting rescue workers, citizens (especially children) living in areas close to hydraulic works.

Rescuers - But the ones most at risk are us, the rescuers, who are often obliged to respond to such rescues without adequate training, as happened to the two Belgian firefighters who lost their lives trying to save the city's swan. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpqRm5N5jiw)

What do you do in this course? - SAFE has developed specific training for prevention and rescue in weirs. There is a theoretical part where some elements of fluid behaviour when encountering the obstacle, the hazards generated, prevention, and risk mitigation are studied. A mathematical model for risk analysis is proposed. In the practical part, all access, stabilisation and rescue techniques are studied and practised, starting from low risk to high risk.

Is this training accessible to everyone? - Absolutely not. The prerequisites are to hold SRT or SRT A certification, be a good swimmer, physically and psychologically trained for turbulent water.

Important - It is an extremely sensitive course; for this reason, training locations are chosen, verified and tested directly by SAFE technicians before they can be considered suitable and safe for training.

Here are some examples of workshops organised by SAFE - River & Flood Rescue Europe for firefighters, military and other rescue professionals.