Books on Police, Fire & EMS Rescue Techniques

The last two books were recently added for their technical content. Reviews of each book are in process, and some are included below.

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"High Angle Rescue Techniques," 2nd Ed., 1999, by Tom Vines, Steve Hudson: Tom Vines is the training officer at Carbon County Sheriff's Search and Rescue in Red Lodge, Montana. Steve Hudson is President of Pigeon Mountain Industries, Inc., and Deputy Director, Walker County Emergency Management in Lafayette, Georgia.

Together these two experts have created an instructional text that can be read profitably by anyone, whether a beginner or an experienced rope jockey. Every chapter is fully illustrated, teaching skills step-by-step in an instructional style that works in the classroom as well as on the side of a cliff. 

Quizzes at the end of each chapter help hone your skills, and answers, provided at the back of the book, allow you to check your knowledge. Skills are listed in an appendix, in the form of  check-off sheets that instructors may copy and retain as a part of the class record for each student. To order this text, click on the following link:

 High Angle Rescue Techniques $37.95(07-20-02)

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"Technical Rescue Field Operations Guide," 2nd Ed., July 2000, by Tom Pendley: Tom Pendley is a Captain EMT-P with the Peoria Arizona Fire Department who has taught technical rescue since 1993. He is an avid mountaineer, helicopter pilot and river runner who knows his subject well.  

Pendley's Guide is divided into separate sections on Rope Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue, Trench Rescue, Structural Collapse Rescue, and Helicopter Operations. Each section is illustrated with line drawings that are amply annotated and easy to understand. 

This Guide is a reference that Jerry plans to use for training as well as for on-scene incident size-up and execution of rescue operations. It measures 4"x7"x0.5", so it will fit in most of the pockets of his rescue jumpsuit. He's tested the paper; it's water-resistant but not water-proof. The pages are pretty sturdy, though, and should take a moderate beating in the field without ripping out of the spiral binding. This is just what Jerry needs when he's confronted with a challenge that has a high risk factor, with certain elements amenable to a by-the-book approach.  

Everybody on the team should have a personal copy to take to the field. Its format helps everybody on the team practice using it in evolutions on the practice field. To order this guide click on the following link:

 The Essential Technical Rescue Field...  $19.95(07-20-02)

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A review is in process for the following book:

A review is in process for the following book:

Each of these books is being used to establish a swiftwater rescue training class. Lesson plans are being revised, but will be posted here soon. 

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A review is in process for the following book:

Swiftwater Rescue: A Manual for the...  $24.95(07-20-02)

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"River Rescue: A Manual for Whitewater Safety," 3rd Ed., 1997, by Les Bechdel & Slim Ray:  Les Bechdel is President of Canyons Incorporated. He has represented the U.S. in five world championships, and has been national slalom champion four times and, with his wife, continues to run wilderness trips for boaters on the Middle and Main Forks of the Salmon River in Idaho. Slim Ray has taught river rescue in the U.S. and internationally, and has developed river rescue courses with several organizations. Slim was injured in a kyaking accident in 1991, which left him a paraplegic. He continues to write and paddle, and lives in Asheville, NC.  

This manual contains an abundance of real-life scenarios that give the reader a "feel" for the river. It shows, in one example after another, how complex the swiftwater rescue problem can become, and how sophisticated the execution of the rescue solution should be. Then the reader is led through a series of steps to come up with an acceptable solution. 

The reader is challenged to think things through and learn how to respond properly to various situations. Although this book is not designed to serve as the primary instructional text for swiftwater rescue training, it should be required reading for such a program, and can be used as an adjunct to any swiftwater rescue curriculum:

 River Rescue: A Manual for Whitewater... $11.87(07-20-02)

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A review is in process for the following book:

 Swiftwater Rescue Field Guide $14.95(07-20-02)

A review is in process for the following book:

 Whitewater Rescue Manual: New Techniques... $12.57(07-20-02)