This evening, the volunteers of Skerries Coast Guard took part in routine Search and Rescue training at Red Island, Skerries. This centered on the scenario of the team being tasked to assist a person in difficulty in the water. The exercise was based at the Springers public bathing area on Red Island. Upon arriving at the scene, the volunteers’ immediate task was to locate the person in the water and to recover them from the water using a rescue throwline.
SCG volunteers performing CPR on resus training dummy
Once the casualty was successfully assisted to the shoreline, the exercise scenario then progressed to the casualty suddenly developing cardiac arrest. The Skerries Coast Guard volunteers immediately began Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). CPR is an important first aid skill used to keep a casualty’s vital organs alive immediately after a heart attack or another event, such as drowning, that can cause a person to stop breathing. The volunteers maintained constant CPR for over 20 minutes, the average expected time for additional medical resources to arrive on scene.
The training was both very realistic and beneficial for all the Coast Guard team members involved. Skerries Coast Guard would like to thank the members of the public who were in the Red Island area during the exercise for their cooperation.