Ice Rescue Technician
Next available date
December 6, 2022 – Edmonton (waitlist)
Upcoming Dates Show Hide
December
December 17, 2022 – Canmore (waitlist)
January
February
February 11, 2023 – Peterborough
March
Overview
This 2 day Ice Rescue Technician (IRT) course is valuable training for emergency responders who may have to venture onto surface ice to perform a rescue.
In a rescue situation, it is already clear that the ice is unsafe, and therefore this course does not spend a lot of time on ice formation and determining it’s strength. Rather, the emphasis is on self rescue and the full range of techniques and specialized equipment that can be used for rescuing others. The curriculum also includes the significant medical considerations for patient packaging and extrication posed by cold water immersion.
This course also includes an overview of skills and knowledge necessary for responding to incidents on surface ice over moving water, but for those who can expect a high frequency of callouts on large volume rivers with open leads, we suggest adding our Advanced single day to this two-day IRT course.
Note: This course is the standard-of-care for emergency responders who respond to incidents on surface ice. It meets and exceeds the NFPA 2500 and 1006 Standards.
Ice Rescue Technician Course Details
- Duration
2 days (16 hours)
- Format
1 day classroom, 1 day on the ice
- Participants
Minimum 10. Maximum 12.
- Prerequisites
- 18+ years of age
- Basic swimming ability
- In good physical condition
- Price
$415
- Recertification
Repeat the entire course at a 15% discount every three years
- Annual Training Maintenance
Click here to read about the options available for annual guided practice
- Required Equipment
- Drysuit, survival suit, or thick (5mm+) wetsuit*
- Personal Flotation Device (Type III or V)*
- Water-sport helmet*
* Rental equipment available
- Takeaways & Documentation
- Surface Ice Safety & Rescue Field Guide
- Personalized skill sheet (training record) signed by the instructor
- Wallet card with personal Rescue 3 registration number and date of certification
- Registration in Rescue 3 International’s database
- Certificate of completion
IRT Course Outline
Classroom
- Rescue Philosophy
- Overview NFPA standards (optional)
- Size up
- Management, team organization, and pre-planning
- Medical considerations of cold injuries (cold water immersion, hypothermia, etc.)
- Ice processes, formation and properties
- Rescuer safety
- Gear and equipment
- Communications and signals
- Animal handling (optional)
- Knots, hitches and special rope considerations
On Ice
- Walking, snowmobiling and driving on ice
- Ice staff
- Self rescue techniques including use of ice picks
- Shore-based rescue techniques
- Anchoring and mechanical advantage
- Go rescues including live bait
- Continuous loop
- Sled or boat-based techniques
- Using mechanical advantage on heavy loads
Optional on ice Advanced add-on
We also offer this as a private course
Our private training courses ensure personalized hands-on training through human-based scenarios
Private CoursesTraining Maintenance
If you have a group that would like to review their training together, the training maintenance program may be right for you.
Your group pays the instructor’s daily teaching fee and travel costs associated with bringing the instructor to your training location, along with an annual fee to be part of the maintenance program. This is generally a pretty reasonable approach for training departments because:
- it allows us to deliver the training in small chunks every year, rather than in one big chunk every three years
- it gives department members more annual hands-on time with their skills
- new members can integrate into maintenance programs by jumping on an open course from our public schedule
We track your members, and their status on course content completion within a three year cycle, which mirrors a traditional three year recertification cycle. It’s an excellent value for the cost, and allows you to review your skills in your own backyard.
The training maintenance program replaces the need to recertifiy your training on a traditional three year recertification cycle.
This is an option to audit, or participate in a course for which you already hold a current certification – at no charge.
Take a look at our upcoming course schedule online and find a course location and time that works for you. Email or call us to sign up as an audit. Show up and take the course. It’s that simple.
Free audits do not extend your certification period in any way, but this is a great way to re-fresh your skills on a regular basis, in a safe, controlled environment with a qualified, insured instructor.