South Limburg Fire Department is the first fire brigade with its own watercraft

The fire brigade of the South Limburg Safety Region is the first in the Netherlands to have a watercraft at its disposal to save people in the event of accidents on a river. The watercraft makes it possible for the fire brigade to do their work more safely and quickly when rescuing drowning people.

In the near future, members of the Surface Water Rescue Team (ORT) of the Maastricht fire brigade will be trained to use the watercraft. It is expected that the watercraft can be used for the first time during an incident from June.

Difficult rescue operations

So far, only the National Rescue Brigade has these types of watercraft. These are used for rescues at sea. South Limburg is the first fire brigade to have the opportunity to use such a vessel in the event of accidents on a river. “The Maas flows through our area. That is a wide and fast-flowing river, which can also carry large objects, such as tree trunks. This makes rescue operations often difficult and dangerous for emergency responders,” says barracks chief Leon van Kalmthout of the Maastricht-Noord fire brigade.

Risks

Every year there are approximately ten reports of people in water in Maastricht. Maastricht is a popular sailing route for both pleasure boats and large cargo ships. And there are many bridges in the Maastricht sailing area. The presence of a weir at Borgharen also entails certain risks during rescue operations.

Watercraft benefits

The current working method is that the Surface Water Rescue Team arrives on site. Firefighters then put on special clothing and have to swim to reach the victim. For safety reasons, they are always connected to colleagues on shore with a rope. Van Kalmthout: “This works fine in calm water, but on the Maas it poses considerable safety risks for the emergency services due to the current. Moreover, you first have to find a suitable place before you can even enter the water. As a swimming rescuer, you must carefully estimate when and where to start swimming to reach the floating victim. Of course you don’t want to have to swim against the current, because even with the special swimming equipment that is very difficult.” The band weather also has a boat available for rescues on the water. This is located in a marina near the Maastricht-Zuid barracks and therefore needs more time to arrive on the scene of accidents in the center of Maastricht.