PART I.

1. In making reaching assists, the rescuer should brace himself, have a steady
stance or position, keep control of the situation, and attempt to keep the victim
calm.
2. If a swimmer is caught in a current, she should attempt to swim horizontally
across the current, towardss the shore and away from the current, rather than
struggling against or surrendering to the current.
3. Long immersion in water may cause fatigue, low body temperature (followed by
severe hypothermia), and mental trauma such as halucinations and later, brain
damage.
4. A well-supervised beach area should have most of the following safety
devices: a rescue tube, a torpedo buoy, a heaving line, a grappling line, a
shepherd’s crook, a ring buoy, a rescue board, and a life line.
5. The head is held high to keep eye contact with the victim. The rescuer
should not lose sight of the victim.
6. The chin pull would not be used to rescue a strugggling victim because he
would probably attempt to break free, cause some injury to himself, or maybe even
injure the rescuer.
7. If conditions permit, a rescuer may find he will swim faster and with less
effort if he removes his clothing before attempting a swimming rescue. Also,
either the rescuer or the victim could be tangled up in the clothing and lose
buoyancy.
8. Survival floating is an attempt to stay afloat and alive for an extended
period of time in the water. The HELP position minimizes energy and heat loss,
while maximizing buoyancy. Also known as the jellyfish float, the HELP position
involves bending gnetly at the waist dangling the arms. Breathing is fairly
infrequent but rhythmic. The HUDDLE position is for a group of people wearing
PFDs who huddle together in a circle to maximize buoyancy and heat conservation.
Those without PFDs may be placed and supported in the center of the huddled
circle.
9. If the cushion is on the back, the person will end up floating face down
and, as people are incapable of breathing in water, will suffocate and likely
drown.
10. A rescuer should not swim “all out” because the rescuer, one having reached
the victim, must have retained sufficient strength to tow the victim back to
shore, a feat considerably more difficult than swimming back alone.
PART II.
11. A professional lifeguard should be responsible, mature, physically fit,
congenial, and disciplined.
12. Specific performance standards for Red Cross lifeguards include the ability
to swim a continual five hundred yards, to retrieve and carry a diver’s block,
full knowledge of various tows and rescues, and the passing of the Red Cross
written test.
13. Maximum capacity is calculated by breaking the pool into section by depth,
multiplying the length, width, and depth of each section, and adding the resulting
volume from each section together.
14. Zone coverage involves one person responsible for a given area, while others
are responsible for other areas. Total coversage involves one or more lifeguards
responsible for the entire area. Back up coverage involves one person responsible
for a given area, but another is also present to ensure safety.
15. A contour depth line is helpful because it gives people an idea for depth of
the pool into which they might dive. If the pool is shallow, and the swimmer
realizes this as a result of the contour line, the contour line may have saved
that person great injury.
16. Emergency action plans should be feasible, known to everyone involved in
instituting it, and provide some immediate help to whoever may be injured. An
emergency action plan should not be, “Don’t do anything but run to the phone and
call 911.” The plan might involve calling 911, but it should also address
accounting for people, witnesses, and how to administer proper first aid.
17. Items included in an accident report should include the time of the
accident, the nature of the accident, the victim(s) of the accident, aid supplied,
names of those supplying aid, lifeguard on duty, witnesses, and a complete
chronology.
18. (a) A rescue tube is a foam rubber object which may be wrapped around and
clipped to keep a person afloat. It is versatile, effective, and easy to operate.
(b) A torpedo buoy is shaped like a three or four foot long torpedo with
handles on the sides. It may be extended to a victim, used as part of a tow, or
used to keep a lifeguard afloat as he swim to rescue a victim.
(c) A heaving line is a rope with a floatable weight at the end which can
be thrown over the head of the victim and dragged back so the victim may hgrab
hold and be towed to ground.
(d) A grappling line is used similarly, except it is meant to secure the
victim without as much effort on the victim’s part. It can be wrapped around a
victim who may be unconscious or unable to grab hold.
(e) A shepherd’s crrok is a long pole with a wide, dull hook at the end.
Used in reaching assists, the crrok is extended beyond the victim, rotated, and
pulled gently in so it catches the victim and drags him to shore.
(f) A ring buoy is a round, floatable tube with may attache to a rope and
can be heaved to a victim. It is easy to grab hold of and easy to throw.
(g) A rescue board is similar to a srufboard and can be used to reach a
victim quickly who may be a great distance away. The victim can be place on the
board as the lifeguard paddles back to shore, also on board.
(h) A life line is simply a rope used most often in reaching assists. The
line is thrown beyond the victim and reeled in so he may grb hold and be towed
back to shore.
19. Equipment assisted rescues diminish much of the strain involved in tows. A
lifeguard will move more easily while towing a peron who is gripping a torpedo
buoy than he will carrying someone on his hip. Also, equipment often increases
the distance between a panicky victim and the lifeguard, thereby reducing risk to
both.
20. Hypothermia is a dramatic loss of body temperature caused by long immersion
in water. A low body temperature causes a decrease in blood circulation with will
kill cells and may be responsible for the death of organs and extremeties.