Beyond Patrol Issue 15 2017

SURF LIFE SAVING QUEENSLAND

ISSUE 15 | 2017

SLSQ urges action on crocodile management Ground-breaking project one step closer Coast Safe Report highlights drowning trends

Welcome

O

n behalf of Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) I would like to welcome you to the latest edition of our quarterly magazine, Beyond Patrol.

With the weather warming up, and beaches getting busier by the week, the importance of our surf lifesavers and lifeguards along Queensland’s coastline has never been greater. In September, thousands of volunteers returned to the beach and raised the red and yellow flags once again as SLSQ officially launched its 2017/18 patrol season. They will spend each weekend and public holiday across the next eight months watching over and protecting millions of beachgoers up and down the state’s coastline.

Looking ahead to the next 12 months, we are bracing for one of the busiest seasons on record, with a significant influx of tourists anticipated to fly into Queensland in the lead up to, and during, the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Importantly, SLSQ has been working hard behind the scenes to develop the necessary structures, strategies, and processes to safeguard all beachgoers and ensure that everyone remembers their trip to the Sunshine State for all the right reasons.

The past few months have also seen SLSQ take the first initial steps in an exciting and historic journey for our organisation, signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Redland City Council for the development of a Surf Life Saving Centre of Excellence in Cleveland. Importantly, the proposed development will provide our organisation with state-of-the-art facilities to train surf lifesavers and protect beachgoers, while also delivering a raft of benefits to communities and residents across south east Queensland.

I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Redland City Mayor Karen Williams for her wonderful support, and I encourage you to read ahead on pages 4-5 for further information about this Australian-first project. Moving forward, we will be actively seeking additional funding from both levels of Government to ensure the Centre of Excellence comes to fruition.

John Brennan OAM Chief Executive Officer Surf Life Saving Queensland

Surf Life Saving Queensland 18 Manning Street, South Brisbane, QLD, 4101 t. 07 3846 8000 | w. lifesaving.com.au Beyond Patrol staff and contributors: Writer: Cameron Ward Designer: Chloe Koklas

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Surf Life Saving Queensland

Surf Life Saving urges action on crocodile safety

Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) chief operating officer George Hill ESM has called on the Queensland Government and key stakeholders to collectively increase crocodile safety efforts in the state’s north, following an influx of sightings and close encounters in recent months and years.

The push comes after SLSQ’s 2017 Coast Safe Report highlighted 15 crocodile attacks across the state in the past decade, including six fatalities.

Presenting at a public inquiry into a proposed Safer Waterways Bill, Mr Hill said he did not agree with killing or harming crocodiles, but insisted that additional measures needed to be put in place to better protect North Queensland communities, tourists, and SLSQ’s own surf lifesavers and lifeguards.

“Our members and lifeguards have been reporting large crocodiles, upwards of three to four metres, at public sites and popular swimming spots across North Queensland more frequently than ever before, and that’s a big concern for us,” he said.

“We’ve seen scenarios where tourists are sunbaking less than 30 metres from a crocodile.

large, over two-and-a-half metres, or aggressive crocodiles, then it’s even more important,” he said.

“We’re talking about popular spots such as Four Mile Beach, Palm Cove, Trinity Beach, and The Strand in Townsville, just to name a few, and that obviously has significant ramifications and flowon effects for tourism and local economies. As a state, we need to be doing everything possible to proactively protect communities and prevent further attacks from occurring, and I believe there are opportunities to do more.”

“Sightings and attacks have had long-term, negative impacts on our membership figures up north, so it’s also in our best interests to be doing everything we can to help manage the issue.”

With that in mind, Mr Hill backed calls to relocate crocodiles from beaches and public access waterways across North Queensland, saying it would go a long way towards increasing safety.

“We don’t want to see crocodiles harmed, but we need to be protecting beachgoers and swimmers, and we absolutely support their removal from any beach or waterway if there’s a chance they could be a risk to public safety. If they’re particularly

As the state’s peak authority on aquatic safety, SLSQ already plays a key role when it comes to crocodile management and protection, with surf lifesavers and lifeguards often acting as the first line of defence.

“We want to use our expertise to help the Queensland Government, local councils, and tourism operators when it comes to crocodile management,” Mr Hill said.

“It could be increased signage, public education, additional patrols, or the introduction of aerial patrols, but we remain committed to working with stakeholders to improve and increase safety for all.”

Beyond Patrol Issue 15

03

Centre of Excellence to secure the sustainability of surf lifesavers in Queensland

On Wednesday, 11 October, SLSQ took its first step towards an exciting new chapter in the organisation’s history, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Redland City Council for the development of a Surf Life Saving Centre of Excellence in Cleveland.

The proposed $71 million facility will not only house SLSQ’s state-wide operations and administration, it will also include world-class facilities to train and upskill surf lifesavers and lifeguards from across Queensland, Australia, and internationally.

In addition, the development will feature a redeveloped aquatic centre including four public pools along with a gymnasium, wellness centre, and a raft of other family-friendly facilities, ensuring the Australian-first development delivers significant social, economic, tourism, and health benefits to local communities across the south east.

As part of the MOU, Redland City Council has committed to fund a third of the project, with additional funding now being sought from both levels of Government to ensure the Centre of Excellence comes to fruition.

Looking ahead to the future, SLSQ chief executive officer John Brennan OAM said the

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Surf Life Saving Queensland

project will provide SLSQ with the much-needed and state-of-the-art facilities to continue building upon its lifesaving work for the benefit of all Queenslanders.

“Since our inception, SLSQ has grown from a relatively small volunteer movement into a world-class organisation with 31,000 members responsible for beach patrols, search and rescue, emergency response, aerial patrols, community training, and much more,” Mr Brennan said.

“But, with record crowds flocking to Queensland beaches and the state’s population expanding rapidly, our resources are more stretched than ever and it’s simply not sustainable with our current set up and infrastructure.

“We need to keep up with external growth and, for us, we have to look ahead to the next 50 years about where we need to be as an organisation in order to continue serving the Queensland community,” he said.

With its close proximity to North Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, and Raby Bay, the location provides countless opportunities for surf lifesavers and lifeguards when it comes to conducting open water training and lifesaving exercises.

Importantly, the Centre of Excellence also has the capacity to include facilities for the State Emergency Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, and the Queensland Ambulance Service, providing a dedicated search and rescue hub in the state’s south east and a one-stop-shop for emergency services training and response. The co-location of these organisations, coupled with world-class training facilities, is both unprecedented and unheard of in Queensland.

The high performance facilities, available to both athletes and coaches, will allow SLSQ to stage national and international pool rescue championships at the venue, while the centre will also have the capacity to host conferences and train people from a wide range of industries across Australia.

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the project would deliver a plethora of benefits to communities across south east Queensland.

“The SLSQ facility will be co-located with the new Cleveland aquatic centre, which will include four new public pools and potentially other facilities such as water play areas,” she said.

“The co-location of the other emergency services on site will allow joint training exercises, leading to improved coordination and collaboration between agencies, enhanced communication and better community safety and disaster outcomes.

The project will include: A new SLSQ headquarters building: • SLSQ Administrative Office Centre • Opportunity for other sporting associations to lease office space A new public aquatic and wellness centre: • A new Olympic-sized pool to FINA standard, indoor warm water therapy pools, indoor learn-to-swim pool • A wellness centre including professional consulting wellness rooms, adjacent indoor warm water pool, spas, and heat treatment rooms • Community gym, café, commercial kitchen, and crèche • Grandstand and upgraded amenities • Family-friendly amenities/change rooms New training college and Centre of Excellence: • Deep water rescue training pool with moveable floor, Helicopter Underwater Escape Training frame hoist and wave maker • 200-seat auditorium The opportunity to partner with, and share, training facilities with: • State Emergency Service • Queensland Fire and Emergency Services • Local disaster management coordinator staff • Queensland Ambulance Service

“We are also calling on the State and Federal Governments to commit funding to the project in recognition of the benefits it would provide to the state and nationally.

“Council and SLSQ are committed to making this state-of-the-art facility a reality, and have already budgeted a third of the funding, which will cover the new aquatic centre and SLSQ headquarters.

For the facility to include emergency services agencies and be a fully integrated disaster response centre we need funding from the State and Federal Governments and are calling on them to help fund the project,” she said.

Beyond Patrol Issue 15

05

Volunteers return to the beach as another big season looms ahead

There’s a great deal of work going on behind the scenes to ensure that our lifesavers, lifeguards, and the organisation as a whole are all ready for the challenges that lie ahead.

–P eta Lawlor Lifesaving Services Manager

The weather’s warming up and the peak summer months are just around the corner, which means it’s time for Queensland’s army of volunteer surf lifesavers to dust off their red and yellow caps and clock on for another season of beach patrols.

“On top of that, our lifesavers had to contend with periods of heavy swell, king tides, and various other challenging coastal conditions, not to mention an incredible influx in the number of bluebottles and stings across the state’s south east.

On Saturday, 16 September, a wave of 8,000-plus surf lifesavers from Forrest Beach down to Rainbow Bay on the southern tip of the Gold Coast returned to the state’s beaches and officially raised the flags on SLSQ’s 2017/18 patrol season.

“But that’s exactly why we place such a strong focus and emphasis on training and development, and why we’ve spent the past few months over winter recruiting and upskilling our surf lifesavers and preparing them for what’s expected to be another busy season ahead,” she said.

For the next eight months, they will patrol the state’s coastline, alongside North Queensland’s lifesavers, every weekend and public holiday, watching over and protecting millions of beachgoers in the process. The Australian Lifeguard Service Queensland will continue its regular patrols.

Last season, Queensland’s volunteer surf lifesavers spent some 343,084 hours on patrol across the state. During this time, they combined with SLSQ’s professional lifeguards to perform 648,479 preventative actions to proactively safeguard swimmers, treated almost 75,000 injured first aid patients, and directly saved the lives of 2,561 beachgoers via in-water rescues.

Most importantly, they watched over in excess of 20.7 million beachgoers and ensured there were no drownings recorded between SLSQ’s red and yellow flags.

SLSQ lifesaving services manager Peta Lawlor said that volunteers were returning to the beach after one of their busiest seasons on record in 2016/17.

“Our volunteer surf lifesavers were kept exceptionally busy last season, particularly with long and extended periods of unseasonably warm temperatures attracting record crowds of beachgoers across the state,” she said.

“In terms of the sheer number of people visiting Queensland beaches, it was definitely one of the busiest summers and seasons that we’ve ever experienced and that definitely provided us with a lot of challenges.

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Surf Life Saving Queensland

SLSQ is bracing for another busy 12 months, with the 2018 Commonwealth Games likely to result in millions of people from across the world flying into Queensland.

“With the Commonwealth Games next year, we’re bracing for a huge number of international and domestic tourists flocking to the Gold Coast and all across Queensland for that matter, and that will obviously mean an increased number of people on the beach,” she said.

“There’s no doubt last season was exceptionally busy, but we’re expecting 2017/18 to be our biggest on record by quite some margin.

“That obviously creates a lot of challenges from our end in terms of ensuring that we have the manpower, the logistical set up, and the plans in place to effectively manage crowds, protect beachgoers, and respond to any incidents that may occur in a timely manner.

“There’s a great deal of work going on behind the scenes to ensure that our lifesavers, lifeguards, and the organisation as a whole are all ready for the challenges that lie ahead,” she said.

Additional roving patrols, extended hours, increased manpower, and a sustained focus on 24/7 emergency response are all being discussed as potential options to protect beachgoers leading into, and during, the Commonwealth Games next year.

In addition, all patrol services across the state have already been equipped with an updated version of

SLSQ’s Surf Speak booklet. Featuring key phrases and safety information translated into more than 20 different languages, the booklet allows lifesavers and lifeguards to communicate directly and efficiently with international beachgoers in their primary language.

With the 2017/18 season officially underway, Ms Lawlor has one simple message for anyone considering a trip to the beach this summer: swim between the flags.

“It’s always a great time of the year to be cooling off in the surf, but it’s really important that people aren’t losing sight of their own personal safety in the process,” she said.

“There has never been a drowning death recorded between SLSQ’s red and yellow flags but, tragically, we’ve seen countless people lose their lives over the years within walking distance of an active patrol service.

“Just one silly mistake, or a moment of madness, can have tragic and long-term consequences, not only for the individuals involved but also for their friends and family as well.

“This season we’re pleading with beachgoers to put safety first, look after their friends and family, and only swim between the red and yellow flags.

Always remember, if we can’t see you we can’t save you,” she said.

Beyond Patrol Issue 15

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Coast Safe Report highlights drownings across Queensland Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) has shone a spotlight on aquatic fatalities across the state, with its 2017 Coast Safe Report identifying four drownings on Queensland beaches last season and a further 22 drownings at inland waterways.

Released in September to coincide with the launch of SLSQ’s 2017/18 volunteer patrol season, the third annual Coast Safe Report seeks to highlight beach safety and drowning trends across the past 12 months and 10 years, while also identifying some of the key strategies proposed to reduce aquatic incidents in all public waterways.

As noted in the report, there was a significant decrease in the number of drownings on Queensland beaches last season, from 11 in 2015/16 to four in 2016/17. Importantly, this represents the state’s equal-lowest total on record since SLSQ began tracking coastal safety data in 1999.

Read on for the full story.

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Surf Life Saving Queensland

4

DROWNING DEATHS ON QUEENSLAND BEACHES

50 50 FEMALE

MALE

37.7

AVG AGE

25% 50%

INTERNATIONAL NATIONALITY

ZERO BETWEEN SLSQâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FLAGS 5 0 % OCCURRED <500M FROM FLAGS

50 % FEB RU ARY

There was a significant decrease in the number of drownings on Queensland beaches last season, from 11 in 2015/16 to four in 2016/17. Importantly, this represents the state’s equal-lowest total on record since SLSQ began tracking coastal safety data.

There was one drowning recorded each on Thursday Island (Torres Strait), Green Island (North Queensland), Tangalooma (Moreton Island), and Currimundi Beach (Sunshine Coast).

By comparison, there have now been 77 drownings on Queensland beaches in the past 10 years. Of these, 29 (37.6%) have occurred on Gold Coast beaches, making it the most common region for drowning deaths over this period of time. There were also 20 drownings (26%) recorded across the wider Sunshine Coast region and a further 11 (14.3%) in North Queensland.

In terms of individual locations, Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast has recorded the highest number of drownings in the past 10 years, with seven.

This is closely followed by Green Island in North Queensland, which recorded six drowning deaths in the past decade.

A review of data shows at least 39% of victims across the past 10 years were international tourists, migrants, or other overseas visitors. This continues to support the notion that people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are particularly high-risk groups of beachgoers.

In total, 26 beach-related drowning deaths were recorded in summer across the past 10 years, making it the most common season of the year.

This was followed autumn (25 drownings), spring (17 drownings), and winter (nine drownings).

Importantly, there were no drownings recorded between SLSQ’s red and yellow flags during this period of time, with all 77 occurring either at unpatrolled locations or outside of the designated patrol times. Tragically, 72.7% of all drownings on Queensland beaches in the past 10 years occurred less than one kilometre from the nearest patrol area.

SLSQ chief operating officer George Hill ESM said the statistics were a harrowing reminder about the importance of swimming only at patrolled locations and between the red and yellow flags.

“We’re obviously thrilled to see the number of drownings on Queensland beaches go from 11 down to four, but that doesn’t mean our job is done,” he said.

“For us, even one drowning is one too many and we’ll continue to work with governments and key

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Surf Life Saving Queensland

stakeholders to improve coastal and aquatic safety at all levels across the state.

“Unfortunately, we’re continuing to see a lot of people swim outside of the flags and at unpatrolled locations, which is something we’ll continue to address moving forward,” he said.

Within the report, SLSQ identified five particularly high-risk coastal blackspots across the state including one in North Queensland (Green Island), two on the Gold Coast (Surfers Paradise, and Marina Mirage to South Stradbroke Island), and two on the Sunshine Coast (Noosa River to Double Island Point Headland, and Peregian to Sunshine Beach).

Mr Hill said the blackspots had been selected following a review of coastal safety data including drownings, fatalities, rescues, and other incidents at each location.

For the first time, North Queensland’s Green Island has been listed as the state’s number one coastal blackspot following a raft of drownings and other incidents in recent years.

“There have been six drownings on Green Island in the past 10 years in addition to a number of other fatalities, which have been attributed to underlying medical conditions,” he said.

“A lot of these drownings have unfortunately involved international tourists and travellers who don’t necessarily have a lot of experience in the ocean, or an understanding of the dangers that come with swimming outside of the flags.

“We’ll continue to work hard to improve coastal and aquatic safety on Green Island and at all of our other identified blackspots across Queensland in the years to come.

“From additional manpower and roving patrols through to extra community awareness and educational programs, we’ve identified a number of key areas to build upon moving forward to help increase and improve safety across Queensland’s coastline,” Mr Hill said.

In addition to its work along the coastline, SLSQ has also flagged plans to transfer its extensive lifesaving experience from the beach to all public waterways across the state. This follows 22 drownings last season, and 135 across the past

Green Island, North Queensland

five years, at various inland aquatic environments including rivers, creeks, dams, and lakes.

After more than a century patrolling and saving lives on Queensland beaches, Mr Hill said it was a natural progression for the organisation to take its training and expertise and transfer it to other bodies of water.

“Preventing drowning deaths along the state’s coastline has been, and always will be, our core focus and priority, but we see a real opportunity within Queensland to take our extensive experience and lifesaving knowledge and transfer that to other bodies of water,” he said.

“We’re not saying there’ll be red and yellow flags at all dams and rivers in Queensland, but we’ll definitely be starting to increase our educational efforts and work with councils and land managers to increase safety through other measures.

“There were 22 drownings at inland locations last year, compared to four on Queensland beaches, so we’ve identified a big opportunity for us to use our experience and resources to significantly reduce the drowning rate at all public waters across the state.

“But we can’t do it on our own; we’ll be looking to work with councils, government, land managers,

and other key stakeholders to help improve safety, increase public protection and, ultimately, eliminate drowning deaths across Queensland,” Mr Hill said.

2016/17 Coast Safe Report – key statistics: • Favourable conditions and extended periods of warm weather saw beach visitation increase significantly last season. Roughly 20.7 million people visited SLSQ’s patrolled beaches in 2016/17, compared to 18.68 million the year before; • There were four confirmed drownings on Queensland beaches in 2016/18, including one on Green Island and one on Thursday Island. This is the equal-lowest number on record since SLSQ began tracking coastal safety data.

• In the past 10 years there have been 77 confirmed drownings on Queensland beaches, of which 84.4% have been male victims.

• Roughly 39% of all drowning victims in the past 10 years were international tourists, migrants, or other overseas visitors. The most common foreign nationalities of drowning victims over this time were Japanese and Chinese (six each).

• Tragically, 72.7% of all drowning deaths on Queensland beaches in the past 10 years occurred less than 1km from a patrolled beach or patrol service.

For us, even one drowning is one too many and we’ll continue to work with governments and key stakeholders to improve coastal and aquatic safety at all levels across the state.

–G eorge Hill ESM Chief Operating Officer

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International trip proves lifesaving in Vietnam

At the end of the day, our goals as an organisation are to protect beachgoers and eliminate drowning deaths, and I have no doubt that our work in Nha Trang will do exactly that.

For more than a century, Surf Life Saving Queensland (SLSQ) has paved the way in aquatic safety and drowning prevention strategies across Australia. From on-beach patrols through to public education and emergency care training, the efforts and actions of surf lifesavers and lifeguards have combined to protect millions of beachgoers and save countless lives in the process.

–K en Clark Academy Manager

In September, this commitment to saving lives stretched far beyond the sandy shores of Queensland’s coastline when SLSQ partnered with Austrade and the Council of the City of Gold Coast to deliver advanced aquatic training to 40 professional lifeguards and a number of hotel staff working in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Jointly funded by Austrade and the People’s Committee in Nha Trang, the initiative was developed to upskill local lifeguards in a range of key areas including patient care, first aid and CPR, search and rescue, and beach management. Some 2.6 million beachgoers flocked to Nha Trang in the first half of 2017, reinforcing the importance of developing and building on the skills of the region’s lifeguard force.

The unique exercise saw three senior SLSQ representatives, with more than half-a-century of lifesaving and lifeguarding experience between them, travel to Vietnam for 10 days to conduct the intensive training.

Australian Lifesaving Academy Queensland manager Ken Clark, who oversaw the initiative, said it was a great opportunity to help upskill and build closer relationships with international lifeguarding communities.

“At the end of the day, our goals as an organisation are to protect beachgoers and eliminate drowning deaths, and I have no doubt that our work in Nha Trang will do exactly that,” Mr Clark said.

“Surf Life Saving Queensland has a great deal of experience that we’ve developed over the past hundred years, and it’s really pleasing that we were

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able to share that wealth of knowledge and skills with these lifeguards.”

Armed with training manikins, defibrillators, rescue tubes, and boards, the local lifeguards were put through their paces in a range of hands-on and practical sessions.

However Mr Clark admitted it wasn’t always smooth sailing, with the vast differences in both culture and language proving to be an early challenge for everyone involved.

“No doubt the biggest challenge for us initially was the language barrier and, to begin with, there was a lot of really important information that was being lost in translation,” he said.

“But we learnt a lot as trainers and it really helped us develop our skills as well, particularly in terms of how to adapt and tweak what we were doing in order to get the best outcome.

“After a while we started to understand that they were actually very responsive to visual learning and if we physically showed them what to do, they were then able to go ahead and replicate it. We would demonstrate something two or three times and they would begin to repeat it, which meant we didn’t have to rely on the language interpretations as much as we did when we first arrived,” he said.

Mr Clark said it was a particularly rewarding experience to see significant improvement amongst the lifeguarding ranks.

“Going over there, we didn’t know what their skillsets would be like, but we soon found out they weren’t at a level we were hoping for and they had a relatively poor understanding of basic CPR and rescue techniques,” he said.

“They had all done skill work in the past, but it was mostly focused on fitness; they used to do lots of running, swimming, and board paddling, but they lacked some of the other basic lifesaving skills, so that’s what we primarily focused on.

“We brought it right back to the basics and covered off on things like how to rescue someone, how to get them on a board when they’re unconscious, and how to put a tube around someone.

“Some of the skills they’d never actually heard of before, such as rescuing two people on one board.

If you’ve got a mother and a child, you can rescue them both, and they’d never been taught that before.

“So it was those types of basic lifeguarding skills, but with a focus on really sharpening them up, and they picked it up really well. The change in skillset and the improvement we saw over a few days was fantastic.”

With the assistance of Austrade, SLSQ transported and donated four training manikins to the local lifeguards as a legacy gift and Mr Clark said the opportunity to conduct similar training down the track was something he would certainly welcome.

“Everyone was so grateful and thankful for us being there and when you walk away from training like that, you do feel pretty proud that you’ve actually left a legacy and been able to achieve something special,” he said.

“Thank you to Austrade and the Nha Trang People’s Committee for all of their assistance.”

Beyond Patrol Issue 15

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Hero crewman reunited with patient

To this day, Irina vividly remembers the feelings of panic and fear that surged through her body as she tried in vain to swim against the strong current.

“After swimming for 30 seconds to a minute, I realised instead of getting closer to shore I was actually getting further away,” Irina said.

“I thought this might be the end of my life, and I didn’t want to die.”

In a twist of fate, SLSQ’s Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter was on a routine patrol when crewmembers notice a woman struggling in the water below.

Rescue crewman Tim Wilson said he immediately knew that Irina was in significant trouble.

“We could see her trying to breaststroke in quite a big rip and she was getting pulled out very quickly; we knew straight away just by looking at her that she was in a pretty bad way,” he said.

“As I hit the water, a couple of waves came crashing over her and, in my head, I thought if I don’t grab her straight away she’s going to get pushed under,” he said.

“I knew that I’d do everything that I could to save her, even if I had to unhook myself from the helicopter to get to her quicker. We were hoisted up and the look on her face just said it all.”

There were tears of joy, hugs, and plenty of laughter when Irina Wallace (pictured above) was reunited with the Westpac Helicopter crewman who saved her life last December.

Irina was enjoying a family holiday on the Gold Coast when a routine trip to the beach nearly ended in tragedy. The New Zealand resident was wading in waist-deep water, outside of the flags, when she was knocked over by a wave and dragged out to sea in a strong and dangerous rip. Desperately struggling to keep her head above water, Irina became more and more exhausted as she was pulled further away from the safety of shore.

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After returning Irina to the safety of lifeguards nearby, the Westpac Helicopter flew away and continued its regular patrol. It meant Irina had to wait almost 12 months later, until her next trip to Queensland, before she had the chance to meet and thank Tim face-to-face.

In heart-warming and emotional scenes, the pair embraced, with Irina openly admitting she wouldn’t be alive today were it not for the actions of the Westpac Helicopter’s pilot and crew that day.

“I’ll always think of December 29 as my second birthday,” she said.

Supercars drive home the safety message

The iconic ‘swim between the flags’ message was given a high-octane boost in October, when SLSQ teamed up with Preston Hire Racing at the 2017 Vodafone Gold Coast 600.

SLSQ chief operating officer George Hill ESM thanked Preston Hire Racing for its support, saying it was a great opportunity to spread safety messages far and wide.

The weekend’s action saw the Preston Racing Car feature special surf safety messaging, and its crew decked out in red and yellow uniforms, in a bid to save lives and encourage safe swimming practices this summer.

“We’re always looking for ways to save lives through education, and this was a wonderful opportunity to do exactly that. I’d like to thank Preston Hire Racing and the Gold Coast 600 event for their continued support of our organisation.”

It is the generous involvement of our partners that enables us to continue to keep our beaches safe.

Surf Life Saving Queensland would like to thank these organisations for their ongoing support.

PRINCIPAL

PREMIUM

GOVERNMENT

COMMUNITY

MEDIA

BUSINESS

Beyond Patrol Issue 15

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D Ensure there is no Danger for: > Yourself > Bystanders > Patient

R Check for Response by talk and touch.

S

A

B

C

D

If unresponsive, Send for help by calling 000.

Open Airway and ensure it is clear. If not, roll patient onto their side and clear airway.

Look, listen and feel for Breathing. If not breathing normally, commence CPR.

Start CPR. Give 30 chest compressions followed by 2 rescue breaths with head tilt. If unable to perform rescue

Attach Defibrillator if available. Turn on and follow voice prompts.

INFANTS: DO NOT TILT HEAD

breaths, continue chest compressions. INFANTS: USE 2 FINGERS TO COMPRESS CHEST.

CONTINUE CPR UNTIL RESPONSE OR NORMAL BREATHING RETURNS.

ANYONE CAN SAVE A LIFE. LEARN FIRST AID. Australian Lifesaving Academy Queensland | P: 1300 766 257 | E: bookings@alaq.com.au