Host a Rescue Course
On-site Rescue 3 certification delivered at your location, on your water. Fire, SAR and agency teams.
On-site swift water rescue training for fire departments, search and rescue teams, law enforcement marine units and agency crews, delivered at your own area of operations anywhere in the United States.
Rescue 3 International and Sierra Rescue International certification courses, run on the water your crews respond to, using the access points, features and hazards they already know. Scenarios are built around your actual response area rather than a generic curriculum.
Minimum 8 students, maximum 24. We also run wilderness first aid for crews working a long way from an ambulance.
Who this is for
- Fire departments and rescue companies
- Search and rescue teams
- Law enforcement marine and dive units
- Flood response, public works and utility crews
- Guide services and commercial outfitters
- Land management and park agencies
Course levels and NFPA mapping
Agencies generally work toward a capability level rather than a single course.
Awareness
For personnel who may arrive first at a water incident but are not expected to enter the water. Recognition, scene control, shore-based options and operational limits. This is the level most departments require across the full roster and the most cost-effective means of reducing risk. 8 contact hours, so it can be run for a whole shift in a day. Valid three years.
Operations
Swiftwater Rescue Technician Unit 1 (SRT-1) addresses the NFPA 1006 job performance requirements at the Operations level for water, shore-based and in-water rescue, defensive and aggressive swimming, rope systems and boat-based work. 24 contact hours over three days. Prerequisite is a competent swimmer aged 18 or over. Valid three years.
Technician
SRT-1 combined with the Advanced course (SRT-A) addresses the Technician level, for teams expected to operate in the water in complex conditions. SRT-A adds 24 contact hours over three days and requires a current SRT certification. It covers weir assessment and pre-planning, night and poor visibility operations including a live night operation on the water, search management, high energy tethers and paddle boat handling. The two courses need not be run together or in consecutive years, and SRT-A recertifies SRT-1, so crews due for renewal can move up rather than repeat.
Additional programs
River rescue for guide services and outfitters, certified through Sierra Rescue International and endorsed by the International Rafting Federation; wilderness first aid for crews working a long way from an ambulance, also a Sierra Rescue certification with CPR included; custom and refresher training built around a specific incident type, stretch of water or crew currency requirement.
Standards
NFPA 1006 sets job performance requirements for individual rescue personnel. NFPA 2500, which absorbed the former NFPA 1670, sets the operations and training levels an organization is measured against. Rescue 3 International certification is recognized across the US fire service.
Final determination of whether a course satisfies your requirements rests with your authority having jurisdiction. Curriculum mapping is provided to support that determination.
Host requirements
Courses run at your area of operations, on the water your crews respond to, using the access points and hazards they already know.
What you provide
- A suitable stretch of whitewater within reasonable travel of your station
- An indoor or covered space for the classroom components
- A minimum of 8 students, and no more than 24 on a single course
- PPE and Personal thermal protection for participants, normally wetsuits or drysuits
What we provide
- Technical rescue equipment for the course
- Course materials, and a personalized skill sheet for each student signed by the instructor, recording the specific skills they demonstrated. That is the document your records need, because it evidences individual competency rather than attendance.
- Certification processing through Rescue 3 International
- Training records registered with the certifying body, so your crews’ certifications can be verified. Rescue 3 ID cards are available if your people want them, and are optional.
- Scenario design built around your actual response area rather than a generic curriculum
What it costs
- SRT-1: $495 per person, 24 contact hours over three days
- SRT-A: $495 per person, 24 contact hours over three days
- SRT-1 and SRT-A combined: $950 per person for five days, the cheapest route to the Technician level
- Wilderness first aid: $175 for one day, $255 for two days, or a three day option
- Water and Flood Awareness: quoted per crew rather than per head, since it is normally run across a full roster
- Custom and refresher training: quoted on scope
Courses run with a minimum of 8 students and a maximum of 24. Travel and accommodation for on-site delivery are quoted separately and depend on where you are.
Paying for it
Most departments we work with fund water rescue training one of three ways: an existing training line, a regional or mutual aid cost share across neighboring departments, or a federal grant.
The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program is the usual federal route, and training is an eligible cost. Cost sharing across two or three departments is frequently the simpler answer, since it also fills the course and gets neighboring crews training together before they have to work together on a real incident.
We can provide a written course outline, curriculum mapping and a quote in a form suitable for a grant application or a purchase order. Ask and we will put it together.
Instructor
Courses are delivered by Tren Long, an Instructor Trainer for Rescue 3 International and Sierra Rescue, certified to train and assess the instructors who teach these courses, and a 2019 recipient of the Higgins & Langley Memorial Award. He has trained metropolitan fire departments, search and rescue teams, special forces units, commercial outfitters and raft guides across four continents.
Agencies recently trained
Municipal and rural fire departments across Idaho and Oregon, mountain-resort fire districts, a county sheriff’s office, federal land management agencies and military rescue units, delivered both at our Payette River site and on agencies’ own water.
What agency students say
This was one of the best training courses I have experienced in my career.
Bradley W., metropolitan fire department, June 2026
Outstanding instruction in an unparalleled location with exceptional access to the necessary gear. Recommended without reservation.
Kristian F., metropolitan fire department, June 2026
I appreciate that Tren adapted the course toward the needs of the first responders while still pointing out important points to recreational and professional boaters.
SRT-1 student, May 2026
Scheduling
United States courses run April through September. October through March is the Australian season; off-season delivery can often be arranged for agency contracts.
Request training for your team
Send us your agency, your water and a rough timeframe. We will come back to you with dates, ratios and what we need from you as the host.