Water safety
John Rinfret who invented the Balcan Emergency Lifeline (BELL) in 1973, says that the time has come to decide who carries the responsibility for effective water rescues.
The BELL was designed to allow anyone to throw it with considerable accuracy to the best of their ability up to its full length of 40 metres.
Rinfret raises the moral question of “who has the right to decide to issue and use equipment that cannot achieve the simple rescues that could otherwise be achieved with the proven, much longer, reach of the BELL?”
He says: “I’m calling for rescue services across the country to think about their rescue kits and ask the question, ‘can I reach a casualty quickly, effectively and safety using my standard equipment?’ If the answer is no, maybe the time has come to change practices and look towards different apparatus to safeguard correct and proficient rescue procedures.”
