Be prepared to save yourself while operating in the worst conditions

Rugged Trauma Kits Built for Swiftwater Rescue

Punctures, lacerations, and fractures are the most prevalent rescuer injuries sustained in remote, water-based natural disasters. If you’re operating out in the elements and you sustain a traumatic injury, who is coming for you? How far out are they? How much time do you have? 

With the Rescue Swimmer Trauma Kit, you can confidently press into the unknown to save others, knowing you have the necessities to save yourself or your crew in the event of traumatic injury. If you get seriously injured, whether you’re in the boat, in the water, or pulling a victim from a flooded structure, this kit will help get you back home alive.

The Rescue Swimmer Trauma Kit is:
  • Low Profile – the kit’s pouch connects directly to your class V PFD with MOLLE attachments and minimizes drag while swimming
  • Snag Resistant – patent pending design keeps the trauma pouch from getting hung up on debris in the water while swimming and won’t snag on the rescue boat gunwale/sponsons while climbing aboard from the water on your chest and abdomen
  • Waterproof – trauma supplies are industrially vacuum sealed which ensures the kit components remain dry and ready for use, even while swimmer is operating in the water and in foul weather
  • Durable Construction – made in the USA from rugged 1000D Cordura and 1500 lbs. test webbing. Materials are compliant with the Berry Amendment (USC, Title  10, Section 2533a) for U.S. Government contracting.
  • Purpose Built for Water Rescue – designed and built out of necessity by water rescuers for water rescuers
  • Tested and Proven on Real Rescue Deployments – this kit has been tested by swiftwater rescuers operating in hurricanes Beryl and Helene and the devastating flood in Kerrville, TX. This kit withstood the punishment of water, wilderness, and urban disaster environments

Specifically designed for the unique needs of flood and swiftwater rescue swimmers

We designed this kit out of necessity.

A few years back during hurricane rescue operations along the Texas Gulf Coast, a teammate of ours was responding to reports of a child trapped in an overturned and flooded RV. Hurricane winds were still blowing in excess of 85 mph and the area was difficult to access due to heavy wind damage and wide area flooding. The only way to reach the victim was by specialized airboat and to deploy a rescue swimmer in the water. While attempting to force entry, our rescue swimmer sustained a laceration to his wrist which resulted in a severe arterial bleed. 

Long story short, he found himself inside a flooded RV during a hurricane with a severe arterial bleed, away from the airboat, and much further away from EMS staging…all without access to basic trauma supplies. He survived the incident, but it was a close call.

Upon returning from that deployment, we went to work to find a solution so that none of our teammates find themselves in that situation again. However, to our surprise, no-one made a trauma kit for rescue swimmers that was waterproof, snag resistant, and low profile to enable efficient swimming in swiftwater. Not only that, the problem was more significant than we thought. Our research led us to numerous cases of traumatic injuries sustained by rescuers in flood and swiftwater environments, with punctures, lacerations and fracture to the head, hands, feet, arms, legs, eyes, chest, and abdomen being the most threatening and prevalent. 

So, we designed, built, and rigorously tested our own pouch and kit. Boat crew on our team are now required to have a Rescue Swimmer Trauma Kit on their PFD at all times during deployment.

Proudly made in the U.S.A., we are now excited to make this kit available to responders that put themselves in harm’s way, so others may live. 

Rescue Swimmer Trauma Kit contents:

The kit currently utilizes the essential high quality components of the U.S. Coast Guard IFAK Re-supply Kit by North American Rescue. Industrially vacuum sealed packaging ensures contents remain waterproof in the nastiest of flood and swiftwater conditions. Kit components include:

  • 1x North American Rescue C-A-T Tourniquet
  • 1x EDT 6″ Dressing
  • 1x S-Rolled Gauze
  • 1x Z-fold Combat Gauze
  • 2x Pre-lubed North American Rescue Nasopharyngeal Airways – 28F
  • 2x Petrolatum Gauze
  • 1x HyFin Individual Chest Seal – Occlusive Dressing
  • 2x Pair LG Black Talon Nitrile Gloves
  • 1x PES Eye Shield
  • 1x Roll of 2″ Gecko-Grip Tape

Front of the Rescue Swimmer Trauma Kit’s pouch comes with a 2″x 3″ velcro loop patch for applying velcro hook-backed patches of your choosing (medical patch, team patch, mission/deployment patch, etc.).