The suicide prevention work undertaken by Howth Coast Guard has been featured in the Emergency Services Ireland magazine.
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All photography taken by volunteer unit members.
Enquiries to pressofficer@howthcoastguard.com
Howth Coast Guard were tasked tonight at 18.29 to a report of a person falling into the water in Howth harbour. The team assembled quickly and went to the scene. Howth ILB along with the crew from a trawler had recovered the casualty to the pier and the lifeboat crew then gave first aid as he had suffered a blow to the head on entering and was unconscious for a short time.
Howth Coast Guard volunteers stood by to assist and the casualty was removed to hospital by ambulance. The team stood down at 19.10.
Incident 01/10
The team did its first Foot Patrol of the New Year on an icy Sunday afternoon around the Howth Cliffs. Care is needed on the main Howth Head cliff path at the moment due to the recent icy conditions and appropriate foot wear and walking sticks are recommended. The side paths down to the waters edge used by fishermen should be best avoided due to the ice and loose ground.
While on Foot Patrol around Howth Head Cliffs the team came across a tourist who was unable to get back to the main path at Balscadden Car Park. While walking she had descended off the path to the cliffs below and had difficulity getting back. Two members of team got to her position and escorted her safely back to the car park.
The Howth Coast Guard Volunteers have started a Work Placement Program with the Beaumont Hospital Accident & Emergency department. During the twelve hour shift two members will observe and work under the guidance of the A&E staff. The program’s aim is to improve Casualty Handling Skills and get hands on experience within a busy A&E unit to complement their existing first aid training.
Beaumont is one of 5 A&E hospitals in Dublin. There are 3,500 staff and 820 beds in the hospital. As the National Referral centre for Neurosurgery and Neurology the A&E sees patients admitted from around Ireland with Head Injuries. The Coast Guard Team will work in all the areas of the A&E ward from dealing with the handover from the Ambulance Crews to patient assessment in Triage to the Trauma Room.
The program will be run every 6 months giving the team the opportunity to refresh skills. So far the feedback is very positive, the ability of getting first hand experience of working with up to 30 patients with a range of injuries over twelve hours is proving invaluable and this will allow the volunteers in Howth to give an improved service to the community when called upon. Thanks to all at Beaumont Hospital A&E for their assistance in getting this program set up.
Howth were tasked tonight at 23.02 to check reports of a flare sighting over the Sutton area. It had been reported by a member of the public and Dublin air traffic control. A unit from the team checked the North side of Sutton and Portmarnock strand. Nothing was found after the search of the area and the unit stood down at 23.35.
Incident 69/09
Volunteers from Howth Coast Guard were on hand today to assist at the Fat Turkey charity Hill Walk around Howth organised by Suttonians rugby club.
Today at midday, Howth Coast Guard responded to the upper cliff sections near Howth Summit, where a car and driver had sustained a heavy impact after leaving the path and sliding approx 100m steeply down-hill to the cliff edge. After locating the car the sole occupant was stabilised by paramedics and then removed from the vehicle by DFB and Coast Guard personnel onto a spine board while Fire Brigade vehicle cutting tools and Coast Guard high-angle rope access equipment was transported to the remote area by helicopter lifts and 4×4’s as a stand-by.
Once removed from the car on the cliff edge, the casualty was airlifted to Tallaght hospital by the Dublin-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter.
Thanks to the Dublin Fire Brigade, Howth Gardai, Garda Traffic Corps, the Dublin Coast Guard Helicopter crew, and local walkers who alerted the emergency services to the accident.
Incident 68/09
Today Sunday 20th December 2009 Santa visited the boys and girls in Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
“Santa was on a trial run for the big day over Dublin Bay when Dancer, one of his Reindeers, felt unwell. Santa had to make an emergency landing on Dollymount Beach. Luckily the Howth Coast Guard Cliff Rescue Team was on hand to help Santa out with the landing.
While the Reindeer was resting Santa decided he would like to visit the children in Temple Street Hospital. So Santa was taken by the Coast Guard into Temple Street. There Santa visited some of the children in the hospital and was joined by the Coast Guard in singing carols and handing out some early Christmas presents kindly wrapped and donated by the staff at Canada Life.
Santa then went back to Dollymount Beach where the local Vet had given all the Reindeers a check up. Thankfully they are now all ok and back and ready to take on the busy job of delivering presents to all the children around the world in a couple of days time.”
Santa, Howth Coast Guard Cliff Rescue Team and all at Temple Street Hospital wish everyone a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year!
The volunteers from Howth Coast Guard spent last weekend on their introductory training course for the new TAC 07 Coast Guard climbing system. It’s a new international standard cliff and heights rescue system developed in Ireland especially for the Coast Guard. It updates the present system using new climbing equipment and updated technologies.
24 volunteers started a long weekend on the cliffs on Friday at 18.00 and finished at 19.00 Sunday. The team were instructed by four master trainers from Work at Height and as part of the course each member had to go through an individual assessment which all volunteers passed. The team finished the weekend being able to perform a variety of rescues and scenarios on the cliffs of Howth.
Five members of the team will now go forward for further training to enable them to become instructors in the new system. Courses in cliff top safety and equipment inspection will also follow. This new training enhances the rescue capability and service given to the community by the volunteers in the Coast Guard.
Check out some more pictures of the weekend here
Hundreds of emergency and essential service workers will make their way to work over this holiday period. Staff of the Coast Guard working at the marine emergency coordination centres in Dublin, Malin Head and on Valentia Island will be ready to take calls. They will also listen out for distress calls on the global maritime distress safety system. They are there to help and to respond, to dispatch and coordinate the response to emergency calls when people get into difficulty.
Search and Rescue Units will be on-call and ready to respond throughout the entire holiday period; just as they are at all other times during the year. That’s 24 hours per day, seven days per week
Coast Guard volunteers are stationed at 55 locations on the coast and on inland waters. Along with Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Community Rescue Boats Ireland, volunteers will more than likely be called away from their families to assist persons in difficulty. Volunteers with Irish Cave and Mountain Rescue Units will similarly be on standby should they be needed. So too will the Coast Guard SAR helicopter crews at Dublin, Shannon, Sligo and Waterford Airports.
Christmas is a good time for us to reflect on the selfless dedication and courage of those working and available 24/7 in the rescue services. It is also a good time to think of your own responsibility when partaking in outdoor pursuits or activities and to ensure you have the proper training and ability.
It’s vital you are using equipment that is fit for purpose, have made careful plans, have checked the weather forecast and are following recommended procedure before venturing out. Whether it’s boating, fishing, hill walking, climbing, caving or some other activity. Please remember that it’s the winter. Days are very short, water and air temperatures are low, weather conditions can be bad and there may be ice and fog about. All these things, along with the capability to alert the rescue services if things go wrong, must be taken into account.
Advice from the Coast Guard for parents is to please keep a sharp eye on your children. Rivers are swollen with floodwater and never, ever, allow them to go out on ice that forms on water.
Remember, if you do see someone in difficulty at sea, on the cliffs or rivers or lakes of Ireland, dial 999 or 112 and ask for the COAST GUARD
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