SurvivER-Pod, SES’s new revolutionary emergency water rescue platform was launched at the 2017 Emergency Services Show. This auto-inflating life-saving survival platform offers an alternative to traditional life preservers and liferafts for man-overboard rescue, enabling a survivor to quickly and effectively retrieve themselves from water emersion without unnecessary exertion and reducing the chance of hypothermia.
The compact & lightweight design of the survival platform could revolutionise rescue methods across the world since it is rapidly deployable by drone by a first responder increasing the chances for a successful outcome of a rescue mission.
This 1-person survival platform manufactured by Survival Equipment Services at their UK facility in Tetbury, can equally be easily delivered and aimed to a person in distress from an integrated tethering line or deployed by a drone by a first responder to an emergency situation. On water contact, the SuvivER-Pod auto-inflates from two CO2 cylinders to produce a secure and buoyant platform with minimal free board, similar to that of a Lilly pad aligning to the water’s surface. This in turn, eases a survivor’s exit from water even if exhausted and wearing waterlogged equipment.
Paul Trimble, Northern Ireland’s Unit Chief Pilot of Airborne Observation Charity SkyWatch (NI) has tested the SurvivER-Pod enabled by Search Systems drone technology and presented it at the Search & Rescue Expo in Northern Ireland. “Ideal for a first responder to accurately deploy a rescue platform, the SurvivER-Pod presented an ideal immediate rescue method from deep water. It was easily and effectively deployed in its valise by a team of volunteers by our Courier Module who quickly and effectively held on to the safety loops on the platform for safety. Equally one person could easily retrieve themselves onto the platform as a safe place of refuge. The weight & compact design of the SurvivER-Pod presents significant advancements in rescue methods from sea, lakes, frozen water or even marshy bogs and canals, he added”.
Director of SES Del Hall added, the SurvivER-Pad has been designed to be the first point of rescue for a survivor giving them vital recovery time on a safe and double-sided stable platform whilst utilised effectively alongside conventional rescue operations in both maritime and air applications. The outer skirt sticks to the waters’ surface reducing the efforts of the survivor making it an ideal emergency rescue platform. The high visible colour scheme of the SurvivER-Pod assists potential rescuers in locating survivors with additional options of SOLAS approved illumination and location beacons offering life saving support.
