Water Rescue Hero Squad

These wannabe heroes are working together

to perform daring rescues...

..over the toughest terrain....

..experiencing the highs...

..and the lows.

There's a new emergency crew in town.

I'm Rav Wilding, and this is Hero Squad.

Six ordinary school kids.

Their mission?

To learn how to save lives.

But do they have what it takes to become real life heroes?

Last time on Hero Squad,

the cadets tackled some of the toughest terrain in Wales,

when they became master mountain rescuers.

An injured climber needed urgent medical assistance...

and to be lowered to the ground on a stretcher.

A rock-solid performance from the start

saw Maria abseil her way to victory.

This time, the cadets must transform themselves

into a fire service water rescue team,

saving not one, but two Hero Squad casualties from drowning.

It's the start of training

and the cadets are enjoying an early morning swim.

They have no idea what's in store.

Morning, cadets!

ALL: Morning!

-Having fun?

-ALL: Yeah!

-Who wants this?

-ALL: Me!

They may be having fun now, but something tells me

that the hard work is about to begin.

WHISTLE BLOWS

Cadets, the time for messing around is over.

My name's Ian Pritchard and I'm going to be your mentor,

and I'm going to be teaching you all about water rescue.

Mentor Ian has been with the fire service for 14 years

and is responsible for training

all West Midlands fire fighters in water rescue.

The fire service can be called out to rescue people from lakes, rivers

and floods, and it's Ian who makes sure they know just what to do.

Working in water rescue, you need to be quick on your feet.

Somebody could be in danger, so I'm not going to stand for any nonsense.

'This training is going to be intense.

'Play time is definitely over.'

Cadets, have a look at Ian. Recognise anything on his belt?

-Josh?

-There's a bag of rope on his right-hand side.

-We saw it in our Hero Squad bags.

-Right.

'Well remembered, Josh.'

All the cadets were given a rucksack of Hero Squad clues

when they first signed up.

I've just figured I've got to put it all back.

I'm guessing these have got to do with swimming.

Who's going to tell me what the rope's for? Kyra?

It's for saving people when they're either in a pool or out in the sea.

Very good, Kyra.

This rope is a lifeline

and will prove vital in their water rescue training.

But, before they can get stuck in, the cadets must wear the same

specialist kit that fire fighters wear on water rescue.

It's called personal protective equipment, or PPE.

They don't know it yet, but without this,

the cadets could be in danger of becoming casualties themselves.

Over your shoulder, arms in and then get your head through the gap.

'The dry suit is fully sealed around the neck and wrists so that

'no water can get in, but this means it has to be tight...really tight!

'Like squeezing your neck into a rubber band.

'Because the dry suits are fully sealed,

'air can get trapped inside them,

'and there's a very hi tech method that is used for sorting it out.'

Technical term is called burping your suit.

'You heard it...burping!'

We have to put our fingers into our neck seal...

Two fingers.

We're going to bend down and squeeze as much air out as we can.

So, stay down. Stay down on your knees.

RAV LAUGHS

And stand up.

-Is that better?

-Eugh!

Look at what's happened now!

'If they thought it was tight before,

'they're going to feel like they're in a pressure cooker now.'

I feel like my head's going to explode.

'But one cadet's feeling it more than the rest.'

The heat and restriction of the dry suit is too much for cadet Kyra.

She's panicked and has been taken to one side by the paramedic.

'I think the dry suit made me feel uncomfortable,

'cos around the neck area, it was so tight, I couldn't breathe,

'and it made me feel a bit sick and dizzy as well.

'Generally, not good at all.'

That's it, in we get.

'While Kyra recovers, Ian wants to test the cadets.'

Three, two, one...

Go!

'He wants to see them swim a full length of the pool

'wearing all that kit.'

-So different to anything they've ever done before.

-Definitely, yeah.

'Swimming in this kit is going to be a challenge.

'The personal flotation device, or PFD,

'makes it difficult to swim, but will stop them from drowning.

'This will be put to the test tomorrow

'when one of the cadets will have to brave the freezing cold water

'in that restrictive kit

'and pull a Hero Squad casualty out to safety.'

'It's Josh who's flying through the water.'

-Excellent. Well done.

-Well done, cadets.

'The cadets have finished their swim, but there's no time for them

'to catch their breath.'

Let's go.

Soaking wet, mentor Ian whisks them off to their next mystery

training location, but where will it be?

-It could be a river.

-It could be a sea.

-Or a dam.

-It could be puddle rescue.

# I will never say never! #

As Maria belts out some Bieber, Kyra is starting to feel better.

# Huh! Never say never! #

SHE SNORTS

They won't be laughing for much longer.

This is Bartley Reservoir.

Its water is below 10 degrees - and THAT is cold.

It's dirty and it's miserable.

What do you think about that?

'This is exactly the kind of place water rescue teams

'could get called out to.

'First up, they must know the hierarchy of rescue.'

Talk, reach, throw, row and go.

'Got that, cadets?'

So our five elements, cadets? What are they?

ALL: Talk, reach, throw... Go? Row?

Let's try again!

RAV LAUGHS

'Come on, cadets!

'I can see we're going to have to give you a demonstration.

'Getting into the water to rescue a casualty is always the last thing a

'water rescue team should do,

'because it's putting themselves in danger.'

Can you swim towards me? You can't swim?

OK. Just stay there.

'If they don't respond to talk, move on to reach.'

OK, keep your head above the water, keep looking at me.

Put your hands on the side. Great stuff.

'If talking and reaching fail,

'they move up the hierarchy to throw rescue.

'For this, Ian is going to need the cadets to get into that water.

'And with a temperature only a few degrees above freezing,

'it's like getting into an ice bath.

'Sam, Lily and Josh bravely volunteer.

'It's no surprise that Sam's so keen to get stuck in.

He should be a dab hand at this.

Back home in Somerset,

Sam actually attends life saving classes in his local swimming pool.

I really like life-saving because you are learning to help other people

and you're learning how to save yourself

if you're in one of those situations.

Sam may be a pro in the pool...

..but how will he cope in this extreme environment?

-How's the suit?

-Amazing!

-Yeah, that's it!

It's freezing in that water! 'I'm glad it's not me in there.

'Even with the specialist kit on, it's dangerously cold.'

OK, let's throw the lines over.

It may be cold, but Kyra's throw is bang on target.

She's the only cadet who has

managed to get the line straight to her casualty, Sam.

Well done, Kyra. An accurate throw is vitally important.

The longer a casualty is waiting in the water,

the more they are at risk.

The cadets have been in the cold water for nearly two minutes now

and are approaching the time limit that Ian has set.

Even though only Kyra has managed

to successfully throw rescue her casualty,

he decides to stop training

so the cadets' body temperatures can be checked.

When I got out of the water, I was almost crying

because my hands were so cold, they were like, throbbing with pain.

It was really, really cold and as soon as my hands went in,

I became like an ice man.

It got colder and colder and our hands started to ache and throb

so we were just really happy to get inside and get warmed up.

Keeping a close eye on our cadets is paramedic Amanda.

As with adult firefighters during water rescue training,

she is monitoring our cadets to make sure they don't get hypothermia.

This is where normal body temperature of 37 degrees drops

to below 35 degrees and can quickly become life-threatening.

This has really brought home to the cadets the danger of cold water.

It just proves how real this is.

If someone was to fall in the water, even for a very short time, it shows

how quickly you have to move to get them in the warm and treat them.

Yeah, absolutely,

because the cadets have got all the right equipment,

they've got the right PPE,

but for somebody who was just in normal clothes,

taking the dog for a walk in their jeans and they fall in,

they get cold exceptionally quickly

and, yes, we do need to move exceptionally fast.

After plenty of hot drinks and snacks,

it's not long before the cadets are back to normal.

They've warmed up and now even Kyra is enjoying her dry suit.

I'm as buff as Rav.

Not quite, Josh!

Now it's time for the next step in the hierarchy - row.

There's no paddles on these.

Instead, the cadets have got a 30 horsepower outboard engine,

which they're going to have to control.

Twist it towards you.

-Whoa!

-There you go.

Maria's off to a shaky start.

-Where's the seat belt?!

-There's no seat belts.

The thing you can do is say, "powering up",

so the guys at the front know that you're going to be moving off.

Powering up!

The cadets have been split into two groups

for an exercise in boat handling.

Gently! Gently!

They're going to need a strong command of the boat

for tomorrow's rescue,

where they'll have to quickly and carefully

get right alongside a casualty

in order to pull them out to safety.

Turning left!

-Slow down.

-Slowing down!

-That's it, nice and gently.

Communication is key.

Everyone on the boat must know exactly what the driver is doing.

Being caught off-guard could end in disaster.

Oh, Cheers, Josh! Look what he's done! I'm soaked!

Come on, give it some welly.

'Despite me getting wet, the boys are doing well.'

Weighing 120kg and with a top speed of ten knots,

these boats can be hard to handle.

Kyra's doing brilliantly.

Brilliant, wicked, awesome! Now we go straight.

Whoo!

Well done. You're a natural, I think. You did really well.

We've seen that the cadets can drive at speed,

but now it's time to give them their just deserts.

-Wibble wobble, wibble wobble, jelly on a plate.

-With cream, of course!

This jelly needs to stay on the plate.

The cadets must keep both boats steady, at exactly the same speed

and pass the jelly from one boat to the other.

Sam, you need to get closer.

It's a precise manoeuvre

and will really test their control over the boat.

# Jelly on a plate... #

ALL TALK AT ONCE

First up, Lily passes to Kyra.

My little beauty!

Myles is driving, but has a wobble

and his lack of concentration puts the jelly at risk.

Good job it's not on a casualty, Myles!

Next, Kyra to Josh.

-Are we going to get it?

-Turn in a bit, that's it.

-Pass it.

-Don't drop it!

-That's it!

-THEY CHEER

With the jelly still intact, the cadets have proved

their boat-handling skills and avoided a sticky end to the day.

THEY CHEER

Training's over and it's been a tough one for our six cadets.

They've learned the hierarchy of rescue,

experienced first-hand the dangers of cold water

and demonstrated some first-class boat driving.

The transformation from cadets

to water rescue team is almost complete.

Fancy taking part in a daring rescue at the touch of a button?

Head to the CBBC website and play the Hero Squad game.

All that's left is for me and Ian to choose a squad leader.

We've seen some good things from every single one of you, actually.

We'll start with you, Kyra, you're one of them.

It was a tricky start for Kyra, but she picked herself up,

did an excellent rope throw

and showed real talent for boat handling.

Another person we thought did very well today was yourself, Josh.

Josh was the fastest in the pool

and bravely volunteered to go in the cold water for throw training.

Another person that we thought did some good work today

was yourself, Sam.

Excellent boat driving from Sam and, again,

fearlessly entered the freezing cold water.

But there can only be one squad leader.

The person we think should be squad leader for tomorrow will be...

..Kyra. Well done.

Well done, Kyra.

So, Kyra, this is for you.

It feels really good to be squad leader

because it's a great achievement from this morning,

like really struggling with the dry suit,

so I think it's been a really big achievement.

Kyra's going to have to lead the team in a difficult rescue

tomorrow as the cadets save not one, but two Hero Squad casualties.

To succeed, they will need to remember

the all-important hierarchy of rescue.

The hierarchy of rescue is...

Oh, no.

Is there six or five?

A clue?

Talk, reach, throw, row, go.

I hope the other cadets have remembered it as well as I have,

because it's one of the main things of the rescue

that we're going to be doing tomorrow.

It's early morning at the Fire Service Training Academy.

This is going to be a big day for the cadets.

They have no idea that they will soon be facing

one of the toughest rescues yet.

Morning, cadets.

Sam's been prepping them.

They know the hierarchy of rescue and they are ready for action.

You are my water rescue crew for today.

You are on call. Kyra, here's a pager.

Thank you.

If you get a call, you'll have to go out

on that pager, all right?

And they're going to need that pager sooner than they think.

12 miles away, two teenagers are messing around

near the cold water of Swan Pool.

They spot a canoe and despite the signs,

they break the rules and try to swim out to it.

But the water is cold, and very quickly, they start to struggle.

Luckily, they've been spotted by a passer-by

-who calls for help.

-Hello.

PAGER BEEPS

-Water rescue, Swan Pool.

-Awesome, everybody ready?

-ALL:

-Yes.

-We know what we're doing?

-ALL:

-Yes.

SIRENS WAIL

The cadets have no idea what incident will be waiting for them.

The pressure is on.

Squad leader Kyra needs to find out exactly what's happened.

-There's two people in the water. They really need help.

-OK.

One's in the water, one's near the boat.

Can one of you stay with the lady while I go

and tell the others what's going on?

One of the casualties is far out on the lake, clinging onto the canoe.

The other casualty is nearer the shore,

but with nothing to hold on to.

She's desperate for help, they're in danger of hypothermia

and the cadets need to make some quick decisions.

There's one.

You two go...

But with everyone talking at once, it's unclear who is leading who.

And squad leader Kyra has no control over the situation.

They've been in there for ages.

Fortunately, Josh has stayed to get more vital information

from the first informant.

It's clear, what they need to do is get a boat out for one casualty,

and get someone over to the bank to try and rescue the other.

Come on then, we need to get going.

-Is there somewhere we can get closer to them, so we can talk to them?

-No.

-Good idea, Myles.

-Good, Myles, talk.

First thing in the hierarchy of rescue.

We need them to go and talk to the casualty,

and we need to get a boat out to go and get the casualty

who's clinging to the other boat. Get the boat out.

Good decision-making, Kyra.

I will go with you guys.

You need to stay there.

While Maria, Sam and Lily head down the bank to get the girl...

That's it, a bit more.

Myles and Josh get ready to rescue the second casualty.

The girl is struggling to keep her head above water,

she's freezing cold and time is ticking.

Are you all right?

Remember, getting into the water and putting themselves in danger

is the last thing the cadets should do.

Do you think you can swim?

I can't swim any more, I'm too tired.

Well done, Lily. She's tried stage one, talk.

It doesn't work and with the casualty too far out to reach,

so they move on to throw.

OK, who's throwing?

OK, Lily.

The casualty is resting on Lily's throw.

This is something she should be good at.

I am captain of my under-14 squad

and I play centre court which is centre, wing attack and wing defence.

But sometimes my coach chucks me in at the deep end, and I have to shoot.

Lily's throw is strong, but it's just not far enough.

Closer, that was better.

The cadets' last resort now is to swim.

I'm going to have to swim out.

And it's Sam who bravely steps up to the challenge.

This is your last resort now. Sam, good luck.

Wait, Sam, wait.

This is no mean feat as the cadets know only too well.

In training they really suffered in the cold water

and had to be evacuated to stop them becoming dangerously cold.

Jumping in now will take a lot of courage.

For the casualty, Sam is her last hope.

Although it looks sunny, the water is freezing cold.

It is an impressive swim from 12-year-old Sam.

Go, Sam, good job.

It's taking all Lily's strength to pull them both back.

This is great teamwork from the cadets.

The casualty is finally out of the water.

-Do you have any injuries?

-I'm really cold.

But her temperature has dropped dramatically

and it's up to Maria to get her quickly warmed up.

The cadets have saved one casualty, but there's no time to rest.

There's still the other casualty clinging on to the canoe.

Me, Josh and Myles are going to be out on the boat.

-But Josh is doing first aid.

-Yes, Josh is first aid on the boat.

Time's running out and Kyra is still confused.

You, Lily, me and Myles are in the boat.

You'll be doing first aid, making sure...

Lily has already fulfilled her role,

but Kyra still chooses her to be part of the boat team.

It should really be Josh going out on the boat.

And what's more, she's chosen Myles to drive.

Kyra was the best boat driver yesterday

and should really be on the controls now.

This could be a bad decision by squad leader Kyra.

The casualty's on the other side of that red boat, Myles.

Myles is nervous.

He's not confident driving the boat

and is taking too long to get to the casualty.

The casualty is freezing

and he's relying on the cadets to get him out.

Hello?

Myles must remember the precision and accuracy of the jelly transfer.

Too far away and they will not be able to reach the casualty,

too close, and he'll be hit by the boat.

There's more than a wobbly dessert at stake this time.

At last, the second casualty is out of the water.

All that's left is for Myles to hit that throttle

and get them back to shore.

They've done it.

Both casualties are safe on dry land,

but the rescue wasn't all plain sailing.

'I think the wrong decision was made on who to put on the boat.'

Me and Josh thought he should have gone on the boat

to help the other casualty.

Obviously, Kyra was squad leader and she decided against that.

I think maybe I could have been a bit quicker getting away,

we had a bit of confusion about who was doing what.

Everyone decided they wanted to do something different.

But in the end, we worked together as a team

and got both casualties out as soon as possible.

Having done the rescue, I just feel really happy

because I've saved someone and I had quite a big part in it

and it feels really good.

I never thought children of that age

could step into my role and do my job.

Each cadet, I would happily say

I would work alongside them any day of the week.

It was touch and go, but these 12- and 13-year-olds

have succeeded and have transformed themselves into

a Fire Service Water Rescue team.

Now, an important decision needs to be made.

Who will be hero of the day?

So, Ian and myself thought there was

some really good work from all of you.

Lily, you're very brave over the last two days.

We saw that you volunteered to go into the water yesterday

and be rescued in extremely cold and tough conditions.

We also thought that you did very well, Sam.

We saw a very, very brave swim today.

The other person we thought did very well was you, Josh.

You were very keen to ask questions of the first informant,

-that's one thing we noticed that you were doing.

-Thank you.

So Ian and myself have decided that the hero of the day is...

..Sam.

APPLAUSE

'Sam has been a true hero during this rescue.'

He's kept a cool head, remembered his training and shown bravery

and fearlessness in swimming out to rescue the casualty.

It feels really good that Rav and Ian chose me as hero of the day

cos all of the other cadets did really well as well

and it feels really good to be the cadet

that pushed that little bit harder.

Sam was an excellent swimmer, he was really quick and really brave.

He didn't complain at all.

He went in there, rescued the casualty, got her out.

Hero of the day Sam's reward is to use the firefighter's hose

on the rest of the Hero Squad cadets.

Next time, the cadets take to the seas with the RNLI

on a rescue that can only work if they pull together.

I'm coming towards you, OK?

Can they put team clashes aside?

Find out on Hero Squad.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd