Safety and Rescue course at Silfra
A practice to bring the safety supplies to the ascent at Silfra.
Guðmundur Hafsteinsson
Today, a safety exercise was held at Silfra. Höskuldur Friðriksson, a paramedic from the Healthcare Institution of South Iceland (HSU) located at Þingvellir, held the course for the staff of Þingvellir national park.
The course covered what supplies he and the national park has available, how to get a person in need out of Silfra and how to use mechanism like defibrillator.
Before the staff held outside they used some time to look at the equipment indoor.
Guðmundur Hafsteinsson
Diving and snorkeling has been a popular activity here at Þingvelir. Visitors come to enjoy the unique nature, the clarity of the water and the adventure that comes with snorkeling in the cold water
In recent years, the national park at Þingvellir has had a contract with HSU to have a paramedic located at Þingvellir. Is it part of increasing the national park´s visitors safety.
Although it is usually safe to dive and snorkle in Silfra with a good guide, the activity is not entirely without danger.
The exercise is an important part of increasing the capacity of the national park staff to deal with accidents when they occur.
Jukka Siltanen ranger at Þingvellir is an experienced diver and took on the role of the one who needs to be rescued. Höskuldur, the paramedic, is all prepared to deal with the cold weather.
Guðmundur Hafsteinsson
The water in Silfra is around 3-4 degrees on Celsius. However, it was a little warmer than the surface temperature, which was well below freezing.
Guðmundur Hafsteinsson
Todays exercise was first held at a similar time last year. It will then be repeated for the next shift so that all staff have similar training. Then, as usual, a first aid course will be held in May.
There are a lot of things to consider when visitor arrivals are somewhere around 1.5 million per year. First aid courses, safety drills and getting familiar with available equipment are all part of ensuring the safety of guests as much as possible.
First aid practiced under harsh condition.
Jukka Siltanen
Several things were trained in the course like how to handle oxygen masks.