Wulfruna Land & Water Lifesavers

Wulfruna Land & Water Lifesavers is a multi-faceted voluntary community resilience organisation, and registered charity (1188565), based in Wolverhampton.

Wulfruna Lifesavers was formed on 11th June 2019, by a group of like-minded individuals seeking to provide an Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPRR) service for the Citizens of Wolverhampton.

The structure used for Wulfruna Lifesavers is based on that of the UK’s former Civil Defence Service and Corps and that of Northern Ireland’s Community Rescue Service.

Wulfruna Lifesavers has been set-up to operate sections under the structure outlined below:

Lifesaving Section

Affiliated to The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), split as follows:

Rookie Lifeguard - Lifesaving and First Aid training for 8 – 12 years olds
National Lifesaving Academy – Lifesaving, First Aid and Rescue training for individuals aged 12+
Lifesaving Sport – offering individuals to maintain their lifesaving skills, as well as providing the opportunity to compete in regional and national lifesaving competitions

Ambulance Section

Providing first aid and first response cover:

Community First Responders (CFR) – volunteering for WMASUNHSFT to respond to everyday 999/112 calls in and around Wolverhampton
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) - in the event of a major emergency provide extra resources to the emergency services, also provides first aid/first response cover for events within the community

Rescue Section

To provide search and rescue/recovery services for missing persons/items in a wide range of scenarios. Our volunteers are trained to provide a range of capabilities in Terrestrial (Land), and Water Search and Rescue:

Terrestrial (Land) Search and Rescue – providing assistance to the emergency services with inland/lowland missing persons searches
Water Rescue (DEFRA Team Type D) – providing flood and water first response aligned to the DEFRA flood rescue concept of operations, supporting the emergency services
Open Water Lifeguards (RLSS affiliated) – providing cover at open water swimming and triathlon events or any events where members of the public may be exposed to open water
Canoe Lifeguards and Paddlecraft Search Technicians – providing on-water search and rescue capabilities utilising paddlecraft

Warden Section

responsible for local reconnaissance and reporting, and leadership, organisation, guidance and control of the public

Communication unit – provides communications for the team; UHF, VHF, Marine radio and TETRA radio capabilities
Security unit – provide stewarding/crowd-control on scene at emergency situations

Wolverhampton Prepared (Welfare Section)

Wolverhampton Prepared, is a network of Community Emergency Volunteers (CEVs) spread across the City of Wolverhampton, ready to help and provide assistance to the City of Wolverhampton Council, and the Emergency services in times of emergency.

Providing care, comfort, shelter and catering services to members of the community during major emergencies, by equipping volunteers with the knowledge and confidence to prepare for, respond to and recover from a range of emergencies, such as: Flooding, Snow, Storms, Public Health, and Other emergencies.

Emergency Catering Unit – provides food to team members on operational duty and those members of the community rendered homeless and/or deprived of normal facilities
Companions Unit – provides shelter/accommodation and registration of those rendered homeless and/or deprived of normal facilities, as well as providing practical and emotional support to individuals.

Wolverhampton Save a Life

This is our community outreach programme, run in partnership with the City of Wolverhampton Council.

The programme offers basic life support and water safety awareness training to citizens of Wolverhampton, utilising the following programmes:

RLSS UK Save a Life Series
RLSS UK Life Support 3 with First Aid Element
RLSS UK Water Smart Award
RLSS Water Rescue Equipment Training

Our volunteers undergo nationally recognised training and receive continual ongoing training to undertake the various roles within the team. Below is a list of some of the organisations that provide our training:

British Canoeing, and British Canoeing Lifeguards
Communities Prepared
JESIP
RLSS UK
UKLSI
WMASUNHSFT

Wulfruna Lifesavers have working relationships with the City of Wolverhampton Council, The Royal Lifesaving Society UK, (RLSS UK), West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust (WMASUNHSFT), West Midlands Police (WMP), and WV Active.

Wulfruna Lifesavers are very proud to be amongst a

handful of UK organisations to be able to wear and

display the Emblem of Civil Defence, with permission

being granted from the International

Civil Defence Organisation

(ICDO).

Members of Wulfruna Lifesavers have been serving organisations like the RLSS UK, and WMASUNHSFT for over 20 years, and 15 years respectively, with others having also reached 5 and 10 years’ service.

Wulfruna seeks to gain further operational capabilities by putting more of its volunteers through DEFRA Module 2: Water & Flood First Responder training, to create a Type D Team – Water & Flood Rescue Responder Team and become a declared asset for Water & Flood Response for West Midlands Fire Service (WMFS).

As a charity we survive solely on the time given by our dedicated volunteers, and the donations received from fundraising efforts to cover our running costs.

We are always keen to hear from people wishing to give up some time to volunteer with us, in whatever capacity they can offer, and always open to donations.

For further information please visit our website www.wulfrunalifesavers.weebly.com or drop us an email wulfrunalifesavers@gmail.com.

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