The drowning chain is a series of conditions that on their own, or together can lead to a person being

drowned Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

. Each link in the chain can lead on to another link, or directly to a fatal or non-fatal drowning. The chain is used by

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features ...

s as a basis for targeting their activity at preventing, rather than reacting to, drowning or other incidents. The conditions that allow drowning to occur can be summarised by the 'drowning chain', in which each link can lead directly to an incident, or can lead on to the next link, and is shown below. It consists of people having a lack of education (e.g. about water safety or local conditions), a lack of safety advice (e.g. about

rip current A rip current, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a ''rip tide''), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with breaking waves. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away ...

s at a beach) a lack of protection (e.g. such as no flotation device for a weak swimmer), lack of safety supervision (e.g. from a family member or

) or an inability to cope (e.g. strong surf with a weak swimmer).

The drowning chain provides a clear basis for preventing drowning which includes: * education and information * provision of warnings * denial of access * supervision * training in

survival skills Survival skills are techniques that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and she ...

Some organisations use a variation on the above model which follows: # Ignorance, disregard or misjudgment of danger # Uninformed or unrestricted access to the hazard # Lack of supervision or surveillance # Inability to

cope The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

This alternate model follows the same key points, with slightly more emphasis on personal responsibility.

References

{{Lifesaving and Lifeguarding Rescue Surf lifesaving Emergency services