Getting started

Here you'll find step-by-step instructions and guidance for preparing your staff to collect and submit water incident data to WIRA.

• What kind of incidents will be reported?
• Getting ready to collect incident data and report incidents to WIRA
• What to do when incidents occur
• When and where to submit Water Incident Report Forms
• Instructions for completing the Water Incident Report Form
• How and when to submit an evaluation form
• What to do if you have questions

In collecting data for WIRA, your organization is asked to complete the Water Incident Report Form for each water-related incident involving a significant injury that occurs in your jurisdiction. For WIRA's purposes, a water-related incident is one that occurs in, on or near water. A significant injury is one that requires medical attention beyond first aid by front-line staff or bystanders (i.e., requiring doctor or dentist follow-up, requiring emergency room follow-up, requiring activation of EMS, ambulance, fire or police services follow-up, and all water-related deaths).

WIRA's priority is to collect complete data on water incidents involving minor or major injuries or fatalities. WIRA will also collect data on incidents that don't involve injury but do involve rescues since some jurisdictions have found this additional data helpful.

When reporting rescues for WIRA, include only in-water rescues. An in-water rescue is an attempt to rescue a potentially survivable victim in which the rescuer(s) entered into or onto the water to make the rescue. Rescues where the rescuer neither entered the water (e.g., talk, throw, reach) nor onto the water (did not go on ice or in a boat) would not be included. Nor would WIRA include search operations for victims already presumed drowned, unless there was also an attempt to rescue the victim while they were still presumed to be alive.

WIRA encourages you to submit these rescue reports in addition to those involving significant injury, but this is optional. If you choose to do so, please complete a form for each incident in which a rescuer had to enter the water or go onto the water or ice.

To collect WIRA data in your organization, follow these steps:

1. Decide if you are going to collect data only for incidents involving significant injuries, and/or also for in-water rescues.
2. Print a master copy of the Water Incident Report Form in Microsoft Word format or Adobe Acrobat PDF format. On this master copy, fill out any information that will be the same for all incidents within your jurisdiction, before photocopying and distributing the Form. For example, the Agency (name of organization), postal code and phone number.
3. Print the page of instructions on how to complete and submit the form. Add the name and contact information of your organization's central point person for WIRA data collection. Make sure you include correct contact information for the WIRA office.
4. Photocopy the Form and the instructions and distribute these to all supervisors and front-line staff who will be responsible for completing incident reports.

You or your front-line staff person should fill in a Water Incident Report Form as each incident occurs and as soon as possible after the incident occurs, and send it to WIRA. As soon as possible is defined as either the same day or within a day or two of the actual incident. Part of the value of the WIRA data and reporting system is its timeliness. Members want to know quickly what incidents and injuries are happening. WIRA is committed to updating its consolidated data published to members on a weekly basis. The value of such frequent updating of current information depends on incident reports coming in quickly from data collectors.

WIRA found in pilot testing that the Water Incident Report Form can be completed very quickly--usually in 2 to 5 minutes, unless it is a complicated incident. If data collectors fill out and send in the form as each incident occurs, it is a quick task. If data collectors allow multiple incidents to pile up, and then process them as a batch (i.e., filling out a number of Incident Report Forms all at once), not only is the data less timely when WIRA receives it, but the task requires a bigger block of time and becomes much more burdensome for data collectors.

If you complete incident reports within your own organization, complete the Water Incident Report Form as well. Your organization may need a separate report, but all incidents must be reported to WIRA using the simple one-page WIRA Form so we can consolidate the data from different jurisdictions.

You should complete and send Water Incident Report Forms to WIRA as incidents occur. Please fax them to us at (705) 735-0644 or to our toll free fax number (1-866-221-5553). Secondarily, you can mail them to us at 80 Bradford Street, Suite 325, Barrie, ON L4N 6S7.

After your first six months of collecting and submitting data, please complete and send us your feedback on this evaluation form. Before filling it out, please get input from all staff members of your organization who have been involved in completing the Water Incident Report Form. Send WIRA one completed evaluation form from your organization either as an attachment via e-mail or you can print and send it by fax to (705) 735-0644 or to fax toll number (1-866-221-5553) or mail the completed form to 80 Bradford Street, Suite 325, Barrie, ON L4N 6S7.

If any data collectors have questions about WIRA or filling out the Water Incident Report Form, or how to report a particular incident, please have them contact the central point person for WIRA data collection in your organization. If you need further assistance, please contact WIRA by e-mail or by PHONE at (705) 735-0544 or toll free at 1-866-735-WIRA (9472).