ISAR3

09/12/2025

Thank you to John and the team at G4H for the sample patches! John and I worked together in the early days of my involvement with ISAR3, when he literally lived on chain-drinking Red Bull. He has a great business in his specialist niche.

Check out G4H at https://g4hrescueclothing.com/

09/12/2025

Had a great evening presenting online at the MREW Rope Rescue National Webinar 2025. Big thanks to Chris Cookson for pulling it together

I spoke for an hour on how we learn and some of the biggest lessons I’ve taken from 40 years teaching technical rescue — lots of instructor stuff, how we shape sessions, and what actually helps people improve.

Also really enjoyed the other talks — especially the work from Becky, Simon and the Crag24 Team Project at Edale MRT (worth a look!), and Richard Newhouse from SARA sharing lessons from a training exercise that didn’t go quite to plan (super useful and refreshingly honest).

This feedback from one of the delegates honestly made my night:
“...one of the best CPD sessions I have ever seen... totally made me re-think my instructor style... I have pages of notes!”

Thanks again to everyone who joined. If you are a member of an MR or Lowland Search team, click the QR code below to register for discounts on training, FREE Workshops and the chance to apply for something special in 2026.

02/12/2025

Our Water Safety Training team is back on the road across the UK this week—just like every week—delivering multiple Rescue 3 Europe Accredited courses in Working Near Water and Working In Water.

With three purpose-built, fully equipped training vans and a team of eight experienced trainers, we offer true national coverage backed by decades of real-world expertise. In fact, we’ve been delivering this training in the UK longer than anyone else—across any scheme.

Let us quote for your next training requirement, with decades of delivering courses specifically designed to meet the operational needs of industry and work-based occupational teams. We have been doing this since before the DEFRA scheme, before the RLSS scheme, before the Rescue 3 industry scheme - we have more experience, more venues, more relevance and more capacity than any other provider in the UK.

When it comes to keeping teams safe on and around water: use the experts the experts use.

01/12/2025

Excellent to see the investment we have made in making this happen transfer into local capability for the voluntary sector. Well done, Saffa.

West Cornwall Search and Rescue Team has announced that its Deputy Team Leader, Saffa, has completed instructor level rope rescue training after taking part in the Breaking Boundaries course, a programme designed to increase female representation in technical rescue roles.

25/11/2025

ISAR3 has officially qualified 17 women as Rescue 3 Europe Rope Rescue Operator Instructors — the first cohort of the Breaking Boundaries initiative.

Born from an early conversation with Prusik Rescue, the programme delivered 360 training days, 80 instructor days, and free Rescue 3 Europe registrations. The result: a new wave of skilled, confident women stepping into a space long dominated by men.

With more than 150 applicants in the first week, Breaking Boundaries is now set for major growth, with additional cohorts planned for 2026, new CPD opportunities, and future technician-level training.

The long-term vision is bold: a fully independent, women-led organisation shaping the future of technical rope rescue.

This milestone is powered by partnership — and by the 17 women who showed extraordinary commitment, humour, and courage.

Breaking Boundaries is only just getting started.

#

21/11/2025

Good luck all Breaking Boundaries 2025 candidates, on your RRO instructor assessment weekend!

21/11/2025

A Busy (and Cold!) Week for Our Occupational Water Safety Training Team

It’s been a full-on week for the Occupational Water Safety Training Team, travelling across the UK in cold and snowy conditions. Despite the weather, they’ve continued to demonstrate to clients why hands-on occupational water safety training is essential—and why getting into the water to gain real-world experience is always worth it on training!

Here, a group at the Northampton White Water Centre are completing the practical element of their 2-day Rescue 3 Europe, DEFRA-compliant Safe Working in Water course.

Well done to everyone involved—and just as well we equip our students with only the very best kit available.
________________________________________

21/11/2025

This week, we delivered the Rescue 3 Europe Confined Space Entry and Rescue – Low & Medium Risk (CSERLM) course at our Plymouth training centre.

Equivalent in level to City & Guilds 6160-02 or 6160-09, the CSERLM programme includes enhanced rescue, stretcher handling and rigging components, offering a more comprehensive practical skillset than the standard C&G pathway.
As providers of both schemes, we can help you choose the best fit for your team’s requirements and deliver training anywhere in the UK.

#6160-9

21/11/2025

Our mobile double-stack confined space and working-at-height training containers returned home last night after four months on a client site, where they supported a series of Rescue 3 Europe Confined Space Operator courses.

This highly flexible rig is ideal for multi-course deployments on large projects or for clients who need to run multiple training sessions. Far superior to the typical “crawl-through” mobile trailers that have become the industry norm, these robust, purpose-built units offer height, complexity, realism, and versatility—perfect for organisations that require more than a simple tick-box qualification.

21/11/2025

This week, ISAR3 had the privilege of supporting the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) as their cohort of Rescue 3 Europe Instructors completed their biennial qualification updates.

As part of Rescue 3’s structured development process, all instructors refresh their skills every two years to ensure consistently high standards across the programme. Over two productive days, our R3 Instructor Trainer delivered updates for both the Rope Rescue Technician Instructors and the Swiftwater Rescue Technician Instructors.

Fantastic engagement and insightful discussions throughout—SARA’s instructors continue to demonstrate real commitment to developing their team’s technical capability.

19/11/2025

At Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) today to deliver a Rescue 3 Rope Rescue Technician Instructor practical update to their cohort or instructors. We took them through the original pathway from RRO to RRTi so looking forward to catching up with some old friends. The Severn at Benchley under the olds suspension bridge is looking cold and unwelcoming this morning…..

14/11/2025

Giving Credit Where It’s Due

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the great work Reax are doing to push our industry forward. We’ve been running ACXs in the UK for several years now as early adopters—bringing in the first two RCXs for the Rescue Team on HPC.

One of our ongoing challenges has been the limited options for annual servicing, with previous suppliers taking weeks to turn units around despite the high demand across our projects.

Keith and the team at Reax have truly raised the bar. Their partnership with Skylotec to develop their powered ascender offering is impressive, and their service has been outstanding. Our unit was collected from our operational base on Monday and returned today—an exceptional turnaround.

Well done to the entire Reax team, and thank you. We won’t be going anywhere else from here on.