Aim We aimed to describe characteristics associated with rescue from drowning as reported by the Swedish Fire and Rescue Services (SFARS) and their association with survival from the Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) registry. Method This retrospective study is based on the OHCA registry and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (SCCA) registry. All emergency calls (1996–2010) where the SFARS were dispatched were included (n = 7175). For analysis of survival, OHCAs that matched events from the SCCA registry were included (n = 250). Results Calls to lakes and ponds were predominant (35% of all calls reported). Rescues were more likely in cold water, <10 °C (45%), in open water (80%) and in April–September (68%). Median delay from a call to arrival of rescue services was 8 min, while it was 9 min for rescue diving units. Of all OHCA cases, the victim was found at the surface in 47% and underwater in 38%. In events where rescue divers were used, victims were significantly younger than in non-diving cardiac arrests and the mean diving depth was 6.3 ± 5.8 m. Overall survival to one month was 5.6% (13% in diving and 4.7% in non-diving cases; p = 0.07). Conclusion In half of more than 7000 drowning-related calls to the SFARS during 15 years of practice, water rescue was needed. In all treated OHCA cases, the majority were found at the surface. Only in a small percentage did rescue diving take place. In these cases, survival did not appear to be poorer than in non-diving cases.