Our Victorian forefathers were quite happy to drop from a window, child in arms, suspended on a hawser laid line made of best Italian hemp or even more recently on a man-made fibre rope. Remember the Turks head knot? And that no matter how careful you were it would not completely go back into the bag. I now shudder to think that the lowering line, and the practice of lowering under foot, was commonplace on UK fire appliances.
Year 2004. Enter the Health and Safety Executive, and its forthcoming new directive on Working at Height. Don’t panic, they won’t be taking ladders off the trucks, to the contrary. It will require the introduction of equipment and training to prevent falls from height, fall arrest equipment, widely used in industry, not so common in the Fire service. So if Fire services are required to comply with the new legislation, then why not take a look at the overall provision for rescue at height, or for that matter in a deep shaft.
Line/technical rescue is not new in the UK Fire service. Many Brigades operate successful line rescue teams, and are often integrated into local or national urban search and rescue teams. So where does fall arrest end and technical rescue begin?
All front line pumping appliances will require a working at height kit, containing at least two full body fall arrest harness, kernmantle lines, steel karabiners, automatic belay devices, webbing strops, wire strops, pulleys and ascenders. Enough should be provided to enable two fire fighters, perhaps even wearing BA to position themselves safely in an area where they would normally be at risk from falling. Techniques used would be the same as used in industry to prevent a fall, this is basic work positioning/work restraint method. The Yellow pages are full of organisations that can deliver this training; industry has operated this way for years. That same kit should be flexible enough to manage a fire fighter that may have to work on a ladder, you will still have the traditional ‘leg lock’ for occasional use, but for protracted ladder work, expect to wear a harness and be attached to a line and belay device. Many manufacturers offer Brigades excellent off the shelf kits. Personally, I like to provide specific items that will meet the individual requirements of the Brigade.
Having ascertained the fall arrest equipment requirement for our front line appliances let’s go to the next level and provide a means of recovering a casualty or a means of access by line for our rescuers. Firstly, a change being required to a more rescue style harness, together with a few more items of hardware. The first thing that comes to mind is abseil equipment, wrong! Moving down a line or “controlled descent” is a technique not without its risk and may be inappropriate at this level of operator. Additionally once down, you may have to get back up that line, enter the art of ascending! There are many rescue devices on the market, most using pulleys to give a mechanical advantage when retrieving an individual, in addition to providing a friction function to slow the downwards descent. Rollgliss equipment is a world-renowned device that meets this requirement. So, we now have our intermediate response kit, based on the basic fall arrest pack with a few additions and the added advantage of a Rollgliss device or other similar system.
Line rescue can be very complex and require innovation amongst its operators;
a high level of skill and training is essential. Together with a flexible approach
by those in charge, or those coordinating its use in a rescue scenario. This
will be our third and most capable level. Brigades are identifying that this
is a modern requirement, also a very safe method of dealing with rescue at height.
Haven’t we always carried out rescues from high places? The days of a
Polyprop GP line tied with a bowline around your waist are long gone! At this
level we need to move away from the basic kit carried on pumping appliances,
to equipment that would be commensurate with line rescue in all its various
forms. Rollgliss or a similar device would feature strongly, as a basis, fitted
with a line, long enough to manage any actual or potential rescue within the
Brigade area. Additionally equipment would be needed to retrieve a casualty
and lower or raise them regardless of the environment to a place of safety.
Quad-pods, tripod, Larkin frame what ever your choice would be an essential
item, winches to assist in the recovery of rescuers and casualty, good casualty
handling equipment, rescue triangles and stretcher, together with the training
to provide rescuers with the confidence and ingenuity to understand the problem,
recognise the dangers and operate safely and with professionalism.
Too summarise.
Firstly, update the equipment carried on front line pumps, provide fire fighters
with fall arrest equipment that will allow them to operate safely at height.
Secondly, provide an intermediate capability, perhaps based on selected rescue
tenders by expanding on the basic kit carried on pumps and add a rescue device.
Thirdly, establish one or more line rescue teams, again based on selected rescue
tenders, located strategically to meet the needs of the Brigade. My only concern
is maintaining ones skill level along with everything else, BA, RTA, Haz-Mat
etc.
My response would be to keep it all simple, but train to the highest standard, with trainers that have done it for real, and there’s not many of us about. I have been a fire service line rescue trainer for 24 years and nearly every day I learn something new.
Pete Gwilliam
Specialist Training Consultants Ltd
United kingdom