FALL PREPLANNING FOR SAFE ICE RESCUE OPERATIONS, PART 3
ANDREA ZAFERES
WALT “BUTCH” HENDRICK
Members of an ice rescue team should be trained before equipment is purchased. Good training will prevent wasting precious funds on equipment that is not needed, not worth the cost, or not suited to a team`s specific needs. An ice rescue team should not become operational until all the necessary equipment, training, and technicians are ready and available. If you perform ice rescues with less, then your team will be expected to do so in the future, time and time again. You would be risking your life and the lives of future team members.
Another important consideration with regard to equipment is how it will work in real-life conditions such as under high winds, on very weak ice, in open water, and in snow. Some commercial equipment works very well in ideal conditions (the ice is strong, there are no winds), as is demonstrated in promotional videos. Yet, that same equipment may become difficult or risky to use in poor conditions.
Next, consider real-life patients. Will the transport device, for example, work for aggressive, passive, and unconscious victims as well as those with a spinal injury? How does a rescuer secure each type of victim to the device and extricate the victim from it? Does the rescuer face the risk of pulling back muscles or being thrown into the water or on the ice?
The department can make some equipment, such as ice poles and ice awls, but be careful. For example, if the department makes its own chest harnesses and a rescuer should be pulled under the ice roof because the tether point location was improper or because the harness tore apart, the department may have to face liability problems as well as rescuer injury.
OPERATIONAL LEVEL RESCUE EQUIPMENT
The following equipment must be considered when preparing your team for the upcoming season:
appropriately sized personal flotation devices (PFDs) for all shore-based personnel who will be in the warm zone;
gloves with which all tasks can be performed; hats, face mufflers, coats, boots, antislip soles, and other clothing appropriate for the weather and environment;
at least three rescue throw rope bags (75-foot length recommended);
at least one fire hose inflator and cap with two 150-foot deployment bags, one nonlocking carabiner, and an SCBA bottle;
at least three harnesses with deployment tether line bags, straps, and carabiners, if there are risky embankments in the district;
a reach pole with shepherd`s crook, length extenders, and grapnel hook;
a messenger tag line or line thrower gun, if there are bodies of water narrow enough to have a static line set across them;
a profile slate and writing utensil; and
a voice amplifier (such as a megaphone).
Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)
The personal flotation device is the most essential piece of gear for shore personnel. Even expert swimmers can drown in 20 seconds if the water is cold, a head or spinal injury is involved, or they are wearing something negatively buoyant. Make sure the PFD is not bulky, which would make self-rescue and victim handling difficult and will hold a rescuer`s head up when wearing full exposure wear.
Other features to look for are pockets for carrying tools, waterproof protection from rain and snow, insulation from cold weather, and rescuer visibility with international orange colors and reflective taping. Flotation coats and suits are excellent. Clearly mark the sizes on the outside for immediate recognition; this will prevent losing time trying on or donning the wrong size.
Turnout Gear and PFDs
Do not wear turnout gear near the water for incidents that do not involve firefighting, because the wearer without proper drownproofing training has a high chance of drowning if immersed. If turnout gear is the only exposure gear available, use PFDs with sufficient flotation. Test PFDs with turnout gear in a swimming pool to ensure sufficient flotation. Wear the PFDs under the turnout coat. In this way, you can ditch the coat if necessary.
PFDs and Technician Surface Ice Rescue Suits
If a suit has its own inherent buoyancy, a PFD is not necessary. However, some shell dry suits on the market have no inherent buoyancy or insulation because they are not made of neoprene. The wearer has positive buoyancy as long as air stays in the suit and the dry suit underwear is thick enough. If the suit leaks or floods, the positive buoyancy and insulation are lost. For that reason, ice rescue technicians wearing shell suits must also wear PFDs unless they are wearing flotation dry suit underwear.
Tools to Wear on a PFD
The following tools should be worn on a PFD:
a water-activated flasher for low-light or night operations,
cutting tools,
a whistle or other sound-making device,
a timer or stopwatch to record technician and victim time on/in the ice,
a small notepad and pen wrapped with eight to 10 inches of duct tape for quick minor equipment repairs,
tie wraps for minor repairs,
a small flashlight or penlight to fix problems and write documentation, and
a centerpunch to pass to a technician for a vehicle extrication operation if technicians are certified to do such operations.
Antislip Soles or Ice Cleats
They can be purchased or made with tire treads and screws. In many cases, it actually is less expensive to purchase a good, long-lasting pair of antislip soles.
Rescue Throw Rope Bags
The rescue throw rope bag is one of the most effective reach tools. These bags reach as far as 75 feet and deploy very rapidly and accurately. They do not provide negative buoyancy, will not damage the ice, are very unlikely to hurt a victim who is hit by one, are easy to use, can be used from any type of embankment or vessel, and are readily transportable to the place of deployment. These bags are inexpensive enough so that most departments can have several for multiple victims. Police and other first responders should always keep rescue throw bags in their vehicles.
The line should be 38-inch floating multifilament polypropylene or nylon line that will not absorb water or become stiff and that will have a long life. Do not use heavy kernmantle water rescue line, which will not deploy as far, as fast, or as accurately. Test bags with gloves before purchasing them.
Avoid bags or other throwing devices with line thinner than 3/8 inch; it may actually injure a victim who wraps it around an arm or wrist, which is likely since frozen hands usually cannot hold thin line. Don`t throw anything hard that can injure the patient if he is hit with it. Imagine using all your mental and physical strength to hold yourself up in an ice hole, and then bang, you are hit in the face with a fast-flying 1/2-pound piece of hard plastic.
Some tools like an air-powered line gun have a sling that self-inflates when it hits water. If a conscious victim can put his head and arms through this sling while surface rescue technicians make their approach, the chances of victim survival can be much higher.
Other products on the market allow operational level rescuers to reach and secure victims more than 100 feet from shore with positive buoyancy. It is well worth testing these products.
Inflated Fire Hose System (hose cap, inflator, carabiner, and two 150-foot deployment bags)
Five-inch-diameter hose is easier to deploy straight, but it costs more. Without setting a line across the body of water for personnel on the opposite shore to assist, the most efficient hose length is 50 feet. Anything longer will be difficult to deploy.
Water Rescue Harnesses
Operational level technicians may need to be harnessed and tethered to immobile objects to prevent accidental immersion. The best method of tethering is to use a water rescue chest harness, which should be adjustable so it can fit under and over different personal protective equipment. Adjust the shoulder and girth straps for proper positioning across the solar plexus. Secure a line or strap to the back D-ring with a nonlocking carabiner.
Reach Pole System
Some excellent commercially manufactured reach pole systems are available. When used with various attachments, they allow rescuers to do the following:
pass off rescue flotation slings to victims from more than 10 feet away;
use the shepherd`s crook attachment to perform animal rescue from a safe distance;
use the shepherd`s crook attachment to pull a submerging victim closer to the technician as the technician makes the approach;
use shaft-length extenders and the grapnel hook with rounded ends for submerged victim rescue; and
use the boat hook adapter to fend off objects, to hook into lines or edges, and to push away drift ice.
150-Foot Messenger Tag Line or Line Thrower Gun
These tools can be used to set a line across a narrow body of water to deploy a rescue flotation sling, a ring buoy, an inflated fire hose, or a transport device directly to a victim.
TECHNICIAN LEVEL EQUIPMENT
Before we list the important features of safe and effective technician level equipment, it is important to understand the first and most important part of any surface rescue: to establish immediate victim positive buoyancy. Preventing a surface operation from becoming a subsurface operation is critical for victim survival and rescuer safety. On contact with the victim, establish positive buoyancy. Make sure the equipment allows you to accomplish this safely and swiftly.
A team can be dressed for technician level ice rescue operations with a budget of approximately $3,600, which will provide the following:
three PFDs;
three ice rescue suits;
two flotation rescue slings;
three appropriately sized, adjustable, water rescue harnesses with back and front attachment points;
three aluminum, locking carabiners and three nonlocking carabiners;
two wooden ice rescue poles;
three 250-foot, marked, deployment line bags or 300- to 600-foot reels with braking systems;
three 75-foot rescue throw bags;
one ice rescue board transport device or other similar transport device; and
one quick-release contingency strap.
In any water rescue situation, never secure a rescuer to a victim without quick-release contingency capability.
If the budget allows, the following helpful additions would cost approximately $500 to $550:
three pairs of ankle weights for ice rescue suits,
three pairs of ice awls,
one pair of fins for an ice rescue suit,
three shears and shear holders for harnesses,
two ice anchor kits (piton, strap, black carabiner),
three pairs of antislip soles, and
three ice rescue suit hood lights with hood attachments.
Water rescue helmets may also be needed, depending on the conditions and type of rescue.
Surface Ice Rescue Suits
Surface ice rescue suits are dry suits typically constructed of five- to seven-millimeter-thick orange or red neoprene, with attached hoods, hard-soled boots, and usable gloves.
Do not purchase person-overboard survival suits, which are designed to keep people afloat and warm in rough seas. These suits have features–such as face shields, gumby feet, and a loose fit–that hinder ice rescue technicians.
Water Rescue Harnesses
Technician level rescuers must be in a horizontal position to work on the ice and to extricate themselves from a hole. Therefore, a water rescue harness should have a tether point at the height of the solar plexus so that when tenders take tension, the rescuer will be pulled into a horizontal position.
Ice Rescue Flotation Slings
Slings are made of a loop of semirigid foam with one-inch nylon webbing that runs through its entire length. The foam provides at least 15 pounds of positive buoyancy, and the webbing provides the strength needed to extricate victims from holes. If the webbing does not go through the entire loop, it will probably tear out when under stress. We have found that slings made of tubular, instead of block, pieces of flotation are much easier and quicker to secure on victims.
Ice Poles
A wooden ice pole is one of the most useful yet least expensive tools for the surface ice technician. Ice poles allow technicians to sound-test the ice en route to the victim, prevent rescuer full submersion when the ice is punctured, help with self-extrication from an ice hole, reach a victim without breaking the supportive ice holding up the victim, and work well to extricate aggressive victims or to self-rescue from a hole. They may be commercially made, as in a reach pole system, or can be homemade. If homemade, they should be round and made of seven-foot-long hardwood banister poles, have one flat side, and be of a size that can be gripped easily.
Deployment Tether Line Bags or Reels
Use the same line as for rescue throw rope bags. Keep lines in bags or on reels for the easiest mobility, deployment, and storage. Mark the line for distance to let you know when you may need to add additional line or technicians and to mark the victim`s distance out should submersion occur.
Ice Rescue Transport Devices, Platforms, and Advanced Tools
Keep it simple. Trainers sometimes tell us that it is impossible to expect the short ice rescue operation times of five to 15 minutes that we expect and get from our students and teams. One of the key pieces to such performance is having the right transport device. The right transport device decreases the amount of time it takes to reach, extricate, and transport the victim to shore. A good transport device will also prevent additional victim and rescuer injury.
After working with a variety of sleds, boards, kayaks, ramps, and other ice transport devices with several thousand students on everything from open water to breaking ice to strong ice, in weather ranging from calm conditions to severe blizzards, our staff and students alike concluded that the ice rescue board was the most effective ice tool.
This board in conjunction with the flotation sling has yielded the most rapid rescue time. Among its advantages are the following:
It requires only one rescuer.
It easily and rapidly transports a victim or rescuer across all conditions–from water to strong ice.
It is barely affected by wind.
It is safe to use for unconscious and aggressive victims.
It is not made of metal, has all padded edges, and can be used as a backboard.
It can transport the victim from the ice to the ambulance.
It is lightweight and easy to carry in a rescue vehicle.
It does not require setup time and is very durable. It allows cardiopulmonary resuscitation to be administered during transport.
It is one of the least expensive ice transport devices available.
Note: If one rescuer cannot pick up a transport device and deploy it alone, then think twice about buying it. Bigger is not necessarily better. In fact, bigger usually means heavier, which means the following:
More personnel are required to move and operate it.
More personal protective equipment is needed for the additional personnel.
It is more likely to break weak ice.
It takes longer to deploy from the truck to the ice, from the ice to the victim, and back.
Note: Surface ice rescue requires light, rapid rescue capabilities.
Transport devices that sit high on the water and are prone to being blown by wind are not usually good choices, especially if areas of open water need to be crossed. If they cannot be easily transported over open water or slush, they will not be very useful. Remember that operations may occur during blizzards.
If a rescuer cannot easily establish victim positive buoyancy while working on the transport device for support, then think twice about buying the device.
Inflatable platforms and walkways can be excellent tools but may not always be the best option for ice rescue unless the body of water is narrower than twice the length of the ramp.
Following are some aspects to consider before purchasing a ramp:
Two ramps are needed to move across the ice toward a victim if one ramp cannot reach the victim. One ramp is picked up and placed in front of the other, like taking steps. This takes at least two personnel and is time consuming and exhausting.
Ramps are not inexpensive.
Most ramps are not self-bailing, so rescuers must work to keep water out of the ramp and away from the victim once the victim is inside it.
Ramps must be inflated before use, which may delay a rescue.
They are more wind susceptible than ice boards.
If an aggressive victim can easily tip over the device by simply grabbing it or attempting to climb on it, think twice. A rescuer should be able to control the device and the victim.
Properly rigged flotation backboards can also be used. They do not work as well as boards, kayaks, or some sleds, but they can be purchased and properly rigged for under $200.
Note: If technicians may strain their backs to place the victim on the device, think twice. Also, carefully think about devices that place pressure on the victim`s diaphragm and that result in a loss of airway when a victim becomes unconscious. Consider also whether the transport device can be used for victims with spine, head, and other injuries.
Avoid devices made of metal. Metal is highly conductive and therefore rapidly steals away precious body heat. Also, would you rather accidentally be banged against metal or a softer material? Make sure all hard edges of a plastic transport device are padded to prevent additional victim and rescuer injury. Avoid devices with sharp or pointed parts that could accidentally injure a victim or rescuer. The metal boat is a device of the past.
Other questions to ask are the following:
Can the device be used as a backboard for patients with possible head, spine, or other injuries?
Does the patient have to be removed from the device to be transported from the shoreline to the ambulance?
Can the patient remain secured on the device when extricated from open water to a boat?
Is the device simple enough to use so that it does not require practicing with it frequently, at least several times a year?
Are there parts or pieces of the device that can be easily lost or broken, rendering it ineffective?
Does the device have proven durability and longevity?
Is the device cost-effective?
LAST-CHOICE RESCUE TOOLS
Metal Ladders and Poles
Metal ladders and poles are not the most preferred items for water-related rescues, especially ice rescues, for the following reasons:
They become very cold very quickly and rapidly conduct heat away from warm objects including your hands and body.
They may sink unless you have attached some sort of buoyancy device.
They have a tendency to freeze to the ice.
METAL BOATS
These boats are not usually the best options for ice rescue for the following reasons:
They can pull the heat out of victims and rescuers through contact.
They become extremely slippery during rain and snow.
They are not very stable in open water and become less stable on ice.
They can freeze to the ice in extreme conditions.
They are very difficult to transport across ice.
They usually require the ice to be broken up.
They make it very difficult to safely extricate a victim from an ice hole into the vessel horizontally.
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Operational level teams can use a 50-foot length of inflated hose tethered with two 150-foot deployment bags attached inside carabiners to reach victims. (Photos by Andrea Zaferes.)
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The rescuer establishes positive buoyancy immediately on contact with the flotation sling and prepares to secure the victim to the ice board. Notice that the rescuer`s suit has “gumby” feet, which are not preferred for ice rescue.
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Rescuers in ice rescue suits practice traversing snow-covered ice on an ice board by using ice awls to pull themselves over potentially thin ice.
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Tender in flotation suit screws in an ice anchor piton.
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Reels should have brakes to prevent the line from crossing on itself, binding up the reel.
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Just think of the punishment the fragile victim and the rescuer receive during the transport to shore if no transport device is used.
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ANDREA ZAFERES is the head instructor trainer for Lifeguard Systems, Inc.; a NAUI and ACUC course director; a PADI, DAN, and ARC instructor; an EMT-D; a noted author and public speaker; and co-author with Walt “Butch” Hendrick of Surface Ice Rescue (Fire Engineering, 1999). She teaches more than 30 courses including Underwater Vehicle Extrication, Rapid Deployment Search & Rescue Diving, Ice Rescue, Shark Attack Rescue, and Blackwater Rescue. With Hendrick she started RIPTIDE, a drowning prevention nonprofit organization that also helps communities find drowning victims.
WALT “BUTCH” HENDRICK is the founder, president, and training director of Lifeguard Systems. He has been teaching and performing water rescue operations for more than 35 years. He has trained in more than 15 countries and has trained dive teams for FDNY; Washington, DC; South Africa; and the U.S. Parks Department, among others.
