Belay line: front or back?
In “Anatomy of a Challenging Deep Shaft Rescue” (September 2007), which was very informative and well-written, author Larry Collins states the following: “The belay line should go to the rescuer’s back typically, but the main line may be attached to the front if the rescuer prefers. Some rescuers prefer both lines attached at the back. Conditions also dictate the appropriate attachment points.”
Being somewhat new to technical rescue, I have a question regarding that statement. I have been taught and have read that if there is a system failure, the stresses put on the body when the belay line is attached to the back can be very harmful to the rescuer/victim. It is my understanding that both lines should be attached to the front to prevent injury during these failures. Also, should the rescuer have to self-rescue, it may be very difficult to reach the belay line and to get into position to use that line if it is attached behind the body. As I am a junkie for new and useful information, any help you offer would be greatly appreciated.
Brian W. Reed
Firefighter
Rope and Confined Space Technician
Mountain Home (ID) Fire Department
Larry Collins responds: Brian Reed makes several good observations, which in “normal” high-angle situations are accurate. The distinction in deep shaft and certain other vertical confined space entries is that we’re lowering a rescuer into a narrow vertical space, typically to secure and extract a victim who will be raised out through the same vertical space.
In some very rare cases, the rescuer may even choose to be inverted to conduct lifesaving manipulative tasks in a small space. In one rescue, I was lowered inverted into a 78-foot-deep shaft, trying to “unwedge” a trapped victim at the bottom. Two other firefighters and I took turns being lowered one at a time into the narrow shaft during a lengthy operation. Note: Inversion is not recommended if there is any other way to do the job, because of certain potential physiological dangers posed by extended inversion.
To facilitate these unusual entries and operating conditions, some confined space harnesses have connection points built into the back between the shoulder blades and low near the waist (for inversion) or near the shoulder (for connection to a spreader bar to distribute the rescuer’s weight during vertical entry), in addition to the normal front connections.
Deep vertical shaft entries are high risk to begin with because of the confined working space; the vertical element is just another hazard to deal with. The main goal is typically to get in, get the victim, and get out. And, that’s why the attachment points (including allowance for preference of the individual rescuer) were used as described in the article.
“Prevent rescuers from becoming victims”
Reference is made to Robert G. Nixon’s outstanding article “Managing Assaultive Behavior” (September 2007). I would like to reemphasize some points and add a few others.
The key point should always be to prevent rescuers from becoming victims. This cannot be emphasized enough, even once law enforcement arrives on the scene. The presence of law enforcement generally escalates the situation. Police officers are trained so that the key strategy when dealing with an emotionally disturbed person (EDP) is to isolate and contain the individual. At that point, a more thorough evaluation of the situation can be made in a more controlled manner and additional police resources can be requested.
Fire/EMS personnel, prior to the arrival of law enforcement, should use tactics similar to those of the police. The single most important factor to remember is that if you cannot see your patient’s hands, do not enter the scene, no matter what! I don’t care if your patient appears to be unconscious with a serious injury. If you cannot see his hands, do not approach. No matter how sharp your observation skills may be, it is not worth it to find yourself in a hand-to-hand struggle with a patient who was “playing possum” and hiding a weapon underneath himself.
Keep the patient confined to a particular area. If you are in an outdoor environment or a large room, you and your partner can do that by using triangulation. Position yourselves at 45-degree angles to the patient. (If you have a crew of more than two, form a semicircle around the patient.) Only one rescuer should initiate a dialog with the patient. The second rescuer can offer reassuring statements as necessary; but, more importantly, he should be dedicated to watching for overt or subtle changes in behavior, speech, or body positioning. Keep a physical barrier between you and the patient. This can be done by positioning yourself behind an item of furniture, a park bench, or another type of protection the situation provides. Maintain a zone of safety. If in an open area, place your trauma bag or other item close to you, between the patient and yourself. Law enforcement studies have shown that an individual can cover up to 21 feet in three seconds or less.
Fire/EMS personnel often become the “calming influence” on the patients, especially after law enforcement has restrained and searched them. For this reason among others, it is very important that only the police restrain the patient (if possible). The final point to reemphasize is documentation. A good phrase to use on your report is, “The minimum amount of force necessary was used to restrain the patient to prevent harm to the patient, rescuers, or bystanders.”
Barry S. Daskal
Police Officer/Aircraft Rescue Firefighter
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Police Department
John F. Kennedy International Airport
New York, New York
Ventilation tactics
When I read “Wow, It’s Hot in Here!” by Mitch Brooks (Training Notebook, September 2007), I thought I had mistakenly picked up an issue of Fire Engineering from the ’80s. This was the most outdated article on ventilation I have ever read, with quotes such as: “It’s good to have the fan at the front door supplying fresh air, but only when the fire is out!” and “If you place a fan to supply fresh air, some bad things can happen.” This simplistic offering of ventilation [brings me back] to when we first started ventilating with fans pointed in instead of out.
Positive ventilation should always be coordinated with the interior crews. There is no substitute for entering a burning building with a great truck crew (interior and exterior). Set the fan on entry with the properly sized and placed exit, after careful size-up. The effect of properly controlled ventilation during attackthe fire, heat, and smoke traveling away from you toward the exitis unquestionably better than taking a beating and ventilating “after the fire is out.” Of course, positive pressure cannot be used initially on every fire, but the majority of our fires are vented, coordinated, aggressive, and early.
Steve Eck
Lieutenant/ EMT-P
Engine 13 C, Battalion 2
Arlington (TX) Fire Rescue
I must take issue with two statements made by Mitch Brooks. First, “Horizontal ventilation (breaking or opening up windows), used at most room-and-contents fires, reduces the chance of flashover and speeds fire attack ….” This statement is not always true. In a ventilation-controlled fire, horizontal ventilation may actually precipitate a flashover or other form of rapid fire progress. Brooks alludes to this with his warning, “Premature horizontal ventilation can increase the fire’s size and intensity.”
A 2002 double firefighter fatality during a training fire was modeled by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST concluded: “It appears that ventilation was the one major factor in which hot gases and unburned products of combustion were allowed to build up in the fire room. On each of the first four experiments, the glass was broken out of the window opening, allowing the replenishment of oxygen to support combustion causing the flashover” [Florida State Fire Marshal case number 26-02-3753].
A review of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) firefighter fatality reports will find numerous fires where the ventilation profile appears to have contributed to rapid fire progress that killed firefighters. I recommend reviewing NIOSH firefighter fatality report 2005-4 to determine if ventilation improved or worsened conditions.
The second statement I take issue with is: “It’s good to have that fan at the door supplying fresh air, but only when the fire is out!” The author implies that fans should not be used for positive pressure ventilation (PPV) as part of a coordinated fire attack. This belief is outdated. Numerous fire departments, including Seattle, have been using PPV for fire attack for years with positive results. Documented studies include those done by Kriss Garcia of Salt Lake City, Utah, and published in the book Positive Pressure Attack for Firefighting and Ventilation (Pennwell, 2006). NIST reports NISTIR 7213, NISTIR 7342, and NISTIR 7412 scientifically examined the effectiveness of PPV and came to the same conclusion: PPV can assist in making the environment in the structure more conducive for firefighting operations. Both horizontal natural ventilation and PPV can be effective when done correctly. Each can be deadly when done incorrectly. Firefighters and fire officers must understand and be able to recognize and effectively implement the appropriate ventilation strategy.
Scott Grey
Lieutenant, Engine Company 30
Seattle (WA) Fire Department
Mitch Brooks responds: The concerns raised are valid. The intent of my article was to shine a needed light on the improper methods of PPV as well as to offer accepted means of accomplishing a much-needed task. It is foolish and dangerous to put a fully throttled fan at the front door of a structure that has a heavy volume of fire actively burning on the interior.
In the first paragraph of the article, I address the fact that improper ventilation (this means any form of ventilation) can have adverse effects on the fire. Ventilation must be well placed and well timed.
In Columbus, Ohio, we are fortunate to have aggressive ladder companies that arrive with, or shortly after, the first hoseline is pulled. This quick arrival could lead to the misuse of the PPV fan. If the fire is a small room-and-contents fire and proper size-up indicates that a fan can be throttled up after horizontal ventilation is performed, then I don’t see an issue with the fan.
Sound fire tactics are never outdated. You may be able to get away with putting a fully throttled fan at the door of a raging fire building, but physics dictates that you are going to increase the fire, push it through the structure, push fire into void spaces (especially in balloon-frame and Type III construction), and put victims at further risk.
Attacking a fire with PPV is a topic being studied and the subject of training. However, if anyone in the link responsible for placing the fan, finding the seat of the fire, providing horizontal or vertical ventilation, and opening the nozzle gets the sequence wrong, or if the timing isn’t just right, disaster awaits.
Tom Brennan’s philosophy on forcible entry was that tactics should dictate that we accomplish our goal most of the time, not some of the time. Waiting for the fan until after knockdown follows the same philosophy. It works most of the time (fireground proven to give us a high success rate), not some of the time, as a PPV attack (it is not fireground proven and, in my opinion, has a low success rate).
Training is the key to success. Refresher training with PPV and fan use/placement is no different from any other basic task performed on the fireground. You play like you practice. We must train realistically, and often.
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Editor’s note: The November 2007 cover photo was misidentified on the November Table of Contents, page 6, “The Cover.” The photo was actually of a Fair Lawn, New Jersey, house fire. Firefighters were hampered by freezing temperatures and whipping wind. First-arriving units found heavy fire showing from the ground floor extending to the upper floor. The photo was by Damien Danis.
