Another one off the front page of Statter911 is this video that redefines the Kickoff Pickoff. While the previous coverage HERE actually showed people getting kicked backwards into the structure, the video below is of the fire department’s lead off kicker on the kickball team trying his hand, foot actually, at technical rescue. Perhaps the speediest method ever of getting the victim safely to ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhSlSHQvfVk&feature=player_embedded
Well, if too fast is bad ,then slower should be better right? I’m not so sure in this case. The rescuer looks to be rappeling on a figure 8 descender with some sort of autoblock, so he can go hands free if he needs to. Not a bad thought. The trouble comes from clearly not being comfortable using the autoblock. It causes him to start and stop suddenly a couple of times. Worst of all is that he overshoots the target because of it. If you’re taking yourself down a rope, it ain’t a bad idea to have a way to get yourself back up.
Do you equip your team with the equipment and knowledge to quickly switch to ascent should they need it while on rappel?
It wasn’t a huge issue here, but it could have a lot worse.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A11QlQ3V6hw