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A department in Oregon was on the news for a rescue they accomplished when they rescued a kid who fell 50′ down a cliff while trying to retrieve a cell phone (thank goodness for job security). In the video footage win the link below, you can briefly see the setup they used during the actual rescue. The Fire Chief also took the opportunity of the news interview to have his guys using an Arizona Vortex at ground level for some good public education. Nicely done!

http://www.ktvz.com/news/crr-teen-seriously-injured-in-40-to-50foot-falll/35441476

 

If you are interested in upping your game on how to use the Arizona Vortex, we still have a few spots available for our Oct. 19 and 20 Modern Technologies in Rope Rescue class.  HERE

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Thank you to everybody for all of the interest! After filling up all of the spots in our first class in record time, we opened up a second class right after the first one. That class has now filled, too! Keep an eye out on the website for our upcoming classes. We will most likely have the next one in March. You can sign up for our mailing list in the column on the righthand side of the web page.

 

 

After many months and many requests, we are once again offering open enrollment for our popular Modern Technologies in Rope Rescue class. Come join us in Lancaster, PA on Oct 17 and 18 to learn how much more efficient your rescues can be with a few pieces of modern gear and a whole lot of practical applications learned from real world experiences. Here is your chance to keep up on the latest equipment and trends in the rope rescue world.

 

After filling up the Oct 17, 18 class in record 5 days (!!!) we have decided to run a second class the following 2 days. The registration is currently open for the Oct 19, 20 class. The link at the bottom of this page will register you for the second class.

 

Topics this time around include:

Use of the AZTEK kit to pass knots, perform a pickoff, basket attending, and a whole lot more.

In depth discussion and use of the Two Tension Rope System utilizing the MPD.

Use of  the Arizona Vortex  high directional in the urban environment.

The Rescue 2 Training original: The Appalachian Doortex! For urban anchoring and elevator rescue. High Directional? Anchor? Both!?… Come find out!

3 dimensional anchoring with the UFO.

The Skyhook capstan winch.

…And much more.

The cost of this two day, 16 hour class is $295 per person. Just bring a harness, helmet, and any ideas or equipment you would like to see used.

Please contact Kelly Byrne at 240-462-6610 or kelly@rescue2training.com with any questions.

 

 

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We’ve had a huge demand to run this class again this spring, so we’ve finally added this open enrollment class to our calendar. Here is your chance to keep up on the latest equipment and trends in the rope rescue world.

Join us in Pennsylvania Dutch country for our latest presentation of Modern Technologies in Rope Rescue at the  Lancaster County Public Service Training Center on April 25 and 26 2015. Using the newest techniques on the newest equipment in an urban setting, come learn ideas that have been proven and tested in the real world in both urban and wilderness settings.

Topics included this time around include:

Use of the AZTEK kit to pass knots, perform a pickoff, basket attending, and a whole lot more.

In depth discussion and use of the Two Tension Rope System utilizing the MPD.

Use of  the Arizona Vortex  high directional in the urban environment.

The Rescue 2 Training original: The Appalachian Doortex! For urban anchoring and elevator rescue. High Directional? Anchor? Both!?… Come find out!

3 dimensional anchoring with the UFO.

The Skyhook capstan winch.

…And much more.

The cost of this two day, 16 hour class is $295 per person. Just bring a harness, helmet, and any ideas or equipment you would like to see used.

Please contact Kelly Byrne at 240-462-6610 or kelly@rescue2training.com for registration information or questions.

 

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Here are two great videos from DRR Rescue posted on youtube that show how to construct a 1-1-1 picket system, which is three pickets placed in a row.

Two things stood out to me in these videos. First, I really like the system they used to tie the pickets together. I’ve seen a few different variations on the technique, most involving some sort of windlass to tighten the webbing. Doing that requires more hardware, as well as driving in another piece of rebar. The videos show what amounts to a non working 3:1 with webbing.

The second thing that really stood out was how much force this system was able to hold. They put over 6ooo lbs of force on the system. While the picket did flex a little bit, it did not noticeably pull forward in the ground. I’m anxious to try this in the rain soaked, clay dirt around my house!

Thanks again to DRR for sharing these with the world. Be sure to check out the tutorial section on the website as well as their field guide, that thing is full of great, easy to apply info.  http://www.desertrescue.com

We have just added an Open Enrollment Class for our Modern Technologies in Rope Rescue workshop on May 17 and 18 in Lancaster, PA.This class covers a lot of ground in two days. We will discuss and use the AZTEK in many of its essential uses. We’ll also be using the Two Tension Rope System concept with the CMC MPD. Additionally, we’ll be using the Arizona Vortex in some of its traditional configurations as well as the Rescue 2 Training original: the “Appalachian Doortex” configuration for urban anchoring and elevator rescue.

Come out and try the newest equipment and techniques in rope rescue. Cost of the class is $295.

Email Kelly M Byrne at kelly@rescue2training.com or call 240-462-6610 for more information.

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Enrollment is now open for our Modern Technologies in Rope Rescue. The class will be held August 24 and 25 at the Lancaster County Public Service Training Center in Lancaster County, PA at a cost of $295 per student.

This class covers multiple versions of the bowline along with some pretty god reasons to consider them, several uses of the AZTEK kit, a thorough introduction to the Two Tension Rope System concept with the MPD, and the use of the Arizona Vortex Artificial High Directional in some pretty typical urban setup configurations as well as some Rescue 2 Training exclusive uses of it in a few of the Appalachian Doortex configurations. As you can see in the pictures below from our last class, we did a good bit of work with the Rock Exotica UFO. One particularly challenging and fun scenario was to change the direction of our main and belay lines 180 degrees on an anchor that was free floating in the middle of the stair landing. There was also some excellent use of the UFO to simplify the rigging of a Two Rope Offset.

In addition to the Arizona Vortex, Appalachian Doortex, MPD’s, UFO’s, and AZTEK’s, we’ll also have available for use in this class three new products (some not even on the market yet) from Rock Exotica:

The little brother of the UFO; the rockStar.

The Enforcer load cell; which features swivels at both ends, a digital readout, and Bluetooth transmitting capabilities!

The AZORP (Arizona Omni Rigging Pod); an add on used to increase the already amazing flexibility of the Arizona Vortex.

open enrollment August 2013

Here are some pictures from our last MTRR class; we did some heavy duty 3D rigging along with some urban AZV usage:

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This class is different each time we run it and we’ve developed new techniques each class with input and ideas from the students. If you’re interested in seeing and helping develop what’s on the cutting edge of rope rescue equipment and techniques, contact Kelly to reserve a spot in this popular class. Call 240-462-6610 or send an email to rescue-2@comcast.net

Well, after finally getting off of a 3 month ambulance rotation on “The Soulcrusher”, I’m hoping to be back in the swing of regular posts here on the website. In the vein of getting back in the swing, here are a few unique things related to ropes and swings:

First up is the world’s most expensive swingset, probably the most portable, but you’ve got to pay for the privilege.  I try to keep my hands on rope at least once a day; since this day was so beautiful, I decided to take out the ol’ Arizona Vortex and goof around a bit. Because there is no cliff in my yard (yet), I had to settle for a flat land configuration. I used my AZV, a couple of AZTEK’s, a bosun’s chair, and a 4 year old. Here’s the result:

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Of a more daring nature is the rope swing as pioneered by rock climber Dan Osman. While he ultimately died doing one of these jumps, it is pretty neat to watch the cajones this guy has to be able to do this stuff. He basically sets up a highline and, with a separate rope attached mid span, takes a free fall jump perpendicular to the track line. When the separate rope he is attached to comes tight, he goes for one hell of a long swing. I guess that, with the rope stretch and moveable mid span anchor, this is greater than a FF 2. If anybody agrees or disagrees, I’d love to know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si2j6IaKQGU

In stark contrast to Dan, I present the world’s slowest, yet safest, rope swing. Here is a shot of the rope offset that we set up in the last “Modern Technologies” class in Lancaster, PA.  We had a main and belay coming from each side and connected to a Rock Exotica UFO to help keep all of the attachment points ultra clean. A CMC MPD was used on each side to control the main lines and and i’D and Petzl ASAP used for the belay lines.

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A close up of the UFO on Rick Croft’s harness:

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Stand by for more frequent postings again. Thanks to everyone who keeps checking in!

While the Arizona Vortex is usually thought of as an industrial and wilderness rescue piece of equipment, it’s no secret that I think its full potential as a tool for the urban rescuer has not been fully explored. With that in mind, we are constantly trying (occasionally failing) to find out how to best use this tool to our advantage.  We’ve been working on different configurations of the Appalachian Wedge Pole (AWP) lately.

The first and perhaps the most useful version of the Wedge Pole is used to create anchors in a hallway where others might not exist. While no permanent name has been found yet, and because it appears to be bombproof, we’ve been calling it the Atomic Wedge Pole. Or Atomic Wedgie for short. As in: “Hey give him an Atomic Wedgie quickly, so we can get on with this rope rescue. ”  But again, no permanent name yet.

Below are some pictures we took during the discovery phase of these anchors, a scale model so to speak. They were loaded with a couple of guys giving it all they had, leaning into the load line. It was an initial test to see if the anchors would move at all. The next step in the process will be to load these with a one person load and operate a raising and lowering system. Then on to a two person load.

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A slightly more complex version that allows for a longer haul field that runs toward the edge.

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2 to 1 Wedgie

Some techniques might be setups in search of an application, the picture below being one such example. I envision using this above a hole in a hallway, where there are no other anchors present. This might be more of an industrial confined space setup, but it’s neat to see in action.

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These pictures above are of urban usage, but we developed the technique out on the rocks. Here are two pictures of the first AWP setups, one horizontal and one vertical, from when the idea first struck.

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This last picture comes to us from the men of Group 2 on Rescue 1 with the Boston Fire Department. They constructed an Appalachian Lean-To and changed the direction of the haul line 90 degrees at the head resting on the floor. To counteract the resultant force that wants to lift the left leg away from the wall, they front tied the setup to an anchor spanning the doorway with two AZTEKs, one of which is doing the job of keeping that left leg in compression when it naturally wants to pull away from the wall because of the COD on the head. Good job guys!

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Well it’s short notice, but we have had some significant interest in running another “Modern Technologies in Rope Rescue” class. So we’ve decided to add one more for the year.

We’ll be at the Lancaster County Public Service Training Center in Salunga- Landisville, PA on Dec 8-9 for this two day class covering a wide range of what’s new in the rope world. In particular, we will be working heavily with the CMC Rescue MPD (Multi-Purpose Device) and Two Tension Rope Systems. This system dramatically simplifies the rigging needed to execute the majority rope rescues.

We’re also going to be covering the use of  Arizona Vortex artificial high directional. While we will cover several traditional setup configurations, we  will also be showing the setup and use of the Appalacian Doortex in a couple of different configurations. Knotcraft, with a focus on the benefits of the bowline and it’s many variations, will also be covered in depth.

The cost of this 16 hour class is $280 per person. If you have any questions or would like more information, please give Kelly a call at 240-462-6610 or send an email to

rescue-2@comcast.net