rope

All posts tagged rope

Belay Fail

Posted by rescue2training on July 10, 2014
Posted in: accident, firefighting, high angle, highline, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Being a fireman and a rope geek, the topic of emergency escape and belaying is a big one to me. So I’d like to share with you this video that was found, through rigorous searching of the internet, covering just those topics.

Should you be interested in the device (doubtful), the name of the company is shown later in the video.

http://http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f0a_1257472076

 

These two videos were posted previously, but the links have gone bad. So here they are again for you to see how things can go REALLY wrong if you don’t know what the heck you’re doing. Both are from Peru. Just so it’s out there again: If you are visiting Peru and they ask if you want to ride a highline, it’s probably in your best interest to politely decline.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unF2shRE2KY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VADsADLE0gY

 

 

Wheel Deal Rescue

Posted by rescue2training on June 1, 2014
Posted in: high angle, rope access, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Check out this article from Las Vegas. It’s about the new 550′ Ferris wheel that can hold over 1100 people and the article highlights some of the planning that went in to possible rescue situations.

Kudos to the Las Vegas FD tech rescue team for being proactive in the situation. It looks like, should something ever happen, that it will be a complex mix of lead climbing, aid climbing, and some team based lowering. The fact that the fire dept. was consulted at all during construction is pretty neat too. Anchors were placed inside each pod so that a system could be hooked up and 3 victims at a time can be lowered.

Neat stuff!

http://www.reviewjournal.com/business/tourism/high-roller-emergency-will-require-high-intensity-response

ferris wheel

Thanks to my sister, Caity, for pointing this one out to us. It’s not rescue stuff, but be sure to check out her awesome website spiralspiritballooncompany.com. Lots of great sculptures there!

Pounding Pickets

Posted by rescue2training on May 12, 2014
Posted in: firefighting, high angle, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

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

Kicking It Old School

Posted by rescue2training on May 4, 2014
Posted in: firefighting, high angle, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

There is a lot to be said for how far technology has allowed us to go in the world of ropes as it relates to safety: Stronger yet smaller ropes, lightweight high strength aluminum hardware, etc… But is fun to cast our thoughts back to where the rope rescue world has ascended (that’s a pun) from. Check out the rescue drama in the youtube video below. It is from 1949 and was posted by Ron Holan on the Rope Access Technicians Network group on Facebook.

The neat part about this for me was that they didn’t use any carbiners or friction devices to lower the casualty. It was all done with friction wraps around their bodies and around rock outcrops. While this might not be how a rescue should be done now, given all of our available equipment, it is none the less a look at how a rescue can be done without any equipment.

Maybe you could use this video as an idea for a drill: Only use a Stokes basket and a rope, no hardware, to accomplish lowering a package down a building, catwalk, mountain, etc… Oh, and they weren’t using Prusiks either. They only had trust in each other!

 

 

Also pretty darn old school is this picture of Silver Spring VFD using the ladder truck for a high directional to get a Stokes basket off of the roof of a one story school and down to the ground. Thanks to our Florida friend Joe Schulman for findiong and sharing this one.

 

It’s hard to tell for sure from the picture, but it looks like the rope is just hard tied to the tip and the ladder is just craning the load.  Similar to one of our previous posts HERE , it’s also another example of how it might be easy to access a patient via ladder and use a rope system to get them down.

old school rope rescue

Easy Access with a Ladder

Posted by rescue2training on March 31, 2014
Posted in: firefighting, high angle, knots, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

The recent rescue by the South Walton Fire District’s Technical Rescue team in Florida is a great example of rescue where it is easy to access the victim by something as simple as a ladder, but where a rope based system might still be the best alternative for getting them down to the ground safely.

You can see in the pictures that the guys on the ground are able to guide the basket most of the way to the ground while it is supported on  the ladder and being lowered with rope.

Two quick points: If possible, I would have tried to line up my ladder with my anchors so that it was all in plumb. Maybe there is a good reason they didn’t. It’s hard to tell from just a picture.  Secondly, you can see how easily they overcame this by just having a rescuer on the roof do a very minor deflection by just pulling on the rope. It’s a good example of knowing how to easily overcome a problem by knowing a few physics tricks.

http://www.waltonsun.com/news/construction-worker-saved-by-swfd-1.297343#

Not all rope calls are high pucker factor incidents of life and death. Sometimes it’s just the simplest way of getting  the patient to the ground. Good job, guys.

 

swfd easy access

Rescues… Fast and Slow

Posted by rescue2training on February 28, 2014
Posted in: accident, firefighting, high angle, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Here is a comparison of rescues performed at different speeds. The first one is an actual rescue from down in Florida of a worker who was suspended in his fall arrest harness after the scaffolding he was on collapsed. The word from our sources who were on the scene informed us that it took 1.5 hours to perform this pickoff rescue. I was not personally there and can not speak first hand of the details, but I am told that it was a pretty straight forward scenario that just took a very long time to accomplish.

 

The good news is that it was successful, but had the victim been in distress, it might have been a different outcome. A pickoff should be one of the bread and butter operations of every rope team. On the scene is not the time to figure out where your attachments go to the victim, method of unweighting them from their system, etc… This should all be hammered out and drilled on well in advance.

Click here for the story and video:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/02/10/scaffolding-collapse-traps-workers-in-ft-lauderdale/

 

The opposite end of the spectrum is this video, brought to our attention by Eric Ulner of Ropes that Rescue, of a rescue competition which includes pickoffs. These guys are FAST!!! It looks like the video is sped up, but this is just the end product of dozens of hours of disciplined practice.

While real world rescues obviously present situations you are unable to specifically PLAN for, you should always be PREPARED for what might come your way. Rescues don’t need to happen at competition speed, but that’s no excuse for taking an excessive amount of time, either.

Sterling Rope Recall for AZTEK Cordage

Posted by rescue2training on January 16, 2014
Posted in: high angle, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . Leave a Comment

Sterling Rope recently released a voluntary recall for some of their 8mm sewn cordage. This affects some of the cordage sold with the popular AZTEK kit. Take a look at the images below to see if your cordage is in the affected lots. If it is, here’s the Cliff’s Notes version of what to do:

Call Sterling at 800-788-7673 or email them at returns@sterlingrope.com.

I picked this up from The Spec Ops Blog, which is a very good website with a ton of great info. Check them out.

The full length version:

sterling recall page1

Sterling Recall page2

Sterling Recall page3

 

 

 

Water, Water, Everywhere…

Posted by rescue2training on December 2, 2013
Posted in: accident, high angle, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

Here is a duo of rescues. Both involve rope and both involve water. They couldn’t be more dissimilar if they tried, though.

This first one is from Virginia Beach, VA where a worker on top of a water tower apparently slipped and fell and was caught by his fall protection system. He doesn’t appear to be a rope access worker; more than likely he is a brave cell tower worker who climbed over the side to do some work and slipped while climbing down or back up over the edge. That’s complete speculation on my part, but it fits the circumstances pretty well.

It looks like a pretty straight ahead pickoff with the rescuer being lowered and lifting the worker off of his system with a clearly visible AZTEK. Take a look at the victim standing in his relief step awaiting rescue. Kind of like a really small slack line attached to your harness. Not nearly as fun, I imagine. Good job by the fire department to try and do the simplest thing first: see if the ladder reaches, then set up for a rope rescue.  Thanks to Collin Moon of Elevated Safety for cluing us in on this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5acMiFmtKU

This next video was sent to us by Matt Hunt of Sterling Rope  and is now probably my favorite video on youtube! It really appeals to me for the fact that these guys are using really simple physics concepts, applied smartly, to accomplish a goal. Check out the slick use of the “pike and pivot” method as well as a two man rope winch. Not too far of a stretch from rescuing people instead of cars.

I was wondering who the brave guy was that hooked up to the car. The description says that they were able to snag a tow hook on it while standing on the ice without any problem.

Add Some Tension to Your Life

Posted by rescue2training on November 5, 2013
Posted in: high angle, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

If you talk about adding a tensioned belay line to your system, you’re bound to develop some tension in your conversations with people who are not yet a fan of a tensioned belay line. The most common paradigm is to have a loaded main line and an untensioned, slack belay line; this is especially true in the fire service. Recently, however, there has been a bigger push towards sharing the load on both the main and belay line.

There are a couple of reasons for this push. On the fire service side of things, the advent of a device like CMC’s MPD which is able to serve as both a lowering device as well as a competent  belay device, has made it possible for departments to capitalize on the advantages of a two tension rope system while still having a piece of gear that meets the ubiquitous NFPA standard. The second reason for the recent trending towards having a tensioned belay line stems from some extensive research into the topic. At the forefront of this charge is Mike Gibbs and his company, Rigging for Rescue.

Just what are the benefits of having a tensioned belay? As you can see from the videos below, the load falls quite a bit less on a loaded belay line. This is because the stretch that would occur in the belay line is taken out by loading the belay line prior to its activation. This is a good thing! The longer you fall, the more likely you are to get run over by the basket or hit another object on your way down. In the case of a dual MPD system, you also get the added benefit of having a mirrored system at the anchor. It’s only one device to learn how to use, which is a nice added benefit if your team doesn’t get to practice as much as you might like. Check out a pretty in depth look at tensioned belays at :

http://riggingforrescue.com/files/Download/Rigging%20for%20Rescue%20-%20Rescue%20Belays%2C%20Long%20Lowers%20-2007.pdf

The following tests were all performed by Rigging for Rescue and used a 200 kg test mass, 30m of 11mm rope in service (except for the last one, which is 10.5mm dynamic) and a tandem prusik belay. The notable differences in how far the load dropped before stopping comes from tensioning the belay behind the prusiks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbDjC833Nz8&noredirect=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDNzlFg3EX8&noredirect=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_K9nXYocuE&noredirect=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrGCxwTKJkk&noredirect=1

Gallagher anybody?

gallagher

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWCOHtaBSjk&noredirect=1

Be sure to check out RfR’s website for a lot of other great research and opportunity to learn from a very knowledgeable group.

http://riggingforrescue.com/index.html

Pulley Time

Posted by rescue2training on August 20, 2013
Posted in: confined space rescue, firefighting, high angle, rope rescue, technical rescue, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a Comment

If you’re pulling on pulleys, multiplying the power of your polyester,  performing a panoply of pick-offs, or trying to find a towel to wipe the spit off of your computer screen from reading so many “P” words in row; take a look at the videos below. They are each a description of how pulley systems work and are in order from simple concepts and explanations to a little more involved. You might know this stuff cold or it may be a good review. Either way, watching these videos is a fun and easy way to make sure all of the people on your team a staying fresh on pulley systems.

This first video is from the old Bill Nye the Science Guy show. If the opening cartoon brings you back to your youth, you can also look for “I’m Just a Bill” from Schoolhouse Rock. It must have been the same animator. Thanks to Phil Box at Rope Test Lab for posting a link to this

A little up the food chain is this classroom type demonstration from New England Rope:

Here is Pat Rhodes going over his 5 rules for a Mechanical Advantage system.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J7Qk-atJbs

This last lesson for the day is Pat explain how to stagger your compound Mechanical Advantage systems so that they collapse at the same time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOwZe8jDiag