High Angle Rescue

[scottmacd37]

After taking a course put on by Firemaster a discussion has arose in out hall.
Should the belay rope be attached to the rescue man on the fron or the back???
We have arguments for both and trained people fighting for both so as a new guy I am asking other peoples opinion.:confused:

[ssifire]

I think Rope Rescue, like many other aspects of the fire service, has multiple ways to accomplish the same task. The art and the science, so to speak. The science, is safely being hooked-up at two points. The art, front or back.

We use Yates Tech Rescue Harnessess which have Double D Rings on the front, and back. While we general hook-up both mainline and safety on the front, you do have the option of hooking up on the back. I find it easier to have everything in front of me, rather than having ropes behind my back, in the event of any problems. In some rescues you may have to undo your mainline or safety, as long as you can attach to another point before releasing. This would be difficult if your trying to reach behind your back.

So, I'd say 99% of the time we hook-up on the front. I don't think I would ever hook-up one line on the front, and one on the back. Seems like a good way to get in to trouble.

[RESQTEK]

I performed a number of tests last year regarding this issue after having the same fight on our department. I have video footage of rescue randy smashing his face into a brick wall after being caught by the rear attachment. This is just one of the dangers associated with this technique. The other is the inability to perform self rescue. After the mainline fails and the rescuer is hanging from the dorsal D, it is essential for the rescuer to place himself in a more comfortable position for suspension to avoid harness suspension trauma. Also if the patient had already been put on the system, a front attachment leaves you in a more favorable position to provide patient care. Another hazard is that you are unable to see your connections for periodic inspection throughout the rescue. Even a locking carabiner can be broken if loaded improperly and if you can not monitor the orientation of your connections, you have no way to avoid this. Heavy duty locking carabiners can have the lock broke open with an inward gate pressure of as little as 2kN (450lbsf).

The use of dorsal attachment is derived from fall arrest techniques where a fall of 4 metres on a 2 metre lanyard is anticipated. This is what we call fall factor 2. Fall factor is simply the distance of the fall divided by the length of rope catching the load. Fall factor is used to compare the relative severity of falls. This fall will generate around 13kN (2900lbsf)of impact force. A rescue belay situation will never see that type of fall. The worst case for rescue belay is when the rope is shortest. This is when you are first going over the edge. At this point the distance from the belay device to the rescuer is at least 3 metres. The fall distance will be the distance from your harness connection to the ground level which you are standing on which is about 1 metre. This gives a fall factor of 0.3 . Tests done with this fall factor in free air with no edge friction resulted in impact forces of 5kN (1124lbsf). This is well below the 8 kN limit that we should try to acheive. The friction at the edge further reduces this impact.

The problem is there are people in the fall arrest world teaching fall arrest and trying to apply the principles to rescue with no thought or education regarding rescue. They always reference video and tests that are based on completely different applications and have no facts regarding rescue techniques. When I show these people my video footage they are speechles. If only they would stay that way!:rolleyes:

[ssifire]

I have video footage of rescue randy smashing his face into a brick wall after being caught by the rear attachment.

I think I have seen some of these videos. My favorite one is with the shock absorber and a mainline failer. :eek: Ouch! Rescue Randy doesn't look to good at the bottom.

Well said RESQTEK

[RESQTEK]

Scottmacd, I am assuming you are from Alberta since you took the training with firemaster.(Although they do run courses in BC aswell) I am in Calgary and am willing to help anyone dealing with this issue. The miseducation that runs rampant in this industry needs to end before the small minded people at CSA get their hands too deep in our work. PM me and we can discuss this further.

[Firefighter1680]

HEY RESQTEK..I agree with you on all points..I wouldnt want my belay attached to my back!!!One question I had was you made mention or cross loading a carabiner and the dangers of that...I just wanted to ask if you soft tie your belay?? In Winnipeg we now do but I believe it used to be the other way...Just curious...


I performed a number of tests last year regarding this issue after having the same fight on our department. I have video footage of rescue randy smashing his face into a brick wall after being caught by the rear attachment. This is just one of the dangers associated with this technique. The other is the inability to perform self rescue. After the mainline fails and the rescuer is hanging from the dorsal D, it is essential for the rescuer to place himself in a more comfortable position for suspension to avoid harness suspension trauma. Also if the patient had already been put on the system, a front attachment leaves you in a more favorable position to provide patient care. Another hazard is that you are unable to see your connections for periodic inspection throughout the rescue. Even a locking carabiner can be broken if loaded improperly and if you can not monitor the orientation of your connections, you have no way to avoid this. Heavy duty locking carabiners can have the lock broke open with an inward gate pressure of as little as 2kN (450lbsf).

The use of dorsal attachment is derived from fall arrest techniques where a fall of 4 metres on a 2 metre lanyard is anticipated. This is what we call fall factor 2. Fall factor is simply the distance of the fall divided by the length of rope catching the load. Fall factor is used to compare the relative severity of falls. This fall will generate around 13kN (2900lbsf)of impact force. A rescue belay situation will never see that type of fall. The worst case for rescue belay is when the rope is shortest. This is when you are first going over the edge. At this point the distance from the belay device to the rescuer is at least 3 metres. The fall distance will be the distance from your harness connection to the ground level which you are standing on which is about 1 metre. This gives a fall factor of 0.3 . Tests done with this fall factor in free air with no edge friction resulted in impact forces of 5kN (1124lbsf). This is well below the 8 kN limit that we should try to acheive. The friction at the edge further reduces this impact.

The problem is there are people in the fall arrest world teaching fall arrest and trying to apply the principles to rescue with no thought or education regarding rescue. They always reference video and tests that are based on completely different applications and have no facts regarding rescue techniques. When I show these people my video footage they are speechles. If only they would stay that way!:rolleyes:

[RESQTEK]

We do soft tie the belay, which brings up another issue with dorsal attachment. How do you attach and detach yourself from the system if you soft tie? You can't always rely on having other team members present. What if you had to climb a tower and then, after ensuring your ropes are following a safe path, you need to tie in to the system? The people I have come across that endorse the use of dorsal attachment have very limited rescue experience. Maybe for these people it is better to eliminate as much thinking from the equation as possible. Then again it is called "technical rescue".

[RESQTEK]

I have also noticed that the people who are using dorsal attachment use a carabiner for the attachment as opposed to a soft tie in. This is usually because they have been fooled into thinking a shock absorber is necessary.

[Firefighter1680]

You bet....With ya all the way!!!