General

This Technical Rescue Awareness course has been developed by fellow firefighters within the State of Illinois in conjunction with the Office of the State Fire Marshals Office. The members of the steering committee followed the guidelines of the OSFM and NFPA 1670. This course is meant to provide you a means to identify and properly react to uncommon, dangerous and difficult rescue situations. Further training in each discipline is required before any actual rescue operations and practices.

NOTE:

This course does not contain hands on training. The department or agency is responsible for training per NFPA 1670, Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents. NFPA 1670 refers to Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Basic Life Support (BLS). It is the department or agency's responsibility to properly instruct members in emergency medical care. EMS cannot be taught at this level due to the vast number of systems within the State of Illinois, the lack of uniform policies and procedures/guidelines with the separate regions in Illinois, and the training requirements as established by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

This course will cover basic and general knowledge on the following topic areas: Structural Collapse, Rope Rescue, Confined Space, Vehicle and Machinery, Water , Wilderness, and Trench / Excavation. These seven areas are identified in NFPA 1670. The information you will be provided today will be at an awareness level. In most cases, you will not be the rescuer.

The Office of the State Fire Marshals Office has established the following requirements for this course. In order to be state certified, each individual is required to attend 100% of the eight-hour awareness class, be a state certified firefighter II, and successfully pass the state written exam by 70%.

Each department or agency needs to have an action plan and policies in place to handle these rescue incidents. Proper planning includes knowing where your agency is in terms of technical rescue training, level of operation, and when to call additional resources. Mutual aid agreements can provide you with additional external resources, some of which may be at a higher level of training. They must have total control over all resources requested. If conditions warrant the operation may be halted by the AHJ .

A hazard analysis and risk assessment will provide the department or agency with the information needed to make an informed decision on the likelihood of an incident, where it might occur, and the effects on the community .It will also provide the department or agency with information as to the feasibility of conducting a technical rescue.

Departments or agencies are required to establish written standard operating procedures/guidelines consistent with one of the following NFPA 1670 operational levels: Awareness, Operations, or Technician.

Awareness -Awareness is the basic first in company operations. This will be mostly non-hands on training. It will provide you the information needed to identify the specific hazards and rescue situations.

Operation -Operations is a hands on response. In the operations level, personnel will perform rescues based on their training. It is intended to provide individuals with the required training to perform the operation safely and effectively.

Technician -Individuals at this level are taught to deal with complex and advanced rescue procedures/guidelines. This level is the expert level of training. FEMA USAR teams are trained at this level.

Awareness level personnel are those who may be first on the scene through the course of regular job duties of a technical rescue incident. Generally, they are not considered in "rescuers" as such. The AHJ should ensure these people know the hazards that are in their jurisdiction.

Hazards associated with technical rescue incidents.

Most people who have entered the fire service possess the type of personality that likes to jump in and get the job done. They are action oriented. They want to take action and help now. This trait is often a great asset, but it can also make them the biggest hazard on the scene. When emotions take over, dangerous attempts at a rescue are executed without the proper training or equipment. This is where strong, competent, level-headed leadership must gain control of the scene to prevent the loss of one of our own.

Elements of Safety at a Technical Rescue.

Personnel accountability system (PAS).

The department or agency must be accountable for all members operating at an incident. There are various forms of PAS available, but the department or agency must insure that whatever system is utilized, it must account for all members operating at the incident at all times.

Evacuation Procedures/guidelines.

Every member operating at the incident must know these procedures/guidelines. Each sector must know what its' actions will be in the event an evacuation order is given. These procedures/guidelines should be identified in the risk/benefit analysis and the operational procedures/guidelines established by the department or agency.

Personnel Protective Equipment.

Each department or agency is responsible for determining personnel protective equipment. The decision as to what must be worn is based on the incident and what hazards are present or could become present during the incident.

Hazard Assessment and Risk Assessment (Size up)

Hazard and Risk assessment (SIZE-UP). The need for continuous size up must never be overlooked. Every technical rescue, no matter what magnitude, can change very rapidly. The initial assessment and hazard analysis will set the groundwork for the entire incident. The incident may affect local areas only, or encompass a multi county area. Is it only a building collapse, or it a building collapse because of a tornado? In some areas the magnitude of the incident may not have been realized or planned for .

Location and number of victims.

Size up determines an approximate number of victims and possible locations. Time of day and area affected will assist in this determination.

Risk I Benefit analysis. Will the end result justify the means? What is an acceptable level of risk you are willing to accept? How long has the victim been incapacitated? Are you utilizing your resources for the greatest amount of good for the most people? These questions not only pose a moral issue but an ethical one as well. Greater risk for more success, little risk for little success. There will come a time when no matter what efforts you put forth, the end result will be the same.

Pre-planning.

This will address more than one way to get to the area. Roads may be closed because of debris, structural damage, unstable roadways and bridges. Knowing the buildings and hazard locations in your response district, will help you with an emergency response. The department or agency is required by NFPA 1670 to identify all possible technical rescue hazards.

Environmental Factors.

Loss of life can be expected to rise in time of extreme heat and cold. The victim's chances for survival are, in part, dependent on the conditions of the environment. How will rain, sleet and snow effect your operation? Do you have a contingency plan for these types of conditions?

Availability I Necessary resources.

What resources do you have available? Remember both internal and external. Utilize local resources by explaining to them what you need and send them a letter of intent prior to your need. Contractors, Registered Professional Engineers, equipment rental shops, county and township agencies can all assist in the event of an emergency.

Patient Contact.

Safety is paramount before any actions are taken. Can you see or hear the victim? Does the victim know you are there? Some methods that can be utilized are, hailing, tag lines, hard line communication systems, and radios.

Incident Management System / Incident Command System.

In order to manage any incident, command and control must be established. For the technical rescue incident the following sectors are a minimum that must be established: Command, Safety, and Rescue.

Command.

The incident commander is responsible for the entire incident. Command need not be trained to the level of the incident, but must have the resources available in order to make an informed decision. Command may halt any and all operations at any technical rescue incident.

Safety .

Safety sector should be trained to the level of the incident. There are certain established methods of rescue that the normal fire ground safety officer may not be aware of and deem them unsafe, when in fact they are standard to the specific type of incident.

Rescue.

The rescue sector is responsible for establishing a rescue plan, informing all sectors of the plan, and insuring the plan is carried out. This individual must be trained to the type of incident. In the rescue sector, working outside of your level of training is not acceptable.

Optional sector -Logistics, Public Information, Staging, Rehab, Suppression, EMS, and numerous others as outline in NFPA 1561, Standard in Fire Department Incident Management.

Scene control.

Control Zones -These zones will replicate the zones established during a hazardous materials incident. Hot, warm and cold. Establishing these zones early will afford the incident commander control over the incident vs. the incident controlling the commander. These zones should be established when the first fire department or police department representative arrives on scene.

Witness interviews.

Who, what, where, why, and when must be extracted from all individuals in the area. Where were they standing when the incident took place? What did they see or hear? The department or agency should establish forms to assist in this information gathering for the various types of possible incidents identified in their jurisdiction.

Patient Contact.

Control who talks to the victim and what the victim hears. It does no one any good to say things that will only upset the victim. Lying is not acceptable, but limiting the information is. Prudence in this matter will be of benefit to your agency and the victim.

Bystander Interaction.

This includes family that bas been told of the incident and they are there to see their loved ones. Establishing control zones will keep all non-essential personnel out of harms way. The department or agency personnel interacting with the public can also pose problems. If numerous people tell "their" version of what's going on, the real story may become overlooked. This is the importance of a Public Information officer.

Police Assistance.

The Police departments are an extremely valuable resource at your disposal. From the local to state level, most are willing to cooperate with you. Like all other members working on the scene, they must be kept apprised of the situation and any and all potential problems.

Machinery / Vehicles.

All too often, notices are sent out because a rescuer was killed at the scene of an incident. Whether it is traffic on a back-road or a 6-lane highway, a conscious effort must be made to protect all personnel operating at the incident. Do not utilize personnel to block traffic. With machinery, find someone with expertise. What are the actions of a "full cycle machine"? Call for assistance.

Utilities.

Notify the proper authorities. Unless you are "qualified, certified, or properly trained" do not attempt to manipulate their equipment. Have their emergency contact numbers available on all apparatus.