In order to maintain a 10:1 safety factor, we must not load the rope past 4kN. Unfortunately, in the Fire Service, this is often overlooked. It is vitally important that this concept is understood. I would like to identify what I consider to be the most important concepts to understand to successfully rig high lines below. As I developed as a rope rescue technician and attended training with people of all rope back rounds and from all over the country my eyes were opened, my jaw was dropped, and I vowed to try and rectify the generally incorrect way the Fire Department in my area was teaching high lines. As a novice-at-best rope practitioner, I sat naively through class and accepted each instruction as the right way as it came to me. Once again, “the how” rather than “the why” teaching was prevalent. “High lines are really the only time in rope rescue that we have the potential to be operating within an unsafe safety factor if we don’t know how to tension properly.”īack to my first high line class experience. A subject as advanced as high lines is not suitable for the masses, but rather only those who are ready. I have said in previous writings technical rescue is not meant to be taught to the lowest common denominator. There is no other operation with rope that will put more stress on our anchors, and let’s face it we’re dealing with a rope under a lot of tension if it fails, there will be no gently letting down… It will fail with gusto, to say the least. Why is it so vitally important that only the right people learn and construct high lines? This is the most simple answer yet: safety! High lines are really the only time in rope rescue that we have the potential to be operating within an unsafe safety factor if we don’t know how to tension properly. This creates a rope rescue practitioner who is more than likely not truly ready to embark on the very technical journey that is high lines. All the while these individuals are balancing proficiency in vehicle rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, and possibly more. Currently, in the Fire Service in most places of the country, individuals are being taught to the operations level, which is all the basics and then go straight to technician, which is all high lines. They require each and every person involved, with constructing it to be very knowledgeable in every aspect of rigging.That doesn’t just include being able to perform skills, but also understand rigging theory. High lines are quite possibly the pinnacle of a rope rescue operation. So Why is the Aforementioned a Troubling Trend in Fire Service Tech Rescue? Twin Track English Reeve System Sitting in that technician level class I had started the process of driving the Cadillac before I had mastered being a good driver in something less than luxurious. I was instructed on “how” to build a basic pulley system, “how” to conduct a pick off, “how” to tie a basic anchor etc., but no one ever included the reason “why” I was doing what I was doing. The reason for this is because “the why” had been left out of my initial training. I knew next to nothing about calculating forces on anchors, critical angles, safety factors, or really any true theory behind the skills I had been “trained” to perform. Due to the fact that there were no “in between” classes, the only option was to take the technician level class next which strictly dealt with horizontal rescue systems. It was a mere 6 months or so after my initial rope rescue training in basic anchors, mechanical advantage, and raising/lowering systems. I distinctly remember sitting in my first high line rescue class as a member of a Fire Service technical rescue team. How in the world could this analogy regarding a typical teenage process have anything to do with technical rope rescue? Allow me to explain. It was during this process we learned the mechanics of being a successful driver, and those experiences allowed us to feel comfortable enough to purchase a nice new vehicle when we were ready. We all, however, recognized the importance of learning on the older model, that certainly wasn’t new. When we reach way back in our memory banks to when we were new drivers, I would venture to say most of us dreamed about rolling down the road in a nice new luxury or sports car some day.
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