What kind of Tech Rescuer you are?

What kind of Tech Rescuer are you?

Test your knowledge and find out how good you know tech rescue and what kind of Tech Rescuer you are. Can you answer these questions?

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Effective in 2022, NFPA will alter it's standards arrangements that govern rope rescue to include

NFPA 1006

This is only one of NFPA's Rope Rescue standards. NFPA 1006 is NFPA's Technical Rescue Personnel Professional Qualifications document for individuals only. There are also NFPA standards addressing Team Capabilities (NFPA 1670), Equipment Testing (NFPA 1983), and Equipment Selection, Care and Maintenance (NFPA 1858.) Effective in 2022, NFPA 1670, 1983, and 1858 will be consolidated into a new standard, NFPA 2500.

NFPA 1670

This is only one of NFPA's Rope Rescue standards. NFPA 1670 Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents is directed toward team capabilities. There are also NFPA standards addressing individual Professional Qualifications (NFPA 1006), Equipment Testing (NFPA 1983), and Equipment Selection, Care and Maintenance (NFPA 1858.) Effective in 2022, NFPA 1670, 1983, and 1858 will be consolidated into a new standard, NFPA 2500.

NFPA 1983

This is only one of NFPA's Rope Rescue standards. NFPA 1983 Standard on Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services is a manufacturer's standard, focused on testing and certification of equipment. There are also NFPA standards addressing individual Professional Qualifications (NFPA 1006), Team Capabilities (NFPA 1670), and Equipment Selection, Care and Maintenance (NFPA 1858.) Effective in 2022, NFPA 1670, 1983, and 1858 will be consolidated into a new standard, NFPA 2500.

NFPA 2500

This is NFPA's new collection of Rope Rescue standards - but won't include everything. NFPA 2500 is a new document for 2022, consolidating NFPA 1983 on Equipment Testing, Team Capabilities (NFPA 1670), and Equipment Selection, Care and Maintenance (NFPA 1858.) The NFPA 1006 standard for individual Professional Qualifications is still a stand-along document.

NFPA 1858

This is only one of NFPA's Rope Rescue standards. NFPA 1858 Standard on Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services is a user-oriented companion document to the manufacturer-oriented NFPA 1983 Standard on Life Safety Rope and Equipment for Emergency Services. There are also NFPA standards addressing individual Professional Qualifications (NFPA 1006), Team Capabilities (NFPA 1670.) Effective in 2022, NFPA 1670, 1983, and 1858 will be consolidated into a new standard, NFPA 2500.

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An Awareness Level Rope Rescuer must be capable of

Recognizing Hazards associated with a rope rescue event

This is ONE of the right answers… according to paragraph 5.1.3 of NFPA 1006, an Awareness level rescuer should be capable of identifying potential hazards, activating appropriate resources, and mitigating risks to rescuers, bystanders and victims.

Sizing Up a Rope Rescue Incident

This is ONE of the right answers… according to paragraph 5.1.2 of NFPA 1006, an Awareness level rescuer should have sufficient knowledge to gather information about an incident, including number of subjects, last reported location, reporting parties are isolated, needs are assesed and information is collected to develop an initial incident action plan.

Assist with operation of a haul system

This is ONE of the right answers… According to paragraph 5.1.1 of NFPA 1006, an Awareness level rescuer should understand the principles of mechanical advantage, and how to assist with the operation of a haul line.

Items A, B, and C

This is the correct answer. Awarenes level rescuers are expected to be able to assist with a haul system, size up an incident, recognize hazards, and

Items A and B only

Even Awareness level rescuers are expected to chip in and assist with rescue work!

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To work as a Rope Rescue Technician, you must

Be certified by SPRAT as a Rope Access Technician

Although Rope Access Technicians learn many rope skills, including pickoffs, SPRAT certification does not encompass all the necessary skills for rope rescue.

Be certified by NFPA to NFPA 1006

NFPA does not confer certification directly, either for personnel or for equipment.

Be deemed competent by your governing AHJ

This is the right answer. To work as a Rope Rescue Technician, you must have approval from the Authority Having Jurisdiction over the entity for which you work.

A and B only

No, only the AHJ can authorize you to function in a rescue capacity.

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For rescue purposes, it is acceptable to use a Sternal attachment to your harness

Only as long as it is not for fall arrest.

ANSI Z359 fall arrest standards recommend keeping falls to less than two feet on a sternal connection.

Only for suspending a subject during a rescue pickoff.

It is not advised to attach a rescue subject (or other load) directly to oneself during a rescue pickoff, as this can cause the rescuer's harness and the rescuer's body to become loaded in an unwieldy or even dangerous manner.

Only within the guidelines provided by the manufacturer

This is the correct answer. In fact, it should always be your fall-back position… when in doubt, defer to manufacturer's instructions.

Never

Sternal attachments can be valuable when used properly.

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For the purposes of Rope Rescue, NFPA standards define the delineation between Low Angle and High Angle as

There is no set demarcation.

This is the correct answer. The difference between Low and High angle rescue has more to do with how the litter is rigged and the evacuation performed than some predefined figure.

A slope angle of 35 to 45 degrees.

Some agencies adopt numbers like this, but they are not mandated by any standard.

33-degrees on manmade surfaces (concrete, steel, etc) and 47 degrees on natural slopes.

While manmade surfaces differ from natural ones, it cannot be presumed that one will *always* offer less grip or greater hazard. Each must be analyzed individually.

The angle at which rescuers would be at risk of catastrophic injury if they were to fall.

Some agencies adopt a concept like this, but this is not mandated by any standard.

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In NFPA vernacular, a key difference between a Rescuer at the Technician level and a Rescuer at the Operations level is

Operations level rescuers perform team-based techniques while Technician level rescuers perform single-handed rope-access based rescue techniques.

Professional Rescue is typically team-based, at any level. While rope access technicians have some mad rope skills, the focus of rescue is optimization of patient care, using available resources.

The technician level rescuer is expected to be able to accompany and manage a subject through an unstable environment, while the operations-level rescuer is not.

This is the correct answer; operations level rescuers should be capable of moving a subject from one stable location to another without accompanying the litter.

The operations-level rescuer is authorized to perform only low-angle rescues, while the technician level rescuer is free to perform both high-angle and low-angle rescues.

At one time the industry seemed to be moving in this direction, but the fact that nearly every jurisdiction has at least some risk

The skills are the same, but the technician level rescuer must also be a paramedic.

Many rescues can be done using either Operations level skills or Technician level skills - it's just a difference in approach.

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The term hand-line refers to

…a bagged water rescue rope that is thrown by hand.

Nope, this is called a "water rescue throw rope" or simply "throw-bag".

…a fat rope used for manually rappelling from a helicopter without a descender.

Nope, this is called a Fast-Rope system - usually reserved for specialized military operations.

...a fixed rope system that rescuers hold onto for stability when walking on a sloped surface

Yes, a hand-line is typically anchored at the top of a slope for rescuers to use as an adjunct to safety.

…a rope that is fat enough to be gripped by hand.

Nope, there's not really a term for that.

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Rescuers at the Operations level can perform vertical litter lowers by

Controlling the litter from a secure location(s) with tag lines.

Tag lines are a viable way for Operations level rescuers to control a litter

Using an aerial ladder to create a litter-slide.

An aerial ladder may be used to effectively turn a high angle evacuation into a low angle evacuation.

Both A and B are acceptable answers

This is the correct answer. Tag lines and aerial slides are both operations level techniques that can be used to execute a rescue from a vertical environment.

None of the above

Accidents happen in vertical environments, without regard to what level of responders are in the neighborhood. Operations level rescuers can use creative solutions like aerial slides and tag lines to get the job done - as long as the operations level rescuer does not accompany the subject through the vertical environment.

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The minimum breaking strength (MBS) of a life safety rope is calculated using a 3-Sigma method for statistical significance. This means…

Three standard deviations are subtracted from the mean (average) breaking strength of at least 5 samples tested to determine the MBS.

This is one of the correct answers. By testing the rope in this way, an estimated 99.7% samples of ALL items made in the same way with the same materials can be expected to be at least as strong as that MBS number.

A rope rated to 40kN under the NFPA 1983 standard can be expected to have the same strength as a rope rated to 40kN under the European EN 1891 standard.

This is not a correct answer. European standards require only that the sample(s) tested at the lab break at or above the required minimum. Using NFPA's 3-sigma approach, the calculated MBS could end up below the required strength, even if every sample were to fail above that limit!

An estimated 99.7% samples of ALL items made in the same way with the same materials will be at least as strong as that number.

This is one of the correct answers. To achieve this confidence level, three standard deviations are subtracted from the mean (average) breaking strength of at least 5 samples tested to determine the MBS.

Answers A and С are correct.

This is the correct answer.

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Technora fibers used in rope

Are impervious to heat and flame

Not really. Technora® will decompose at about 500 °C (932 °F), but according to manufacturer documentation, exposure to temperatures in excess of 250 °C (482 °F) can degrade the strength below fit-for-use condition.

Will withstand the heat of a fire.

Not necessarily. Temperatures inside a burning building can easily reach a few hundred degrees Farenheit, with flashover occurring around 1,000-degrees. Technora decomposes at 500-degrees, but While floor temperatures in a burning building are often in the 100-degree farenheit range, temperatures at eye level can easily reach upwards of 600-degrees, and 1500-degrees at the ceiling.

Are heat resistant up to a temperature of about 250 °C (482 °F) and will decompose at about 500 °C (932 °F)

This is the correct answer. Technora degrades at an ambient temperature of 250 °C (482 °F) will decompose at about 500 °C (932 °F)

Melt at about 500 °C (932 °F)

Technora® has no melting point, and only starts to decompose once the ambient temperature reaches 500 °C (932 °F). For heat-resistant applications, exposure to temperatures above 250 °C (482 °F) is not recommended, to ensure fit-for-use strength retention.

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G-Rated Rescue Rope must have

A 3σ (3-sigma) rated breaking strength (MBS) MBS of at least 9000lbf

While many rescuers tend to "round up" and assume a 9,000lbf MBS requirement, the 40kN equivalent is actually 8992 pounds.

A 3σ (3-sigma) rated breaking strength (MBS) MBS of at least 40kN

This is one of the correct answers. 40kN is equivalent to 8992 pounds.

Elongation between 1% and 10% at 10%MBS

This is one of the correct answers. According to this criteria, both low-stretch and static rope are acceptable.

Diameter between 11mm-16mm

This is one of the correct answers.

Answers A, B, C, and D are correct

This is not correct. The MBS requirement is 40kN, which is equivalent to 8992 (not 9000) pounds.

Answers B, C, and D are correct

This is the correct answer… 40kN MBS, Elongation 1-10% at 10%MBS, and diameter between 11mm-16mm.

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Probie

DROP AND GIVE ME 20, Probie! You've got some studying to do!

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Awareness Level

Knowing what you don't know is the beginning of knowledge; stay safe out there!

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Operations Level Rescuer

Wow, someone is on a path to greatness! Keep up the good work!

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Rope Rescue Technician

Outstanding! Well, done, Tech Rescue Professional! Share this with everyone.

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