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Through the Floor Rescue with a Hose
From Engine House Training, LLC
Here is a simple and effective method for rescuing a firefighter who has fallen through a floor. This method uses a charged hose line, that is hopefully very close, to remove a downed firefighter through the floor.
Somebody needs to get down to the firefighter at the level below. An attic ladder can be used but takes time. We practice sliding the charged hose line like a pole. You must practice this and really wrap your legs really tight. You will slide down fast.
With the hose in the hole you have some protection to keep fire off of the downed firefighter. Do not disregard that you encounter. It wont matter if you don’t put the fire out and it over runs you.
Once you have determined that the firefighter is unable to get himself out and his air is safe, loosen his SCBA waist straps and convert him through his legs. Sit the firefighter up and loosen the shoulder straps. Run the hose line through the should straps above the shoulders behind his head.
Feed the hose back up through the hole to a team above. Make sure to feed enough line for them to pull and lift. Tighten down the shoulder straps after enough line has been fed up.
Now the team above needs to pull the hose and lift the firefighter up out of the hole. The firefighter below needs to help guide the firefighter as he goes up.
Understand that the SCBA packs are not rated for rescue operations in relation to harnesses. These are not made to dangle people off of roofs or out of windows.
We will cover how the rescuer firefighter gets out after the downed firefighter is rescued. Now, go train and give it a try.
Jason
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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I do believe this rescue technique was utilized by Toronto FD not too long ago to rescue 2 firefighters. Good technique and simple to do.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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"With the hose in the hole you have some protection to keep fire off of the downed firefighter. Do not disregard that you encounter. It won't matter if you don’t put the fire out and it over runs you."
First off Jason, posting this concept and including photos makes a compelling argument for engine and truck companies to at least give this evolution a shot. It's another great option and tool for a company officer's rescue toolbox.
Couple of questions as I sit down, wired from drinking too much coffee after driving 12 hours from Las Vegas to Santa Barbara... Viva Lost Wages!
Questions: Assuming this evolution is decided to be the best option, it's a given that engine pressure is going to have to be dropped to a point where the hose line can easily be maneuvered into position, right? And what hose size(s) are you using?
You also have to communicate with the apparatus operator that pressure needs to be dropped unless your SOG's call out predetermined things that will occur automatically and reinforced with receptive training.
Nice concept and post Jason.
PS: Increase your photo sizes so the reader can better see the concept. Consider using photoshop or other photo editing software to both brighten the photos as well as convert the photos from JPEG's to GIF's to reduce file size. I am assuming you are using small photos to minimize download time and file sizes? I'm not sure if the file sizes are reduced through the FFN software. I don't think file size matters, not that size doesn't matter, hence me asking how big your hose was. (Fire Hose) lol
CBz, and unfortunately, NOT CBzzzzzzzzzzz
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"With the hose in the hole you have some protection to keep fire off of the downed firefighter. Do not disregard that you encounter. It won't matter if you don’t put the fire out and it over runs you."
Questions: Assuming this evolution is decided to be the best option, it's a given that engine pressure is going to have to be dropped to a point where the hose line can easily be maneuvered into position, right? And what hose size(s) are you using?
You also have to communicate with the apparatus operator that pressure needs to be dropped unless your SOG's call out predetermined things that will occur automatically and reinforced with receptive training.
BZ,
For the most part this is a technique utilized by a RIT crew not a fire attack crew. If you are attacking the fire then you really can't stop to perform such a rescue. The fire and rescue are both seperate issues at such a point.....which also goes to the defense of adequate staffing on scene.
Now a RIT team should have a handline dedicated to their use, so even if the fire was being attacked, there should be no reason to compromise the use of that attack line. Also, a FF can fall through a hole without having fire near them either. As for the rescue, typically this is done with a 1 3/4" line where it can be more easily maneuvered. You put a loop in the hole and guys on each side above the hole and pull the victim up. Pressure shouldn't have to be reduced, but one should have a radio to call if it needs to be.
In Toronto, both FF's were concious and able to grab the hose and straddle it and just get pulled up, vs the RIT crew having to send people in.
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Permalink Reply by Moose on
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I was trained how to do this but with a rope and large "D" ring biner instead. By latching the rope to the pack shoulder straps with the biner and using two ends of the rope you make a quick 2-1 system. RIT should have a rope bag with them and its easy to deploy and use and does not tie up a handline. Although I agree, if someone falls through and are still concious and uninjured than looping the hose down through the hole is a quick easy way to get them out...unless they are on the first floor and can walk out...LOL
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All about having plenty of tools in the tool box to choose from Moose.
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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I have a few additional thoughts on this...
If you need the nozzle on the floor below to protect the downed firefighter, then you need at least two hoselines, and you need them five minutes ago. It will be difficult to impossible to fight any serious volume of fire on two levels with a single hoseline.
If you're going to use the hose for this rescue technique, then the fire on the lower level must be knocked down so you can stop fighting the fire with this line and then use it for the lift.
Remember that SCBA backplates are not designed as vertical lifting devices, even with the waist strap rigged as a crotch strap. The backplate can fail. There have been a few cases of backplate failure under various conditions, especially when the SCBA is used as an improvised rescue harness.
As for using a rope instead of the hoseline for this, I'd use a rope if I had an adequate one. However, the hoseline might be all you have, especially if your engine company firefighters don't take a rope bag along with the line, tools, TIC, flashlights, radios...etc.
There is no real need to drop the PDP in order to use the hose for the lift. You definately don't want to drop the PDP if the line is needed to fight the fire on the lower level into which the downed firefighter fell.
Most importantly is the strategy for this technique. In the simplist terms possible, if you don't have a ladder and you don't have an immediate lateral escape route from the lower level, any firefighter who slides the line is going to be a second entrapped firefighter. It might be smarter to simply use the hoseline to protect the downed firefighter until the MAYDAY can be called and RIT can come assist with the rescue, including providing a ladder to prevent the multiple trapped firefighter scenario from occurring.
It's simple math - 2 or more trapped firefighters is a worse scenario than 1 trapped firefighter.
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Permalink Reply by FETC on
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I agree there are many ways to extricate a brother from below. Instructor's have modified hose techniques over the years. You can make a U and use as an elevator under the firefighters feet, buttocks, or just stand on the pistol grip handle and go. But this is for the unconscious brother with just a hose, my only caution as Jason mentioned is the stress exerted on the shoulder straps/backplate rivets may have a catastrophic failure half way up. I have seen others use webbing and rope as previously mentioned and fail. The key is to have many tools in the toolbox like John said. We dropped and successfully plucked a brother from a burning basement with just hose. Hose retrieval for the conscious brother is the fastest way out and have had "first hand" success with it.
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Permalink Reply by John Gillelan on
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Similar but different, John. The method utilized is one that we are taught in our RIT course; lowering the middle section of the hose to allow the firefighter to stand on the hose, wrapping their arms around the loops of hose.
Two firefighters were rescued with this method after falling into the fire from an exposure building roof in heavy smoke conditions.
A video demonstration can been seen in the link
http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2011/01/05/16775576.html
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I mentioned the Toronto firefighters after listening to their story at the IAFF Redmond Conference in NYC. The fact is that a charged hoseline was utilized to rescue firefighters recently and shows effectiveness of using a charged line for rescue. I know these pics show that of an unresponsive FF, but it just goes to show why training on different techniques is important.
Of course the Toronto example can also show how such techniques can be used while fire suppression activities are going on, since there were a few comments regarding use of a line to rescue during suppression. This just shows that another line can be utilized and that it doesn't have to be an attack line. Thanks for posting the video and I do hope more FF's take advantage of such trainings....seems TFD is pretty aggressive with their training which is good.
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