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Permalink Reply by James Hawk on February 10, 2011 at 8:28pm

you can purchase a rope specifically for training, and if i understand the rule correctly the training rope can be used more than once.

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on February 11, 2011 at 12:04am

One thing i remember from my academy and the ifsta manual is that personal escape rope is to only be used once then destroyed.

Common sense should prevail. There is the mantra out there to use the ropes once and then it becomes utility rope, but it also depends upon the conditions. Yes, if actually used in an emergency, I would consider getting rid of it, however, nothing is good if you don't train with it.

The same stuff has been said about life safety rope, but when training with USAR, the same rope we train with is the same rope we will perform a rescue with. The difference comes down to inspecting and taking care of the rope. It used to be said that if the rope was "shock loaded" it should be then taken out of service and used as utility rope, however, a proper inspection can ensure the rope is still usable. As long as you take care of the rope, inspect it routinely and keep it clean, it should be fine to train with now and then too.

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Permalink Reply by 55 TRUCK on February 11, 2011 at 2:23pm

Webbing will also work.

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Permalink Reply by DALE G. PEKEL on February 11, 2011 at 6:24pm

Hello Rich,

It's a good question brother - I've been training with personal escape systems for 11 years and we encourage students to practice/train with the exact same rope they have or want to rig in their front line system.

We have ropes that have hundreds of rappels on them and they're still holding strong. My two favorites are Sterling's FireTech 32 (7.5mm) Technora and CMC's 7.5mm ProSeries Escape Line - Both are nearly identical and are phenomenal ropes.

The rope braking is not an issue if the student is in full fall arrest protection. None the less when our training ropes start to look questionable we take them out of service. Front line systems should never be used for training - Not just the rope, we also recommend that the hardware stay virgin as well.

This is difficult for individual users who want to train and stay proficient with their system simply due to the extra cost involved - So we recommend that a group of FFs get together to invest in a training system (or two). This is even better if the Department outfits individual FFs and the FD provides training systems.

If neither of these are an option, than look for training organizations that provide a variety of systems and components for first time users and veteran owners of systems. Many companies provide introductory and refresher training on escape system deployment.

Too many FFs buy a system, place it in their pocket or attach it to their harness or belt and never pull it out again. This approach is a disaster in the making - For an emergency bailout to be effective training is essential. A FF's movements need to be instinctive and second nature. Speed and efficiency can make the difference of wether you get out or not when you have only seconds to survive!

Good luck,
Dale G. Pekel

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Permalink Reply by The Axeman Cometh on February 11, 2011 at 9:25pm

Was at a conference recently and had a guy from FDNY say that their training all of their people in the use of a PSS (Personal Safety System) that utilizes the 7.5mm. I believe this is something we will ultimately go to as well. But 7.5mm to 8.0mm I believe is the standard.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on February 12, 2011 at 4:09am

If you use a personal escape rope for a real-life bailout, it should not be used again, due to the stresses that are placed on that rope in real-life situations including high heat, shock loading, sharp bends over unpadded edges, and the potential for tension over incompletely cleaned-out broken window glass.

Training situations are typically different. There is time to adequately prepare window openings, whether in training towers or acquired structures. Windows can be completely cleaned out and edges padded in advance. Bailout training heat levels won't approach what might be present in a fireground situation. Most importantly, if a bailout rope fails in training, you should have a harness and redundent belay to prevent the trainee from taking a serious fall. In real life, you won't have the belay and a bailout rope failure just changes into a fall.

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Permalink Reply by Timothy Bullard on February 12, 2011 at 12:31pm

Common Sense balances the Written Word. If we only buy what we may use in a Rescue...what do we train with? This is a question for my agency as we improve our technical rescue cache. Thanks

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on February 12, 2011 at 5:04pm

In the case of ropes, you buy training ropes and keep them seperate from your operational ropes.

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Permalink Reply by Rich Bryan on February 14, 2011 at 9:16pm

Thanks guys, I appreciate the input.

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Permalink Reply by rodney recore on December 20, 2013 at 11:26pm

hey everyone! I am in a small rural town vol company. I am looking to get a life safety rope but with so many brands out there its kind of overwhelming.  Looking to carry in bunker pocket for survival only. Recommendations and or vendors??

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