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Fundamentals of Timber Rigging (Part one)

We will be doing a four part blog series on the “Fundamentals of Timber Rigging” for rope access. Timber rigging can be utilized for High Angle Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, Trench Rescue, and Structural Collapse Rescue.

Timbers used for rescue rigging is nothing new. But with newer equipment and technology, training on how to rig timbers for rescue has greatly diminished. Newer equipment and technology has allowed us to have access to pre-fab anchors, portable anchors, quick deployable struts, and etc. But with new equipment comes cost. With a struggling economy, equipment and training are usually first to go in emergency services. Many smaller departments just don’t have the funding to buy the newest and greatest equipment associated with their job. For departments that can not afford to buy the newest and greatest equipment for rescue rigging, there is a alternative. By using what the Army Core of Engineers started during world war area, departments can still achieve a positive outcome while having minimum impact on their budget.

Using timbers for

Vol. Fire Department sets up a Timber A frame

rescue can be productive for high directional anchors such as, Timber tripod, Timber jib arm, and Timber A frame. Most departments have the necessary equipment needed to preform timber rigging. Timbers needed for this type of work and training can be acquired from your local hardware store. In the next three part blogs we will go over step by step instructions and pictures needed to set up each type of rigging system.

DISCLAIMER: Fire and Rescue Concepts suggest extensive hands on training be completed on Timber rigging before preforming these techniques out on the field. This four part series is for informational purposes only. If Departments wish more training on Timber Rigging please contact us at estroud@fireandrescueconcepts.com

Posted in Confined Space Training, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, funding-staffing, rescues, special-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized

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Posted by on 04/04/2011 • No comments

Confined Space Rescue Training

We have a great training opportunity!!!! We are conducting confined space training on the WWII USS North Carolina Battleship. This class will be five days in length with night operations. The class is limited to 30 students on a first come first serve basis. We will be sending out a registration and letter to anyone who wishes to take this class, via email. In order to receive the registration, you must email us at estroud@fireandrescueconcepts.com to let us know that you wish to receive the info. The care takers of the Battleship has been so kind to allow us to train on one of the prides of WWII. As a added bonus , the original crew will be on board the ship during the week of our training. So this will be a great time to talk to the men who kept this great ship a float!

FYI USS North Carolina is said to be haunted!! :)

Email us if you wish to receive this flyer and cost.

ATTENTION!!! Due to high demand this class has been rescheduled for September 2011, email us if you would like to attend.

Posted in administration-leadership, Confined Space Training, ems-health-safety, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, hazmat, major-incidents, rescues, special-operations, technology-communications, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on 12/10/2010 • No comments

Super Heros????

My fiance and I were at our local hardware store looking for ideals for our new kitchen to be, when suddenly out of now where came two superheroes. Being that it was Halloween, it was not an uncommon thing to see.  The two superhero’s happen to be twin 7 year old boys who where disguised as Superman and Batman. Catherine and I talked to the little Superheroes and laughed along with their parents. I was amazed by their bravery by coming up to us ready to fight crime. They were more than willing to show us their muscle and let us know that they had no fear. After there departure, I reflected on the two little superheroes. and I asked myself “would these two little boys have came up to us ( total strangers ) if there true identity had been revealed?” I even took my thoughts one step further. “How often do firefighters have this same mentality?”  How many firefighters believe that with all of their protective gear they are invincible much like a superhero? What I’m getting at is, how often do firefighters get tunnel vision when they put on their PPE and believe that they will not get hurt? There is  no doubt any firefighter wouldn’t hesitate helping out if they came up on a house fire while being off duty. But how many would think twice about going in without PPE? But, lets just say what if ( I know!! ) we happen to have all of our PPE, would most of us think twice about going in to preform a rescue before FD arrives? How many of us firefighters have gotten hurt by thinking they can’t be harm because of our PPE? We often think ( myself included ) that we can’t be harm, or the thought of being harm is not a priority on our list of thoughts during fire ground operations. We all need to remember, that just because our gear allows to do travel deeper into a fire, smoke, and heat  doesn’t mean that we are immune to injury.

I would love to hear everyones thoughts on this?

Stay safe and God Bless.

Posted in command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, fires, line-of-duty, rescues, special-operations, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized

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Posted by on 12/02/2010 • No comments

Loading the Barrel of the Shot Gun…. Live Fire Training Comments

Are we teaching students to crawl under fire?

There is a serious concern as to how live fire instructors or departmental officers are ignoring the mental cues that lead to firefighter injuries and deaths during live fire training and signifies a critical problem with today’s fire service training. How many times must it be publicized that crawling under fire is a death trap?

Are we seriously training firefighters that our gear and our equipment is always reliable to protect us from such temperature extremes such as flashover?

Should we really be training firefighters to believe that crawling under fire is a safe practice? Rollover, is the precursor to flashover that can occur in a matter of seconds. These firefighters are kneeling and standing in an area being preheated and ready to light off, which means they are being pre-heated, as well.

Many of my students have heard me say, “The day we respond to a house fire involving wooden pallets will be our moment of glory!”. Are we training today’s firefighter to believe the fire behavior and heat ( British Thermal Unit ;BTU) production in a wooden pallet fire is identical to that of the same magnitude in a fire involving hydrocarbon-based products found in today’s household furnishings? I hope not… but why do our tactics in training not reflect how we should engage the enemy? Today’s fires burn more rapidly and hotter than ever, why are we still allowing firefighters to enter such unpredictable environments?

While our turnouts will provide some element of protection from thermal insult, are we relying upon our equipment and our live fire experience in wooden pallet fires to serve as the measuring stick for when it is time to “un-ass” the area? Understanding the NFPA 1403 standard was developed to protect firefighters during live burns which it has, is it leaving tommorrow’s firefighters with the impression this is as bad as it gets?

What if the nozzle malfunctions? Assume the rookie firefighter doesn’t completely open the bailer of the nozzle, don’t forget about the presence of kinks in our attack lines? Do a little research on wind-driven fires from NIOSH’s live burn’s on Governor’s Island and Chicago and you’ll soon discover such tactics of kneeling under rollover is like “staring down the barrel of a shotgun”.

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, fires, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

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Posted by on 11/01/2010 • 3 comments

Welcome!!!!

We would like to welcome you to our blog site for Fire and Rescue Concepts. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for stopping by and considering our company for insight for your training needs. We at FRC will be using this blog site to post Quick Drills, Upcoming training opportunity, and personal accounts and insights to training that our Instructors may come across. I want to start off by saying we are not perfect, we make mistakes just like everyone else. We strive to become a top provider in training in the fields of Fire, Rescue, Military, and Industrial services. Our website is a work in progress. We are currently updating the information. We have some very exciting news for 2011, but for now I will keep them a secret. I hope you all enjoy visiting our site and blog.  Just a preview of some topics to be shared soon are but not limited too, Swift-water Rescue, Vent-Enter-Search, Firefighter Survival Training, and Tower Rescue. Thank you for taking the time to stop by. Have a Blessed day!

Posted in administration-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics, Uncategorized, videos

Posted by on 10/06/2010 • No comments