Vehicle rescues are probably the most common type of technical rescue incident we encounter as first responders. However, we still have to stay on top of our games. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips and tricks that you can implement as an officer at your next...

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Five years ago, on May 23, 2015, a fire captain was killed, and another firefighter injured when they were pulled into a storm drain after evacuating a flooded neighborhood. You can read the full NIOSH LODD Report here. We will be discussing some of the key points from the report in this blog...

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I frequently review NIOSH Line of Duty Death (LODD) reports to learn from unfortunate incidents in our history where a first responder was killed while performing technical rescue activities. May 23 is a sad day because it is the date of two LODDs, one in 2011 and the other from 2015. Today, we...

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OSHA 1926 Subpart P is the federal safety regulation that the construction industry must abide by when working in excavations. While it may not apply to you as a first responder strictly from a regulatory perspective, there are many best practices related to trench and excavation safety that the...

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Edge transitions can be particularly traumatic if a fall occurs. Rope rescue professionals not only need to be skilled navigating themselves over edges when necessary, but perhaps more importantly, they have to be able to safely move the patient over the edge. In recent years, a huge amount of...

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You and your partner are dispatched as the first due responding ALS unit for an industrial rescue. The dispatch notes indicate that one worker is trapped after an accident, but no other workers are injured. You see that you have a heavy rescue, a rescue-engine and ladder company responding with a...

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Heavy lifting drills can be an absolute blast for rescue professionals. There is something extremely satisfying about lifting an object of considerable weight with the simple press of a button. However, there is a lot of knowledge, skill, and attention to detail that goes into these...

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This week we are going to be taking a look at some topics related to heavy lifting operations. This kind of knowledge and skill will be beneficial in several disciplines of rescue, including structural collapse, trench, and vehicle rescue. Let’s start out by reviewing how to determine the...

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Earlier this week we posted tips for confined space rescue professionals. What about first responders that do not have any confined space training? Police officers are routinely the first-arriving responders at confined space incidents, even prior to EMS and the fire department. It is...

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As a first responder and technical rescue instructor, confined space rescue is one of the scariest rescue disciplines that I teach. Many confined space fatalities were “would be” rescuers, meaning they entered a confined space to do well but instead became victims themselves. Even though I...

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