Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 1 - Mental & Emotional Crises of Rescue
"By The Numbers"
§ Emotional problems coped with by overeating, may include signs such as a weight gain of more than 10 lbs. in 6 weeks.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 2 - Rescue Tools
"By The Numbers"
§ NFPA 1001, Standard for Fire Fighter Qualifications, covers rescue practices.
§ When removing glass, hatchets are easier than axes to control and able to transmit the force of a 6 lb. axe.
§ Lift or pull needed to move an object may range from 1 to 2 inches to several feet.
§ Hydraulic jacks have 2 cylinders of unequal size.
§ Folding jacks can fit into tight spaces with only 4 to 6 inches clearance.
§ 2 or more anchors linked together are better than only 1 anchor.
§ Stakes used for pickets should be at least 3 inches in diameter and 5 feet long, with 3 to 4 feet of stake driven into ground.
§ When meeting dimensions requirements, stake "picket" anchors are safe for loads of 700 lbs. or less.
§ Multiple-picket holdfast stakes are driven into the ground about 3 to 6 feet apart.
Picket Holdfasts Load Limits in Loamy "dry" Soil1 picket / 700 lbs.
1 - 1 picket holdfast / 1,400 lbs.
1 - 1 -1 picket holdfast / 1,800 lbs.
2 - 1 picket holdfast / 2,000 lbs.
3 - 2 - 1 picket holdfast / 4,000 lbs.
§ When erecting a gin pole, rope is doubled to form 2 equal lines and approximately 3 feet from the bend on each line, a standing bight is created to slip over the tips of the beams.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 3 - Rope & Rescue Knots
"By The Numbers"
NOTE: numbers found in STEPS are not listed.
§ Rescue line must be able to support 2 persons (600 lbs.) with a minimum breaking strength of 9,000 lbs. (a 15:1 safety factor) and diameters must be between 5/8" to 1".
§ Utility line may be 5/8" to 3/8" in diameter.
§ When inspecting rope, separate strands about every 3 feet to reveal inner strands.
§ A bowline forms 2 loops that may be used to place around a victim's thighs.
§ The 3 loop bowline can be used as a sling placed around the legs and chest of an unconscious victim.
§ A rescue sling is made from a 15 foot section of 3/4" rope.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 4 - Rescue Situations
"By The Numbers"
NOTE: numbers in Figures 4.9 through 4.15 are not covered.
§ Rescue situations can be grouped into 3 categories: 1) when victim can be reached without problems, 2) when victim's location is known and rescue may possibly injure rescuer, and 3) when victim's location is unknown and rescue may possibly injure rescuer.
§ Debris tunneling/shaft construction often progresses at only 2 1/2 feet per hour.
§ 30" wide by 36" high tunnels provide sufficient space for rescue work.
§ 2 or more trenches may be started simultaneously since the fastest route cannot always be determined.
§ Trench sheeting should be long enough to reach 2 or 3 feet below bottom of trench and 1 or 2 feet above top of trench.
§ Wales spaced more than 5 feet apart should have 2 or more breast timbers spaced 5 feet or more apart.
§ Wales should be 5 feet or less apart, vertically.
§ Wales on raking shores should be 6" x 6" minimum in diameter.
§ Sheeting plank for raking shores should be 12" x 13" minimum, extending 1 foot above and below.
§ If the height of a shore is 20-30 feet, 1 raker is needed, for 30-40 feet, 2 rakers, for 40-50 feet, 3 rakers, and for shores over 50 feet, 4 rakers are needed.
§ Straight flying shores should not be used between walls separated by more than 25 feet.
§ Certain straight flying shore types should not be used between walls separated by more than 20 feet (figure 4.24, p. 69).
§ A milliroentgen is 0.001 roentgens.
§ If a dosimeter reading is 0 at the start of an exposure period, total exposure to gamma radiation may be read directly from the dosimeter.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 5 - Search Guidelines
"By The Numbers"
§ An open field search unit can involve 5 to 10 persons, however, generally only 1 or 2 persons are from the fire department.
§ In large open fields, search spacing may be up to 100 feet.
§ 2 rolls of marker tape is contained in each search kit.
§ A 1-person carry is not always practical, especially if the victim is unconscious.
§ 2 and 3 person carries are easiest and should be used when possible to carry victims.
§ A 3 person carry (all on same side) requires a 4th person (on opposite side) to help load the victim.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 6 - Rescue in Situations Involving Elevation Difference
"By The Numbers"
NOTE: some items listed in "steps" are not covered.
§ 3 or 4 firefighters should be used for a ladder rescue.
§ When using ground ladders for rescue, 2 persons should be in the building and 1 person on the ladder.
§ Aerial ladders/platforms are generally used for rescues in buildings 4 stories or higher, if within reach.
§ With a hotel or factory ladder raise, and the heel 6 feet from the building at the heel and the tip on the 5th floor windowsill, the inside of the ladder can easily be grasped from the 4th floor, however, it will be 4 feet from the 2nd floor.
§ If a ladder to the 5th floor windowsill was 3 feet from heel to building (in a factory/hotel raise), victims on the 4th floor would only have 7 inches in which to climb down the inside of the ladder.
§ 1-point and 4-point suspension systems on sling systems are most common.
§ A 1-point suspension system is attached at the center of gravity, which remains in 1 place during movement of the stretcher..
§ In a 4-point suspension system, the position of the stretcher depends on the tension applied at each of the 4 points.
§ A 1-point suspension system can be moved with less rocking than a multiple-point system.
§ A 4-point suspension system is useful when the center of gravity must be shifted during movement of a stretcher.
§ When using a 1-point suspension harness with an Army Stretcher, rope should be measured from the end to 3 1/2 times the length of the stretcher.
§ To prevent butt weld from failing on a Stokes basket, a length of 16-gauge steel tubing, 3/4" in diameter with a small 1/16" hole is used.
§ Flat backboards are usually built of rigid material 16 to 24 inches wide, 72 to 81 inches long, and with the same basic strap configuration as Stokes baskets.
§ Modified flat backboards, called half-backs, are 32 to 40 inches long and are used ONLY with small children.
§ When wrapping a victim with a blanket, about 12" should hang over the stretcher head and about 2 feet should hang over the foot.
§ To secure a victim to a stretcher, about 35 feet of rope should be pulled off the running end of the rope.
§ When using 2 pike poles and a salvage cover/blanket to construct a stretcher, they should be about 2 feet apart.
§ A firefighter anchoring as a stretcher is slid down a ladder should be about 20 feet from the window opening.
§ A 1/4-fold lifenet is most practically carried vertically with the frame side down.
§ 4 firefighters are needed to construct the life net.
§ When training with life nets, jumps should start at a height of 10 feet.
§ Air cushions may be used successfully for jumps up to 10 stories high.
§ Jumps onto air cushions may be made every 5 to 7 seconds.
§ A man weighing 170 lbs. can create stress loads on rappelling equipment near 1,200 lbs.
§ By using 1 inch nylon strapping through a lifebelt and around the legs (swiss seat), the condition of a lifebelt is no longer critical.
§ 12 to 16 feet of strapping can easily be rolled up and carried in a firefighter's coat.
§ Preferred figure 8 devices have ears that prevent rope from riding up and stopping descent.
§ A double wrap on a figure 8 device is usually necessary, when rescuing a victim, to add friction.
§ If rescue from an elevator may take longer than 30 minutes, tell victims to sit comfortably.
§ Removable side exits on elevator cars are held in place by 4 fasteners, operable from inside or outside the car.
§ Single-slide elevator doors have 20 cables.
§ Cables of a 2-speed elevator door can be broken with a hydraulic portable power tool.
§ A 14 foot ladder should be used to access the top cover of an elevator car.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 7 - Water & Ice Rescue
"By The Numbers"
§ 400 US persons a year are trapped in submerging vehicles.
§ In water more than 10 feet deep, victims will have to exhale part of their air on the way up because of pressure differences.
§ Vehicles submerged in water 12 feet or less deep will stop on the bottom within 10 seconds after disappearing from the surface.
§ Loss of body heat in cold water is 25 times greater than in normal atmosphere.
§ Persons submerged in cold water for more than 30 minutes have been revived due to the mammalian diving reflex.
§ The mammalian diving reflex is predominate in water less than 70oF and the colder the water, the more pronounced the effect.
§ The mammalian diving reflex is more pronounced in children under 3 1/2 years old.
Cold Water Survival TimesSurvival Time / Water Temperature
20-30 minutes / 40oF
1 1/2 to 2 hours / 40oF-64oF
Indefinitely / 64oF
§ Rapid immersion in cold water can kill good swimmers in 4 to 5 minutes.
§ Plastic jugs, 1/3 full of water (for throwing weight), make good flotation devices.
§ When very strong currents are NOT present, victims can usually be found a distance no more than 1 1/2 times the water depth from point last seen.
§ The Doughnut Technique requires kinking the female coupling back about 1 foot to kin end of hose, while another firefighter "forcefully exhales" into the other end before kinking the other end. (NOTE: you've got to be kidding)
§ The Raft Technique is constructed by pulling a doughnut (hose) into a 25 foot oval, then folding in half in half 2 times so that there are eight 6-foot sections. Lashing is then added 12" from each end and also in between. (NOTE: Did I mention this book was printed 20 years ago ©1981)
§ The Straight Float technique is usually limited to using hose with 2 1/2" couplings and can be used to reach victims 50 feet away.
§ The current from a low-head dam can affect objects as much as 50 yards downstream.
§ Gas formed in the intestinal tract of a drowned victim will cause the body to rise to the surface within 18 to 24 hours on average (in summertime, longer in cold).
§ Wide areas or spans of water can be covered by tying 3 to 5 boats together and removing motors from all but the outside 2 boats.
§ A pike pole iron has hooks 4" to 6" long.
§ Grappling hooks used for deep water have hooks 6" to 8" long.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 8 - Cave Rescue
"By The Numbers"
§ Cave rescuers should carry 3 independent sources of light.
§ Water in caves is usually about 55oF.
§ Mine rescue drills can create a 24" diameter shaft through solid limestone at a rate of 50 feet per day.
§ Vertical drops in caves can be more than 500 feet.
§ Most cave temperatures are between 52oF to 60oF.
§ Warm gas inhalators were developed in the early 1970s by Evan Lloyd of Scotland.
§ Warm gas inhalators work by passing compressed breathing air over hot soda lime which heats air to about 115oF.
§ The load limit of a cable ladder is 600 lbs.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 9 - Extrication from Vehicles
"By The Numbers"
§ Cribbing is made from 2 x 4's or 4 x 4's about 18" to 24" long.
§ Wedges can be made from 2 x 4's or 4 x 4's about 12" to 18" long.
§ Rope handles can be added to cribbing by drilling a hole in the block about 1 1/2" to 2" from the end, to allow for easy carrying.
§ Buses and tractor-trailers that use rubber bellows on air suspension systems may fail during fires or accidents and cause the vehicle to drop about 3 inches from the ground.
§ A 3-sided cut should be made to open roofs when a vehicle is on its side.
§ Accidents that trap victims can be accessed by opening jammed doors about 90% of the time.
Fire Service Rescue (5th Edition)
Chapter 10 - The Firefighter in Charge
"By The Numbers"
§ Rescues have 8 parts: Extricate, Move victims to safety, Determine injuries, Stabilize victim, Transport victim, Stabilize scene, Wrap up, Post-incident critique.
§ Triage consists of high priority, 2nd priority, and 3rd (lowest) priority.