Confined Space Rescue Stretcher: Why Your Team Needs One On-Site

Injured in a Confined Space

– If you’re injured and stuck in a confined space like me, how do you get out? Bringing a typical EMS rescue stretcher down here is not going to work. How can you rescue someone safely without putting the rest of your team at risk? Today, we’re going to demo a system that’s built for exactly that.

My name is Ben. This is the Lifting & Rigging Channel, and today we are in Concord, North Carolina at the Gene Verble Testing & Training Facility, and I am joined by Chad Hilliard. He’s the testing director here at Safewaze. We’re demoing a rescue stretcher. Chad, when do you need a rescue stretcher?

When Do You Need This Rescue Stretcher?

– Well, different scenarios where a worker has been injured and where traditional kind of rescue techniques really aren’t going to work out for that situation, either in an elevated or confined space type of environment.

– So why wouldn’t you be able to just, I don’t know, send a board down, put them on and bring them up?

– Well, there’s a lot more to it than that. You have to make sure that the worker is secure, and safe, and you have the proper type of system developed where you can haul them back out. This stretcher could be used in vertical situations, horizontal situations, elevated situations, and of course confined space.

– Why would you need to rescue someone in a vertical position? – If it was a, a really tight spot, you’d have to raise them vertically so you can squeeze through that zone.

– What are some examples of places you might utilize this rescue stretcher?

– Mining industries, water treatment plants, sewer systems, oil and gas. There’s really a fantastic array of where they could be utilized.

Why 911 Isn’t Enough

– If anyone’s working in a confined space, OSHA requires you to, before that work begins, to have a rescue plan. 911 is always a part of that rescue plan. A lot of people are probably just thinking, “Hey, if something happens, we call 911, rescue’s going to come, they’re going to save his life.” Why is that not always the best plan?

– Because an injured worker needs help immediately, so time is of the essence. So you have a solid rescue plan on site to help that injured worker immediately before EMS can arrive.

Not every job site’s the same. And a lot of times the, where the worker could be injured is far away from the road, far away from the access of the ambulances. Typically they will have gurneys that cannot get over certain terrain. This rescue stretcher really is, it’s stowable, it’s very compact, it can always be on site, something you can always have available for that type of rescue when the EMS is going to have trouble getting to the job site.

One System for Entry & Rescue

– So then how does this system come into play with that rescue plan?

– This is a great example of your typical confined space tripod system you would work for confined space, right? So it also could be used for rescue at the same time. You add a rescue stretcher to the system and then you have your, your rescue system developed.

– So you’d utilize this system to both get into the confined space

– That’s right.

– Rescue a worker, get out of the confined space.

– Correct.

– All in one system.

– All in one system.

– Well, you want to show me how it works?

– Let’s do it.

Stretcher Features & Benefits

– So before we dive into the demo, let’s take a look at the stretcher really quick. I’m joined by Corey, VP of product at Safewaze. And Cory, you helped design this, correct?

– Yeah. I mean, everything in our group is a team effort. We’ve worked very hard over the last four years developing a more comprehensive rescue program compared to what we had in the past. And this was a great addition because it kind of tops off the rescue process. The entire system is built with reflective straps for visibility. These are tangle resistant straps. So the idea is that you have green out in every scenario.

– Okay.

– Making sure that you’re not.

– Twisted up.

– Twisting and creating more discomfort for the person. Chest straps, a kind of leg or thigh strap, and then a stirrup for your feet. That’s primarily critical, especially in the vertical orientation use. But you have all these straps designed to hold the body in place in the stretcher in addition to the cross-member straps, which are designed to raise the side, hold the person in position.

– And I’m noticing this little unique detail here, a little green in the dot, let you know it’s connected properly.

– Handle straps, these are for carrying situations or positioning situations with hoist straps, dedicated hoist straps.

– So, these hoist straps are what you would actually be using to lift the person out of their situation.

– Correct, correct.

– You’re not going to use the handles.

– No, you would not use the handles. You would want to keep those free for manual manipulation of the individual in the litter while they’re being hoisted. So you would utilize this opposite side and you would have six, two, four, six in most orientations unless you’re doing vertical. And in a vertical orientation, you’d probably just focus on the top four.

This is a typical rigging plate. We’ve set it up so that there’s a spacing orientation. So you get a good distance between here in the rear, which is the legs, here in the head, and then here in the center torso. Mold is the biggest enemy of any rescue equipment. So we have a semi-sealed bag with a semi-sealed top, kind of like a rollover water bag that you might see. Inside the bag is the litter. All the rigging stuff is right on the top. So you just pull it right out. It’s ready to go. It does come equipped with a neck brace. Inside we marked it. This is a standard EMS tool.

– And that’s what this head strap is here for also if you have a neck injury.

– That’s also to maintain their head’s location and posture. Yep. Yep. So the neck brace would keep them protected spinally and this would prevent them from oscillating or moving.

How to Inspect the Stretcher

– So you mentioned mold being the enemy of rescue equipment. So when you’re inspecting this, first of all, how often should it be inspected?

– Honestly, before each use. And that is a time consuming situation, especially when every second counts in a rescue. You want to have a, a scheduled program and it really depends on the storage. You might store it in a cold, dry place and there’s no need to inspect, but you may leave it out on a job site on the floor that you think that there could be an incident or a situation where you may need this and it’s exposed to moisture, in which case I would recommend inspecting it before you take it to the next job site or before you store it. Every job site has different situations and how people treat their tools and how they take care of their tools really dictates how often something should be inspected.

And it’s very easy because really all you’re looking for is any kind of mold or mildew affecting the stitching. If I look here and I see a stitching problem or if I see corrosion, then you would have to remove from service. If you can almost use like, say for example, the harness inspection sheet.

– Yep.

– And use those kind of criteria and go down the list here. Even though it’s not a, a true fall protection harness, you are doing suspension work in it and you might as well treat it like that because it has fall protection components that are subjected to the same, you know, wear and tear. There are materials here that could weaken over time through uses or damage. And so yeah, you would want to look at any kind of cut, tear, abrasion or burn or anything that would negatively affect the intended operation.

Live Rescue Demo

– Well, Corey, I heard that there was an incident out in the testing and training facility. Someone fell down into a pit and I think we’re going to have to go test this out now, right?

– Well, we’re prepared.

– All right.

– Chad do you need the stretcher?

– I definitely do.

– Do you need the neck brace?

– I do not. This is a leg injury.

– All right. Very good. Coming down. You ready? Hoist up.

– Good. Perfect.

– Down. Good.

– Good.

– All right. You want to unbuckle all the straps so you can slide them in.

– Yeah.

– But keep those on. There you go. Perfect.

– (Groaning) All right, Chad, my leg’s really hurting.

– Feet tucked in. This is secure. Not too hard on your leg. Just get through your thighs in place.

– So Chad, while you’re strapping me in, I trust you know what you’re doing, but let’s say this is someone’s first time using this stretcher. Is there a checklist or anything that they should be thinking about as they’re putting someone in this?

– Well, you always have your initial equipment inspection you want to take care of, but beyond that, once everything’s been approved for field use, you want to make sure that all of your buckles, all the connections are securely fastened and snug to the individual.

– And you’re starting from the feet and working your way to the head.

– Is that the way you’re supposed to do that?

– So it does depend on the injury of your sequence of fastening someone in. If you did have a neck injury, you would want to stabilize your neck area first with the neck brace and then work your way from there. Don’t want you getting loose. All right. Let me double check all the systems as we go along.

– So ideally, how many people would be assisting in a rescue?

– Well, your confined space team for the work that you’re performing is a minimum of two people. One person working above and one person doing the work down in confined space. Ideally you’d have three people, but for your rescue team, it’s a minimum of two. One person of course down to help the rescuer, the rescuee and a person working up top. Okay, now I have you secured. All the straps are where they should be. Your shoulder straps are in your sternal is in a good location. Your thigh straps are in a good location, your feet are secured into and all your cross members are nice and tight, giving you a nice taco secured feeling. Since this is a leg injury, we’re not going to be using this head strap back here. Otherwise we would be if it was a neck injury.

– So Chad, this is a horizontal rescue, right?

– Correct.

– Now what if I was in a manhole or something and needed a vertical rescue? Would you set this up any differently?

– Everything securing you into the stretcher would be the same, but we would change the lengths of these straps here. Basically you would have it where we would tighten these up and loosen these out so it’d be a more vertical situation.

– What do you say when you rescue me? Get me the heck out of here.

– Let’s go.

Final Safety Takeaways

– Working in confined spaces can already be dangerous. That’s why you need to be prepared when an emergency happens. Hopefully this video showed you why having this type of stretcher can be useful and helpful with your emergency rescues. Mazzella’s experts can help you scope out all of your confined space work and help you with all your fall protection needs. Contact us through the link below. If you found this video useful, informative, entertaining, or you just feel like being friendly, hit that like button so we can get this information out to everyone who needs it. Remember, safe rigging is smart rigging. My name’s Ben. Stay safe out there.

– Three, two, one.

– Hey guys, the video’s over. You don’t need to take me all the way to the ambulance.