Roco Rescue Challenge 2013 came to a close on Thursday, October 10 with a great sense of camaraderie. Teams benefited by sharing techniques, strategies and accomplishments. All seven participating teams did an extraordinary job. Congratulations to each and every one of you!

Director of Training, Dennis O’Connell summed Rescue Challenge up eloquently. “Hope you never run into a scenario in real life as hard as the ones you've had at Challenge ’13,” he chuckled as he gave the closing remarks.

Make sure to check out our Facebook page to see photos from Rescue Challenge 2013!

Rescue Challenge 2013 opened this morning, with clear blue skies and delightful 72 degree weather.

Seven industrial rescue teams are participating; Valero - Wilmington, CA, PCS Nitrogen - Geismar, LA , Motiva - Convent, LA, Lion Oil - El Dorado, AR, NCRA - Mc Pherson, KS, Calumet - Superior, WI and Exxon Plastics - Baton Rouge, LA. The two-day challenge will test competitors in all six confined space types at Roco Training Center (RTC).

Look for updates and photos in the coming days. 

• Are you concerned about potential falls from height at your workplace?

• Do your workers need more training in recognizing fall hazards?

• Does your fall protection program consider all the angles when evaluating these hazards?

Roco’s new Fall Protection courses can help create a safer workplace by equipping employees with the knowledge to better assess the dangers and take protective steps to abate common fall hazards. Participants will practice Fall Hazard Assessments and will be able to look at their worksite with new eyes concerning fall protection safety.

Roco’s new Hierarchy of Fall Protection Safety Poster provides guidance on how to protect your workers from fall hazards by illustrating a series of steps in making safer choices as job duties are approached. It clearly explains the need for employers to make every attempt to abate fall hazards at their work sites by starting with the most protective level of fall protection. OSHA and ANSI references are used to emphasize the need for proper training and “fallen or isolated worker-at-height” rescue pre-plans when appropriate.

This safety poster will provide a quick reminder that oftentimes working at height is more hazardous simply because more “protective steps” in the hierarchy were never considered.

By displaying this poster in strategic areas, we hope it will encourage all workers to take every opportunity to make work-at-height even safer. After all, for those of you who know Roco…there’s a safe way, and a SAFER way!

Click the picture to download the PDF version of the NEW Hierarchy of Fall Protection Safety Poster.

Roco is excited to announce that beginning in 2014, we will offer a ProBoard/IFSAC option conducted by the Carrol L. Herring Fire & Emergency Training Institute for select Roco courses at the Roco Training Center (RTC) in Baton Rouge. Students choosing the ProBoard option will complete both a written and skills exam. Upon successful completion of this certification process, they are then eligible to be entered into the ProBoard’s certification registry.

The first Roco course to offer FETI’s accredited certification testing will be our Fast-Track 80™ course to be held on February 20-22 & 24-28, 2014. There is an additional charge of $100.00 per student, and advance registration is required. Call us at (800) 647-7626 to register and reserve spaces or get more information.

The ProBoard is an internationally recognized professional organization that represents the fire service and related emergency response fields. The ProBoard accredits organizations, such as the Carrol L. Herring Fire & Emergency Training Institute, that provide certification testing to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) professional qualification standards. The International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) is a peer driven, self-governing system that accredits both public fire service certification programs and higher education fire-related degree programs.

Visit ProBoard's website  or watch their video about the benefits of seeking fire service certifications through a ProBoard accredited entity.