Petzl is set to release a brand new rescue descender called the Maestro in late January 2020. We’ve been testing it out for a few months and wanted to share our findings. We think our readers will find this particularly relevant since the Maestro is designed specifically for technical rescue.

The Maestro is a rescue descender that provides the user with a high degree of control in a variety of applications. We found it to be adept at both lowering and hauling, and it’s rated for handling relatively heavy loads (550lbs for the S model and 615lbs for the L model).

The control comes from design elements like the integrated brake and a faceted sheave, which adds friction areas for the rope so that slippage is reduced and braking power is enhanced. The device gives the user additional control over the amount of friction by changing the angle of the rope as it feeds into the device, or by wrapping the rope around the cleat/brake on the outside of the device. The intuitive and ergonomic handle and the wide range of friction options put the Maestro at the head of the class for controlling heavy rescue loads during lowering operations.

The Maestro transitions from lowering to hauling very nicely. We like that it gives the user an auditory cue – it clicks in haul mode as the uni-directional pulley sheave moves with the rope. It’s easy to set up a 3:1 z-rig using a pulley and a rope grab like the Petzl Rescucender. This is where the Maestro really shines, thanks to the efficiency characteristics of its design. Its large-diameter sheave coupled with sealed ball bearings only allow the pulley to rotate in one direction, creating a progress-capture system that minimizes loss of haul-gains. As the user hauls the load, the Maestro’s auto-lock feature locks in the progress made, and the user can then extend the rope grab back out and continue hauling.

We see the Maestro as being very well suited for use in dual main rope systems. These systems require a device capable of consistent and dependable friction control while providing the high efficiency hauling functions that the Maestro excels at.

The Maestro is the most intuitive device in its class. From hand and body positioning, to loading the rope into the device, the Maestro offers a high safety margin with ease of use.

Many combination devices try to do everything and end up doing nothing particularly well. Not so with the Petzl Maestro. It’s a very capable device for descent control, progress capture and belaying. It’s a multi-function tool that’s easy to use and transitions between functions beautifully. For all these reasons, we recommend the Maestro as a tool that technical rescuers should strongly consider adding to their equipment cache.

Note: The Maestro is currently available in limited quantities. Use this link to check for availability.

Note:
Thank you to Brad Warr for contributing to this article. Brad is a Roco Rescue Chief Instructor and a captain with the Nampa (Idaho) Fire Department. 

 Evaluating your rescue service helps ensure that the team you have selected has the knowledge, technical skills, and capabilities required to meet your company’s specific needs. In addition, a team evaluation helps fulfill the performance requirements outlined in OSHA 1910.146 and 1926.1211. If you doubt the importance of selecting a competent and properly trained rescue team, consider this disturbing statistic: more than 60% of confined space fatalities occur among would-be rescuers.

OSHA 1910.146 Appendix F (non-mandatory) provides a great roadmap for employers when choosing and evaluating a confined space rescue team. It contains criteria that may be used to evaluate the capabilities of both prospective and current rescue teams. (Note: Although Appendix F is “non-mandatory”, the standards of 1910.146 are not. Appendix F is OSHA’s recommended method for compliance. Learn why you should pay close attention to Appendix F, even though it is “non-mandatory.”) 

The Two Components Of A Rescue Service Evaluation:

1. An initial evaluation, in which employers decide whether a potential rescue service or team is adequately trained and equipped to perform permit space rescues of the kind needed at the facility and whether such rescuers can respond in a timely manner; and
2. A performance evaluation, in which employers assess the skills of a prospective rescue team or rescue service during an actual or practice rescue.

Step 1: Initial Evaluation

The initial evaluation considers:

• A team’s technical skills as evidenced by documented training
• Number of personnel
• Availability
• Timeliness based on the hazards inherent in the space
• Whether they meet the requirements of 1910.146 (k)(2) with regards to access to personal protective equipment (PPE), training in both technical rescue and first aid/CPR, and practice in representative permit-required confined spaces at least once per year
• The ability to notify the employer when they are unable to respond – which is of particular importance for employers using 911 as their rescue service
• and more (see Section A, Initial Evaluation in OSHA 1910.146 Appendix F)

Step 2: Performance Evaluation

Once employers have selected one or more rescue services that meet their criteria on paper, employers should provide the rescue service access to their worksite and ask them to perform in various scenarios of the employer’s choice. Performance evaluations should be administered to a prospective rescue service, as well as to periodically evaluate your current rescue service.

Consider Using A Third Party To Evaluate Your Rescue Service

Employers may opt to use a third party to evaluate their prospective rescue service. Third-party evaluations provide a number of added benefits:

• They are useful when employers may not have the in-house expertise necessary to administer an accurate evaluation, or for employers who prefer having a third-party evaluation as a documented, independent, and unbiased record of the rescue service/team’s capabilities.
• They provide an opportunity for the evaluator to recommend minor changes in equipment or techniques that would enhance the capability of the team.
• In cases where contractors will be providing their own rescue capability, third-party evaluations help ensure that all parties are doing their due diligence where permit space entry is required. Some host employers mistakenly believe that they are relieved of all responsibility when a contractor’s employees are performing the entries. But 1910.146(c)(8) and (9) place reciprocal responsibilities on host and contractor. This includes the host employer informing the contractor that permit space entry is allowed only through compliance with a permit space program meeting the requirements of 1910.146, and the contractor informing the host employer of the permit program it will be following.

Taking the time to ensure that the rescue service you choose has the proficiencies and equipment to perform the specific types of rescue required at your facility could not only prevent injuries, it could even save lives.

If you would like additional information on utilizing Roco Rescue’s documented Team Performance Evaluation for your rescue service, please call 800-647-7626.

By Brad Warr, Chief Instructor

Ask any Roco instructor what they would prioritize if they were in charge of training for an industrial rescue team, and you’ll hear Rescue Challenge consistently mentioned. After working with a lot of creative minds to plan the 2019 Roco Rescue Challenge, and serving as an evaluator, I am a firm believer in the value that teams get from this one-of-a-kind event.

Scenarios, Team and Individual Performance Evaluations

The teams at 2019 Rescue Challenge were tasked with six advanced confined space and high angle problems set in urban and industrial settings. The opportunity to watch and learn from the other teams made for a unique learning experience.

In addition to the six scenarios, teams also faced off head-to-head in the Team Performance Evaluation. Finally, team members solved old school rope questions with new school rescue answers in the Individual Performance Evaluation.

New At Rescue Challenge 2019

While the rivalry amongst teams was robust (we do award trophies and let’s face it, rescuers are a competitive group), the sharing of ideas and experiences was readily apparent. With the new approach of staging each team side by side in a group staging area, the camaraderie was quite evident.

Our Rescue Challenge planning team also took a new approach to the scenarios. Shorter time limits tested the teams’ decision-making processes under tight time constraints. With only 50 minutes working time on each scenario, teams made decisions that had to be executed quickly and efficiently to deliver the patients into the transport EMS system within the “Golden Hour.”

There was one “new look” scenario this year that had everyone talking. Rescuers were faced with an injured patient suspended in a car that had gone over the guardrail and was hanging by its rear axle in a scenario aptly named “Holy Schnikes”. One of the critical decisions rescuers had to make was whether to rapidly remove the patient or stabilize the vehicle, which would delay care for the patient.

Well-Trained Rescue Teams Make For Safer Facilities

These realistic scenarios show why this is not a competition, it is a challenge. A Rescue Challenge. Congratulations to this year’s teams for rising to meet it. The experience gained from Rescue Challenge, together with continued training, will make the facilities these teams serve safer places for everyone who works there.

By Pat Furr, Safety Officer & VPP Coordinator

The US Coast Guard issued a warning on the dangers of confined spaces after three crew members died of asphyxiation on a drilling rig. Although this tragedy occurred during a maritime operation and does not fall under the OSHA general industry nor the construction industry standards for permit required confined spaces, OSHA’s 1915 Subpart B does have clear guidance regarding confined and enclosed spaces and other dangerous atmospheres in shipyard employment. Additionally, 1915 Subpart B Appendix B provides the US Coast Guard requirements for an authorized person in lieu of a marine chemist. The USCG Safety Alert does not mention any member of the crew being either a marine chemist or a USCG authorized person assigned to evaluate the atmospheric conditions of the space. 

This tragedy follows an all-too-common pattern of multi-fatality incidents where subsequent workers died in an attempt to rescue the original victim. While it is clear that there were considerations and provisions to ventilate the toxic gases that were either present in the space or were introduced into the space, it is obvious that the passive ventilation attempts fell well short of what was required. OSHA, ANSI, and the USCG all provide easily accessible and clear guidance regarding working in confined spaces.

Please take it upon yourself to ask anyone and everyone that you encounter that may be entering confined spaces: "Does your employer have a permit required confined space program that is at least compliant with OSHA?" It just may save their life. 

For a deeper understanding of OSHA’s requirements for permit required confined space rescue, including the factors that should be considered for determining whether non-entry is feasible, check out our article, “Confined Space Rescue: Non-Entry or Entry Rescue?” To learn how teams can share responsibility for risk-assessment and mitigation, check out "Safe Confined Space Entry - A Team Approach."

Click here to read the news article about this incident and the USCG Safety Alert.

Pat Furr is a chief instructor, technical consultant, VPP Coordinator and Corporate Safety Officer for Roco Rescue, Inc. As a chief instructor, he teaches a wide variety of technical rescue classes including Fall Protection, Rope Access, Tower Work/Rescue and Suspended Worker Rescue. In his role as technical consultant, he is involved in research and development, writing articles, and presenting at national conferences. He is also a member of the NFPA 1006 Technical Rescue Personnel Professional Qualifications Standard. Prior to joining Roco in 2000, he served 20 years in the US Air Force as a Pararescueman (PJ).

By Chris Carlsen, Albuquerque Fire Department

Having worked and been an instructor in the rescue field, I am often asked, “what are some advanced rescue techniques in confined spaces?” My response is always, “It depends where you think you are as a team, because advanced can mean many different things.”

Obviously there are confined space rescue scenarios that require a higher level of proficiency and teamwork than others. However, I like to begin by asking a team to do a self-assessment, as outlined below, and to think of “advanced” confined space rescue as anything that advances the ability of a team to perform as rescuers.

Is your team in the CRAWLING stage, meaning you have a trained team but the only time you touch a piece of equipment or do some rigging is during an annual refresher? Then “advanced” for your team means relearning the fundamentals every year. Practicing anchor rigging, building basic mechanical advantage systems, packaging patients in litters and drag devices, setting up SCBA or SAR systems and understanding the importance of atmospheric monitoring and ventilation strategies. All the basic tools you need to get the job done!

Is your team WALKING, having dedicated team members with solid fundamentals that attend regular training evolutions? Then “advanced” can mean organizing team equipment for a more efficient response, pre-rigging standard set-ups for rapid deployment, practicing compound and/or complex systems, identifying and preplanning confined spaces, defining team roles in an ICS type structure, and conducting full scenarios from response to termination.

Is your team RUNNING, with experienced team members who are looking to be challenged? Advanced for you is getting creative and locating spaces that are difficult to reach, difficult to access, and/or challenging to work in. Teams like this will benefit from having time restraints on training exercises to build pressure and increase the speed with which people work. Other ideas would be to limit the availability of equipment so the team has to problem-solve and prioritize actions, or add new pieces of equipment that provide more efficiency or increase safety.

Every one of the teams I just described is capable of making a successful confined space rescue today. But first, what do we consider a successful confined space rescue? For me, it is performing the rescue while providing for the safety of our team and the persons we are responding to. If we can do that, then we have been successful.

Over and above the basics of a successful rescue, what separates good teams from better ones is their efficiency and ability to solve complex problems. The more complex the rescue scenario is, the less efficient the team is going to be… unless they have experienced the scenario before or can relate it to something they have done. And where can they get experiences needed to build confidence and the mental files they can draw from? Training, training, and oh yeah training! The best teams build a sort of muscle memory that derives from all the exposure to various situations they have experienced. I have a quote scribbled on my wall that says:

“A rescue isn’t successful because of what you did today, it was the years of training that led up to the rescue that made the difference.”

I’m not sure who said that, but when I read it, it stuck, and I have spent my professional career trying to make sure I was ready for a rescue today. So I ask, are you ready? Do you know how complex the next rescue problem is going to be?

In order to be ready, we must have a solid grasp of the basics for confined space rescue. I’m not talking about building mechanical advantage systems or selecting the best anchor point. Yes, those skills are necessary, but I’m talking about managing your TIME. Because in confined space rescue, time is one of the greatest factors between a rescue or a recovery. One of Roco Rescue’s great Chief Instructors, Mike Adams, really helped me understand this concept in a simple way. He broke the entire rescue down into four parts.

1. Put your hands on the patient: Everything you do initially must drive towards this goal. The faster you can do that, the faster you will have a complete understanding of the complexity of the rescue. Keep it simple and get in there once you have provided for the safety of your rescuer.
2. Care and Package: Do good patient care, and treat the things that are life threatening first. Once you know the life threat, then you’ll know how much time you have to work with. Then package for the environment and the injury.
3. Extricate: Build a world class rescue system or just put your hands on the patient and move! Either way your team should be ready to perform once the patient is ready to move. The type of space and the orientation of the patient will usually dictate the how and what.
4. Lift and/or Lower and turn them over: Once the patient is out of the space, lift / lower them to ground level and turn them over to EMS. This is typically less hazardous but still just as important if you have a critical patient.

Focus on these concepts in your next confined space training; see how well your team performs, and ask plenty of questions.

Did you stumble a little bit? Was there some confusion about the plan or about who was doing what job? If so, that’s ok! Talk about it, sort it out and do it again - that is what training is for! On the other hand, maybe you cruised right through the scenario and everyone was pretty quiet. If so, perhaps that’s because your jobs are well defined and your team knows what is always coming next. Or was it just because you have done the same drill from the same space for the last 10 years? Either way it’s time to turn up the heat and start challenging your team to get them to the next level.

If you’ve trained with us at Roco Rescue, then you’re familiar with our version of the K.I.S.S. principle: “Keep It SAFE and SIMPLE.” I’ve used it many times, and it works, but as our depth of knowledge grows and the complexity of the incident grows, the “devil” is really in the details. The masters of any craft only became masters through practice. So you want to know some Advanced Confined Space Rescue Techniques? You want to be a Confined Space Rescue Technician?

Train, Learn, Practice.

And as always, be safe.

Chris Carlsen resides in Albuquerque, NM and has been a firefighter with Albuquerque Fire Rescue since 1998.  He currently works as the Heavy Technical Rescue Program Manager within Special Operations.  Chris took his first Roco course in 2000 and became part of Roco’s instructional cadre in 2006.  As a Roco Rescue Chief Instructor he leads courses in rope, confined space, trench and structural collapse rescue.