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Incident: Two Workers Buried in Trench Collapse

Monday, August 3, 2015

Incident: Two Workers Buried in Trench CollapseHere’s another reminder of how quickly a trench can turn deadly and how important it is to be prepared. Is your rescue team prepared for such an incident?

When firefighters arrived at the scene of a construction trench collapse near Covington (Louisiana) back in May, they could see two pairs of feet sticking out of the wet, sandy clay at the bottom of the 10-foot-deep trench. But only one voice was calling for help.

The frantic rescue effort that followed, interrupted by safety concerns and bad weather, would bring one man safely to the surface. His co-worker did not survive.

Firefighters immediately jumped in and began trying to dig the men out from nearly a foot of dirt that had tumbled down on top of them from the sides of the trench. But as the operation dragged on, they realized that being in the trench could compound the danger. The depth of the hole combined with the sandy clay made for a perilous work situation. Moreover, huge piles of excavated dirt loomed over the side of the trench, adding to fears of another collapse.

Incident: Two Workers Buried in Trench Collapse

The weather didn’t help. During the rescue, a rainstorm drenched the area and then was replaced by baking sun.

To lower the risk, firefighters had to delay rescue efforts while others brought in sheets of plywood to reinforce the sides of the trench. A ladder was laid across the top and another was lowered to the bottom. Firemen tossed water down to their comrades, and a large vacuum truck was brought in to suction out debris.

Two hours after the firefighters arrived, the surviving worker — stripped of his clothes except for a pair of blue and red striped shorts — was placed into a rescue basket and lifted slowly to the lip of the trench. He was immediately tended to by emergency medical technicians, who transferred him to a stretcher.

The injured worker, who has not been named, was alert throughout the rescue and was able to speak with the men working to free him, officials said.

But there were fears that his medical condition could deteriorate quickly after he was pulled from the dirt. The weight of the soil could have been acting like a “big tourniquet,” said St. Tammany Coroner Charles Preston, an emergency physician. In that type of situation, he said, when the pressure caused by a heavy weight is removed, the flow of blood throughout an injured body can cause severe problems.

Incident: Two Workers Buried in Trench CollapseIn this case, however, Preston said the worker was doing as well as could be expected, adding that his belly was soft, which indicated that the weight of the earth had not prevented his blood from flowing while he was buried.

Once the worker was taken away, the operation turned from rescue to recovery. The body of a 24-year-old was removed about 5 p.m., after more than four hours of being buried in the trench.

Sheriff Jack Strain, briefing reporters after the first worker had been removed, said his office would investigate whether all proper safety protocols had been followed at the site. Strain noted the presence of three trench boxes — large metal frames with two panel sides connected by thick bars — stacked just feet from where the collapse occurred but said there were none at the cave-in site itself.

“I don’t know why those weren’t in the ground, but those things will be looked into,” Strain said. State agencies may also investigate the incident, he said.

(Excerpts, photos and videos from a story in The New Orleans Advocate by Faimon A. Roberts III - click to read full story)


Preparation is Key

Is your agency or rescue team prepared for this type of incident? Who will be responsible for performing the rescue, and how quickly can they respond? Do they have the proper equipment and training to do the job while protecting themselves?

Also, do you have the availability of advanced life support personnel who can respond to the scene? Injuries sustained from trench incidents can be more severe (internal) than just bruising and broken bones. Crush Syndrome/Compartmentalization Syndrome can kill a “rescued” victim!

Keep in mind, someone was responsible for acting as the Competent Person at this site, or at least, should have been. Are your supervisors properly trained to identify potential trench hazards? If you use contractors, do you assume they have the proper training and equipment while they are working on your site?

Don’t underestimate the dangers of trench work – or the dangers posed to emergency response personnel. Make sure your people are prepared! Learn the latest trench safety and rescue techniques at our upcoming Trench Rescue Course at the Roco Training Center.

 

 

Incident: Alaska Calls for Increased Focus on Trench Safety

Monday, July 6, 2015

Incident: Alaska Calls for Increased Focus on Trench SafetyIn response to the death of a 23-year-old construction worker in a trenching incident in Anchorage, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development is highlighting the importance of training workers on safe trench work and excavations.

State regulations require employers to ensure workers are trained to recognize and avoid hazards related to any trench work or excavations in which the depth of the site is at least 4 feet. Employers also must make sure workers adequately enter and exit trenches, in addition to taking proper measures for shoring and sloping protection.

An Anchorage Fire Department search-and-rescue team, police and medics responded to the incident shortly after 1 p.m. on June 16, 2015.

The construction worker had been working on a sewer pipe in a trench that measured roughly 7 feet deep by 15 feet across when it collapsed and buried him. His co-workers tried to extricate him and did get him out of the trench, but his injuries were just too severe. The 23-year-old victim died at the scene.

OSHA has launched an investigation into the workplace accident according to a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Sources: National Safety Council Newsletter (nsc.org) and Alaska Dispatch News (adn.com).

PJ’s Perform Rescue on the USS Alabama

Thursday, September 25, 2014

PJ’s Perform Rescue on the USS AlabamaDuring a recent Roco Combat Technical Rescue course onboard the USS Alabama, an elite group of Pararescuemen were called to the “real thing” when a ship worker took a fall and needed to be rescued. According to Roco Tactical Chief Instructor Alex Reckendorf, the PJ’s performed a flawless rope rescue and integrated well with the Mobile Fire Department. He added, “As trainers, we are obviously very proud of their performance during this unexpected event. They represented both Pararescue and Roco well and are a credit to their career field.” 

Eight local pararescue airmen from Hurlburt Field were in the middle of a training session aboard the USS Alabama on Tuesday when they found themselves in the right place at the right time.


On the second day of their confined space rescue training, the airmen from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron were setting up for a rope rescue practice when a civilian painter, perched precariously on a ledge, fell 30 feet to one of the decks below.

The airmen jumped to action.

They gathered their gear, which included their medical equipment, and rushed to the scene of the accident.

The man landed on a deck about 50 feet above the main deck. He was experiencing severe back pain and feeling out of it from hitting his head.

PJ’s Perform Rescue on the USS AlabamaThe airmen secured his back and gave him the medical attention he needed while coming up with a game plan for how to use their ropes to get him down to the main deck and then off the ship.

“It was pretty exciting for most of the guys to be able to utilize the training we had been working on all day and the day prior,” said Tech Sgt. Jason Humes, one of the pararescuemen who helped with the rescue. “It was all very fresh in our minds.”

Once the Mobile County firefighters arrived, the special tactics team explained their plan and worked together to secure the man in a rescue basket and use ropes to leap-frog him down from the deck and to the waiting ambulance.

Humes said an official from the USS Alabama reported to him on Wednesday that the man had broken a vertebrae, but they expected he would be back on his feet in several weeks and have a full recovery.

“All of us feel good we were able to help out and get him off as quick as we could so he’ll be up and running again in a few weeks,” Humes said.


Air Force Special Tactics pararescuemen are special operators whose primary mission is personnel recovery. They provide emergency and life-saving services for some of the more dangerous U.S. military missions, including deploying with Army Special Forces and Navy SEALs.

Air Force Lt. Jesse Galt, a special tactics officer who supervises several of the pararescumen involved in the rescue, was proud to see his airmen put their training to use in their real lives.

“It is a testament to their training and their poise that they are able to deploy those skills regardless of the situation,” he said. “It was cool to see.”

The article was written By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE | Daily News

Photo credit: U.S. AIR FORCE | Special to the Daily News

 

Fast-Track 120 Students Put Skills to Test in Recovery Operation

Friday, August 9, 2013

Fast-Track 120 Students Put Skills to Test in Recovery OperationDuring a recent Roco Fast-Track 120 class in Albuquerque, New Mexico, two of our students got to use the skills they had just learned during a real world event. On Day 6 of the 12-day class, NM State Police Tactical officers Hugo Munoz and Jose Urbano received a call for assistance in the recovery of an individual that had been swept into one of the many arroyos that crisscross the region following a sudden rainstorm.

Here’s a photo from the Fast-Track 120 class where Officer Urbano is shown “rescuing” Officer Munoz.

The officers responded and found the local fire and law enforcement personnel on scene in the process of devising a plan to recover the victim who was entrapped under a narrow bridge in approximately 6 feet of water. Officer Urbano and Munoz joined in the planning and recommended using some of the rope techniques that they had just learned in the Fast-Track 120 class.

Fast-Track 120 Students Put Skills to Test in Recovery OperationThe recovery plan involved the use of a mainline attached to the NM State Police Diver and a 4:1 rigged and ready to be “piggybacked” on the main line in case the diver needed immediate retrieval.

The Diver attached a second line to the recovery bag that was placed around the victim, and the Diver exited the arroyo. Officers Munoz and Urbano attached the 4:1 to the victim’s line and removed the individual from the arroyo. All of the systems used were anchored to multiple vehicles that had responded to the scene.

Fast-Track 120 Students Put Skills to Test in Recovery Operation“Obviously, this makes us very proud that our students can take the techniques learned in our classes and put them to immediate use. Unfortunately, this was a recovery operation. However, we hope that everyone involved was just a little bit safer thanks to the training and capabilities of Officers Urbano and Munoz,” stated Roco Chief Instructor Tim Robson, who led the 120-hour training class.

 

Fast-Track 120 Students Put Skills to Test in Recovery OperationHere's a photo of the scene of the recovery near an arroyo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

An arroyo is defined as a small, deep gully or channel of an ephemeral stream. Arroyos usually have relatively flat floors and are flanked by steep sides consisting of unconsolidated sediments. They are usually dry except after heavy rainfall. In this area, there are several miles of open-air concrete lined drainage channels that drain an area into the main North Diversion Channel, a tributary of the Rio Grande joining upstream of Albuquerque.

Signs are posted at the constructed arroyos warning to keep out due to danger of flash flooding and other obvious dangers.

Ratqa Rescue Team’s Commendable Rescue Effort

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Ratqa Rescue Team’s Commendable Rescue EffortSince 1999, Roco has had the opportunity to train and equip rescue teams in Kuwait. The first team that we trained was the Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC) Fire Officers that were assigned to three refineries located south of Kuwait City.  In 2001, Ratqa Contracting was tasked with providing a Technical Rescue Team at the same refineries and Roco provided the Technician Level training for this new team.

The Ratqa Rescue Team is comprised of contracted Filipino’s with the oversight of a Kuwaiti Rescue Officer. Management is committed to making sure the team receives Rescue Technician recertification every two years from Roco.

Two of our instructors from New Mexico, Tim Robson and Rich Pohl, have been the predominant instructors for this 19 member team over the years.  Both agree that this is one of the most competent and dedicated rescue teams they have ever taught.

On a recent recertification trip, Rich and Tim were made aware of an event by Lead Rescue Officer/Coordinator Mohammed Al-Raqum and Fire Officer Khalid Al-Habri. Both officers wanted to recognize the efforts of the team for an exemplary response to an unfortunate event. Both Rich and Tim thought this would be the perfect forum to recognize this excellent Rescue Team.

In October 2011, the team was responsible for the removal of 4 victims that had succumbed to H2S in a PRCS that was 15-feet deep by 20-feet wide. The space was extremely congested and had over 15 different process lines. It included a 5-ft diameter by 20-ft high tank. The workers had originally entered the space to remove a skillet blind when there was an accidental release of H2S.  During the investigation, it was determined that KNPC policies and procedures had not been adhered to and the entry team did not have a permit nor did they perform atmospheric monitoring prior to entering the space.

Ratqa Rescue Team’s Commendable Rescue EffortThe Ratqa Rescue Team on duty at the time of the incident was located approximately 10 minutes away at a neighboring refinery. Immediately, the Rescue Team Leader terminated their current standby operations and responded within 6 minutes to the scene by utilizing a “short cut” which minimized response time by 4 minutes.

Upon arrival, the Rescue Team did a scene size-up and then created a response plan with the Rescue Officer, which took approximately 3 minutes (atmospheric readings detected 120 ppm of H2S). Two vertical hauling systems were anchored, and Rescuer 1 donned an SCBA and made entry. Three victims were removed within 6 minutes via tied full-body harnesses and were found to be pulseless. Because of this, the Rescue Officer and Rescue Team Leader decided to convert to a “body recovery” mode for the 4th victim. Rescuer 1 was relieved and sent to rehabilitate. Rescuer 2 donned an SCBA and made entry into the space. Considerable time was needed to extricate the 4th victim due to numerous process lines that ranged in diameter from ½” to 4 inches. From initial dispatch to termination of recovery took 51 minutes. In addition, the outside temperature was 101 degrees Fahrenheit at the time.

Rescue Response Timeline:
Initial Dispatch to arrival on scene – 6 minutes
Scene Size-up / Hazard Recognition / Rescue Plan – 3 minutes
Rescuer 1 enters space and removes 3 victims – 6 minutes
Rescuer 1 exits space / Response-mode revised to Recovery mode– 21 minutes
Rescuer 2 enters and removes entrapped 4th victim – 15 minutes
Outside Temperature: 101-degrees F
Overall Time: 51 minutes

We commend the team for its rescue response capabilities and for dealing with this unfortunate incident in such a timely and professional manner. It has been our pleasure to work with these emergency responders over the years.

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