The term “penstock” is one you will hear if you work in the Energy Sector or occasionally in Emergency Response. Those working in the Energy Sector generally have a strong grasp of the term and what it entails. If you work in Emergency Response, can you say the same?

So, what exactly is a penstock? The most common usage of the word is a control structure used in various engineering applications, most commonly in hydropower plants and water distribution systems. It is essentially a large pipe or conduit that controls the flow of water, usually from a higher elevation to a lower elevation. Penstocks are designed to regulate the movement of water, whether for power generation, irrigation, water supply, sewer systems or flood control.

At Roco Rescue, we recently worked with a client who was diligently looking for a solution to protect their employees who would be working in a penstock. This penstock was enormous – 10’ in diameter and 9 miles in length. It presented a multitude of logistical challenges for rescuers, including remote location, internal transportation, communications, ventilation and Lock Out/Tag Out.

As our most experienced rescue technicians worked with our management team on the best approach to providing Confined Space Rescue Standby Services for the job, one of our people remembered a confined space incident in a penstock that occurred 15 years ago. A little research refreshed our memory of the incident that ultimately took the lives of five workers.

The Chemical Safety Board (CSB) investigated the incident and produced an informative video that clearly lays out what went wrong, resulting in the deaths of five individuals.

Click HERE to see video.

(Video provided by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board)

Additional Resources

• Confined Space Rescue Types Chart & Compliance Guide
• LOTO: What Rescuers Need to Know
  
  

Last week, a teenager dangled from a rope suspended from the 730-foot Auburn Foresthill Bridge, the tallest in California and the fourth tallest in the country.

The 19-year-old man and his 17-year-old friend accessed the catwalk underneath the bridge. According to the sheriff's office, the older teen then used a rope and harness to swing from the bridge while his friend filmed him.

The sheriff's office said his equipment soon failed, leaving him hanging from the underside of the catwalk approximately 30 feet. After deciding he couldn't get back to safety without help, the 17-year-old called 911.

Sheriff's deputies found the thrill-seeker dangling from a rope around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, September 17, 2023. First responders from other agencies, including the sheriff's mountain search and rescue team, also arrived.

First responders were only able to rescue the teen by sending a rescuer rappelling down on a rope of their own to bring him back up to the catwalk, the sheriff's office said in a post on Facebook.

The 19-year-old refused medical attention after being evaluated on scene by medics, the sheriff's office said. Both teenagers were cited for trespassing.

Click HERE to read full story.

(Story by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY)

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has released the 2022 edition of NFPA 350 Guide for Safe Confined Space Entry and Work. Developed through a consensus standards development process and reviewed for approval by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), NFPA standards are afforded a place of immense importance in the world of emergency response.

In the world of confined space rescue--and confined space work in general—it has been OSHA’s 1910.146 that has been most revered in the 30 years since its promulgation. But confined space rescuers and workers have long recognized that 1910.146 is a minimum-requirement standard that contains gaps along with causing some confusion in the way it handles terminology.

The newly released NFPA 350 aspires to close these gaps, simplify terminology, and provide practices workers and rescuers can follow. NFPA 350 has been careful not to conflict with 1910.146, but rather seeks to establish “best practices and how-tos for confined space entry, translating what is required in regulations into practical approaches” for everyday use.

As NFPA standards go, one of the first things readers will notice is it is quite comprehensive and thus a very large standard. Regardless, everyone who has any dealings with confined space work should take the time to read and digest it in its entirety. In this article we will provide a high-level overview of the standard as it relates to confined space work and rescue in light of the content with which we are familiar in 1910.146.

A primary difference of NFPA 350 from 1910.146 is how it—NFPA 350—handles terminology. The standard acknowledges that when there is confusion over terminology, that can translate into mistakes in workplace safety. And as we all know, these kinds of mistakes can translate into worker injuries and deaths. This has been the case where organizations debated as to whether they were dealing with a “permit-required confined space” or a “non-permit space” as defined in 1910.146.

The standard stresses the importance of verifying the competency of the rescue services selected. It specifically warns against assuming that all rescue services are prepared for entry-type confined space rescue.

NFPA 350 kept it simple by calling everything a “confined space” that meets 1910.146’s definition of a confined space, irrespective of the presence of atmospheric, engulfment, or internal configuration hazards.

Because NFPA 350 essentially treats every confined space in the same manner that 1910.146 treats a permit-required confined space, the default recommendation is to perform air monitoring in all confined spaces prior to entry. In light of the continued rate of fatalities in confined spaces involving bad atmospheres, we at Roco feel this requirement is well warranted.

Supporting the requirement for atmospheric monitoring, the standard also introduces new roles for confined space entry teams—Gas Tester and Ventilation Specialist. The “Ventilation Specialist” is self-explanatory, but a “Gas Tester” is a “qualified person responsible for operating a gas monitor and able to interpret results for atmospheric monitoring.” The inclusion of “able to interpret results” is a key component of the standard. Without this, testing can be ineffective at best, and deadly at worst.

In addition to these new roles, the standard also directly addresses the hazards associated with lockout/tagout (or lack thereof), and the failure to blind or isolate with the role of Isolation Specialist. An “Isolation Specialist” is the “person responsible for protecting the confined space from the unwanted release of energy (electrical, mechanical, and/or hydraulic), as well as liquids, gases, chemicals, and other materials impacting upon the space.”

Rounding out the new roles is that of Standby Worker. A “Standby Worker” is a “person assigned to perform work in support of confined space operations.” The previous roles we are all familiar with from 1910.146—Entrant, Attendant, and Entry Supervisor—continue to be included on the confined space entry team.

A unique feature of NFPA 350 is that, along with these new roles, instruction—or “how to” guidance—is included. We consider this to be a major plus for anyone involved in confined space work. The standard provides valuable information on air monitoring, including selecting, calibrating, and using air monitors to test a confined space. And it also stresses the value of ventilation by describing the various types of ventilation devices and their configurations.

While most of the standard is focused on keeping workers safe and preventing accidents, everyone is cognizant that as long as workers enter confined spaces, there will be accidents where rescue is required. The standard describes both non-entry rescue and entry-type rescue. Regardless of the method selected, the standard stresses the importance of verifying the competency of the rescue services selected. It specifically warns against assuming that all rescue services are prepared for entry-type confined space rescue.

NFPA 350 states that “[t]he degree and rapidity of response should be driven principally by the anticipated hazards.” To this end, it recognizes three levels, or tiers, of rescue response:

NFPA 350 is a very comprehensive standard and even delves into topics such as “Prevention through Design (PtD)” which seeks to prevent confined space emergencies through better design. Those with responsibilities involving confined space work or rescue are well advised to give it a read when you have the chance.

In this article, we reviewed the standard in broad strokes. In the follow up Part 2 Article, we will drill down more with a focus purely on the rescue aspect of the standard.

Additional Resources

• Standby Rescue: How Many Team Members?
• Lock-Out/Tag-Out: What Rescuers Need to Know 
• Roco Confined Space Types Chart
  
  

Anyone who is a fan of football, more specifically the National Football League, has heard of legendary Green Bay Packers Coach Vince Lombardi. If you are really into NFL football, you know that not only was Lombardi one of the best Head Football coaches in history, he was also a legendary wordsmith. I cannot count the times I have heard a quote that I recognized, reached for my phone to google it and found that it was attributed to Coach Lombardi. Like I said, wordsmith.

Leave it to a firefighter to think they can improve on the words of a legend. On a column of the tower at my department in Idaho, written in magic marker, are the words…

The 6 P’s

The actual Lombardi quote is much more prophetic. “Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.”

How do we apply this to technical rescue? Rope and confined space rescues are inherently ugly. No matter how grandiose the final product may look, the process to get there is like our favorite restaurant, we may love the food, but we don’t want to see the kitchen where it gets made. The initial plan for a rescue rarely survives first contact. The better we are at adjusting our plan on the fly, the better the outcome. Perfect is not a word I would choose to describe a well-performed technical rescue. Despite that, our training regimen should include components where perfection is the expectation and the goal.

One place we can easily implement the expectation of perfection is in our knot craft. More specifically, the Figure 8 on a bight. The venerable Figure 8 on a Bight is found in every rescue curriculum, making it an easy target in our quest for targeted perfection. Embarrassingly, the perfect 8 was not a staple of my personal rescue toolbox for the start of my rescue journey. Granted, my 8’s were safe. They were recognizable, but they weren’t perfect.

As my wallet caught up with my thirst for rescue knowledge, I was able to attend more and more classes and workshops with instructors and mentors who helped shape me as rope practitioner. Delaney, Cartaya, Rush, Harbach, Wood, Evans, McCuller, Luscinski, Bradbury, Spect, O’Connell and Carlsen. If you know any of those names and have been lucky enough to train or work with them, you are truly blessed as a rescuer. While they all have varying approaches to solving problems, they also have many things in common. The most noticeable being that when they have 100% control of the circumstances, they never take short cuts…not ever. Oh, did I mention that their 8 on bights are perfect?

The venerable Figure 8 on a Bight is found in every rescue curriculum, making it an easy target in our quest for targeted perfection.

I have found as an instructor, that the perfectly tied and dressed Figure 8 on a bight is often an early indicator of a rescuer’s future success. As Lombardi said, “Watch your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character.” Consistency in knot craft creates positive habits that carry over to every other facet of technical rescue.

Perfect 8’s also have numerous benefits in the field.

Knot Security: Properly dressing the Figure 8 on a bight ensures that it is tightened and seated correctly. A well-dressed Figure 8 is less likely to slip or come undone under load, providing greater safety.

Strength and Reliability: A properly tied Figure 8 on a bight maintains its intended shape, distributing the load evenly across its structure. This enhances the knot's strength and reliability, reducing the risk of failure.

Ease of Inspection: A well-dressed Figure 8 on a bight is easier to inspect visually. A well-dressed knot allows for quick identification of any potential mistakes or mis-ties.

Untying Efficiency: Dressing the knot appropriately ensures that it is easier to untie after use. Knots that have been properly dressed are less likely to jam or become excessively tight, making it simpler to undo the knot when needed.

The benefits of a properly tied knot are well documented. What we can’t measure is the countless benefits that come from the mindset of always tying a perfect Figure 8 on a Bight. Our purpose as rescuers and practitioners of rope work is to perform high risk skill sets quickly, safely and efficiently in oftentimes unyielding circumstances. WE MUST PERFORM.

And, like the coach says, “Winning Isn’t Everything, It’s The Only Thing.”

Brad Warr is a Senior Chief Instructor for Roco Rescue. He joined Roco Rescue in 2003 and currently teaches a wide variety of technical rescue classes including rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, and structural collapse. He is also a member of Roco’s Contracted Safety & Rescue Teams (CSRT), providing standby rescue services for plants, refineries and other industrial facilities. Brad became a firefighter for the Nampa (ID) Fire Department in 1998 and was promoted to Captain in 2006. He retired earlier this year. His responsibilities included training the department’s Heavy & Technical Rescue Team. Before joining the fire department, Brad worked as an Emergency Response Technician for a large manufacturer in Boise, where he was responsible for OSHA compliance, emergency medical response, confined space/rope rescue response and hazardous materials response.

Additional Resources

• 8 Essential Knots for Rescuers
• Roco’s RescueTalk™ Quick Drills 
• All About Knots
  
  

It’s all over the safety news right now – heat stress is finally getting the recognition it deserves for the millions of employees who have to work out in the heat every day. As the heat wave continues, we’ve got to do a better job of taking care of our personnel and watching out for any signs or symptoms of heat distress. 

The July/August 2023 issue of ISHN featured an article written by our own Chris McGlynn and Chris Warrick that explores what we can do to combat this dangerous hazard. Click HERE to read the original article. 

Additional Resources

• Confined Space Rescue Types Chart & Compliance Guide
• OSHA Heat Hazard Recognition