EMERGENCY DESCENT DEVICES

EMERGENCY DESCENT DEVICES

SAFETY

The stairway has become impassable because of spreading fire . . . Are you, as a fire fighter, prepared to escape down the exterior of the multistory building, even if no ladder is available? Are other resources for escaping from the upper floors available, or are they in an apparatus compartment down on the street? In response to these questions, the San Jose Fire Department instituted a program on

The first step of the program was to determine what rope would be most suitable for a lifeline.

Each fire company had been using 125-foot lengths of ½-inch nylon braided rope. However, after about two years it became apparent that this rope was being used for purposes other than life safety, and the rope’s integrity was questionable. Also, the stretch dynamics of the nylon braided rope were not conducive for escaping from upper story windows, since the rope would stretch up to an additional 16 percent of its original length.

After much research and testing, a ½-inch kernmantle rope was selected for department use.

A kernmantle rope is made of a loosely woven (soft lay) outer jacket — making it more pliable than hard lay (which have tightly woven outer jackets) ropes-and continuous straight polyester fibers inside.

The kernmantle rope has low-stretch dynamics, with an elongation span of 1.5 percent; is highly resistant to heat and abrasion; will not spin or kink; and has 75 percent of its strength protected by an outer sheath, which has a 2500-pound breaking strength. The rope itself has a breaking strength of 72CX) pounds and a working load of 1224 pounds.

The department purchased 70 200-foot lengths of 1/2-inch kernmantle rope.

The next step in the emergency descent devices (EDD) program was to equip every piece of apparatus with a kernmantle lifeline. This would assure that a lifeline could be obtained from any apparatus at the scene of an emergency.

Safeguarding the integrity of the lifeline required several steps. First, a white vinyl tube-shaped bag with a drawstring on each end was designed specially for the kernmantle rope. Three-inch letters reading Lite Line are on two sides of the bag for easy identification, and a 2-inch-wide nylon strap allows the bag to be carried over the shoulder and to avoid interference with SCBA. The lifeline, too, is white, and the ends dipped in red air-dry plastic coating.

To further reduce the chances of lifelines being used for needs other than life safety, utility lines were furnished to each apparatus. The utility lines are either Goldline or black and orange truckers rope (made of polyester), 125 feet long. The ends of the utility lines are dipped in yellow air-dry Dlastic coating. These lines are stored in Drown vinyl bags with 3-inch yellow lettering stating “Utility Line.”

The cost of producing these lifeline and utility line bags was held to a minimum, the work having been done by a fire fighter who was recovering from knee surgery.

If a kernmantle rope’s integrity is questionable after use, the rope is taken out of service and transformed into a utility rope after being dyed a different color.

The department also constructed small pouches containing five offset locking “D” carabiners, five figure-eight descent devices, and five 20-foot lengths of 1-inch nylon tube strap. These pouches are attached to all lifeline bags.

The complete emergency descent system (the lifeline and specialized hardware) provides all equipment necessary for five people to make an emergency descent.

A lifeline is worthless without a method to attach yourself or someone else to it for a safe descent. Since the figure-eight knot has proven to be one of the strongest knots, reducing line strength by no more than 20 percent, all knots associated with the EDD system are variations of the figure-eight. Also, using one basic knot promotes better memory of how to tie all knots during an emergency.

One variation is the figure-eight on a bight, where a varying size bight is made in the line that can be hooked onto or slid over the top of a support. Another variation, the figure-eight follow-through, allows larger varying size bights to be tied around objects where a figure-eight bight could not slide over the top, such as a tree or telephone pole.

The third variation, the figure-eight bend, provides for the joining of two lines together.

The lifeline is secured for descent by tying it around a heavy object that will not move; tying it around an object that won’t fit through a window (bed frame, couch, etc.); or tying it around several exposed studs found in a wall’s opening. The lifeline should be padded at chafing points (window sill, rock edge, etc.).

The rescue seat is formed by the 20-foot nylon tube straps to which the descent hardware attaches (see first two sketches in second line illustration).

Loading the figure-eight descent device varies for different weights, with friction being added for heavier weights (see fourth sketch in first line illustration). It’s possible for two people to rappel on one rope by hooking both seats onto one figure-eight descent device that is double wrapped with the lifeline.

Lowering another person in a Stokes litter is accomplished by securing the lifeline to the litter harness and using the figureeight as the descent friction device anchored with 20 feet of nylon tube strap or the other end of the lifeline.

A training program, set up for all department members, consists of sessions centering on the use of the lifeline and the descent hardware attachments as well as a video tape presenting a simulated incident with fire fighters making an exterior exit from the sixth floor of an involved building. The fire fighters themselves practice descending to safety from a three to six-story window.

To assure that each fire fighter stays familiar with the FDD system, an annual performance standard evaluation is held at San lose s training center.

How do we know’ the lifeline will end up upstairs? Each fire company at the scene does a “full strip,” removing hose packs, SCBA, resuscitators, forcible entry tools, ladders, and utility and lifelines from the apparatus. And each fire fighter going into a building carries SCBA and rope packs.

Therefore, your answer to the question, ” Are you … prepared to escape down the exterior of the multistory building?’ should be, “The way out is right here on my back.”

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