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make the Crusade
a success again this year.
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Trench Rescue & Collapse Rescue Team
History
In the early 1990's a group of firefighters and paramedics from
Jefferson County Fire Service put together a Trench Rescue Team.
This group of men and women sat down and determined how they could
make this program work. The personnel requirements alone would
overwhelm any of the 21 County fire districts, depleting them of
manpower for normal fire/rescue responses. The Trench Rescue team
needed a large group of personnel trained in trench rescue
procedures , expensive equipment and the logistics to bring them all
together.
According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration,
excavating is recognized as one of the most hazardous construction
operations. OSHA recently revised Subpart P, Excavations, of
29 CFR 1926.650,
29 CFR 1926.651, and
29 CFR 1926.652
to make the standard easier to understand, permit the use of
performance criteria where possible, and provide construction
employers with options when classifying soil and selecting employee
protection methods. reference:
www.osha.gov
- Capabilities
Trench
team members have specialized training to respond to trapped persons in open
excavations defined as trenches. An excavation that is deeper than it
is wide and narrower than it is long, is a trench. Occupational Safety
& Health Administration regulations require trenches to be secure before
workers enter them for any reason. When that regulation is violated
and a person is trapped as a result of a trench wall collapse, we are called
to affect the rescue, or unfortunately, sometimes a recovery. Trenches
are dangerous because when they collapse. the dirt surrounds the victim and
depending on the soil make-up, it can crush the victim and suffocate them in
a matter of minutes.
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- Specialized
Rescue Capabilities
- Team members are trained to one of three levels of certification under
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards. We have
Technician, Operations and Competent Person certified members from all 18
suburban fire districts, and Louisville Metro Emergency Medical Service (LMEMS)
on the Trench Rescue Team. Each person brings their own unique talents
and experience to the team.
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- Specialized Rescue
Equipment
- The team uses special rescue equipment like Air Shores®,
Shore-form Panels made from extremely strong plywood and various adapters
and hardware to assemble and install shoring that protects the rescuers
while they excavate hundreds of pounds of dirt to reach trapped victims.
Most of the digging is accomplished with hand trowels and small shovels to
prevent injuring the patient as we dig them out. The trench has to be
made safe for entry before the rescue operation can begin.
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- Removing one trapped patient can take as long as
several hours due to the time it takes to build the shoring around
them and then dig them out. Heavy rescue trucks equipped with all of
our equipment are deployed across the Metro Louisville area to expedite
response to any area we may be needed.
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- Shared Resources
- Many of the special rescue tools used for trench rescue are also used by
other disciplines such as confined space rescue, structural collapse, heavy
rescue and even the rope equipment can be utilized by the water rescue, and
high angle teams. Most of the equipment trucks and trailers are
utilized for all the special teams since the gear is inter-changeable.
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