At some point, most atmospheric monitors will display a “negative” or minus reading for a flammable gas or toxic contaminant. First of all, it is not actually possible for an atmosphere to contain a “negative amount” of a substance. These negative readings usually result from improper use of the monitor. Most monitors will “Field Zero”...
During a recent visit out to California to work on a new and improved Roco/CMC harness, we had the opportunity to visit with Mr. Jim Frank, Founder and Chairman of CMC Rescue. For 34 years, Jim has been active with the Santa Barbara County Search & Rescue Team. In 1978, he founded CMC Rescue to...
To our knowledge, there is no regulatory requirement. However, we’ve heard this before and have used it as well when stressing the importance of proper PPE for rescuers, particularly when IDLH atmospheres may be involved. Here’s our thinking… if the entrant’s PPE did not provide adequate protection and he or she is now requiring rescue...
Helpful tips from Roco Chief Instructor Pat Furr: Is your rescue team in a rut? Do you end up practicing the same two or three rescue scenarios during your training drills? If you answered yes, then your’re probably getting bored – or, worse yet, you may be setting your team up for failure when confronted...
A blog reader, who is a member of a municipal rescue team assigned to an airport, expressed concern about fulfilling “timely response” obligations for permit-required confined space entries within his district. Here are some suggestions from our Tech Panel… First of all, the departments and agencies involved must carefully consider the obligations in providing rescue...
We had this question from a reader and wanted to post for all to read. Would a proper tailboard briefing conducted before a confined space entry be sufficient for identifying hazards that may be encountered by the entrants or the rescue team? It’s true that a tailboard briefing should be an integral part of the...
There’s no doubt about it, confined space entry is risky business. A first consideration should always be to try and eliminate the known and potential hazards – or, even better, “engineer out” the need for entry when possible. If it’s not possible (or feasible), and entry must be made, then as part of OSHA’s Permit-Required...
We received this great email and photo from Jan M. Snyder, Battalion Chief for the City of Santa Fe Fire Department. Thanks for the feedback, Chief! “I want to thank you for all your help and coordination this year with all the City of Santa Fe Fire Department has done with ROCO. Last week’s Technical...
Pictured is our Rescue I-Plus class, September 20-24, 2010 in North Vancouver, BC. Another great group of students from Canada, Alaska and New York! Roco Chief Instructor Tom Morgan and Instructor Randy Engemoen enjoyed getting to know the group, and as you can see the weather cooperated nicely on picture day.
By Greg Botelho, CNN – October 13, 2010 3:40 p.m. EDT Copiapo, which could have been the site of mass mourning had the miners’ rescue effort gone awry, instead became home to a patriotic festival. The strong national pride was omnipresent: from the red, white and blue Chilean flags that permeated the rescue site to the...
