Pre-Rigged Rescue packs

[Umbro98765]

I am wondering if anyone ahs any opinions on the use of a pre-rig rescue pack. The pack we are considering is a Bag having a single anchor palte and strap, attached to a anchor plate, on one end of the plate is a haul system pre rigged and on the other is a descent device for lowering and progress capture of the haul line. This system is designed to be used for initial rescuer access and then immediate haul or lower of both patient and victim with out changing systems or having to set up multiple anchors. Any thoughts good, bad, ugly would be great. Thanks

[FIRELT03]

For the initial rescuer access have you considered just a fast rappel line with a solid anchor then have a bag set up with a potential haul or lower system to be piggy-backed onto the main line. We have taught mutiple ways of doing this on low slope evacuations. Does your system have a redundant and backed up anchor, keeping SeRENE in mind for all anchors, or are you using just the one anchor for all. A lot of departments we deal with might have a pre-rigged haul line or mechanical advantage system so the guys don't have to rig it on scene, but usually that's it. However whatever works for your team will work as long as you stay within the confines of the equipment manufacturers recomendations of the equipment you own. I do like the fact that you have thought it through and included all components, but would that not make for a large bag to handle all that equipment. Good luck, be safe

[jmatthe2]

FIRELT03 - Does your system have a redundant and backed up anchor, keeping SeRENE in mind for all anchors, or are you using just the one anchor for all.

Do tell what SeRENE stands for. I have not heard this acronym in my travels.

Umbro98765 -

Re-rigging is always tempting and it sounds like you have a pretty good idea for a quick lower and raise setup. There are two things you mention I will comment on.

I am not a fan of rigging straps. Many times they are used incorrectly and actually stress the carabiner that attaches them as they apply force to the minor and major axis. The key is having a large enough carabiner to occomodate the strap at various angles. With a small carabiner your typical critical angle philisophy may not work. Take a look at using good 'ol fashion webbing.

Second, I personnally am not a fan of pre-rig MA's. I can set-up any MA in the time it will take you to get your MA out, and un-tangle it. If you have special way to pack it and ir doesn't get tangled great! I also don't like these as it can affect assembley efficiency down the road. If everyone always grabs a pre-rig and never builds an MA, then team efficiency could be lost.

Take care and good luck.

[FIRELT03]

I also am not a fan off pre-rigging for the same reasons mentioned, I believe it does take away from team proficiency down the road and if for some reason your rope comes up short will they be able to rebuild it fast enough. Speed and accuracy are very important in what we do, after safety of course.

We use SeRENE for our anchors as:
S = solid
e
R = redundant
E = equalizing
NE = non-expanding

seems simple enough for people to remember when selecting anchors

[tecrsq]

I am wondering if anyone ahs any opinions on the use of a pre-rig rescue pack. The pack we are considering is a Bag having a single anchor palte and strap, attached to a anchor plate, on one end of the plate is a haul system pre rigged and on the other is a descent device for lowering and progress capture of the haul line. This system is designed to be used for initial rescuer access and then immediate haul or lower of both patient and victim with out changing systems or having to set up multiple anchors. Any thoughts good, bad, ugly would be great. Thanks

We have Evac bags for the mainline and belay systems and the raise / lower as well as the belay is pre-rigged in the bags.

We went the rigging ring route for gathering points as it is a very strong attachment point and is much cheaper money wise.

The bags also carry the rope as well as other hardware and software to allow flexibility on the scene.

We also have other hardware and software bags to add or modify as the incident dictates.

[MEDIC0372]

I have gone both ways on this subject many times and I have come to many conclusions.

I now beleive that this answer depends on the team itself. Different teams have different training and / or skill levels. If I had my way and lived / worked in a perfect world I would have everything pre-rigged and ready to go. You must figure out what works best for the whole team...

I work on a full time FD and we have a large amount of rescue gear. High angle, Con-Space, water/ice/SCUBA and so on. We do our best to keep the gear in order but someone from "the other shift" always moves it or uses it and does not put it back. We used to keep pre-rigged kits for high angle rescue and I loved it untill stuff from kit "A" turned up in kit "B" and so on. You started to not trust the system and ended up spending more time rechecking the gear prior to using it than if it was not pre-rigged at all.

Now, on the FD, we just keep all the stuff in cantainers and lay everything out on the scene and then pre-pack our kits / bags for the situation on hand. That works the BEST for US...

I am also on a State USAR team and used to be on a Fed USAR team and with those teams all the stuff is pre-rigged in the back-packs. That system works GREAT for THEM....

You need to try diff setups and see what works best in your situation. There is no true right or wrong as long as it works when you need it. NOTE: I said as long as it WORKS when you need it.

[Riversong]

We use SeRENE for our anchors as:
S = solid
e
R = redundant
E = equalizing
NE = non-expanding
This acronym is also expanded as:
Secure.
Equalized.
REdundant.
No Extension.

But the E must mean "equalized" and not "equalizing", for any self-equalizing anchor WILL allow extension if one leg fails, and an improperly configured self-equalizing anchor can fail completely if one leg fails.

Self-equalizing anchors are often used in rock and ice climbing, particularly when less-than-ideal anchor points must be used. With dynamic rope, this is somewhat less of an issue. But in rescue, with static ropes, an anchor system can never be allowed to extend in a partial failure (or for any other reason), as the shock load can be deadly.

Another acronym used in the climbing community for anchors is EARNEST:

Equalized
Appropriate angles
Redundant
No Extension
Strong/Stable
Timely

[Riversong]

As for pre-rigs, I'm not much of a believer except in a few limited circumstances.

For instance, I always carry a couple of pre-rigged LRHs and a couple of pre-rigged jiggers (small 4:1 MA systems with 30' of 9mm cordage). There's no sense in having to wrap a LRH while trying to set up a haul system, and a jigger can come in handy in any number of scenarios.

But using pre-rigged haul and lowering systems does more to limit a team's options than to speed up rigging. You will come to rely on a "one-size fits all" kit, lose the ability to custom rig for each particular application, or find that you have to de-rig in order to set up a different system and may not have all the gear you need for it.

I am a believer in keeping gear organized and in labeled bags so that it is quick and easy to find what's needed for any situation, and I think it makes sense to pack sufficient gear for a raising system in one pack and a belay kit in another pack, with an additional pack or two for extra gear and ropes for CDs, redirects, AHDs, offsets, highlines, litter bridles, etc.

- Robert