Ladder Belts

I posted this question on the FF forum. Thought I would post it here to see what fellow Canadians are doing. What are you using for work positioning on aerials? Do you use a full body harness or a ladder belt. We currently use a full body harness with a 2 foot lanyard on each side. It is time to replace them but I am not sure it is the best technique. I have suggested going with a ladder belt for a couple reasons. 1. Ladder belts are specifically mentioned in NFPA. 2. A ladder belt will be faster and easier to don, which means FF's are more likely to use them. I was asked to find out what everyone else is using.

Thanks

Ladder belts here, and 6 foot extensions for use on the snorkel

If you dont get enough response here Resqtek feel free to post it in my forum

Hey smoke...whats your forum?

Dave

sorry hfd, its mentioned further down so I didn't bother posting it again

http://pub39.ezboard.com/bcanadianfirefighter

I love your signature, Yogi Bera is a pip, and I'm half mental myself,:)

Whatever type of belt/harness you decide on, just make sure that your aerial device can take the shock load that would be created by a firefighter falling the full length of the lanyard.

The attachment point of the lanyard is extremely important also. There is a possibility that the force of a falling firefighter could torque a fully extended ladder and cause it to fail if the lanyard is attached in a spot where it shouldn't be. Always follow the manufacturers recomendations for attachment points.

Full body harness with a shock arresting lanyard here. I am not even sure if a ladder belt meets OHS guidelines for fall arrest systems. Check with the ministry of labour they will give you the letter of the law. When I took the confined space rescue course at the Ontario Fire College they had some lanyard demonstrations and the force on a ladder belt was brutal.(Sorry can't remember the numbers) You may survive the initial fall with a belt but the damage done to the internal organs is sufficient to kill you anyway.

There are two basic categories of fall protection. Fall arrest and fall restraint(work positioning). In a fall arrest situation a worker must be wearing a full body harness and have the lanyard attached to the dorsal d-ring. The free fall distance must also be limited to 4 feet unless you are using a shock absorber, in which case you must limit the free fall distance to 6 feet or to manufacturers specifications, whichever is less. Fall restraint techniques are those which prevent a fall from happening in the first place. The use of a ladder belt on a aerial falls into the fall restraint category and does meet occupational health and safety regulations. If you are using a ladder belt which is NFPA approved the connecting means will be permanently attached to the belt and be no longer than 17-1/2 inches. Because of the short connection the ladder belt keeps the FF in a position where a fall can not happen. If you are using a longer connection means which does not eliminate the possibility of a fall then a full body harness must be used. The anchor strength requirements are where you can get in trouble with aerial work. An anchor used for fall arrest must have a strength of 22kn(5000lbs) while the anchor for fall restraint must have a strength of 3.5kn(800lbs). There are a lot of people out there teaching fall protection who only know a little bit of the whole picture and unfortunately, because of the position they are in as supposedly reputable instructors, people listen to them. I imagine this is how we ended up with full body harnesses once apon a time. Some "expert" probably came in saying that belts are no longer allowed and that we need to buy full body harnesses. The fact of the matter is, belts are not allowed for fall arrest but they are allowed for fall restraint. From a user friendly standpoint I feel a FF is more likely to climb up the ladder with nothing on than to take the time to put on a full body harness.