Man vs. Machine Rescue

Man vs machine can happen in any city across the world and is not limited to large cities or industrial centers. Don’t get complacent and assume that it will never happen while you are on-duty.  Consider a teenager stuck in a full bucket toddler swing seat.  Do you know the steps to take get that patient out of the swing?  How about a person that has their leg stuck in a PVC drainage pipe in a yard during the winter in below freezing weather?  These are two of the incidents I personally ran on and several posts on Paul Hasenmeier’s website provided me with enough information in the full bucket swing ran.

However, I did learn several things during my incident.

Several things to think about:

• Eliminate gravity from the equation. Bring the stretcher over patient can sit on it while you cut the chains.
• We tried cutting the seat with bolt cutters, cable cutters, and wire cutters unsuccessfully.
• Plan D, we moved the patient to the Rescue truck and used hydraulic cutters.  Not the best option, but it worked.
• My department used the full bucket swing to find a handheld ratcheting cutter that cut thru it.  It’s now on the rescue.

Training

Below is a video link to the webcast of Man vs Machinery Incidents: Are You Prepared? presented by Mark Gregory, Lieutenant, Fire Department of New York.  Mark teaches his Man vs Machine HOT class at FDIC every year and is a must take class.  Mark is also a co-owner of P.L. Vulcan Fire Training.

Man vs. Machine Rescue Kit Examples

Equipped with the largest saws, to the smallest in our MAN-vs-MACHINE Kit, we will get you out of, from under, in between or stuck on things. Here a stainless steel ring that regular ring cutters can’t do.

A post shared by Olympia Firefighters IAFF L468 (@olympia_firefighters_iaff468) on Jul 3, 2017 at 3:54pm PDT

Below is an example a kit that All Hands Fire developed with PL Vulcan Fire Training Concepts.

Even a simple Google search for “Man in Machine Kit” can yield dozens of examples from department big and small.

Online Resources

• Meat Grinder – Machinery Rescue – First Due Tackle
• Man In Machine Kit – Vent Enter Search

Trench Rescue

Here is an interesting look from several different views of a successful trench rescue back in April of 2016. The rescue took place by Orange County’s Fire Authority in Tustin, California.  Below are several videos of the rescue.  The lessons learned video provides a great resource for every fire department regardless if your department can handle a trench recuse or you rely regional or county tech recuse team.

The first video is from a Youtuber GregFromTheOC.  The first 30 seconds of the video provides a brief description of the incident. The first six minutes is audio only of radio traffic with dead airtime removed. The Stokes basket is lowered at the 18 minute mark and is back with the victim at the surface at the video’s 20 minute mark.

News video

Lessons Learned

Battalion 3 Chief Jeff Hoey reviews the lessons learns and presents scenarios based on this complicated trench rescue.

One of the fastest methods of initial stabilization is to immobilize the vehicle by turning the 12-volt system OFF.  Securing the ignition is accomplished by obtaining the key fob or keys and put them in a rescue apparatus Furthest away from the scene.  Another quick, initial stabilization option are wheel chocks.

Chocks used during fire pumping operation are an excellent option. However, often a line is stretched off the apparatus and the engineer used the chocks on the apparatus.  Many extrication teams use two wheel chicks tied together with a rope.  Turtle Plastics has chicks that are lightweight and easy to deploy.

Stabilize the vehicle with cribbing, by removing air from the tires, or utilize the Lift Airbag Equipment for rescue.

Wheel chocks must match the size of the tires on the vehicle and used in pairs Tire size is designed to be proportional to the vehicle’s weight and size.

Three main factors affect the performance of wheel chocks:

• The angle of the road surface, called slope or grade. Parking on an angle greater than 10 degrees increases the risk of the car rolling off or over the chock.
• The size (height) of the wheel chock compared to the wheel height. Extra large wheel chocks are suitable for e.g. parked air craft where wind forces may come into effect.
• The surface slip or friction of the road surface, as the wheel chock may slide downhill due to wet grass or ice. Increasing the size of the wheel chock will not necessary allow the parking on inclines greater than 30% gradient (16.6 degrees).
• Keep in mind, the vehicle most likely will require full stabilization which should include cribbing and struts where necessary. Vehicles like a side resting vehicle or roof resting require struts to stabilize.