Who is Your Rescue Team?

None of us ever expect to be rescued while we are at work. We never look in the mirror in the morning and say, today is the day I will need to be rescued. We never kiss our loved ones goodbye and remind them that this is the day you won't make it back from work. How many of you would change your way of thinking if you knew today could be your last? So then why is it we still take unnecessary chances with our lives at work?

One of the biggest misconceptions that many companies have is putting the local fire department as their confined space and fall rescue provider. As a former firefighter myself, I know it does not work that way. If the fire department is already out on a call, they will not stop what they are doing to go and rescue you! OSHA 29CFR 1910.146(d)(9) states that employers must "Develop and implement procedures for summoning rescue and emergency services, for rescuing entrants from permit spaces, for providing necessary emergency services to rescued employees, and for preventing unauthorized personnel from attempting a rescue." Your company can hire a professional rescue service that would come to your establishment and be your rescue service. The fire department, however, will not do this; they will be making a recovery, not a rescue. These circumstances are why OSHA then states in 1910.146(k)(1) "An employer who designates rescue and emergency services, pursuant to paragraph (d)(9) of this section, shall: 1910.146(k)(1)(i) Evaluate a prospective rescuer's ability to respond to a rescue summons in a timely manner, considering the hazard(s) identified." I have seen many companies try and wiggle their way out of this. When companies tell me the fire department is their rescue, I set up a meeting with that company and that local fire department. Then they hear it directly from their mouth when they say, "by the time we arrive and size up the scene; we are recovering a body, not a rescue."

Oh, but wait, there's more that I want to write about, and you thought I was done! Companies also have to have a rescue plan in place with personal fall protection systems. These standards deal more with someone wearing a harness that falls. For our protection is why OSHA states in 1910.140(c)(21) "The employer must provide for prompt rescue of each employee in the event of a fall." Again, I see companies announcing that the local fire department will provide rescue. And, yes, you guessed it, I bring them together, and the fire department again states they may not be set up for that particular rescue. Many EMS professionals are not even aware of suspension trauma, which can happen to someone who is hanging in their harness waiting for rescue, let alone know what to do for it. Suspension trauma can be a death sentence to even someone who was not also hurt in the initial fall.

How does your company compare? Be honest with yourself! Does your company have a real rescue plan in place, and do they practice it? Were your workers properly trained in fall protection? Were your workers fitted properly for that harness, do they wear it and store it correctly? Are you the type of company that wants what's best for your workers, or do you continue to ignore what is lurking around the corner?