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Success
Wildland firefighting necessarily requires contending with rocky outcrops, steep slopes, and uneven terrain. It not only inhibits maneuverability, but challenges the efficacy of firefighter rescue tools, such as portable heavy duty rope hoists and related personal protective equipment (PPE).
Today more than ever, technical innovations in fire rescue lifting equipment can dramatically improve the efficacy and safety of wildland firefighting operations.
Heavy Lifting Operations in Remote Areas
In a wilderness setting, firefighting tasks are often distilled into two main categories: fire suppression and management. While each requires very different firefighting strategies, they both depend on versatile equipment designed for maximum agility and adaptability.
Unlike urban firefighting missions, wildland operations often compel firefighters to fulfill numerous tool-assisted functions far away from fixed, high-capacity equipment. These tasks often include various lifting or hoisting functions, such as:
- Hauling water pumps over difficult terrain
- Pulling oneself or other firefighters out of hazardous locations
- Removing heavy debris obstructing entry or exit
- Positioning timber and boulders while constructing firelines and other fuel breaks
For numerous applications where transportation is a concern, wildland firefighting organizations have a major impetus to secure the most versatile and mobile fire rescue lifting equipment.
Fully Integrated Hoisting Solutions
Successful wildland firefighting heavily depends on preparation. That includes selecting high-performance grip hoists/rope hoists and harnesses. Such equipment must be built for streamlined operation, as visibility can become low and firefighters will have limited dexterity when fully suited up.
To complete their missions under high-stress, high-risk scenarios, wildland firefighters depend on a heavy duty rope hoist/harness system featuring the cutting edge in performance and usability.
Fully Adaptable, Easy-Fit Harnesses
In any fall protection scenario, personal restraint systems depend equally on:
- Robust build quality
- Proper fit and easy adjustment
That's all the truer for wildland firefighting, when extreme heat necessitates a range of material considerations, including seamless integration with bulky fire-resistant gear. In fact, OSHA 1910 Subpart L, subsection (e)(3)(i), requires body protection to "be coordinated with foot and leg protection to ensure full body protection for the wearer."
While these standards primarily relate to resistive coat requirements, subsection E addresses "protective clothing" broadly. Like many PPE requirements, this regulation is deliberately general and not prescriptive for any specific gear or product. Thus, each organization must research and implement the exact OSHA or CCOHS regulations impacting their operations.
That said, wildland firefighting organizations would do well to interpret the following terms in the broadest possible way:
- "Coordinated";
- "protective clothing";
- "full-body protection."
Safety Depends on Usability
Even without firefighting suits, poorly designed harnesses cause workers to needlessly struggle while conforming the equipment exactly around their body and other worn equipment.
Traditional safety harnesses have been notoriously difficult to fit properly, even when given all the time in the world. Firefighters often have no such luxury, depending equally on (1) the perfect fit and (2) absolute minimal delay. Even if worn firefighter rescue tools feature the most advanced materials, they become a safety issue if they impair mobility.
Further, official regulations can be very broad, yet no less enforceable. For instance, OSHA adopts and enforces numerous National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA) standards. That includes NFPA's "general duty clause," which OSHA applies even "where there is no standard that applies to the particular hazard involved," such as:
- Employee exposure to serious hazards
- Industry, employer, and common-sense recognition of such hazards
- Where "feasible means to correct the hazard were available"
The takeaway is, as fire protection equipment manufacturers continually improve their designs, it's more feasible than ever to ensure all field personnel have fire-resistant Kevlar harnesses readily on hand. It also underscores the fact that fire protection is a continually evolving science, with technical advances part and parcel of regulatory standards.
Full-Strength Hoisting Capacities While on the Move
Rather than expecting wildland firefighters to employ many separate large devices and remain mobile, it's important to derive maximum function from the smallest range of equipment. That includes a compact, easily deployed grip-hoist rescue kit.
For instance, a single heavy duty rope hoist should be capable of numerous lifting, lowering, and pulling applications in remote areas, especially:
- Lifting, lowering, or otherwise moving first responders and accident victims
- Removing heavy obstructions, such as felled trees
- Pulling down compromised walls or thick timber
- Moving equipment through enclosed spaces
- Repositioning inoperable automobiles, heavy supplies, and other mobile search and rescue equipment
Full-Scale Lifting Strength in a Compact Form
With a total equipment footprint of little more than a breadbox, the most advanced heavy duty rope hoist designs are capable of exerting up to 8,000 pound-force (35,585 N).
Total load capacity is an essential metric, to be sure. Yet it's further important for hoisting equipment to meet a suite of design specifications for maximum safety and lightning-fast deployment. When comparing mobile grip hoists, the following essential features can maximize reliability, performance, and usability:
- Safety mechanisms preventing clutch disengagement while under load
- A visual identifier for when the unit is under load
- Multiple adjustable mechanisms required before moving a hoist's clutch to neutral
- Ergonomic, forward position for cable tension adjustments
- Fully separated lever arms for forward and reverse cable tensioning/detensioning
- Telescopic handle, for maximum leverage and minimum pack size
Expect More From Your Safety Device Manufacturer
Mobile hoisting equipment also depends on comprehensive functionality and long-term reliability. In an emergency, even the smallest design nuance could be the difference between success and failure.
Consider it a sign of foresight and dependability when a fire rescue lifting equipment manufacturer provides extra hardware (e.g., spare shear pins integrated straight into the carrying reel). You should also expect a generous amount of galvanized wire rope, designed for maximum corrosion resistance.
Wildland Firefighting Safety Begins Well Before the Fire
Selecting the most effective, reliable, and user-friendly firefighter rescue tools is all but explicitly required for wildland firefighting and search and rescue operations. Wildland firefighters also have an enormous intrinsic motivation to secure the most effective and versatile fire rescue lifting equipment, including heavy duty rope hoists and wire/rope harnesses.
Tractel applies decades of experience to advanced hoisting and other safety equipment, both in and out of industrial settings. Our mobile hoisting equipment rivals even certain fixed constructions, with various failsafes and operability features built into a compact, durable form.
To optimize your wildland firefighting and search and rescue functions, reach out to our dedicated safety device manufacturers.