Confined Space Rescue and Calling 911
Presenting at VPPPA31, Pat Furr helped to shine a light on proper confined space rescue planning.
GRAPEVINE, Texas -- A large number of construction professionals attended a day two session at VPPPA31 that covered confined space rescues and whether or not dialing 911 is really the best option. Pat Furr of Roco Rescue led the session, making sure to ask the audiences lots of questions they should be asking themselves while making plans for confined space rescue.
911 responders aren't experts, especially when it comes to confined space rescue. The majority of responders are firefighters, and their responsibility is primarily to fight fires. Typically 60 percent of confined space fatalities are rescuers.
Furr used his hometown of Albuquerque as an example of cities that are severely undermanned in terms of confined space rescue teams. Due to the speed with which a rescue operation is often needed for confined spaces, Furr recommended using an on-site rescue team or a third-party rescue team if available for hire.
If an organization does plan to use 911, it is important to establish procedures with the first responders and also plan for situations where they aren't available.