TECHNICAL RESCUE NEWSLETTER 43

Contents

1: Issue 43 Sampler 2: Coming Up in issue 44

3: Where in the World? Who’s reading TRm?

4: NEWS

5: Product News

8: SOAPBOX: Rescue Pre-Qualification??

11: Gear Review: CMC Bum Bag Review

13: Subscribe to TRm

ISSUE 43 Sampler For those that don’t subscribe to Technical Rescue magazine – Why Not?

Here’s a sample of some of issue 43’s articles:

Every rescue team should consider how vulnerable it is to The Larkin Frame is a favoured means of cliff edge negotiation

litigious action. Here Steve Giles & Mark Philips examine the in Australia and is finding favour in the UK & Eire. Al Sheehan

implications 4.5 pages blinds us with the science of the Larkin. 4.5 pages

Hailed as a tangible breakthrough in CPR proficiency TR Consultant Editor Jim Segerstrom accompanies this issue’s the Lucas device from Sweden seems to prove the importance comprehensive Throwbag article with an unashamedly biased of compressions over breathing. David Haliwell & Martin Box look at the Oceanid RDC – possibly the most capable swiftwater share Dorset Ambulance Service’s findings. 2.25 pages craft on the market at the moment? 2 pages

We follow up last issue’s review of SOG’s multitool with their Boscastle in the UK was yet another flash flood wake-up call to not so multi-bladed Seal Revolver. A hardcore ‘fixed’ blade potential devastation not limited to the third world. Swiftwater knife that oozes quality. 1.5 pages specialist Jez Hunter provides a detailed report. 4 pages

Also in Issue 43: Jim Segerstrom continues his Aquatic Rescue series with ‘Throwbag Techniques’ – 6 pages ‘Mad’ Doc Dawes reviews the ‘Rapid Sequence Intubation’ debate – 2.5 pages Scott Collier rebuts Art Dos’ last article in Board V Litter – 1.5 pages Iraq veteran Rich (Dinger) Bell continues his Tactical Medic series with ‘Care Under Fire’ reviewing the primary survey protocols. 1.5 pages GEAR REVIEWS MSA/Gallet F2 E-Trem Helmet – 1.5 pages, High Angle Rescue Book – 1 page,

Petzl ASAP – 1.25 pages, EMT-B Course Review- 1 page

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COMING UP IN ISSUE 44

DUE OUT – END AUGUST ‘05

EXTRICATION SPECIAL EDITION

After several issues with a distinctly aquatic and rope flavour our next issue will pick up

the extrication theme looking at incidents, how extrication competitions have evolved, a

market Guide to every hydraulic rescue tool on the market as well as Holmatro’s new ‘Core’ technology and New Products from other manufacturers.

But don’t think we’ve abandoned our other core disciplines. Rope Rescue and Aquatic rescue articles will be as prevalent as ever with Jim Segerstrom continuing his

Swiftwater Basics articles. There are the usual Reviews including Peli’s new carry-on

flight case, Climbing Technology’s rigging plates and NASAR’s Search Fundamental

book. We also plan to introduce an interesting new option for height safety under very specialist conditions that will either revolutionise rescue in certain parts of the world or at the very least provide hours of fun!

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WHERE IN THE WORLD?WHERE IN THE WORLD?WHERE IN THE WORLD?WHERE IN THE WORLD?

BEIJING FIRE SERVICE – CHINA

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NEWSNEWSNEWSNEWS

UKRO National Extrication Conference & Challenge 20 05.

This year’s finals of the United Kingdom Rescue Organisation (UKRO) extrication challenge and conference will be hosted by Northern Ireland Fire Brigade and will be held in Belfast during 4th, 5th and 6th August . It is anticipated that around fifty teams will represent Fire & Rescue Services at this very important event. Teams will be faced with tough challenges involving two impact damaged vehicles from which they will be expected to extricate live casualties in a limited duration evolution, with as much of the extrication completed as reasonably and safely possible in the permitted time. Expert UKRO assessors will award marks for command of the incident, casualty handling and for good use of rescue equipment. Winners of the ‘Nationals’ will go forward to the World Finals which are to be held in South Africa next year. Chief Fire Officer of Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Chair of UKRO, Dave Webb stated "Extrication of seriously injured casualties is bec oming a greater part of the firefighter's role. Tak ing part in this competition improves their skills and the service they deliver enormously" UKRO are pleased to announce that for the first time, the CFOA sponsored first aid/trauma care competition will be encompassed into the UKRO finals, but that’s not all. This year we can boast more ‘firsts’. In addition to the challenge, we are planning a large goods vehicle extrication demonstration, a line rescue demonstration and a display of urban search and rescue techniques. Staff from the host brigade have also put together an excellent conference programme entitled ‘Putting the E into Road Safety’. Eminent speakers will present a wide variety of subjects based on Engineering, Enforcement, Education and Emergency Intervention (see attached leaflet) We can confidently say that this is the largest annual gathering of firefighters in the UK coming together to improve their operational skill and techniques and is well worth a visit by fire professionals, the public and their families.

Some facts about the UKRO

• The UKRO is a registered charity. • Its mission is ‘to provide a platform for rescue personnel throughout the UK to share and advance

rescue science and technology and to develop proficiency levels in extrication, command and control and pre-hospital care.

• It runs several programmes of International Development in Europe, Africa and Asia. • In Europe, the UKRO has organised training in Moscow, Poland and the provision of rescue

equipment and Fire Engines in Romania. • The National Ghanaian Fire & Rescue Service is currently receiving training and equipment via the

UKRO. • The website address is www.ukro.org and is well worth a visit.

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PRODUCT NEWS Modular Tactical Thermal System (MTTS)

Jackson Technical Solutions are pleased to introduce a new thermal imaging camera, manufactured by Exigence Inc, the Modular Tactical Thermal System (MTTS)™ which meets the demanding requirements for Search, Rescue and Hazmat teams. The camera can be hand held, mounted on a pole or helmet mounted, which ever your application requires.

The MTTS multi-mission thermal imaging camera is a technological innovation. The completely self-contained water and shock resistant thermal imaging system offers operational options and flexibility other cameras cannot. Wireless video transmission and video output options make this a necessity to speed up

rescue and recovery, especially for training and education thereafter. MTTS’s outstanding features are its weight and size, weighing a mere 14 oz. with batteries. Most important is that MTTS is modular and can be adapted in seconds by the user from one application to another. Thus, the same base unit can be used with special fixtures for SAR, HAZMAT, patrol, SWAT or other missions. At less than 2.00” in diameter and only 8.25” in length, the MTTS is the only thermal imager that will pass through a two-inch bore-hole. In-the-field lens changes can be quickly performed by the user choosing the focal length and field of view to fit each task or environment. Lenses are available from 11 mm to 50 mm. I-Vision is fully automatic with a 5-

second start-up time. For clarification, you can switch the infrared polarity. MTTS averages 6 hours of viewing time utilizing two CR123 Lithium batteries that can be replace, as easy as torch batteries.For more information please contact Jackson Technical Solutions on 0845 644 3171 or e-mail info@jt-solutions.com

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SPELEO NOVA3 – UPDATED & LESS COST Double the Duration & great performance on Alkaline s An MN 1203 “flatpack” will give around 50 hours on Low or 30 hours on High.

This is even with our conservative determination method (some would claim 3 times these figures!). Similar dramatic improvements on the rechargeable options.

New Switch: We have listened! The Centre Off Slide-Switch has a Very Positive Action, 2 Light Levels and a firm detent in the Off position. Tighter Beam: For Improved Performance at Distance. Still gives an excellent close up pattern. Just as Tough and Waterproof: The switch is still magnetic and the NOVA 3 is just as rugged and waterproof (headpiece to -50 M) MUCH Lower Price: All this and a reduction of around £18 on the retail price!. NOVA 3 Flexi is around £85. 00 Contact Speleo on www.speleo.co.uk

AFFORDABLE GAS MONITORING BW Technologies is proud to present the GasAlertMicro 5 PID with UK/European prices starting at €1,305/ £865. The latest in Multi-gas detection the GasAlertMicro 5 PID provides simultaneous monitoring of up to five gases including oxygen, combustibles, a range of toxic gases and Volatile Organic Compounds. The lightweight, compact, and water resistant design delivers cutting-edge protection and is ideally suited for a wide range of applications, including hazmat response, confined space entry, search and rescue, and post-inspection fire safety. GasAlertMicro 5 PID’s features include high-output audible/visual/vibrator alarms; low, high. TWA and STEL alarm settings; a large alphanumeric LCD; two LEL measuring units (0-100% LEL and 0-5% by volume methane); a built-in concussion-proof boot; optional data-logging capabilities and a water resistant design. An optional Integral motorised pump for remote sampling is also available.

Field-selectable user options allow the GasAlertMicro 5 PID to be customised to virtually any environment. Calibration due-dates and alarm settings can be configured to meet specific industry requirements, and the pass code protect function ensures tamper-proof operation by preventing unauthorised users from accessing calibration options.

GasAlertMicro 5 PID’s flexible power option (three AA alkaline or a rechargeable battery pack) reduces downtime and provide up to 20 hours of continuous use. At just 370 grams (13.1 oz), the GasAlertMicro 5 PID is truly more for less. For more information about GasAlertMicro 5 PID, visit www.gasmonitors.com , email bwesales@bwtnet.com, or telephone +44 (0) 1869 233 004.

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SMC rescue gear used in rescue training sessions at New Jersey theme park. Have you ever been to a theme park, looked up at one of the rides towering above you and wondered what happens when a ride gets stuck? Just think about it for a moment… We all climb on these rides knowing that they’ll be exciting and that after a brief but highly exhilarating ride we’ll soon come to a stop and climb off the ride to make space for the next passenger. Roller coasters, parachute drops and other exciting rides at theme parks around the world have, for the most part, an exceptional safety record. Not only are rides routinely inspected and serviced, but most parks schedule regular simulated rescues to make sure that they are ready to deal with any ride that happens to stop unexpected. A major theme park located in New Jersey is one of the many across the country that has rescue professionals standing by to help their customers safely exit any ride that is stopped short of its regular completion point. Recently this particular theme park conducted a simulated rescue operation on their parachute ride. At its apex, the ride is 262' from ground level. This ride, and countless others like it, present a real concern for rescue crews because the rides are not accessible from bucket trucks or cranes due to height and/or inaccessibility from the ground. To simulate a rescue on this ride a 160 pound dummy was seated in the basket of the ride and hoisted up to approximately 80' above the ground. The rescue team then had to approach the victim from above, via a catwalk at the top of the ride by utilizing an elevator inside the main support shaft of the ride. Using PMI rope, the rescuers established a main line and a belay line, each anchored to different beams above the victim. A single rescuer using a SMC figure eight descended 182” to the victim. Once the rescuer reached the basket, another anchor with a pulley was secured to the basket above the victim's head. A new main line was then lowered, attached to the pulley, and dropped to the ground where additional rescue personnel anchored from the ground. A harness attached to the new main line and belay line was placed on the victim. Rescue team members on the ground then safely lowered the rescuer and the victim while other members of the team on the catwalk controlled the belay line.

Performing rescue operations, even in simulation, requires a team of experienced rescue professionals using equipment that they can rely upon to perform smoothly and efficiently each and every time it comes out of their gear bag. “When working in industrial high angle situations, the importance of proper training and the right equipment play a major role in our ability to safely perform rescue operations” stated Detective Ted Kocowski of the Jackson, New Jersey Police Department. Detective Kocowski was the rescue team member that “rescued” the victim in the rescue simulation detailed above. “Without reliable equipment from SMC our operations would not be as successful.” The next time you find yourself soaring above the ground on any theme park ride, take a moment and imagine the view from a rescuer’s perspective. You may rest assured that rescue professionals have “been there and done that!”

SMC (Seattle Manufacturing Corporation) manufactures a wide range of Technical Rescue equipment and Mountaineering gear including steel and aluminum carabiners, pulleys, rappel racks and descending devices, specialized anchors and rigging, rope protection, ice axes and hammers, snow saw, snow anchors and crampons. For further information visit the SMC web site at www.smcgear.net or contact Mark Harman, SMC Sales and Marketing Manager at 1-800-426-6251 and by email at info@smcgear.net. PMI (Pigeon Mountain Industries) rope and equipment have been at the heart of rope rescue, vertical rigging, caving and climbing in America for more than 30 years. Born of experience and skill and crafted with the utmost pride, PMI gear assures you of the finest of technology and practical application. For further information visit the PMI web site at www.pmirope.com or contact their customer service department at 1-800-282-7673.

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SOAPBOX Post 9.11 expansionism – our predictions revisited.

• In the past 8 years 12,000 beds have been cut from NHS hospitals in the UK

• Last Year the NHS in England was in the red by £140million

This resulted in extended waiting times for trauma and surgical patients, A&E (ER) closures due to lack of trauma spaces,

paediatric closures due to lack of Intensive Care facilities and staff cuts.

Rescue is unquestionably a ‘sexy’ trade. It’s seen as heroic, scary and skilled, and sometimes it is. But more often than not it’s routine, mundane even, sometimes hard work, sometimes dirty and sometimes

traumatically messy. Such a trade attracts a lot of folk for reasons other than the welfare of our fellow

man. Indeed in the pure rescue disciplines rather than the medical fraternity it’s quite likely that the vast majority are in it for the adrenaline and maybe the kudos. Nothing wrong with that as long as the skill levels are high. My own involvement came indirectly, drafted from the early days of rope access 20 or so

years ago certainly not out of any sense of duty to my fellow man!! But it came as a huge surprise to learn that the professional (full-time) emergency services at that time weren’t in the least bit technically proficient in specialist areas of rescue. The mountain and cave rescue folk were, of course, ahead of the

game because teams generally ‘employed’ skilled sport climbers and cavers who knew their trade, knew the area and knew how their fellow outdoorsmen were likely to get themselves into trouble. These folk

could rightly be considered to be ‘pre-qualified’. Full time services like the fire service and police were a little different because they employ/ed folk that don’t/didn’t necessarily have any particular aptitude for heights, confined spaces or even trauma tolerance. These are things that ongoing training are designed to deal with.

But the thing about technical rescue disciplines, as we’ve continually pointed out in the magazine, is they don’t crop up frequently outside of the key tourist/sport areas; areas invariably covered by a volunteer

team of skilled locals. Elsewhere, incidents requiring technical rope work, confined spaces, difficult shoring, heavy load handling etc are infrequent. (Extrication is a different ball-game – this area of

technical rescue is an everyday occurrence with little excuse for a lack of expertise or experience on the part of the rescue services.) But for the victim requiring other specialist areas of rescue it has been something of a postcode lottery when it comes to how skilled, experienced or even how well equipped their rescuers are. Major metropolitan fire depts (mostly in the US & Canada) have tended to be better prepared than most because of their resources, manpower and call volume but for everyone else…..forget it. There has traditionally been neither the money nor the incidents to justify special rescue. Many have dabbled for a while in areas like water rescue, rope rescue and confined space rescue only to be sidelined years or even months later for budgetary reasons. There is definitely an element of ‘flavour of the month’ in the emergency services just as there is in every other walk of life. So if we want to improve the post-code lottery or regional skills imbalance particularly amongst the full time services how

can we achieve it with a fluctuating or perhaps even absent budget?? Following 9.11 there has been an immense knee-jerk reaction which has, in the short term, utilised an almost unlimited govt budget to set up specialist teams able to deal with massive structural collapse incidents. This was great for Technical Rescue magazine because technical rescue suddenly became mainstream rather than a ‘cult’.

But we predicted then that five years on from 9.11 there will have been billions of dollars and pounds spent but probably only a handful of lives saved that wouldn’t have survived equally well prior to 9.11. In the UK alone £188million was initially allocated to New Dimensions (USAR & CBRN) within the Fire service and this was just 3yrs of capital investment – it didn’t take account of the actual cost of running and maintaining that capital investment!! To date that amounts to £188 million per life saved by post

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9.11 expansionism. We asked quite forcibly why such vast amounts of money weren’t being spent on far more tangible risks like flood rescue and improved medical intervention. It wasn’t through anything we ever said but common sense did begin to prevail and after a few years of (thankful) inactivity for the vast

majority of structural collapse/USAR teams efforts were redirected towards a water rescue capability. This was largely centred on swiftwater rescue training though one of the lone voices in the wilderness, ‘mad-dog’ Jim Segerstrom was eventually heeded in his advice that swiftwater is but a small phase of any water incident and perhaps efforts ought to be centred more on a general flood rescue capability.

And so the 9.11 legacy has evolved and is still evolving with virtually every fire service in the WORLD

adding a range of technical rescue disciplines to their repertoire of firefighting, fire safety and extrication tasks. Police too have seen rapid expansion into specialist search skills based largely on technical rescue disciplines. Some of the command and control elements resulting from this new expenditure have been

truly useful. Witness the recent London bombings where coordination of appropriate resources appeared to lead to a well managed incident with a wealth of support agencies and teams waiting in the

wings to assist with specialist skills or to relieve London crews.

But hang on a minute, this was a relatively enormous incident in UK terms and yet we again find that it was the medical crews and local police and fire crews rather than specialist teams that made the

difference. I don’t want to put us specialist teams out of a job because things could so easily have been different but from an accountant’s viewpoint, they weren’t. We can’t justifiably use this latest incident to improve that current £180,000,000. per head estimate for expenditure versus lives saved. (the one

head we’re including as a New Dimensions rescue was a victim of the Glasgow explosion and even there,

local Strathclyde fire crews, ambulance crews, Mines Rescue and International Rescue Corps might argue the point!! We might again be decried by self-interested parties for trying to imply that government expenditure on all things ‘Urban Search & Rescue’ and ‘Homeland Security’ is not money well spent and in a very limited number of incidents those detractors will be right. But in the main they are badly wrong and in addition,

once central funding runs out, many fire services and police depts. are going to be left struggling to fund their initial enthusiasm from the local or regional budget. They will begin to fail to justify their existence because jobs will be few and the result will be to disband or refocus. Then we’re going to wonder why we

didn’t channel such an incredible amount of funding into the hugely tangible health and medical services

and see how extra lives could be saved every single day rather than once in a blue moon. The parents of yet another baby turned away from an Intensive Care Unit through lack of beds and forced to travel half the length of the country probably wouldn’t be aware that tax-payers money could be more efficiently spent. It’s not that the efforts post-9.11 are completely wasted or that the skills learned won’t be useful further down the line or even that the idea of a Technical Rescue capability in virtually every division of every emergency service isn’t an entirely laudable aim in a perfect world. It’s just that we don’t yet live in a perfect world.

So the money is being spent and these teams are now rightly looking around to see what else they can add to structural collapse and water rescue to justifty their existence. This brings me onto another

concern we have in all this – maintenance of skills. We mentioned earlier that the success of skilled

voluntary sector mountain, cave and SAR teams often stems from the existing skills of the team members – active climbers and cavers carrying out their ‘job’ or past-time week in week out and not only maintaining their own skills outside of the team but bringing local knowledge and discipline-familiarity into play. Full-time agencies tend not to have this luxury though I’m not sure why sometimes. Generally we

have seen post 9.11 specialist rescue teams formed from scratch or based on a perceived similar team or even based wholly on strategic location of a station and its existing crews. One of the most bizarre concepts of recent years is that any rope team would make a great swiftwater team or that an aquatic team would make a good rope team or that a disaster response team will make good confined space rescuers or high angle team. Sometimes they get away with it but for the most part applying an inexperienced and infrequently trained firefighter (for example) to a specialist rescue is an accident waiting to happen – either for the ‘rescuer’ or the victim. We’ve already seen it and with tragic consequences, in fact we could quite justifiably argue that a fundamental flaw in thinking that leads to unnecessary death will further increase that multimillion pound cost per head.

We firmly believe that a specialist rescuer operating in any region that doesn’t see regular incidents needs to be pre-qualified for that role. It is a nonsense to take an individual with the minimum of

swimming skills and questionable fitness levels, put him or her through a three day course and then

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declare them ‘certified’ swiftwater technicians. A similar scenario can regularly be applied to rope and confined space rescue technicians. But everyone seems to do it and the various agency managers seem content that this piece of paper solves their duty of care problems. If the certificate says my bloke is a qualified swiftwater technician then I’m happy that the protracted incident with multiple victims he’s going to be dealing with in 9 months time will be properly handled. We disagree.

PREQUALIFICATION - If your swiftwater rescue team doesn’t comprise extremely fit individuals who

are very proficient and experienced swimmers, preferably with a liberal sprinkling of surf rescuers, lifeguards, kayackers and boat coxes then I suggest that the pre-qualifications for your team are nowhere near stringent enough. Your water rescue team members need to be involved in water

work/sport or rescue every week not occasionally/annually. And the less frequent the incidents in your area the greater the need for pre-qualification.

If your team is involved in structural collapse then your personnel should include a very liberal sprinkling of builders/demolition workers, (rough) carpenters and other tradesmen. In the case of full time agencies look for personnel who had that trade prior to joining the service or preferably still ‘moonlight’ in a trade.

If your team is involved in rope rescue your personnel need to be predisposed to extreme height awareness not just the 50ft to the top of a ladder. A cold, windy night on an exposed 300ft swaying tower or slippery high rise building is not the time to find out that you’re not as keen on heights as you thought. And believe me, this isn’t uncommon! Use climbers, cavers, rope access workers and tree surgeons. This latter group have unquestionably given us our most useful pre-qualifications – proficient tree surgeons have on-rope skills, work on unstable structures, handle high loads, have rigging skills and are used to wielding a very dangerous power tool in awkward locations. There isn’t much that an

experienced tree surgeon hasn’t had to deal with. Climbers have excellent height awareness but rope skills are often so lacklustre as to require ‘re-training’. Cavers tend to have the best rope rigging and ascending/descending skills but not necessarily much height awareness.

Confined space rescuers should obviously be used to extremely small spaces and working in breathing apparatus. Miners, cavers and divers are all well disposed to con-space rescue. Cavers have the added bonus of rigging skills. Divers have excellent low-vis capabilities, spatial awareness and technical air-

breathing skills. Whichever discipline you are involved in we believe that pre-qualification is a must and ongoing use of skills outside of the rescue team set-up is also a must. Our own Unit requires prequalification plus a 2 year and 5 year probation before qualification. Even so, too many rescuers, (and we’re all guilty of this), concentrate on certain areas to the detriment of others – if the only time you’re training in these things is once every month or two or worst still, relying on on-the-job experience from once in a blue moon incidents you’re very probably not good enough and it doesn’t matter what that certificate on the wall says or the piece of paper in your personnel file

ONGOING TRAINING or EXPERIENCE is ALL IMPORTANT.

Rescue services will always muddle through on any job. It is thankfully rare for an incident to be so mismanaged as to result in death. But it’s not as rare as you think. Far less rare are:

• incidents that are poorly managed through inexperience or unfamiliarity and result in protracted time on-scene (with longer suffering for the casualty);

• poor casualty handling/medical care sometimes resulting in exacerbated injuries; (though this is improving and is rarely the case with teams utilising doctors, paramedics and

technicians)

• inappropriate techniques or equipment applied to an incident resulting in increased danger to casualty/rescuers, protracted time on scene or again exacerbated injuries.

There are occasions when, even if it’s never openly discussed, the casualty’s gratitude may be a little

overstated if not totally misplaced. They don’t know how a rescue is meant to run but you do! And the

instances of ‘just about getting away with it’ are likely to increase since we now have an entire new

generation of inexperienced rescuers with a certificate proving their proficiency. Of course a piece of paper showing completion of a training course is better than none at all but it needs to be in conjunction with appropriate experience. Prequalification in the form of appropriate skills practiced outside of the workplace are a must for special rescue personnel. Ade Scott

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GEAR REVIEW CMC Traverse Cirque 2 Patrol Pack

Cost: Cirque 2 Patrol Fanny Pack $54 Cirque Shoulder Straps (optional) $15.00 Weight: 1lb. 7oz. Dimensions: 15 x 11 4 inch Supplier: CMC Rescue This is designed as a personal kit bag for patrol or search operations. It can be kitted as either a medical bag, to carry SAR equipment or personal kit. It comes in red or red and has a retro-silver cross on the back. It has 2 large main compartments, 3 x secondary pocts and 1 x survival bag/ map pocket. Construction: The bag This bag offers good organisation of equipment, allowing you to access the piece of kit you need avoiding rummaging through the rest of it. Top main compartment – This is Rigged as a medic storage area, it has 3 internal pockets and 14 elasticated gear loops. The compartment has double zips and drops open clam style to provide good access. There is enough room for a reasonable first aid kit. The layout also lends itself to storing rescue kit like carabiners, prussiks, pulleys, rope grabs etc. Bottom main compartment – This is a large uncluttered pocket, it has double zip access, with external compression straps to fit those awkward loads. I carry 15metres of 13mm rescue line easily in this pocket, alternatively it can also take a lightweight jacket or waterproof trousers.

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Top, long secondary pocket – This is accessible while wearing the pack, so is handy for kit you may need to be easily accessible while on the move. The shape and size of the pocket mean it is suitable for a variety of kit, I’ve been carrying a 3-cell supersabrelite torch, a folding rescue saw and 2 light sticks. Exposure bag/ map pocket – This is on the back section so sits next to your back. It is perfect for carring a polythene survival bag, which also offers additional padding. It would also acomadate a UK Ordanance Survey map, but there may be sweat implications in hot conditions. This pocket is only accessable when the bag is off. Small side pockets – These are easily accessible when your wearing the pack. These pockets are only large enough for those smaller additional bits of kit – Gloves, Spare radio batteries, Prussiks, phones, pagers, keys etc. But they do keep them close at hand. External gear loops – There are 2 light external gear loops, which will take carabiners. And 2 more substantial ones, I carry a small additional bag on one of these with additional hardwear and webbing slings, and so far its holding up. These are all accessible while the packs on. In use

Without the optional straps this is as comfortable as any other bumbag (or fanny pack if your reading this across the pond). Due to its size and especially if kitted for SAR it would be uncomfortable if worn for any length of time and will always be attempting to migrate to your feet, this is a problem for any large bumbag when fully kitted. Add the optional shoulder straps and this bag is transformed into an excellent pack. The shoulder straps means the weight is spread over your shoulders, back and hips. So even when fully loaded the weight is easily carried and in comfort. Due to the lower position of the weight and its better distribution the pack is not an encumberance when searching over rough or difficult terrrain and avoids the top/ back heavy effect that rucksacks can create when dealing with obstacles. The three secondary pockets and gear loops can be accessed by the wearer and the pack can be quickly and easily taken on and off to access the other compartments. There is room on the shoulder straps and belt for additional gear holders e.g. radio, phone, Knife, face mask, which lends to its flexibility. I have used this a personal SAR pack on a number of searches one of which was over 4 hours with the following equipment stowed: 15metre 13mm rescue line 150 newton lifejacket. Gerber rescue saw. 1x Peli Supersabrelight 3 c-cell 2 x lightsticks 1x exposure bag 4 x carabiners 2x 8ft slings 2x prissiks Rope hard wear – Fig 8, Rope grab, rescue pulley Radio and spare battery

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In all cases the load was easier to carry, more comfortable and less fatiguing than when using a rucksack. This is a good design for a personal pack whether for SAR, first aid or a mixture of the two. The kit is well organised and easily accessible. There is enough room for personal kit with spare room for team kit e.g. medical kit, ropes, hardware, lifejackets etc. The Traverse Cirque 2 Patrol Pack is highly suitable to search and patrol duties. It is very comfortable to wear and is less fatiguing than a rucksack, especially when searching over difficult terrain or for longer periods. If your team is looking for a either a SAR or medic pack for patrol or searching the Traverse Cirque 2 Patrol Pack is definitely worth a look.

Rich Hackwell, TRU, Coastguard, Lifeguard

______________________________________________________________________________________

EQUIPMENT FEEDBACK

We’d like to hear about your equipment problems and triumphs –

specific items of kit that have let you down or have saved the day.

Give us a one-line statement or a full blown account and we’ll chase it

up and let others know what’s worth having and what’s not!

Please also feel free to submit your views on any rescue related

subjects to: ade6@aol.com

Please include a contact email address in all correspondence. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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