 The city of Baguio has a population of approximately 100,000 people. The hillsides crowded with hovels were a vivid reminder of the third world nature of the islands. The cantilever construction did not usually fare well during the 7.7 shock. Despite the fact that city hospital buildings maintain their integrity and were safe for use, the staff and patients were too traumatized to re-enter them. Our team medical supervisor, Dr. Joe Barbera, told of witnessing emergency cesarean operations and the like being performed outside in dusty, fly-ridden conditions. He stated the functioning neonatal facility was a local doctor's automobile with four newborns lying in the back seat. The U.S. rescue team provided medicines, tents, plastic sheeting and medical supplies to the local hospital personnel. Helicopter operations were a continuing backdrop to our command post operation. Scores of American civilian personnel were evacuated to Manila or the states. U.S. Marine's C-Stallion helicopters were used to ferry in large diameter pipe to be used for repair of the damaged water system. Stallion's rotor tips literally knocked the humidity out of the air as the pilot pulls pitch upon takeoff. Water and necessary supplies had to be brought in by air. Massive earthquake-induced landslides had blocked all roads into Baguio. Medevac operations brought injured in from devastated outlying areas. The U.S. rescue team medical personnel assisted with victim stabilization prior to their transfer to area hospitals. An important aspect of a mission, what we term disengagement for lack of a better term, must be conducted prior to the termination of a response. All information compiled by the team is furnished to the local and federal officials to assist them in their management of the disaster. Demobilization is an equally arduous task. All tools and equipment must be ready for transport home by the weary team personnel. Angel, how many of those wood handsaws do we have? Got one right here. The other one was lost. The other one's lost, okay. Let them have it. Did anybody say where? Where at the air strip? You're all trying to get out of here. Out of Baguio. It'll be a little bulk unless you get on the Sunday. U.S. Air Force C-130 transport aircraft were used to ferry the team back to Clark Air Force Base Manila for subsequent return to the United States. It was undertaken within the first few hours after arriving in Baguio. The Hotel Nevada, one of the two hotels received substantial damage, reports of confirmed live people trapped in the building to the point that they've been able to see victims' hands moving. Second floor, on the standard period of time, Filipino miners. We had to break at the moment first because of the concrete debris present on our belly. And we're afraid that the child might die and mother dies too. Any other known locations in here, anybody else? We have retrieved the others except the dead ones. So really? Yeah, once they were alive or now out? Yeah, they are out from this place. We were able to get these two women over here early this morning. Ah, good. Three more. Yes, this afternoon. So how many are left in there now, do you think? There are about 32, but we have about six confirmed alive. It's still inside? Besides these two, where are the others? We don't know, you just hear them. Rescue team personnel enter the building to provide advice to local miners who had been working more than 40 hours rescuing trapped victims. I think that we're experiencing an aftershock right now. We've got a significant aftershock right now. These people are probably exiting the building right now. We've got two hours, we've got about six aftershocks. Come down and tell you the whole story. Okay, what we're going to do here to make an assessment. We're going to use the drill through the floor for optic scope. Try to do an assessment in this floor area. Try to assess this void area down here. The mattresses are piled below the pre-planned escape route. The half-search operation using fiber optic equipment. The team pinpoints the location of a victim, deeply entombed in the middle of the building, in what was left of the second floor. The personnel had to remove sections of a heavy wooden floor to allow access to the 10-inch thick reinforced concrete structural floor. Mario? He's that way. Alright, he's right up under there. What's happening? The dust is getting to him. Can you give it to him from up there? Yeah, we give it to him. Is he pinned? Which way is he? Hold it, hold it. Ask him if he can see the flashlight down here in the hole. See if he can see the flashlight. Can you see the flashlight? Tell me how far it is from him. With personnel talking over each other, the effects of prolonged fatigue are evident. Taking into account mobilization and travel time, the personnel had by now been awake nearly 48 hours with no rest. How far from the hole is he? We've got a keyhole saw. Danny! Saw's on? A keyhole saw. No. What do you want to do? Try to go through that floor? Right here. Personnel used both pneumatic and electric impact hammers to break up the concrete. The hydraulic Hearst Omni tool was used to cut through the reinforcing steel members. Bring up the blades up here. I was going to say we chip a little more and we get a good angle. How many holes do you guys have? In the concrete? Yeah. Can you feel him? We're on top of the shovel. There's a false ceiling down there, Danny. Rubble removal is slow, arduous work. Each pack has a shovel in it. You need one from outside? Yeah. I don't think so. I think we should poke some holes in it. I hope it's not here. I hope it's not here because he's too far away. I don't think he's got that much energy. I think it's that other project going on. Those guys, I thought they were working on this side of us. We got through that other thing? Yeah, we're down right to the ceiling. I think two by three hole here. We're right above and we're going to break through here. Hey, Danny. Yes. Can you see him? Yes. Look. We went this way. We're going to put the height where we got through. We're going to put the hex saws where you can extend on. Plywood, comprising the second floor ceiling, had to be penetrated next. The team decided to leave this intact until last for the protection of the victim. Is that him, Poundin? Yeah. Can you feel me? Can you feel me? Can you feel me? Yeah. Am I touching you? Shut up. Wait a second. Quiet, guys. Hey, Mayo. Am I touching you? Am I touching you? Okay, that's you. Okay, good. Yeah. No. Press up. How the hell is he laying down? Mayo. My pinching you. Can you see the light? The flashlight. Can you see the flashlight? I don't think you can. It's on the other side, please. Demonstrating ingenuity under demanding conditions, a sheet was spread to catch the broken rubble to speed its removal. Move your finger. I need grease to the wall. You see it? Okay, now he's trapped with some stuff. What do you think his face is? He makes it right there. Great care had to be taken as the victim laid virtually inches below the cuts being made. That's his left hand. Look. Let's cut it right here, Don. Right here. And then we can work that area there and get access to them. Let's cut it right here. Okay, how about moving those rods? 10 steps so we can cut that plywood. 10 steps so we can cut that plywood. You know what I meant? They're in the red tool box there. All right. In the back of the pickup truck. Okay, partner, we're going to get that plywood off of you in just one second, okay? Hopefully. I've got a lot before I get it out. That's right. Here you go. Take your hand out. Take your hand out. Mayo. You ready to go, bro? Put. Get totally, totally flat. Don't put your hand up because we're going to cut with a saw. Hey, Rob. Okay, put your hand down. Put your hand down. Bring them back down. Keep flat, Mayo. We're going to shovel. We're going to shovel it. Right here. Get a ball being hammered down there. They cut the resin into this. Well, last night, chemical debt, we were chipping away at the cement beam. Hold on a second. Mayo, cover your face. We'll put the hydraulic tank in there. The guys that were working in there last night. Okay. Open up your eye, guys. There's that lizard. There's that lizard. There's that lizard. There's that lizard. There's that lizard. There's that lizard. Open up your eye, guys. There's that lizard. There's me, man. Okay. Happy. Okay. Happy new year, guys. You're going to celebrate your birthday. Okay. Wait a minute. Hey, guys, can you look down the other way? Give me his legs off. Let me cut the legs off his chair. Oh. Is that holding up something? Omni, omni. Omni. Angel, is the leg holding up that ceiling, Danny? What he's doing, he's sitting. He's like sitting in a chair. He's sitting in a chair? Is that a flash on for the flash? He's laying on the dude's feet. He's holding one leg, the left one. He's got a good leg down there. Which cut should be the big leg? The leg. What's down in the hole? The leg. Okay, Angel. Chris is there. We need is a... Hold on a second. Hey, Mario. Chris. Mario, let me ask you. Where is it? Mario. If we cut this, can you move up? We need to go that way. Can you move? Like two raptors. Hold on a second because we might have to cut it anymore. No, wait a second. If we cut this... Can you come out? It might be holding. Okay, okay, but that's just it. We'll get to that now. Oh, logistics too. We'll get to that now. You know how? What? Huh? Huh? The piece of what? That's what you call it. It's over now. Yeah. It was a smooth one. Recurring aftershocks were a frightening backdrop throughout the nine-hour operation. Occurring approximately every 20 to 30 minutes, the gentle ones merited discussion, while the stronger shocks, which would cause the building to sway and settle, would set the team running for the window. We're going with a sawzall, and is this leg going to be in the middle of two beams? Well, we cut both sides. We could just drop it. Let me see the leg. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. We cut here. We cut there and his leg is here. We'll just drop it. Where? If this is two beams, right? If his leg's right here, we can drop his leg. It's a concrete beam, right? He'd go here. No, it's concrete beam on top, but what they're saying is wood below. That might have been right. It's my... Yeah. It's invisible. Yeah. Yeah. That's a good idea. We can cut down. We can cut down. What? We got one right here, buddy. Yeah, we could use another... We need another two-ball. The thing is, the thing is this, though. An airbag is 30. An airbag is up in it. Why don't we do something? Let's get an airbag. Let's get an airbag. All right. Let's get an airbag. I think an airbag... You can cut into the floor or right into the beam. Some more. At least a quarter of a minute. We got a quarter of a minute. Tell me something, Chris. See the thing we're looking at right there? What can't we cut down? Hydrant? They may be out in the hall. It's a two-by-four schedule. You know what it is? There's a joint right there. There's a joint. I took that out of the jack-out. Make sure you start to get out of this one. You didn't start to move it up? Mitchell, right there's a joint. I see it. Right now it's just out of how I'm going to clean your arm off. I'll let you know what I'm going to do with it. What's the... I'm going to tell you something. Infusion. What's the back call? Start it pretty in the back. Let me cut. This last one. Anyone cut that? Oh, bolt cutters? Where's the bolt cutters? What do you need, Kyle? You know where the pentalobe's at? Say what? If you want, I'll get my orange bag up here. It's got to be down here right there. What do you need? A bolt. Pardon? Get the bolt cutters down. Hold it. It's just a little bit. They don't need it. Okay, I'll write you a hunt. That goes? I just want you to slip it on. Okay. Okay. See if you've got anything in his hand. Pardon? Okay. That's all you're going to have to do. Have a good one. An IV was started to medically stabilize the victim. His left foot is pinned under a large, concrete beam, preventing his removal. What's the drain, huh? Little observation. You guys have really dehydrated. It's not going to be that bad. A few more. No, you just relax. Thank you. Here, throw it over here. This is good water, right? This is good water I guess. We might be acclimated to this. Phil, what the hell happened here. Right. Get rid of this one. That one right there. That's all right. Did we get it on? You don't get it on. Get it on. Turn it on. Turn it on. I can't already push it. Alright, try to do it. Make sure you start. As the battery is pulling, you can see it. Uh-oh, wait a minute. I know what it is. I think you know it. There you go. And then maybe you can get a bite on the... Okay, no problem. Thanks. I don't know, man. We'll see. We can lay that flat. Get the barrels off. Bullpoint. Chris, do we have a tip on it that's flat? Do we get it pushed? Thanks. Yeah, a small one. I think I have a small flat. That's the one I wanted to give John. Give it to him, right now. Can you do it, maybe with a small sledgehammer? Uh, get in there and tap it with a small sledgehammer. Where's that small sledgehammer? What I did is I splinted a pooer. You're pinning it on the other side. It might be in the other side. There you go. Is that the 6x6? That's the 8x8. 12x12? 14 inches. That'll lift that one inch about 16 tons. It doesn't it? I think... I think it should be like 8 tons. 8 tons. No, it should be like 16 inches. Oh, he's got it. He's got it. Bill, go ahead and stick a wedge on each other anyway. No, he's in that... Get a shower. Is he going to give him that? Yeah. After an additional two hours' work, the team finally freezes ankle and prepares for his removal. Come on out, Bill. I wish it back for everything. Okay. Good job, guys. 1115. Who are you? Do you want to take over? Yeah, well, why don't you get up here and talk to him. We got him back for us. Bill, are you okay, Bill? We just get stuck in that bridge. It's right to the collar. Hold it. We can put that back over here. No, no, no. I can get a collar on him just to be sure. Hold it. Can you hold that for me? Yeah, get in there. It's all done now. If I get down there again, you still got to fix it. Where's the gun going? He's not going to tolerate that collar, the way he's been fighting in there. Once you get around here, I just don't want any fast moves. Keep your eyes closed. Keep your eyes closed, Mario. Keep your eyes closed. Keep your eyes closed. Hold on to your belly button. Somebody's got to manage his head. I'll take this hit if you can grab his shoulder. Manage his head. As long as you get him up here, I can grab him. Bill, you're managing his chest. Somebody's got to watch that fall on that leg. That leg's going to come up and get out of control. Bill, you got left. Careful, careful. You can let him go. Hold on to him up. Bill, move down to his leg, Bill, when he's out. Keep your eyes closed, Mario. Keep your eyes closed. You're coming out, buddy. Get better the way. Yeah, I guess that's better. Keep your eyes closed. Keep your eyes closed. How are you doing, Mario? Put that on the back. Watch your face from back. Close your eyes, buddy. Put that on the back, Chris. We need that strap. Put that on the strap, Chris. Put that on the strap. I got his head. I got his head. Come on, Mario. Put that on the back. He's not on the back. Lower his back. Lower his back. Watch his feet. Watch his feet. Got it? Alright, he's caught. He's caught on the strap. Alright, let's go. One more. Let's go. Alright, good, good, good. Hello. Alright, man. Stay right there, buddy. That's okay. Alright, man. It's you, bro. It's happy as you are. It's free. It's unbelievable. Let's get some things here. I got it. Alright. Take it. Hey, dude. Hey, man. Don't worry about it, my friend. Thank you. We were on an airplane when we were thinking about you. Sure. Him is back. He should be out. Who's that? Oh, he's for sick. The mission of the U.S. Rescue Team is to support ongoing local rescue efforts during disaster situations. The team supported successful rescue operations providing tools and equipment, lighting, technical advice, and trained personnel. Search and reconnaissance missions, structural and medical evaluations, dissemination of available information to incoming teams, and feedback to local officials were but a few of the accomplishments of the U.S. Rescue Team's Philippine response. We'll resume in two minutes. Our program will resume in one minute. Welcome back. Our topic is safety issues and considerations for special rescue situations. Now, before we get started, we have a very important safety announcement that's in interest to all members of the fire community. On March 13, 1993, a firefighter was killed while refilling this high-pressure 4,500-pound self-contained breathing apparatus, SCBA air cylinder. The air cylinder burst into the firefighter. On April 30, 1993, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, released this safety advisory on sudden neck failures of aluminum cylinders. Over 40,000 of these safety notices have been mailed by NIOSH and the U.S. Fire Administration to all fire departments in the United States. Please be sure to read this notice. The hoop-wrapped cylinders are modified by the lack of a reinforcing neck ring. This photograph shows one SCBA air cylinder without the reinforcing neck ring and one with the reinforcing neck ring. If your department has cylinders of this type without the reinforcing neck ring, immediately place them out of service and contact the appropriate equipment service personnel. Remember, there are thousands of these SCBA air cylinders still in use. It's important that your SCBA air cylinders are not used beyond their 15-year service lifespan and are properly tested every three years by federal regulation. If your department does not have accurate records as to the age of its SCBA air cylinders, the date of manufacture can be located on the cylinder. On older cylinders, it is stamped directly on the cylinder. The date of manufacture of this cylinder is the date with the up arrow. In the case where there are multiple dates stamped on the cylinder, find the earliest date stamped. On newer cylinders, the date of manufacture is generally on a label. Now remember, it's important that your SCBA air cylinders are not used beyond their 15-year service lifespan. Federal regulations also require that your department's SCBA air cylinders are hydrostatically tested every three years. Hydrostatic test dates can either be stamped on the cylinder or on a label. Accurate records of the hydrostatic test dates of your department's SCBA air cylinders should also be documented in your department's equipment maintenance records. For further information, you may contact Richard Metzler at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health at 304-284-5713 or William Troup at the United States Fire Administration at 301-447-1231. Our discussions this afternoon will center around several topics, rope and high-angle rescue, water rescue and agricultural rescue safety. Our first guest is Captain Sam Turner with the Ventura County Fire Department and he's here to tell us about the special considerations in dealing with high-angle and rope rescue. Thanks, Rich. Safety during rope rescue operations is a pretty big subject. However, I'll attempt to provide you with the basics and point out areas of controversy. I hope to stimulate discussion and perhaps some further study on the part of interested firefighters around the country. I'd also like to leave you with some simple rules that should make it easier to make decisions in the field when rope rescue systems are being set up and used. The first and most important rule is know your equipment and its limitations. This can only be accomplished by study and practice. You might want to consult standards such as NFPA 1983 Fire Service Life Safety Rope, Harness and Hardware, or a number of texts that are available on rope rescue. In addition, several sources throughout the country provide hands-on instruction. During rope rescue operations, if rescuers are working in a position where the possibility of a fall exists, it's called exposure. In a situation with exposure, preventive measures must be taken. One of your first actions at a scene with exposure should be to set up a barrier line to prevent access to all dangerous areas. This restricted access should apply to rescue personnel as well as onlookers. In addition, you should establish safety lines and anchor them securely. Anyone working near the danger must wear appropriate safety equipment. A designated safety officer should oversee operations involving exposure to ensure that safety rules are followed. Rope rescue can be broken down into three basic categories. Low-angle systems, high-angle systems and high lines. Low-angle systems are used when the angle of descent is less than 60 degrees. High-angle systems include those set up to raise and or lower victims and rescuers at angles greater than 60 degrees and include vertical rescues. A rope rescue may include both low and high-angle work in the same system. For instance, a hillside may be steeper than 60 degrees with some runs of less than 60 degrees and vice versa. High-line systems are used to traverse from one point to another through the air and are the most complicated and risky. High-lines may be used to transport rescuers and patients from a high place to a low place from a low place to a high place, although this is rare, or between points at the same level. High-line systems are complicated and should be discussed in detail at another time. Today we'll focus on low-angle and high-angle systems. Both high-angle and low-angle systems share a few basic components. An anchor, a raising or lowering system, and a belayer safety system. Anchors are objects whose ability or weight is greater than that of the load being lifted or lowered called or stabilized. There are two types of anchors, natural and man-made. Natural anchors can include trees, boulders, brush and root systems, and are most frequently associated with wildland environments, but they may also have urban applications. Man-made anchors include vehicles such as fire apparatus, structural components, and stable man-made items. Anchors should be selected with careful consideration given to the purpose of the system, the size of the load, the direction of polar loading, and the strength, contour, and location of the anchor. Normally a single point anchor of sufficient strength to support the load is preferable to a multi-point anchor. Usually a section of roper webbing is rigged at the anchor using a carabiner. This rope or web sling should be wrapped around the anchor with special attention paid to an attachment that avoids tight bends which weaken the sling. To avoid slippage, the sling can be wrapped around the anchor several times in a multi-coil configuration. Any sharp edges on the anchor that the sling might come in contact with should be padded. Heat and petroleum products are harmful to nylon roping webbing and also should be avoided. Rescuers should be very careful when considering the use of vehicle wheels as anchor points because of the potential for sharp edges, grease, and the heat from breaks. Multi-point anchors can be constructed in several ways. The most common being two-point and three-point so-called self-equalizing anchors. While these anchors work well to distribute the load, tests have shown that rather than self-equalizing, they really are only self-adjusting. When the direction of pull changes on these self-adjusting anchors as when the load moves from side to side, the force on the anchors becomes uneven as the anchor sling adjusts. This change in force overloads one of the anchor points and a single point may bear the force of the whole load. When this occurs, an anchor point that is too weak to support the entire load will fail. When one point fails, the increased force of the moving load as the sling readjusts to tightness will probably cause the other anchor points to fail. As long as a multi-point anchor system of this type doesn't have to adjust very much, or if each individual anchor point is strong enough to support the load by itself, then the system is adequate. A better multi-point anchor system may be one in which the anchors are in line with the haul system and are back-tied. In this type of system, the anchors are tied together in a line and tensioned together as in the 1-1-1 picket system shown. This can be done using a number of inline trees, bushes, or structural components depending on what's available. The caution here is that if the load shifts much from side to side, the system loses strength. The rescuer must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses available and choose accordingly. The best choice when available is the single-point bomb-proof anchor, because it's strong enough to support the whole load and is the easiest and quickest anchor to rig. So here's the next rule. When rigging an anchor, choose the strongest, simplest bomb-proof anchor first. Don't get fancy if you don't have to. The next basic category is the lowering and raising system. When it comes time to build a rope rescue system, the problem will be getting rescuers to the victim and then moving both victim and rescuers to a safe location where medical transport is waiting, or if the victim is un-injured, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief and go home. Lowering systems usually include some type of friction device on the rope to control the rate of descent. They're simple and fairly straightforward. The friction device is attached to the anchor sling and the rope runs through it. As the rescuer and or victim is lowered, a team member tens the rope and feeds it through the friction device. Here, the device must create enough friction to control the load. Raising systems are a little more complicated. To raise the rescuers and victim, the mechanical advantage usually needed comes in the form of a pulley system. Pulley systems are available in all sizes and shapes. The most common systems used in rope rescue provide mechanical advantage ratios of 3 to 1, 4 to 1, or 6 to 1. I'm often asked, what's the best mechanical advantage to use in a pulley system? A discussion of the relevant merits of various mechanical advantage rates would take some time, so instead, I'll just add another rule to make it easy. Always use the system with the least mechanical advantage available to haul the rope. In other words, a 1 to 1 system is best because the more mechanical advantage the pulley system produces, the more rope the crew has to move and the longer it takes to move the victim and rescuers and where they are to where you want them to be. The crew only has to pull one foot of rope for each foot the load moves in a 1 to 1 system. Therefore, it is the most efficient. And remember, the goal here is to get the victim to safety if needed to medical aid as quickly as possible. The less mechanical advantage, the quicker the rescuers and victim are moved. Another feature of the raising system is some type of ratchet brake on the rope. This can be either a mechanical rope clamp or a presser. The brake is usually placed at the anchor point closest to the load. It is attached to the rope and connected to the anchor with a load-releasing type hitch. The hitch is a design to allow the brake to be released under load. This is done so that if the load gets hung up on an obstacle in the path of travel and the brake is accidentally set, the hitch can be released and the load freed. The load-releasing hitch also comes into play if it becomes necessary to pass a knot in the haul line through the pulley system. Belay or safety lines are used to provide a separate rope backup to the mainline in a rope rescue system. The belay is the part of the system that must be able to catch the load in the event the mainline fails. Therefore, it's extremely important that the rescuer utilize a belay system that has the strength to survive the stress caused by a mainline failure. The belay has four components. The rope, a ratchet or friction belay device to catch the load, a load-releasing hitch was required with a ratchet belay device only, and an anchor. There are several variations on this basic and most effective belay system. Rope rescue systems that use this kind of belay are often called double-line systems because one line is used to raise or lower the load and the other is used to belay. Here I should mention some of the pros and cons of having a system that uses two separate ropes that both raise or lower the load. In this case, the rationale is that if you're going to have two ropes anyway, one to raise or lower the load and one to belay the load, you might as well use them both to do the work. However, remember that when both ropes are raising or lowering the load, if one anchor point or rope or other component of the system fails, then it will be necessary for one side of this double system to support the load alone. Another factor here is that rope under tension is more susceptible to damage from falling objects and sharp edges and thus there's a greater chance that the system will fail. The double-line system includes in addition to the raising or lowering system a separate single belay line that is not under tension but has as little slack in it as possible. This lack of slack limits the distance the load can fall and is activated. The belay backs up the main line utilizing a separate person or persons to manage a friction or rope grabbing device on the belay line. It has a separate anchor point that secures a load releasing hitch that in turn is attached to the belay device. Let me repeat, this double-line belay system is preferred and should be your first choice whenever possible. A double-line self belay uses a fixed belay line attached to a separate anchor point. In this variation fall protection is provided by the rescuer who is traveling on the system. This belay would usually be used during a rappel but might also be used when the rescuer is being lowered. A presser or mechanical rope clamp is attached to the belay line and to the rescuer's harness. The rescuer manages the belay device with one hand and during a rappel must manage the belay rope. Again, the self belay rope has little or no tension on it until a fall occurs when the belay device sets and catches the load. This presser or mechanical rope clamp is said to be an auto belay device because when the rescuer falls the belay device should set and stop the fall automatically. Single-line belay safety systems are