Rescue and evacuation selection guide
Selection guide
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF RESCUE AND EVACUATION
During work at height, an accident may occur requiring the intervention of a rescuer to evacuate the victim.
In this case, the rescuer will have to act in an emergency situation. THE GOLDEN RULE in such a case is TO AVOID A SECONDARY ACCIDENT.
EN 365 (§4.2.2.e): During any work at height, the contracting company must draw up a risk-prevention plan that mandatorily includes “a rescue plan (…) in order to deal with any emergency that may arise during the work”.
What questions to ask yourself?
Consequently, and before any intervention, they must first ask themselves the following questions:
• Is there a residual risk following the accident (electrical risk, presence of gas, etc.)?
• Am I able to intervene (physical capacity, psychological capacity, technical capacity, etc.)?
• Do I have full command of the rescue plan (calling the emergency services, etc.) and of the evacuation procedure?
• Have I been SPECIFICALLY trained for the rescue operations I am going to carry out? (REQUIREMENT of Directive 89/655/EEC Article 7 and Annex II §4.4.f (Directive 2001/45/EC).)
What are the priorities in a rescue?
The rescuer can therefore act in accordance with the rescue plan defined beforehand; their priorities will be:
• Secure the victim,
• Release the victim from suspension as quickly as possible,
• Wait for the emergency services in the best possible conditions.
The main rescue situations
Each situation is unique and requires suitable equipment. When drawing up the evacuation plan defining the human and material resources to be deployed, the following main situations should be distinguished:
• evacuation in a confined space,
• self-evacuation at a fixed workstation,
• on-site evacuation (multi-situation, one or more victims),
• evacuation from ski lifts (mechanical lifts).
CAUTION: DURING RESCUE AND EVACUATION OPERATIONS, THE RESCUER MUST BE TRAINED AND PRACTISED
With this guide, you now have everything you need to correctly choose the rescue and evacuation equipment you need to work at height with comfort and safety on a daily basis. Choose KRATOS SAFETY today.
