It’s the time of year when farmers are going into their fields to harvest crops.  But with that, accidents can happen. On Saturday, fire and EMS crews held mock confined space rescue training to prepare for those kinds of accidents. Firefighters and EMS personnel from Mitchell County, Iowa and southern Minnesota practiced real life simulations requiring them to work together to rescue patients from emergency situations. “A lot of times you have incidents that require more than one department, more than one agency. so by pulling in the different agencies and having them work...

Be aware of the hazards. An employee who falls from a height wearing personal fall protection may be saved from instant death or terrible injury. But that employee is still at risk until he or she is rescued. That’s because prolonged suspension in an upright position can be a serious hazard to health. Unless the worker is rescued promptly, says OSHA, venous pooling and orthostatic intolerance could result—and that could mean a serious or fatal injury. When a person is suspended for too long in an upright position, the brain, kidneys, and other organs are deprived of oxygen. In addition,...

The Bunbury Tower with just a few ropes and a harness to rely on will become a more likely scenario in the near future. Bunbury will become the first regional centre in Western Australia to host rope access training. The technique is one of the safest in the world for completing work at heights or in areas that are difficult to get to. Vertech Group will present the technique at Bunbury’s NARA Training facility to allow local companies to take advantage of the quick form of access. Trainer Ross Anderson has used the rope method in Vietnam, Indonesia, America and Malaysia and is looking...

Non-Mandatory Appendix F — Rescue Team or Rescue Service Evaluation Criteria (1) This appendix provides guidance to employers in choosing an appropriate rescue service. It contains criteria that may be used to evaluate the capabilities both of prospective and current rescue teams. Before a rescue team can be trained or chosen, however, a satisfactory permit program, including an analysis of all permit- required confined spaces to identify all potential hazards in those spaces, must be completed. OSHA believes that compliance with all the provisions of §1910.146 will enable employers to...

Wind energy developers in Arran-Elderslie now face more hurdles after council unanimously passed two bylaws at its meeting Monday. The first bylaw deals with fire emergency responses for high-angle rescues at structures higher than 45.72 metres (150 feet). The bylaw calls for a certified copy of a valid service contract with a high-angle rescue service provider “who shall respond to any and all emergencies that may occur at the proposed structure.” “We don’t have high-angle rescue equipment in Arran-Elderslie,” Deputy-mayor Mark Davis said. A wind energy...