Rope Rescue Operations Using an Aerial Ladder Truck as an Artificial High Directional 

Thanks, much appreciated!

Thanks!

Thanks. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough rope length to put a block in…. We had to park the ambo that close just to be able to anchor the MPDs & give us just enough throw to start a haul

It's actually Undefine Academy footage. They have a channel as well

I love that you love it

Thanks! Truss vs. a Compression Member? I’m at a loss. My gut feeling is that you can’t have your cake & eat it too, & there’s always going to be some kind of tradeoff or compromise when trying to rig aerials safely, or with some sort of confidence in your perceived ability to know what you’re doing & why…. & where the weak links exist. So I don’t have any solid opinion on it as of yet. Most of the issues that were brought up in that CMC podcast resonate with me & for the most part I agree with what was discussed. I’m personally leaning towards AHD as opposed to using a B&T system at the tip, but thats because the lens I’m looking through favors crane rigging theory. While a B&T does minimize the tip load, I just think it’s less practical than the AHD route.

Thanks for the response. We definitely have work to do on this topic.. @@Propeller_Head

There are max load placards located at each welded eyelet that is part or the aerial frame. Each eyelet on our aerial says “Max 250 lbs”. Yes, if you elect to rig webbing around the aerial rails then I would argue that your capacity “could” be more than if you were rigging to just the eyelets. Rigging anything to the aerial beyond those small bolts is a No-Go.

29 CFR 1910.180 (Crawler Locomotive & Truck Cranes)... [h.3.iii.v]

Thanks!

Does the OSHA regulation pertain to attempting to move the aerial when we have a long haul system rigged or would it technically apply to a short haul system as well? Using an aerial device as a high directional does not load it as intended where as a short haul loads the tip in a vertical orientation which is inline with the manufacturers tip load.@@Propeller_Head

The regulation pertains to the dangers of operating the hydraulic systems when live loads are suspended & does not address specific types of rope systems. So it doesn't matter what kind of haul or lowering system you have. I'm confused on your terminology of "short haul". Can you explain what you mean by that? Just like velocity has both a speed and a corresponding direction, a load, wether it is directly off the tip of an aerial or through a high directional, will create a force vector that has both magnitude and direction. If you suspend a load directly off the tip, there are two aspects of force to consider (and this is typically accounted for in the aerial tip load charts based on the angle of the stick and the extension, or length of the lever). The first is the net force of the load itself that points directly down. The second is the torque effect that the load imparts onto the fulcrum of the giant class 1 lever (that is the aerial ladder at its base where the hydraulic rams are). The longer the ladder (more extension) and shallower the angle, the less tip load capacity, regardless of if it's a directional or if a load is suspended directly underneath. However, the tip load charts do not account for the force amplification effects of a directional anchor. Interpreting these effects are the job of the rope rescue practitioner. Quick case analysis: If you extended the ladder out to full extension and the angle was flat to the horizon, then suspended a load vertically through a 90 degree directional, then there would be a net resultant force acting on the tip. This force value is 141% of the suspended load, but the direction of that force is 45 degrees closer to the structural frame of the ladder which helps reduce/mitigate the force amplification that is seen at the fulcrum. On the flipside, if the load were suspended directly from the tip, then the net force is less at 100%, but the resultant force direction is 90 degrees away from the structural frame of the ladder which increases the torque at the fulcrum. To further make things worse, when you apply practical rigging to this equation, there are three common options to either lower or haul a load that is suspended from the tip. The first is to have a rescuer at the tip operating a lowering device. This setup doubles the tip load because there's now two people @ the tip... so 200% force amplification in a straight downward direction which is not ideal. The other common setup is when you rig a 4:1 block & tackle system onto the tip & operate it from the ground. This creates a 125% amplification of the force in a straight downward direction, also not ideal. The third is to use the tip as a directional but the line routes a full 180 degree bend so that the source of the haul is straight down. This also creates 200% force amplification in a straight downward direction. Routing the line along the frame of the ladder and through a high directional, while you do amplify the force of the load, you also are moving the direction of the net resultant force closer to the frame which eases the torque forces at the base of the ladder. And this is the critical part of using the aerial. The weak point in this system is the invisible torque effect that can occur at the base of the aerial, not so much the load at the tip. So doing whatever you can to mitigate that weak link is paramount.

Thanks!

I appreciate your feedback and insight, & I went back through this video in an attempt to identify the issues & mistakes you pointed out but I’m just not seeing what you’re seeing. Could you provide me a timeframe (minutes & seconds) where you saw these errors so I can look further? As far as the rigging plate goes… opinions vary & I fully understand that many practitioners out there like using rigging plates. I also like using them, but I prefer to reserve them for places at the anchors. When rigging the rescue package end of rope systems, I tend to default to a “low-profile” philosophy & try to reduce the profile of the master attachment point, thus the bowline knot to act as the “yoke” or “MAP”. “Quicker” & “Safer” are subjective & relative terms to be left for interpretation by the individuals & teams that choose to employ certain rigging methods over others. For me & my team, we would argue that it is quicker & safer to use the double long tail bowline rather than incorporating a rigging plate. For us, a rigging plate is just an extra piece of gear that we don’t need & just eats up additional real-estate in terms of height clearances. To quote a mentor of mine, “simplicity & complexity are not technique issues, rather they are training issues. What can be seemingly complex for some teams may be relatively simple for others.”