Department of Fire and Rescue

TECHNICAL ROPE RESCUE

Rope Rescue is a technical operation provided by the Prince William County DFR for its citizens.  It is a very dangerous operation that utilizes ropes (lifeline) and other necessary hardware to retrieve a victim from an elevated location, steep grade or other areas not accessible by other means.  These operations in Prince William fall under the Special Operations, and more specific, Technical Rescue.  Rescue Companies and select Truck Companies carry all of the necessary equipment to perform these duties, along with the personnel trained in rope rescue.

 

 

All personnel in Prince William are trained to the Rope Rescue Awareness Level in Recruit Training.  Once firefighters are assigned to a Rescue Company or Ladder Truck, they become part of Technical Rescue Program. They are trained to the Operations Level at the Technical Rescue Operations School held at the Public Safety Academy.  This prepares them to function as an efficient crew member and perform the necessary tactics to perform the rescue.  Firefighters can continue their education to the Technician Level to work with more advanced techniques and operate as a crew leader with more of an emphasis on the strategies involved.

 

 

 

 

 

Rope Rescue incidents are considered a “low frequency, high risk” event.  Due to the severity of these emergencies, personnel must constantly train with their equipment and run simulated incidents to hone their skills.  These skills have been used on emergency calls that require injured workers to be lowered from a top floor of a building, and using ladder trucks with a stokes basket to remove a patient from a steep grade or upper level of a building with little to no access to the ground.