Rescue U

This past weekend, we presented at the 2024 Southern Division Ski Patrol Conference at the Wintergreen Resort in Central Virginia. We displayed some of the new gear used in technical rescue and tower safety. In the afternoon, we conducted demonstrations on Ground-Based Evacuation Systems.

We used a vehicle (appropriately locked and tagged out) to simulate a “body belay” or another fixed ground-based anchor. Demonstrations included single to three-person rescue team capabilities, ground & attendant based rescues, and ground-based anchorages. We showed a variety of techniques, including the Mittelmann UniDive with enhanced safety features. This device allows for increased safety with the efficiency of a power drill and controlled descent in the event of an emergency or human error.

Thank you to the Southern Division Ski Patrol for having us! We are looking forward to future collaborations.

Interested in learning more about the Mittelmann Sicherheitstechnik UniDrive or other Petzl products? Reach out to us at [email protected]

Good luck to the August Sold Out SPRAT class as we kick off day one. Cheers to a great week of training.

What do you call a famous turtle? A shell-ebrity!

Our rescue team was supporting a client in NJ who was working inside an underground cistern when a large snapping turtle surfaced near the access ladder. He was estimated to be 75 to 100 lbs. The rescue team immediately informed the contractor of the potential for laws governing the handling or disruption of wildlife. If you have ever wondered if this would classify as a hazard inside a Permit Required Confined Space the answer is yes.

After consultation with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish & Wildlife, and local Animal Control, we were able to support the rescue and facilitate the snapping turtle’s safe relocation to a rehabilitation facility, where he will be examined and cared for.

Stay tuned for the next story from our Turtle Rescue Team.

Last week, a call came in for a rope access team for an emergent repair at a major league baseball stadium in Baltimore, MD. One of our technicians was 125' above the stadium seats, working on the clock just above the jumbotron.

Our task was to remove the minute hand on the 30' diameter clock, make repairs, and then replace it. The challenge was in not damaging the original neon sign on top of the clock. With insufficient room to access from the top, we had to do a rope-to-rope to get out and ascend to the clock face.

For those wondering, we were able to make this repair....with time to spare (pun intended).

Play Ball!

It is with the heaviest of hearts, we respectfully mourn the loss of our friend and colleague. Albert (Al) Brown entered eternal life. Al was not only a Med-Tex safety employee, but he was also inspirational in the beginning successes of our company in the 1980’s. His Med-Tex family will miss him dearly.

As most know, Al came from a family of firefighters, and he himself was a brave and respected firefighter. We humbly encourage you to say a special prayer for Al as he enters eternal life.

The loss of Al unequivocally leaves a deep void in our lives, so please join us in celebrating his life and reflecting on the impact he had on our lives and on the lives of those who were blessed to know him.

Med-Tex Rescue U Instructors recently returned home after teaching a 50hr Tower & Crane Rescue Technician Class in State College, PA., hosted by the South Central Mountains Regional Task Force. In addition to the NFPA Tower Rescue Technician Training, students also received credentials as an Authorized Climber / Rescuer; OSHA Fall Protection Authorized Person; and RF Hazard Awareness for Rescue Personnel.
This program included training on climbing, access, horizonal movement, patient packaging, negotiating obstacles, establishing a fall protection system, various rappelling techniques, sloping line systems, and used some of the latest technology in technical rope rescue.

The highlight of the class was being able to use the Potain MDT809-M40 Tower Crane that stood 220’ overlooking Happy Valley with a main jib arm of 195’. This is the largest topless tower crane made by Potain, and only the 7th in the entire world. As of January 2024, this was the first one to be erected on US soil. We were a little spoiled using this new crane but luckily for us the Operating Engineer was on site for the training, and we were able to have him rotate the jib arm left and right so the students can feel the movement and flex of these amazing machines.

Thank you to the South Central Mountains Regional Task Force for trusting us to deliver this specialized training and to Alpha Fire Company for hosting.

Before we left we had time to stop at the world famous Penn State Berkey Creamery and now its off to the next program and Cheers to a great season for the Nittany Lions..

WE ARE…

Alpha Fire Company Williamsburg Volunteer Fire Department Station 90

Just before the holiday, we finished up our June SPRAT Class with evaluations being conducted on Saturday. This was our first Tuesday - Saturday program with positive reviews. We have a class schedule for August and are working on the fall/winter schedule so stay tuned for more.

Congratulations to the newest Rope Access Technicians and ones who were re-certifying.

Happy Day of Independence to all the fifty colonies.

Med-Tex Rescue U was privileged to join other Petzl Technical Partners (PTPs) as an event judge at last week’s 2024 Rope Rescue Challenge at the Petzl Technical Institute (PTI) in Salt Lake City, UT.

The 2024 Rope Rescue Challenge hosted teams from Industry and the Fire Service. Participants tackled a mix of scenarios involving confined spaces and high angles, along with some challenging rigging events over two days, as teams rotated between PTI and the Salt Lake City Fire Training Center.

Proceeds from the event were donated to the University of Utah Burn Center. A great cause and a huge thank you to Petzl and the event sponsors for allowing us to participate!

Petzl

Thank you NATE for allowing us to provide a location for this important program and host the event. It was our pleasure.

Congratulations to the graduates of the PPE for Telecom Workers: Hazard ID, Selection, and Use Training course that was held on June 17, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. For more information or to register for an upcoming course click: https://bit.ly/3vEWraW

Or so we thought…

We are thankful that nothing was lost and there was no nefarious activity that needed to be addressed. Protect your Log In and Security information, that’s all we can say.

Stay tuned and we work on catching you up on what’s been going on.

Remembering the men and women who served our great nation and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Don’t forget to stop by Booth #382 this weekend at the Fire Expo in Harrisburg. If you have time, check out the training opportunities we are offering.

Friday 9:30 - 11:00am Scaffolding Rescue Awareness

Saturday 9:30 - 11:00am Tower Rescue Awareness

Are you interested in full or part time opportunities as a Rescue or Rope Access Technican? Ask us when you stop by, we are conducting on the spot interviews.

See you then!

Lancaster County Firemen's Association

Are you attending the May 17-18 Lancaster County Firemen's Association Annual FIRE EXPO “Harrisburg Fire Expo”?

If so, there are several training opportunities available on Friday and Saturday morning - including two programs from Med-Tex Services!

We will be training on Scaffolding Rescue Awareness (Friday) and training on Tower Rescue Awareness (Saturday). This is your chance to get some additional training!

Med-Tex will also have a booth (Booth #382, adjacent to KME and E-One Fire Apparatus) featuring the latest technical rescue PPE and equipment on display. Our trainers and sales department will be on-site to answer all your questions. We’ll be offering big discounts on gear, prize giveaways and more.

Got questions, email us at [email protected]

Fire Expo - Lancaster County Firemen's Association Registration open now for 2024 Fire Expo! Each May, FIRE EXPO becomes the leading event for Fire, Emergency Medical Services, Rescue, and Public Safety Equipment in the United States. The world’s leading manufacturers and representatives of emergency equipment and related items will be exhibiting ...

We only have a few spots left open for the April SPRAT class. If you are interested, don't wait to register these classes to fill quickly. You can register by clicking the link below. If you have any questions shoot us an email at: [email protected]

https://med-tex-services-inc.ticketleap.com/sprat-rope-access/

One of the things we are using this year for the cooling tower project is the new KM G from New England Ropes Teufelberger Safety & Rescue

It has great knotability, is easy to work with, perfect with gloved hands and of course the gray with a tracer is a bad ass color combination. We are using about 6,200’ of the KM G and have not had any issue. It’s held up to some very high winds and rain without issue.

Of course, there is nothing like seeing a pre built terradaptor fly up a 600’ skate block.

More to follow.

New England Ropes SMC

There were some comments last week about Elevator Pits and if they meet the requirements of a confined space or a permit required confined space (PRCS). We could talk about the various standards relating to elevators but what matters most are the basic questions we need to be asking.

- What is the work/task being performed inside the space? Just because a standard or law does not identify the space as permit required does not negate responsibility to identify the hazards.
- In the photos below, these were identified PRCS by the host facility. Contractors were waterproofing the pit, not performing elevator service.

Always try to look at the scenario or incident from the work/task level that brought you there. Regardless of what a standard may or may not say, it’s our responsibility (Emergency Services, Contracted Rescue Teams, or Contractors) to ultimately identify the hazards and create a place of employment that’s free of these recognized hazards.

Is there anything better to do, on a beautiful Monday morning (before an eclipse) than climb a cooling tower and set up two (2h 600’ tracking skate blocks?

Here's what it takes to make this happen:

Almost 9,000’ of 11mm rope in various lengths
36 CMC Texora slings in two lengths
36 CMC Mamba slings in two lengths
48 Carabiners
24 prusiks in two lengths
2 Harken Lokhead winches
2 DeWalt drills
8 Batteries
5 chargers
And a great team.

More pictures to be posted soon! Once everything is set up and running smoothly, we plan on taking advantage of this weather (before mother nature changes her mind, that is).

We have a high profile special project coming up in 10 days that requires around 9,000’ of rope on a cooling tower. We are trying something different this year to get the skate block up 600’. Thanks to How NOT 2 and fast shipping we are going to try the AWAH Z2R - Drill Powered Pulley.

Stay tuned for more.

Do you (or will you) consider a 4' Elevator Pit a Permit Required Confined Space (PRCS)? Let’s pretend the elevator is secured and locked out and will not move, would you enter the 4' space and treat it like a PRCS or not?

These are photos from a recent job our confined space teams were supporting at a facility. Our rescue teams support work in elevator pits about 50 times a year. Do you even know if the OSHA elevator standard identifies these pits as a PRCS?

There are two parts to the above questions: 1) What are the requirement for workers in this space and 2) What are you going to do from an Emergency Response perspective?

We have some answers and a plan but are curious to hear what you think.

One of our many confined space jobs this week involves contractors using dry ice inside ductwork for cleaning purposes. We supported this project with a three person rescue team, and a detailed plan that involved high-level discussion about the scope of the work, a comprehensive review of the safety, data sheets, and a thorough understanding of how the dry ice is being applied in the confined space.

When contractors are working in or creating an inert atmosphere, that always changes our rescue response model. They were entering the space using supply air respirators and the atmosphere maintained 19.6% O2.

Just because it did not get below the 19.5% threshold of deficiency does not mean that we shouldn’t be concerned.

Anytime the atmosphere changes there needs to be concern on what is causing the changes and what’s replacing the oxygen.

If you were responding to a confined space incident inside an inert atmosphere what would your plan be? Is your 1,500 CFM fan powerful enough to ventilate a space that large?

One of our Rescue Technicians, Ryan Wells and his wife are excited to share the birth of the newest member of their family.

Please join us in welcoming Ryan Elena Wells into the world. This is a great moment for them and we wish them all the best.

When we spoke to Dad he informed us he may have heard the baby say “I ❤️ Rescue” so we can only assume that between feedings and diaper changes, the baby will be dreaming about ropes and knots.

Congratulations to the Wells family from all of us at Med-Tex.

A week of networking, educational sessions and great presentations at the 2024 SPRAT Conference. New evaluation skills roll out next month and this gave us an opportunity to review them first hand. The hands on demonstrations were hosted by MISTRAS Ropeworks which has a beautiful facility.

Looking forward to next year’s event. Now it’s back home for the busy spring which has already begun.

Med-Tex Rescue U Representatives are out this week in Reno, NV for the 2024 SPRAT Conference. We are very fortunate to have been selected to present at this year’s program along with some other great presenters on important topic’s for the industry.

We’ll do our best not to put any I ❤️ Rescue stickers on the roulette or blackjack tables.

It’s starting to get into the busy season for us and today was the first of twelve (12) Tower Rescue Awareness classes for the Philadelphia Fire Department, Special Operations Command. We are delivering this training at the three SOC companies over four platoons over the next 6 weeks. Not too long ago we delivered two of our five-day, 50-hour Tower & Crane Rescue class to 24 members of SOC and this is the next step in education and training for the men and women of this great department.

Interested in learning more? Contact us at [email protected]

If you're going to the 2024 Technical Rescue Conference in NY, consider attending one of our new programs.

Join us for “Rope Rescue: Vehicle Borne Anchoring Systems” as we present all things vehicle anchor- related, including vehicle anchoring options; coefficient of friction; use of trailer hitch attachments; vehicle wheels and the “B” post, passenger vehicles; fire apparatus, machinery and construction vehicles; standards relating to vehicle anchoring; and engineered anchoring solutions.

We'll also be bringing some miniature displays to enhance the learner experience. If you do rope rescue, this comprehensive program is for you.

Got Questions? Email us at [email protected]

Congratulations to all the different levels. We had a mix of L1, L2, and L3's and one thing you can count on with us are good lunches and fresh fruit and snacks during the week. We had students from the skilled trades, engineering firms and the fire service.

Our next class in April 30 and is already half full. If you are interested in getting your SPRAT, sign up today.

https://med-tex-services-inc.ticketleap.com/sprat-rope-access/