Technical rescue training hurdles

and solutions
How to overcome challenges related to instructors,
resources and funding

Technical rescue training is paramount to performing successful technical

rescue operations. That sounds overly simplistic and generic, as it applies to
everything we do in public safety. But it’s not that simple.

Tech rescue is a high-risk/low-frequency event that pushes our intellectual, physical

and emotional boundaries much further than our other disciplines because of the
lack of consistent exposure and the requirement for advanced problem-solving.
The consequences for improper solutions are often swift and severe.

STANDARDS AND TRAINING FOUNDATION

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Technical rescue training is paramount to performing successful technical rescue
operations. (Photo/Dalan Zartman)

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RELATED FEATURE

How to Fund & Run Effective Hands-On Training

Each of the six technical rescue disciplines – rope, confined space,

vehicle/machinery, structural collapse, trench and water – has its own knowledge,
skills and abilities (KSAs) that are specific to either Operations- or Technician-level
training.

NFPA 1006: Standard for Technical Rescue Personnel Professional

Qualifications lays down the ominous, but appropriate, gauntlet of recommending
that all KSAs for every organizational rescue discipline be performed annually, at a
minimum. Specifically, any rescuer certified to any discipline has to complete the
KSAs connected to that discipline and the certification level they have achieved at
least once annually. That means if you’re certified in six disciplines to the Technician
level, then you must complete both Operations- and Technician-level KSAs annually
for all six disciplines.

3 OBSTACLES FOR TECH RESCUE TRAINING

When tackling the challenge of implementing an effective technical rescue training

plan, there are three major obstacles to consider:

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 1. Instructional expertise: Delivery of the content and oversight/instruction should be
high caliber and safe. This requires an experienced, knowledgeable and capable
instructional team.
2. Resources: Tech rescue training requires tech rescue equipment that is up to date
and compliant with applicable standards. The equipment world is constantly
evolving, and the gear isn’t exactly affordable. Many departments attend tech
rescue courses in which they are trained to use equipment that they do not have at
their own organizations.
3. Funding: Tech rescue training is not easily performed while on shift or during a brief
two-hour window. Although it can be done, you get what you pay for in a sense.
Pulling members off company or paying overtime for mass quantities of personnel
to practice tech rescue skills for full-day evolutions can blow the overtime and
training budget in the blink of an eye. This will always raise an administrative
eyebrow based on that frequency side of the matrix.

During my career, I have tried many different approaches to create effective

training plans at my own department, and I have spent my career providing every
variety of training solution to outside agencies as a training provider. Let’s explore
some lessons learned as well as effective solutions for the three challenges listed
above.

Each of the six technical rescue disciplines has its own knowledge, skills and abilities that are specific to
either Operations- or Technician-level training. (Photos/Dalan Zartman)

CHALLENGE 1: INSTRUCTIONAL EXPERTISE – IN-HOUSE TO EXTERNAL SOURCES OF

KNOWLEDGE

There are three options for ensuring that training is high quality and delivered by a
knowledgeable team:

Option 1: Find your most motivated and talented people with a passion for tech
rescue and create as much opportunity as possible to send them to advanced-level
training. This can be a small and focused group that is capable of bringing the
information back to the department and conducting in-house training.

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There are a lot of benefits to attending high-level courses outside of your state or
region: It will bring forth new thoughts and considerations; it can be relatively
affordable because the investment is directed toward a small number of
individuals; and it gives you the opportunity to sample new gear and equipment
before investing. Rely on this core group to become you subject-matter experts for
detailing new resources.Hold these people accountable for spreading the wealth by
investing their newfound knowledge back at home.

Option 2: Let’s say you’re further down the path of developing internal talent, and
you already have some qualified individuals who can instruct. Evaluate
opportunities to link your organization to a local vocational school or accredited
university that would partner with you in the delivery of technical rescue courses.
This is a major undertaking. But it can result in a rescue training campus at your
organization in which your instructors are now paid through the college or other
auspice and the programming expenses are deferred as well.

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The department conducted a water-based rope course with integrated preplanning. (Photo/Dalan
Zartman)

This can also lead to memorandums of understanding (MOUs) that entitle you as
the host site to barter scholarships or tuition reductions for your own personnel.
These types of arrangements can create a lot of synergy within the two entities in
which your staff will have an identifiable path to achieve tech rescue certifications
and eventually become instructors.

Consistent instruction is one of the best tools to develop high-level proficiency as a

practitioner. Teaching material requires a level of mastery and accountability that
exceeds simply performing and practicing the material.

This solution can also result in multi-agency cooperation for purchasing resources
and equipment. Additionally, vendors or manufacturers are more apt to provide
product support for large volume and high decision-maker exposure courses.

Option 3: Contact in an outside training agency to deliver certification courses and

even refresher updates as needed. This is your best option for continuity of
material and validity of training, provided you’re using a reputable training group.

This approach is not cheap. You are also stuck with pulling large quantities of
personnel off company and covering their slots. Again, expensive.

You can seek train-the-trainer opportunities with the training groups and develop
plans that move toward an intrinsic solution in which you are eventually delivering
and maintaining your own training. Some training organizations will be
accommodating with this request and share curriculums and other training
modalities, while others will have a significant price tag attached to providing their
intellectual property.

CHALLENGE 2: RESOURCES – THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT FOR THE JOB

Once you identify the disciplines on which you want to train, you have to start with
an appropriate environment.

Classrooms, in my opinion, are not as essential as people think they are. I have
delivered PowerPoint lecture segments in state-of-the-art auditoriums as well as
apparatus bays with a sheet thrown up on the wall and a portable projector.

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The deal-breaker or maker is the hands-on environment. I believe it is important for
organizations to practice where they will play. This means if you have an industrial
complex with confined spaces in your district, you should be training there before
an actual event occurs. But this doesn’t mean these are the best sites for all of your
training.

You need to develop progressive training environments that maximize repetitions,

technical applications, and safety. The environment should be highly controlled and
manageable for entry-level abilities. The environment should increase in complexity
and realism as the abilities increase. You can also fabricate or develop training
simulators and structures to help develop the foundational skills segments.

The department conducted heavy rescue extrication training using the municipal school district’s
decommissioned bus. (Photo/Dalan Zartman)

If the environment is established, then you can start evaluating the equipment
needs. Equipment can be challenging because it has to be commensurate with the
course design. That often does not align with the organizational resources. For

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example, a department may have rope rescue capabilities designed to support a
mission in which four to six rescuers are on rope and can develop “X” systems. But,
if you’re attempting to conduct a training course in which 20 of your members are
performing rope rescue skills, you are inadequately equipped. This is where you
can look at some options that we’ve already touched on:

Option 1: Contact other departments with additional resources, and make the
training session or course a joint venture. This can work out well for myriad
reasons:

 You are developing interoperability with surrounding agencies;

 You are developing equipment familiarization between agencies;
 You are building strong mutual-aid relationships;
 You are identifying weak points within the organizations operationally and
logistically; and
 You can create joint solutions to augment one another’s weak points.

Option 2: Contact your local equipment dealers and manufacturers. Request

product support for your training. You cannot ride this horse forever without some
monetary investment at some point. But most dealers and manufacturers are
happy to expose potential buyers to available resources. This is a good practice to
apply under any circumstance because it allows your organization and personnel to
get hands-on time with the latest and greatest gear. Product evaluations should
always be conducted prior to investment when possible.

Option 3: Seek funding. This one can be a little more difficult, and it segues into the
overall funding challenge.
CHALLENGE 3: FUNDING – COVERING THE COSTS

We’ve already covered this a bit with creative partnerships to offset expenses.
However, there is another potential opportunity to offset cost.

OSHA standards require companies with target hazards or activities such as

excavation and trenching, fall hazards, and confined space to have specific rescue
capabilities in place. This includes a rescue-ready team that is fully equipped and

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trained to execute a timely rescue. There are a lot of requirements connected to
these standards, and most companies cannot comply internally. This means that
they are relying on us – their emergency responders – to fulfill their obligation to
safety.

There are many ways to conduct rope-rescue training, like using a rope course at a joint
venture training ground designed for emergency services and oil and gas operators (left),
working at existing municipal buildings for advanced rope training (center), and using of a
fire-based training tower (right). (Photos/Dalan Zartman)

Part of the standard requirements state that these companies must make their
sites and facilities or similar training locales available for training to the agencies
providing their rescue services. Those rescue services must be equipped and
trained.

In many situations, these companies providing the financial and physical resources
for these requirements are more cost-effective when directed at the emergency
response agency, meaning it is cheaper and easier for them to facilitate your
operation than creating one of their own. Identifying these companies in your
district and starting a proactive dialogue regarding their rescue service provision
can often lead to fantastic partnerships that benefit everyone involved.

ENHANCING YOUR TECH RESCUE TRAINING

If you need more detailed guidance on how to apply these resources or options for
tech rescue training, connect with neighboring agencies to see what they are doing
for training or reach out to me for additional help.

Train hard and stay safe!

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Editor's Note: What's your favorite or most challenging tech rescue discipline to cover in
training? Share in the comments below or at editor@firerescue1.com.

About the author

Dalan Zartman is a 20-year career veteran of the fire service and president and founder of Rescue Methods,
LLC. He is assigned to a heavy rescue and is an active leader as a member of both local and national tech
rescue response teams. Zartman has delivered fire and technical rescue training courses and services around
the globe for the last 15 years. He is also an international leader in fire-based research, testing, training and
consulting related to energy storage. Zartman serves as regional training program director and advisory board
member for the Bowling Green State University State Fire School. He is a certified rescue instructor, technical
rescue specialist, public safety diver, fire instructor II, firefighter II, and EMTP. Connect with Zartman via email.