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Confined Space Horizontal Entry – Rescue Scenario

Abfad Rescue are often called on to demonstrate various rescue strategies and techniques to site personnel before any confined spaces work is carried out.

This gives personnel a visible demonstration of the techniques and strategies that will be employed in an emergency situation, ensuring their safety.

Confined Space Rescue

The confined space in this real-life scenario can only be accessed horizontally through an opening approximately 2’ square. This area is classified as a confined space, and due to the nature of the area, personnel working within have a possible risk of asphyxiation from natural and methane gasses.

These risks are all well controlled by the site, resulting in a low risk confined space area, however, numerous other residual hazards are also present, such as poor lighting in the space, and multiple slip, trip and fall hazards from the many studs and bolts present, which could cause significant injury if personnel were to fall onto them.

In order to gain entry to the tank, scaffold boards were placed over the studs at the access hatchway, these also formed part of the emergency arrangements necessary for any rescue.

Horizontal Confined Space Rescue

The rescue exercise began when the injured person collapsed with chest pains and verbally raised the alarm by shouting for help to the Standby safety man.

The rescue team confirmed that the air remained breathable and entered the confined space via the access hatch.

The collapsed worker was assessed and provided with some initial first aid.

The rescue team began procedures to evacuate the injured party from the confined space.

Staff were also instructed to call the emergency services so that once the casualty was at a safe location they could be given further treatment and taken swiftly to the hospital if needed.

A rescue stretcher was on hand which the collapsed worker was secured into, then removed safely from the confined space to an outside area where more first aid treatment could be given by the rescue team.

Once secured into the stretcher the rescue team used the pre-installed scaffold boards to extract the collapsed staff member and safely remove them from the confined space.

A Successful Demonstration of Horizontal Rescue

This exercise proved a successful demonstration to site personnel of a basic horizontal confined space rescue demonstrating the site emergency procedures for confined space work along with the strategies and techniques used by the rescue team.

Site personnel commented on the exercise that, “the control of the work (by the Abfad Rescue team) was to a very high standard” and “the exercise was conducted very professionally by Abfad”.

Along with this exercise, the Abfad Rescue team also provided site personnel with the opportunity to test the portable escape breathing sets used for confined spaces where toxic or asphyxiating gasses may be present.