While that may sound good - there are significant drawbacks that mean it is not recommended that you rely on 911 for confined space rescue. Drawbacks to Using Local Emergency Services You may know that OSHA allows for employers to rely on local emergency services for confined space rescue, rather than an in-house rescue team. Designate enough members for your confined space rescue teams that you ’ r e covered everywhere you work o n a given day. If you ’re part of a larger crew, you may need different rescue teams at different jobsites simultaneously. You’ll also want to make sure that your rescue team communicates clearly and effectively, so that should anything go wrong during operations, the entrant can ask to be pulled out. If you answered yes to all of those questions, that may well be someone you want on your rescue team. Your rescue r needs to be aware of danger, but also able to focus on the task at hand.Īsk yourself: do they handle stress well ? Do they ask for help when they need it? Are they able to focus while multiple things are going on around them? Do you trust them? Rescue from confined spaces can involve injured parties, deadly gases, and a ticking clock. And some of those basic traits also apply here.įirst and foremost, you want people who are calm under pressure. In a previous post, we outlined some of the qualities to look for when appointing a confined space attendant. You can use that insight to identify who would be best suited to conducting confined space rescues. You know your work crews better than anyone. With that said, let’s take a look at the three building blocks of any good confined space safety plan: prepar ation, planning, and practic e. And this post IS NOT a substitute for thorough, on-hands training. It is up to you to formulate your safety plans in accordance with OSHA guidelines and your specific jobsite. We’ll also talk about why the alternatives OSHA offers employers can come up short.īefore we begin, just a reminder that these guidelines are just the start. We are going to take some time here to go over the very basics of what it takes to create your rescue plan. While having a plan won’t remove all of the pressure of a rescue, it does make your response more automatic, reducing the risk of a fatal mistake. When people are under stress, they don’t always make the best decisions. Without a well – thought – out and rehearsed rescue plan, both injured workers and panicked helpers are at risk. You can have the best equipment, but if your team is not prepared to use it, a bad situation can quickly get worse.Īccording to the CDC, would-be rescuers account for 60% of all confined space deaths. A well-thought out, well-executed confined space rescue plan can mean the difference between life and death.Ĭonfined space rescue is a sensitive operation, one you don’t want to improvise.