Firefighters Retrieve Man in High-Angle Pickoff Rescue

In an Aug. 30 incident, Salt Lake City firefighters rescued a man after hanging for approximately two hours 500 feet up a rock face. The initial report of the incident came at 0202 HRS via a 9-1-1 call to the Salt Lake City Fire Department. The caller reported that he was hearing faint cries for help coming from a steep ridge in the area of Beck Street, north of the city. The caller said the person in distress might be a male transient.

The department immediately dispatched Medic Engine 2, which arrived on scene, a remote section of private property, at 0207 HRS. Using Medic Engine 2’s spotlight, the crew was able to make out what appeared to be a male in his 20s in the middle of a rock face several hundred feet up. The man appeared to be clinging to the rock face only with his hands and feet, unable to go up or down. The man did not have a rope or any other climbing gear to hold him there. Rescuers were concerned that his arm and leg muscles would fatigue and he would lose his grip before they could reach him. The terrain was very steep and rocky, so rescuers would have to approach the man cautiously.

When Medic Engine 2 reported its size-up, the department dispatched Truck 2, Heavy Rescue 5 and Medic Engine 5. HR 5 and ME 5 responded together so that personnel from ME 5 could provide the additional personnel for HR 5. Engine 4 later responded as well.

In deciding on how rescuers should make their approach, a runner from Engine 2 went up the ridge. There was a fire break road on the ridge, but it was too far away from the victim for rescuers to make their approach efficiently.

After a quarter-mile hike, the rescuers were on the ridge above the victim. They decided to rig their systems slightly off to the side to avoid loosening rocks that could fall on the man and/or a rescuer. They set up for a lowering pick-off rescue, which would involve lowering a rescuer to the man. The rescuer would place a diaper-type harness on the man and attach him to both the main line and rescue line.

To anchor the main lowering line, firefighters chose a large boulder. Around the boulder they placed anchor straps, brought them together for an attachment point and clipped a large locking carabineer. They then attached a rigging plate. For the belay, they used a tandem Prusik system. Because there were no other good potential anchor points, they anchored the belay system to a set of pickets they drove into the ground. Both the lowering and belay lines were 11-mm low-stretch rope. As a lowering device, they used a SCARAB Rescue Tool. The rescuer used a class II (seat) harness. He also took with him a helmet for the victim.

The firefighters initially had two rescue options in mind for the pick-off: 1) a “down, up,” which involves lowering a rescuer to the subject and then raising both rescuer and victim to the top, or 2) a “down, down” technique, which involves lowering a rescuer to the subject and then lowering both of them down.

From the initial size-up, rescuers thought the “down, up” pick-off might be the best option because it first appeared to be too long a distance to lower to the ground. But once they got above the victim, they could see the wide ledge to which they would lower the rescuer and victim. So they decided on the “down, down” approach, which was also less complicated than a “down, up” that would involve rigging and operating a hauling system.

After a safety check, the crew at the top lowered the rescuer down to the subject where the rescuer placed the diaper seat on him, along with the helmet, and then attached the victim to both the lowering and belay line. The top crew then lowered both to the wide ledge.

Paramedics completed an assessment of the man and determined that he had no significant injuries. He was not transported. All units cleared by 0432 HRS.

It turns out that the man had gone for a hike late at night and got stranded around 0200 HRS. He couldn’t go up or down, and that’s when he began yelling for help. Later, it was learned that the man was a veteran who possibly had some emotional issues. The rescuers received a letter of appreciation from the man’s mother, who said that partly as a result of the incident, her son had been able to enter the veterans’ medical system to address his problems.

Sources: Salt Lake City Fire Department Captain Fred Anstee provided information for this report. Some additional details were taken from an account of the incident by KSL-TV.

Lessons Learned/Lessons Reinforced:
Captain Anstee notes the important considerations in decided on the type of pick-off rescue to use: “In this case, Salt Lake City firefighters used a lowering (team-based) pick-off, where an upper team lowers a rescuer and then either lowers both rescuer and victim to a ground or hauls them to the top. A primary advantage is that the rescuer has use of both hands, which are free to work with the patient. It does need close communication with the rescuer and lowering team. One disadvantage is in a nature area there are two moving lines which can trigger rock fall.

“In a rappel pick-off, the rescuer rappels on a braking device with a good margin of friction, such as a brake bar rack, attaches the victim to the rescuer’s braking system and then rappels both rescuer and victim to the ground. While it may avoid the potential problem of moving ropes, there are other distinct disadvantages. The rescuer in such a situation may have only one hand to work with, and can easily misjudge distance and get too low to effectively work with the victim. There is also the potential problem with the rescuer having to deal with a combative person while trying to control the rappel. After this operation, the rescuer reported that he was glad they used a lowering type pickoff, since it gave him both hands-free in dealing with the situation.”

Captain Anstee says that they like the SCARAB device in part because one can add friction to it after it is loaded, but it may not be able to pass the whistle test. (Note: The “whistle test” refers to the ability of a belay device or system to work even when the belayer or operator of the device is unable to function and loses control.) So, in similar situations in the future, they might use the Petzl I’D, a self-braking type of descender.