Rescuers learn to make order out of chaos

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Ruby Zarzyczny
  • 939th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
PORTLAND AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ore. (AFPN) --  In August 2003, a truck bomb exploded at the United Nations headquarters in downtown Baghdad, collapsing three floors of the four-story building. Hundreds of people died. Hundreds more were trapped under collapsed rebar, steel and concrete.

Tech Sgt. Andrew Canfield, lead Air Force Reserve Command pararescue jumper and deployed to Baghdad International Airport at the time, was called to help rescue the victims. The 304th Rescue Squadron PJ from here recalled the chaos at the scene -- distraught Iraqi and American civilians scrambling around, bodies slowly piling up at a casualty collection point as bystanders pulled bodies from the rubble.

Fast-forward to October 2006. Eleven pararescuemen and a combat rescue officer from the 304th RQS here learned lessons from that rescue, as well as new techniques for saving lives. The 10-day Roco Rescue Tactical Confined Space and Collapsed Structure Rescue course at the Portland ANGB, held Oct. 16 to 27, taught techniques Sergeant Canfield could have used three years ago in Baghdad.

The course, designed for special operators, focused on the critical needs of first responders operating with limited manpower, supplies and equipment, said Ishmael Antonio, a retired Air Force master sergeant and pararescue instructor, and a Roco Rescue instructor.

Established in 1982, Roco trains, equips and serves emergency responders from fire and police departments, industrial facilities, and military and governmental agencies around the world. The company is based in Baton Rouge, La., and has satellite offices in New York and New Mexico.

During the course, the PJs and firefighters were taught how to safely enter and conduct operations in confined spaces and simulated collapsed structures. Students practiced using the Roco insertion extraction system, atmospheric monitoring and a host of life-saving techniques to keep victims and rescuers alive.

"Sixty percent of fatalities in a confined space are the 'would-be rescuers,'" said Mr. Antonio co-developer of this course. "Those are untrained rescuers who go into the space blindly and get caught up in the same bad atmosphere as their victims."

The students learned that "bad atmosphere" usually meant no ventilation and limited access, which restricts their ability to rescue themselves if need be.

"Air quality in a confined space is the No. 1 threat," said Mr. Antonio.

The students studied confined-space and collapsed-structure principles in the classroom and then applied them in scenarios and written tests.

They also learned to respond to building collapses with the tools they have in small teams versus a large Federal Emergency Management Administration team.

"They are learning how their smaller team can fit into any large FEMA team," said Dennis O'Connell, Roco Rescue lead instructor and a retired New York City Police Department emergency services unit officer. "They can become another asset for FEMA.

"Overseas, the PJs are the only rescue asset who have this type of training," he said. "So if a building goes down over there, the PJs are the only guys who have the training to properly search and rescue (people) in a collapsed building."

Training takes them through the entire response evolution. They start with what equipment they should bring, keeping in mind to travel light, identifying the situation, making entry, recovering the victim, gearing up for the next rescue and moving on.

"During these disasters, they won't do just one rescue and then go home," said Mr. O'Connell, who was a first responder on 9/11 at the World Trade Center. "They will go from one rescue to the next and possibly from building to building like they did during the Hurricane Katrina rescues. We teach them techniques that can make these types of rescues safer and easier."

Chief Master Sgt. Matt Ramp, 304th RQS pararescue chief, said, "Pararescuemen are the rescue specialists, and we are going to continue to be called into these types of environments. Whether we are going to an embassy bombing or a building that has collapsed in downtown Portland, we will use the same principles we are learning in this course. In all of these types of situations, we make order out of chaos."

Sergeant Canfield said he would have had a lot more confidence going into the Baghdad embassy if he had known the Roco recovery techniques. His team searched the dark voids of the completely collapsed building, navigating around chunks of rebar and concrete. They found a survivor and fashioned a rope system to hoist him to safety. The survivor was in bad shape: an airway compromise, severe lacerations and open skin exposing bone and teeth. But, he was alive.

"It is completely amazing when you see a guy in this condition who has been hanging upside down for three hours, and he is still awake and conscience, completely aware of his situation, looking at you for help," said Sergeant Canfield. "We took over his medical treatment, stabilized him and transported him to the helicopter. Then, we went right back in and searched the entire building for survivors.

"Traditionally PJs go and make do with what we have and make it happen," Sergeant Canfield said. "This course has differently given us the tools and knowledge to make it happen more effectively."

(Courtesy of Air Force Reserve Command News Service)