Self Rescue Using a Bailout Bag

A couple weeks ago I talked about calling a mayday, and how to use it should you find yourself trapped, stuck, or lost. This week I wanted to go along the same lines and talk about something that I have been properly trained to use and keep in my turnouts at all times: a bail out bag.

It is what it says it is, a bag with equipment that I can rescue myself should I become seperated and cut off by fire, and the only way out is through a window or down something that would otherwise call for me to descend a floor or two. I'm going to go through it step by step, and show several videos I found on the subject on YouTube for comparison.

This is a general video about personal escape rope I found, just a general overview of what it is.

There are many types of bags out there, in an effort to provide a level of safety without breaking the bank, I opted for a simple kit that includes 50 ft of 8 mm rope, a section of webbing to guard the rope at chaffing points, a bag to keep the rope in, and two carabiners, one that will come back onto the rope to form a loop and another at the end to keep you from falling or letting you attach it to an anchor point.

The next steps are important, but I must tell you that BEFORE you purchase one of these systems to use, you should find some training on it first and become familiar with the action so you don't fall. However, if you do buy one without training and end up using it and survive then it was a worthwhile investment.

The first step is to admit to yourself that you are trapped/cut off/seperated. The first step to solving any crisis is admitting that you are in trouble.

The next step is to find a window. If you took shelter in a room but the fire is advancing in on you, you will need to do this quickly. Break the window and removed the frame, you will need all the space. If you are fortunate enough to have found a window with a ladder close by or posted at the window by a good truck company then you can use the ladder bail techniques that are taught in any self rescue course.

Now that you have found a window, and have no ladder, you should begin getting ready to bail out. 50 ft of rope is probably enough to get you down 2 or 3 floors. If you are above that you should communicate with the IC via radio and a mayday call that you need a truck to get a ladder up to you. The preparation includes that mayday call and announcing your intention to attempt self rescue.

Using the bag is where the training comes in handy. You will need a hand tool or something sturdy like some piping or if you have the time you can punch out a section of the wall under the window and use the structure itself as an anchor point. Be creative. If you are using a hand tool, create a triangle using the bottom and side of the window frame making the tool the long side of that triangle. Tie the end of the rope into a bowline knot (don't forget your safety knot) and slip over one end of the tool and into the middle of the tool, pulling it tight. I tie the knot in advance to save time.

Now, pull enough line out of the bag and wrap it around yourself. The EVAC system has a section of webbing you can loop between your air pack shoulder straps and create a harness and it uses a figure 8 descender. This simplifies the process, but I learned it the hard way. This being you have to take the rope around you and the pack and grasp where the rope meets itself, creating a bight. You want the rope to be centered about mid-bottle on your pack, this will allow the rope a surface to glide against giving you control and a smooth decent that won't give your gear rope burn.

Get ready to lean out of the window, straddling the window frame. You want to keep tension on the tool, maintaining that triangle with the rope. Stay low to the bottom of the frame and grasp the rope with both hands, one pointing up and one pointing down, so that your thumbs meet. Do not clasp your hands together.

Now you simply roll out of the window, keeping your grip on the rope tight until you are straight up and down.

Now you can loosen your grip on the rope to start your descent. Do it slowly, trying to to get hung up. If you do get snagged, you should be able to giggle a little bit and get the snag free. If not, hang there until someone can get a ladder under you. It is far better to be hanging by a rope than burning up in the fire, and someone should notice a firefighter dangling outside of the building.

This is meant to be done quickly in an emergency, and I found a video of recruits doing this drill, just be aware that in real life, you won't have a belay line.

Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!

Crawling down a dark hallway during a fire can be scary enough, but when you get stuck, and it can be a no holds barred fight for life. Put a new firefighter in a wire box and watch them fight and fight and fight to get free and forget the basics of what to do in a self preservation problem. Even many seasoned veterans will let their pride get in the way and will disregard the option. Many others simply don't ever think it could be them.

These mindsets are dangerous. Dangerous for you to have and dangerous to pass on, as the fire environment has changed so much in the past 5 years with the emergence of high density foams, lightweight building construction, and even home ductwork with wire or open runs of telephone wire, there are plenty of ways to become trapped by fire, stuck in a collapse, and tangled in a ton of wire.

These are just a few examples of the threat posed to the firefighter in the fire environment, and not all inclusive. Buildings today are built "on the cheap" with little consideration for the survivability of the structure and usually only with minimum fire safety standards. Ever seen a McDonald's under construction? They are lightweight, top-loaded buildings and are designed to be disposable. Burn one up and guaranteed it will be torn down a few days later, and three months after that another one will be up in the same place.

So what can you do to avoid being trapped in a building fire? Well, you must maintain situational awareness at all times. Be cognizant of your surroundings.  Listen to the building, if you hear groans and creaks and if it sounds like the building is going to come down, you should bring that up to your officer. On the outside looks for sagging roofs, cracks in the concrete or mortar, walls bending in directions they shouldn't. Any situation that looks overly dangerous should be reported to your officer, and if you're the officer, tell the IC.

So now the big part, what should you do when you get trapped? Your first steps are the ones that will save your bacon. The first is to calm down, wait, let me repeat that:

 CALM DOWN!!!!!!!!!

If you get to fighting and struggling against something you can't see, you are going to both waste your air, tire yourself, and delay getting help to you. Ever seen the video of the Captain that got lost in that high rise in Houston? He called the mayday, but was panicking as well. Your radio transmission will be understood better if you are calm. On a side note, talking in a normal tone into your radio mic will reduce the amount of interference heard on the other end.

Your next step is to call a LUNAR report. LUNAR means:

Location - where you think you are or your last known position
Unit - who you are with, and it may not be who you are normally assigned to
Name - who you are so they can figure it out on the personnel board
Assignment - what you are supposed to be doing AT THE FIRE, not what company you are assigned to
Resources - what you need to get free. Tangled in wires, trapped under something? Wire cutters and power tools will set you free!

Now that you've called for help, and it is coming to you, you can try and free yourself. If you can't after a few minutes, conserve your air until help arrives.

Maybe in the future we'll talk about self rescue techniques, but they are better shown and done in person than explained. Search out the training in our area and get that self rescue training. Learn how to use a bail out bag, then go out and buy one with some flashlights. They are investments in your life, and nothing is worth more...