Halbrook Associates.com

Phenix TL2 Leather fire helmet

Last year for christmas my wife Christine surprised me with the gift of a traditional leather fire helmet.  After researching the different brands, features, and options I settled on the Phenix Technology TL2 series helmet.  The helmet came in, and I have been wearing it ever since.  

the first few pictures show the helmet as it is today.

Our department's standard issue helmet is the Ben II.  The standard shield for that helmet is a little different from the shield that comes with the TL2.  In order to make my existing shield fit my new helmet we punched a few new holes which makes everything work out great.

After a year and a half of wear the front head band shifted up inside the helmet.  This made the front of the helmet rest on my forehead.  After a long day on the job this left my head sore, and uncomfortable. I called Phenix to see if they had a fix.  They recognized my problem and shipped me the parts for the fix.

Under the liner of the helmet is a foam impact insert.  The cap that comes from the factory is cut evenly all the way around.  The new cap is longer in the front and the back.  With this new piece in place the head band rests in a better position.

This last picture shows how the headband fits with the new foam insert in place.  

With this fix in place the helmet is very comfortable, and has served me well.

Conterra chest harness

A few weeks ago I wrote a post for the CAP Gear blog.  This post shared my love for the Conterra chest harness'.  I thought I would take a moment to share a link to that review, and show a picture of my rig

I sat through a demo of the Vindicator Nozzle

This week I had the opportunity to sit through a product demonstration.  The product in question was the “Vindicator” this unique nozzle design that boasts a very impressive gallon per minute flow that can be managed and used on a fire ground.  Imagine a 2.5” attack line flowing in excess of 400 gallons per minute being managed by a single fire fighter.  The product is impressive, but the aspect of this demonstration that I found most interesting was the sales pitch.  Many companies send out products for folks to demonstrate, and try out.  The folks at first strike don’t do business that way.  They take a different approach to selling their product.

               The folks at first strike take the position that they are educators first and salesmen second.  They feel so strongly about their product that they believe it sells itself.  With this concept in mind the sales pitch felt more like a hydraulics lecture.  It was interesting to see how many senior fire fighters relied on reference cards, and pre marked pump panels.  These tricks of the trade are very common, but what made the demo even more interesting was when we went out to the field and put the nozzle to work.

               The salesman/educator brought with him some very interesting tools for measuring water flow.  The first, and most common was the pitot gauge.  The second and more unique was the digital flow meter.  This device placed sensors at the apparatus, and at the nozzle allowing us to validate both the cheat sheets, and the math that supports them.  Surprisingly enough there were several unique inconsistencies between the theory, and the realities of pump operations.  If your pump isn’t rated to the capacity that you thought it was the math won’t work (Duh).  If your pump was installed with a maze of pipe and angles before it attaches to your cross lay your calculations will be off (makes sense). 

With these learning notes in mind I think it’s important to understand how we teach our engineers.  Do they understand why they are told to pump the pressures that are asked of them, or are they simply reading off of a card? 

Look for the Buddy-Board

Search and rescue teams are always looking for clues, or information to help facilitate the “find”.  Many times individuals who recreate in the outdoors do not leave detailed information about their activities.  Often times when the back country skier does not return from a day trip searchers are left with speculation about where they went, and what their plans were.  As search and rescue professionals we teach the use of float plans, flight plans, and trip plans.  Each of these tools when left with a responsible party can facilitate a quick and appropriate rescue effort. 

 This is where the Buddy Board comes into play.  Buddy board is a small company that has created a tool to provide rescuers with search information.  This board is nothing more than a piece of dry erase board set up for you to record information about you and your activities.  The board comes with a dry erase marker, and a window cling to let searchers know that the board is in your car. 

 I had the chance to float the buddy board around the MLPI class this weekend.  This group of experienced Search and Rescue technicians who are training to become search managers had some unique thoughts about the Buddy board. 

 The most universal concern from this group was the idea that if you filled out this board, and left it displayed in your windshield you would be leaving your vehicle marked for robbery.  Essentially you are leaving a sign that tells a robber “hey, I won’t be back to the car until 9pm”. 

 The second concern was that this board, which would be locked in your car, has no way to notify authorities that you are past due.  A plan left with a responsible party can facilitate the 911 call which starts the SAR process. 

 All things considered this product would bake a great stocking stuffer for your favorite adventurer, but it shouldn’t take the place of a 

Fixed Wing Aerial Reconnaissance

As an emergency responder I have come to appreciate the value of aerial reconnaissance.  The ability to see your disaster site from above allows managers to review the appropriateness of response, it also allows responders to appropriately place resources.  Unfortunately many organizations that provide aerial imagery do not provide a finished product.  Often times CD's or thumb drives are presented to customers with out any type of placement or interpretation.  This leaves the responder with a wealth of data that is unfortunately unusable.  

The Aviation emergency coordination office with the state of washington DOT has put together an excellent end product for aerial recon.  Take a look and apply these lessons to your aerial recon program.  

January 2009 - Flood Aerials

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: photos aerial)

An easy way to store webbing and carabiners

Webbing and carabineers are a standard set of kit for fire and emergency workers.  I carry my webbing roll in my right pocket.  Unfortunately webbing is a difficult thing to keep organized, and easy to deploy in an emergency.  I came up with this wrap technique, and I hope it works as well for you as it has for me. 

I start with a piece of webbing and two carabineers.  On each end I tie a loop.  The knot can vary depending on how you intend to use your webbing.  The picture shows a simple overhand knot on a bight.  The carabineers can now be clipped into the loops on either end of the webbing. 

 

Now find the center of the length of webbing.  Wrap your webbing until you have a tight coil as shown in the picture. 

 

Normally coils like this will unravel, or push out from the center.  In order to combat this we now take our two carabineers that are hanging from the ends, and we push the loop through them.  We push one carabineer around each side of the coil.  When they meet in the center they pull a tight pack of webbing. 

 

To deploy this bundle simply push a carabineer to the edge of the roll, and the coil will unravel. 

The Personal Retriever

After publishing a brief tutorial on the use of a throw bag in water rescue emergencies the folks at “The Personal Retriever” felt that they had a better product. Their device boasts buoyancy, and range over traditional rescue devices. Standing behind their statements a retriever was shipped to us for evaluation. So far we have had this product for about four weeks, and we have put it into a lot of different people’s hands.

We have allowed civilians with no rescue experience to try it out.

We showed it to a fire department that is currently expanding its water rescue capabilities.

We have given it to the local Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla. Their members actually facilitated a live rescue with the device

We have also showed the tools to representatives from the regional dive rescue team.

All of these groups were very happy to participate in the review, and they all offered some unique insights and observations of the product

The first glimpse:

When we first open the box there was almost a universally positive reaction. The hard foam construction appears resilient, and ready for work. Everyone appreciated the buoyancy, and the idea of throwing a floatation device is always looked at as a positive thing.

After an initial look at the device none of our subjects could intuitively deploy it. The spiral wound chord, and the black retention strap are easy to use once taught, but with out instruction everyone had difficulty figuring it out.

Training:

In spite of this initial hurdle use of the devise is very easy to teach. Taking about 5 minutes you can show anyone how to unravel the line, and throw it out to a victim. Once trained virtually any student can quickly turn around and train others in the device’s use. With only 10-15 minutes of hands on time you can easily train an entire team to use the rescue retriever. This device would be great in a patrol car, or a life guard station, but it might not be the best tool for public use. We'll have to do some more thinking about that one

The Rescue:

During the evaluation period I gave the retriever to a group who were conducting a shake down cruse of a new boat. While putting around the lake they came across a sail boat that had capsized. After nearly 30 minutes in the 60 degree water the sole occupant was exhausted, and incapable of writing his vessel. Due to the victim’s condition our crew opted to throw him the rescue retriever. They quickly tossed the disk over his head, and expertly landed the rope in between his arms (Not bad for 10 minutes of training, and a few practice throws on shore). The victim grabbed the rope, and held on for deer life. The crew began to pull in the line, but the victim never took advantage of the flotation provided by the disk. Unfortunately in spite of instructions from the crew the victim never let the line go, and never took advantage of the flotation provided by the retriever, and the thin line caused some limited rope burns on his hands.

Reflection:

The Rescue retriever is a very unique rescue device. With its integrated tether, and Frisbee styled floatation device it certainly does turn heads. With those thoughts in mind our reviewers came away from the device with some universal thoughts and concerns.

The device gets wound specifically for Left, or Right handed rescuers. Since we never know who will be on crew, or which crew member will grab the Retriever we were not confident that the device would deploy properly under stressful situations.

The fact that our victim would not allow the rope to be pulled through limited the usefulness of the flotation component of the Retriever.

The cost of this device is limiting. After playing with it none of the individuals who tested the device felt that it was superior enough to justify the retail price of $139.00.

Here is an excellent video showing the strengths of the retriever

All in all this is an excellent device, and would be a great addition to a water front rescue response kit

Click below to see what the company felt about their product, and our review.

The Status Board

Recently I was asked about my status board. What it was, what information I tracked, and how I built it.

When I first started managing emergency response resources I came to a terrifying realization. I realized that I was sending rescuers into hazardous environments in which a person or a group of people did not get home safely. Once I realized this I became concerned about making sure that the rescuers stayed safe. One way to ensure this safety is to keep track of the rescuers. As mission base staff We do the best we can to know where each team is, when they left, and when they should be home. This way if they have a problem we know where to look, and how to help them.

So, if we are going to keep track of teams we need a way to record some of this data. There are a lot of ways to track this information. Some folks like to print large sheets and record data that way. Others like to laminate sheets of paper, and use dry erase markers to record data. My preference is to use a dry erase board. Some people go to office supply stores and purchase pre-fabricated boards. They aren’t always cheap, but they have nice finished metal boarders, as well as trays for pens, and markers. If you want to go a cheaper route you can go to the nearest Lows or Home Depot and buy a sheet of the same material. You can get 4x8 panels for just a few bucks.

Once you have the board you need to segment it out. I like the grided look. Vertical columns track data while horizontal rows track individual crews, teams, sorties, or flights. To properly mark the boards I like using the 1/8” plastic marking tape. This tape looks and feels like electrical tape. This tape can also be grabbed at you favorite office supply store.

You will then need to balance out a few things. Laying your board in a landscape position the height will limit how many teams you will be able to track. The width of the board will determine how much data you can generate. You will now need to determine what information you want to track. Here is a list of information you should consider

Team radio call sign
Sortie number
Briefing time
Departure time
Estimated time in the search area
Actual time in the search area
Estimated time RTB (Return To Base)
A section to write notes

The last time you had contact with the team (This is great for keeping up 30 minute checks on teams)
A place to indicate where the team will be searching
What type of team are you tracking?
Does the team have any special equipment on board?

Once you determine all of these factors you should probably sketch out your board on a piece of paper. Play with different configurations, and you will find what suits you best. Lay out your board, and enjoy.

Haul Bucket for Rescue or Rock Climbing

Any emergency responder who works above or below grade may be put into a position where they need to haul supplies up and down a steep hill, or drop off. Today I would like to share with you a quick simple yet cheap tool that can be used to help move your gear.

History:
When I was in college I spent a lot of time bumming around with rock climbers. I actually ended up teaching for, and managing a local rock climbing gym. This woody gym was built in an old barn. This barn was the launching point for many adventures. Within this gym a lot of tribal knowledge was exchanged. One of the tools I picked up from these climbers was the “Haul bucket”. Today I’ll show you how to build this piece of kit.

Parts: 5 gallon bucket, approx.. 6 feet of 7mm chord, approx.. 10 feet of utility chord, 1 drill

How to:
The first item on our list is a 5 gallon bucket. These buckets can be easily purchased at any hardware store, but I got mine for free at a local sandwich shop (Jimmy John’s) where they sell pickles. Remove the wire handle. These handles are weak and break under constant use.

To get started you will need to drill holes in your bucket. I start with the haul yolk. Drill holes large enough to slide your 7mm chord through. Secure the line with a double fisherman’s knot. This will give you a flexible handle to haul from.

Now connect the lid to the bucket. Using your drill, and utility chord tether the lid.

Finally drill and tie chord loops all the way around the rim of your bucket. This will give you a place to clip and lift loose gear and equipment.

I hope you enjoy your big wall haul bucket.

Better Notebooks and paper for field use

Virtually all emergency responders are required to take notes for some part of their response. SAR Technicians record; subject information, briefing data, scene hazards, and radio communications procedures. EMS providers log, and record patient care data, and most all other responders record Incident action plans, and other associated NIMS documentation. As we work to document our incidents we traditionally use regular paper printed by ink jet printers. Unfortunately we often find ourselves trying to document in adverse conditions. Many times it is raining, or snowing, we are sweating, pumping water, or even working on the water. These are all environments that degrade regular paper, or smears ink leaving notes illegible, and documentation ineffective.

As a Ground team leader on search and rescue missions I found a notebook that was “waterproof”. This waxy paper didn’t wrinkle, and distort when it was wet. I used these notebooks for a long time with a lot of success.

Recently a colleague approached me about “rite in the rain” products. This friend wanted to know if their notebooks were worth the hype. I told him about the notebook that I had used back in the day. I told him that I would research rite in the rain, and let him know how it compared to what I had used.

I got my hands on a few of their notebooks, and I was surprised to see that this paper was familiar to me. In fact, this was the same material that I had used in the past. As I researched the company and its products I was surprised to see just how many options were available. They manufacture many pre-fab forms, notebooks, and binder sheets. The company will also custom print your agencies forms on any of their paper products.

Needless to say I am still using the samples that were provided for this comparison.