High Anchor Point With 2:1 For Window Rescue – Company Drill

This is a firefighter or victim rescue company drill that intimidates some, but once you break it down and train, it can be done quickly with just a few firefighters.  The scenario simulates a heavy victim inside the window where rescuers cannot lift the victim out the window.  The high-anchor point with a modified 2:1 provides extra lifting power.

The set-up can be done quickly with one firefighter if needed.  You will need an extension ladder, a life safety rope (100′ will do), and 2 carabiners (the larger the better for rescue with gloves on).

First, throw the extension ladder and extend high above the window.  It can even be on the gutter of a single-story ranch.  Second, tie a figure-8 on a bight into the end of the rope, clip in a carabiner, and ascend the ladder.  Wrap the the end of the rope around the highest rung you have access to a minimum of 4 times (tensionless hitch).

Third, take a bight out of the rope coming from your rope bag and feed it through the carabiner on the figure-8. Clip your second carabiner onto the bight you just fed through and give enough slack to get the carabiner to the window.

 Lastly, from the ground, feed the rope bag (from the underside of the ladder) over and under a minimum of 3 rungs.  You will use the ladder as a belay during the lift and a bar rack during the lower of the victim.

Give the rescuers inside the hanging carabiner to attached to a victims hasty harness or a firefighters modified airpack harness.

Communicate with interior crews when lifting.  For the lift, the working end of the rope (end that is headed for the bar-rack set-up) will be pulled by 1 or 2 firefighters while another picks up the slack in the belay.  Once the victim clears the window, use the ladder as a bar-rack for a controlled lower to the ground.

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