Why did the NFPA standard change from Light Use (L) to Technical Use (T)? Technical use replaced the term Light use to support the idea that a highly skilled team is capable with working within a lesser margin of safety.
What is the service life on rescue hardware (i.e. carabiners, pulleys, anchor plates, etc.)? When should hardware be retired? Hardware is good to use until: It stops functioning the way it did when it was new. Such as a carabiner gate not closing smoothly, or a pulley sheave rubbing against the side plate. …
Does my harness need to be re-certified? Can it be re-certified? NFPA 1983 is a standard for manufacturers. In it, it states that harnesses must be re-certified annually. Many end users take this as direction for them to do something. It’s meant for manufacturers to send their products to a 3rd party certified testing facility …
What if I don’t know when the rope was purchased? A: NFPA 1983, 1990 edition required for any life safety rope to have a tape in the core that runs the entire length of the rope with the following information; manufacturer, the standard that the rope was made to and the year and quarter of …
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When do I remove rope or a harness from service? Rope: A non-destructive test that tells how much strength your rope has left does not exist at this time. The decision to retire a rope or to keep it in service relies on good judgment that comes only from experience in working with rope. Inspecting …
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Are the equipment standards too stringent or even relevant? Many believe (as you probably know) that the standards are too heavy-handed with safety factors that are too extreme. I reply by reminding them how difficult it is for some departments to procure and maintain equipment because of funding, budgetary protocol and administrative complacency. Long campaign …
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What is a 3-Sigma rating? 3-Sigma ratings are used throughout the climbing and rescue industries to determine a level of accuracy in the breaking strength numbers that we report. A 3-sigma rating is much more reliable than, say, an average strength where 50% of a sample could be below that strength. 3-sigma ratings are based …
What is Average vs. Minimum Break Strength? Average breaking strength is determined by averaging the samples in a given test. Minimum breaking strength can be figured several ways, either using the true minimum number that was recorded during a testing sample or more commonly by using a statistical method such as 3-Sigma.
The NFPA 1006 2008 edition is the US Standard for Technical Rescuer Qualifications. Skills and procedures are categorized according to NFPA 1006 stands with the goal of assisting rescuers to meet or exceed the general job job performance requirements of (JPR) of Technical Rescuer and the specific requirements for Level 1 and Level 2 …
