Team Competencies

RLA’s 3 Tips For Better Online Learning ~ Experience and Behavior

There are thousands upon thousands of riggers within the fire service and other emergency services such as Sheriff’s Search and Rescue and all of them at one point or some point will need or have already turned to online training.  Regardless of what has transpired over the last 6 months, online training has been increasing …

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Marginal Anchors | Anchor Considerations in Rope Rigging Systems Vol. 2

Marginal anchors in theory create a force out of many, but how should we present this diverse and sometimes controversial concept of anchor construction?  This is an introduction to multiple back-ties and projecting the power of substantial anchors to a single focal point. Marginal anchors are generally considered independent anchors points that would not support …

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Bombproof Anchors | Anchor Considerations in Rope Rescue and Rigging

Excerpt from Anchor Considerations in Rope Rigging Systems Vol. 2 Segment 2 What is a bombproof anchor and what are some methods of rigging anchors? Bombproof anchors can hold it all… but does this principle apply in high directional anchors such as tripods, “A” frames, and gin poles? Questions of this nature are addressed in …

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10 Concepts Powered To Increase Your Teaching and Learning

We’ve passed the age of whether or not to include online learning to our cache of educational options… It is here and if you’re not in the midst of learning via online modes you are already behind.  This is especially true for rescue and rigging folks.  It isn’t that rope rescue rigging systems and equipment …

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Technical Rescue: The Importance of 15:1

(This article was originally run in Firehouse October 1, 2019) Russell McCullar clarifies whether 15:1 is still relevant and says that fire departments should select gear and load limits that meet their needs. All Photos by Russell McCullar Not long ago, I was explaining to one of my students that our training agency was undergoing …

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Tools vs Knowledge And Which Is More Important?

So before I jump into this, let’s get the definition correct here.  Knowing there are deflected meanings to words these days, I am not referring to people or a person as a “tool” ( The Urban Dictionary has it this way… A guy with a hugely over-inflated ego, who in an attempt to get un-due …

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3 Steps To Building Your Rigging Quiver Part 1

Question: Two or More Vectors Added Together = Applied Force = Resultant I think we all want the best.  We want a stellar life.  But when you get past things like  Marriage?  Kids?  Friends? You might think of cars, houses and jobs… then what?  If we are honest with ourselves, we are struggling with at …

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Parallel Hauls, Doubled Mechanical Advantage or Not?

Today at Rigging Lab Academy, we’re going to bust this myth that parallel mechanical advantage systems somehow add together and double mechanical advantage. There are arguments out there that two 3:1s side by side pulled on the same load are a 6:1, or two 5:1s are a 10:1. It’s not true, and we’re going to …

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Using An Arizona Vortex as a Mock Aerial Ladder For Study Purposes

We have a lot of members and non-members alike asking about aerial ladder work and whether or not we have ever done any sort of course or mini-rigging study on them.  This is obviously a huge undertaking and one we’d love to do and plan on doing it.  However, in the meantime, I want to …

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Want to be a Creative Rigger?: The 8 Stages to Live in Creativity

Creativity is not a mystery.  We are meant and created to be… creative.  But just like every tool in the shop, or every piece of gear in the cache, we all have varying degrees of talents and skills.  Creativity is not a rare insight, that only rare and odd people have.  No!  Creativity is a …

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