Wednesday, January 9th, 2008

Monstrous Rescue Systems

MRS is my term for the gear heavy, stainless steel rescue systems that are built by the “Bigger is Better” school of rescue. A Monstrous Rescue response requires the rescue cache to be moved in its entirety (in a large truck or on the backs of a couple dozen rescuers) to the site. Piled with ¾” rope, pre-rigs, specialty hardware, all steel carabiners, the MRS rescuer clumps onto the scene, dumps the cache on to the ground, and builds the system that he was trained to memorize. His Instructor taught him..”Here is how we do it here at MRS FD and nothing else is acceptable”.
Sigh.

How do you know if your rescuer comes from the MRS School?
* All ropes are NFPA ¾” or no smaller than ½”
* All carabiners are steel, regardless of where it is used in the system or on the rescuer
* They have a pre-rig for everything..in a bag, labeled, complete with arrows (you think I am kidding don’t you?)
* Load releasing Hitches are manufactured hitches; each pre-rig has a ratchet pulley.
* All knots have a safety knot, whether it needs one or knot.
* Baskets are rigged the same way every time, regardless of the application.
* If tossed in a pit with a handful of mountaineering gear and enough rope, they could not rig the system to save their lives.
* Rigging plates are everywhere.
* If the system that they built does not work, either more ‘muscle’ is applied or a bigger MRS is built.

Our training and classes are geared towards understanding the foundations of the rescue knowledge. With that foundation, the rescuer can build any system that she needs with the gear that is available, and improvise the solutions. We teach a light and fast style of rescue in the Expedition level classes. We teach the student to preserve his resources, time, gear, space, energy, personnel. We train the student to perform at a higher level of challenge in a more compromised environment.

During an actual rescue, the stress level is high, IQ drops, fatigue and adrenalin exact a toll on the rescuer, and skill level deteriorates. Conditions range from bad to horrible, communication is poor to non-existent. We train our students at a substantially higher skill level than that required to effect the actual rescue. When the rescuer trains at a higher, more challenging level, the real rescue environment will have less negative effect on the rescuer.  When we design rescue classes for specific agencies or groups, we build a program that is based on the potential..and not the frequency. Our training is then geared towards exceeding the potential.

Scenarios are held in the caves, jungles, underground rivers, mountains, late at night, all night, at the end of your endurance and often outside your comfort zone. Just like the real thing…..

Join us!

If you haven’t seen what we teach, come visit us at http://www.gmrsltd.com

Tell us where YOU want to go!

Our goal for this blog is to discuss various aspects of remote medicine, rescue, and survival; mention news of interest; and be a resource for those interested in our areas of expertise.

We will keep this informal, and try to avoid ‘category creep’ which sometimes dooms traditional bulletin boards.

We welcome your input and suggestions!