The Rescuer Becoming a Casualty in a Confined Space Is the Most Preventable Type of Tragedy

The statistics on confined space fatalities show a pattern that is repeated to the point of being one of the most cited examples in industrial safety training programs. A worker enters a confined space and loses consciousness. The colleague who witnessed the event enters the space to help the worker. That colleague also loses consciousness. Sometimes a third person follows the second individual into the confined space. Each of these people enters the confined space without performing any necessary tests of the atmosphere within the space, using any of the necessary equipment, or even establishing a plan for entering the space. The reason for each of these people’s entry into space is based upon the natural human desire to help an individual who is in need of assistance.

The most preventable of these types of accidents is one that happens in confined spaces.  While the instinct to help others is right, acting upon that instinct without understanding the hazard can convert a would-be rescuer into a second casualty in the same span of time as the first worker became the first casualty of the confined space accident. For Confined Space Rescue, contact https://www.agofirerescue.com/confined-space-rescue

So, the emphasis is on the decision not to enter confined spaces during training. Standing outside a confined space while a colleague is in distress within it requires a degree of discipline that contrasts with all the instincts of humans. Also, it is the only decision that does not increase the number of casualties in that environment.

The rescue of a person who is stranded is made possible by the availability of the necessary equipment and trained personnel to perform the rescue.

A rescue mission that enters a situation unprepared and without immediate action is unlikely to have any positive outcomes for the survivors of the situation.