New Zealand

Urban Search & Rescue

www.usar.govt.nz

Best Practice Guideline

Rope Rescue Tier Model

November 2003
National USAR Training & Standards Working Group

Version 1.4
New Zealand Urban Search & Rescue
Best Practice Guideline: Rope Rescue Tier Model

Contents

CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................................... 2

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 3
SCOPE ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................................ 3
TIERED MODEL RATIONALE................................................................................................................... 4
Awareness.................................................................................................................................................. 4
Responder .................................................................................................................................................. 4
Technician ................................................................................................................................................. 4
Specialist ................................................................................................................................................... 4
TIERED RESPONSE OUTCOMES ...................................................................................................................... 5
UNIT STANDARDS........................................................................................................................................ 5

INSTRUCTORS & ASSESSORS .................................................................................................................. 5

ASSESSMENT TOOLS.................................................................................................................................. 6

QUALIFICATIONS........................................................................................................................................ 6

TIERED COMPETENCY MODEL – ROPE RESCUE.............................................................................. 7

© 2003
National USAR Training & Standards Working Group
C/- Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management
PO Box 5010
Wellington
New Zealand

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Best Practice Guideline: Rope Rescue Tier Model

Introduction
Scope
This guideline is recommended for use by any organisation responding to rope rescue operations
(includes non-USAR environments).

Purpose
This guideline has been developed to establish national competency standards for rope rescue
practitioners regardless of their agency or response environment and has been sponsored under
the National Certificate in Urban Search & Rescue (Rope Operations Strand) project.

The guideline does not define actual techniques, as this is the responsibility of the organisation,
although the new unit standards do recommend a number of primary references.

The only requirement for the respective unit standards is for double line rescue (concurrent use of
working line and safety line). Practitioners need to demonstrate an ability to be capable of rigging
double line during their assessment, however operationally organisational guidelines, legislation
and judgement determines whether single or double line technique is used.

Although the selection and use of resources at rope rescue incidents is at the discretion of the
Incident Controller, the preference to use practitioners qualified to this guideline is strongly
recommended.

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New Zealand Urban Search & Rescue
Best Practice Guideline: Rope Rescue Tier Model

Tiered Model Rationale

Technology and technique have been the traditional perceived problems in the New Zealand rope
rescue industry.

The whole concept of a multi-agency rope rescue response system needs to be looked at. NFPA1
provides an excellent basis for a tiered response system.

Operating at three levels of capability: awareness, operations and technician. The NFPA code
ensures a cost effective and efficient response solution.

It is not resource efficient to have every emergency officer trained as a rope rescue specialist.

The tiered response model is based on the rope rescue phases:

• Locate Find/confirm the patient location

• Access Get to the patient
• Stablise Secure the patient and provide medical care
• Transport Recover the patient to safety/advanced medical care

Customising the NFPA levels to meet the local emergency response environment has seen the
development2 of the following tier system:

Awareness
Provides initial response, ensures emergency service representation at incident quickly, secures
the scene and prepares it for responder level arrival.

Responder
Arrives shortly afterwards and enters secure scene, applies basic rappel skills to access and
stabilise patient – and prepares patient for retrieval by Technician level response.

Technician
By the time the patient is nearly stabilised the technician level team arrives, who can apply simple
descender based rescue in order to retrieve the patient to a safe location.

Specialist
The specialist provides the highest level of capability able to construct hauling systems, lowering
systems, highline systems and stretcher operations. This level is responded where the incident is
beyond the capability of a Technician level unit.

It should be noted that when an awareness level unit is activated to a high angle incident that both
the responder and technician (or specialist) levels are immediately activated at the same time.

Each of these tiered levels is normally geographically allocated. For example in a region, each
suburb/community could have awareness level units. For each sub-region, there could be several
responder units and in each region could be one or two technician or specialist level units.

Typically this would work out to be 20 awareness units, 5 responder units and 1 technician unit per
region.

1
National Fire Protection Agency 1670 Standard on Operations & Training for Technical Rescue Incidents
2
Outcome from Rope Rescue Instructors Forum (inaugural meeting on 3rd October 2001 held at Royal NZ Police
College). Attended by emergency services, support agencies, both volunteer and career sectors.

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New Zealand Urban Search & Rescue
Best Practice Guideline: Rope Rescue Tier Model

On average for equipment alone it would cost $15,000 to kit out a specialist level unit. If every unit
were trained to this level our “typical” area would spend over $390,000 just for gear!

The advantage of this system also allows for inter agency cooperation. As each service on a
regional basis could agree on what level of capability they can contribute to.

For example, emergency service 1 agrees to provide all awareness level response, emergency
service 2 agrees to provide all responder level response and emergency service 3 provides the
technician/specialist level response. In some areas, an emergency service could provide one or
more levels of response or contract out the technician level to specialist volunteer units.

Tiered Response Outcomes

• Rapid incident response.
• Increased positive interaction between services.
• Cost effective.
• Pooled resources and skills between services.
• Agreed levels of capability and responsibility.

Unit Standards
Respective unit standards have been developed for each tier (Unit Standards 20536-20359).

These unit standards are available from www.nzqa.govt.nz and can be found on the National
Qualifications Framework under the Specialist Rescue Sub-field.

The Fire & Rescue Services Industry Training Organisation (FRSITO) is the standard setting body
for these units. Website www.frsito.org.nz

Instructors & Assessors

Instructors and assessors for rope rescue shall hold the tier (unit) above the level they wish to train
and assess at.

Assessors shall also meet normal registration requirements set by the provider or industry training
organisation and other criteria as set in the Accreditation Moderation Action Plan (AMAP).

Tier Minimum Criteria

Awareness Hold NZQA US 20537

Responder Hold NZQA US 20538

Technician Hold NZQA US 20539

Specialist Hold NZQA US 20539 & National Industry Body

Recommendation.

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Best Practice Guideline: Rope Rescue Tier Model

Assessment Tools
A series of Assessment Evidence Workbooks for all four tiers (unit standards) have been
developed for all industries to promote the use of common assessment tools.

There are available for download from the USAR website.

Marking guides are available only to registered assessors from FRSITO.

Qualifications
National and Industry Qualifications are currently being developed for rope rescue.

These include:

• FRSITO Certificate in Rope Response

• National Certificate in Specialist Rescue (Rope Technician) Level 3
• National Certificate in Specialist Rescue (Rope Instructor) Level 4

Rope practitioners are encouraged to exceed the minimum competency at each tier by achieving
the above qualifications applicable tot the tier they operate at.

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 Tiered Competency Model – Rope Rescue
Tier 1 Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4
AWARENESS RESPONDER TECHNICIAN SPECIALIST
NZQA US 20536 NZQA US 20537 NZQA US 20538 NZQA US 20539

Risk Assessment Rappel/Abseil (rig & descend) Descender based rescue Self Equalising Anchors

Patient Transfer Device

Scene Management Create simple (fixed) anchors Rappel knot pass
(Stretcher) rigging

Response & Safety Legislation, Rappel/Ascend change over System knot pass (haul and
Create edge line
Regulations & Codes of Practice. (on rope) lowering system)

System change over (haul –

Use an established edge line Simple knots Ascend knot pass
lower – haul)
Knowledge, care and
Responder Recovery (haul or Mechanical advantage (hauling
identification of rope rescue
ascend) systems)
equipment.

Signals & Communications Rope Physics High lines (cable ways, Tyrolean)

Equipment knowledge, care and

Tiered Model Knowledge Lowering systems
maintenance
Rig and manage safety
Artificial High Anchors
(independent) belay (second
(A Frames/Tripods)
line).
Pre-requisites: 20536and 6400
Pre-requisite: 20537 Pre-requisite: 20538
Manage first aid