Knots
The tying of knots is a
learned skill. It requires an ongoing training program to facilitate
handling and to eliminate hesitation. The dire consequences of
insecurity and faltering can be found in statistics. Each year
firefighters die as a direct result of failure of rope evolutions.
In many cases the failure of a knot or anchor point is to blame.
Knots in the fire service have always been a challenge to the
firefighter. It is a dexterity that often converts otherwise skilled
fingers into ten indifferent thumbs, especially during a knot
tying performance test. In many cases this disconcerting response
is the direct result of a fire service tradition which teaches
knots with little, or outdated practical application. Knot tying
performance, is often graded by how well the firefighter ties
the knot. The importance of the knot, as a life saving tool, is
rarely analyzed.
Knot tying is a skill that may well be life saving. It should
be taught, learned and mastered with seriousness devoted to any
survival skill. Considering knots solely as a challenge, or dare,
is counterproductive and not in the best interest of the firefighter.
When needed in an emergency this invaluable skill may mean the
difference between life and death to a civilian in need of rescue,
or to the firefighter in need of escape. In either instance, a
knot should be taught with a specific function to perform, be
simple to learn, and especially, be easy to remember.
In the fire service, knots have always been taught as a means
of hoisting and lowering tool, ladders, hose, and miscellaneous
equipment. Except for the bowline, and double loop eight, knots
for rescue are rarely considered. During training, knots and their
application to anchor points must receive the same attention as
knots and their application to tools and equipment.
In recent years there has been a great increase in the use
of rope for high angle rescue. This type of rescue encompasses
workers caught in scaffolding failures, window washers becoming
entangled in their safety lines, and fire victims in need of escape
from upper floors. As a result, there has been resurgence in firefighters
becoming proficient in rope rescue techniques to make these rescues.
This interest has also stimulated an awareness for more specific
knots for increasingly specific situations.
The need for specificity has forced an acceptance of many
"non-traditional" knots into the fire service; most
notably the figure eight knot and it's numerous variations, each
of which has a particular application in rope rescue evolutions.
As much as this open mindedness it has not evolved without complication.
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Knots and Hitch Construction
Knots
and hitches utilized in the fire service and in technical rescue
operations must be quickly and easily tied and untied, and capable
of performing the desired task or evolution.
Hitch.
A knot that attaches to or wraps around an object so that
when the object is removed, the knot will fall apart.
Knot.
A fastening made by tying together lengths of rope or webbing
in a prescribed way.
Elements of a Knot
Bight.
The open loop in a rope or piece of webbing formed when
it is doubled back on itself.
Loop.
A loop is formed by crossing the sides of a bight.
Round
Turn. Continuing to bend one side of a loop until the sides are parallel
forms a round turn.
To
see pictures and discriptions of each of the Knots
Click here
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