To The Rescue
By Mark Saxelby

The Challenges Of Trench Rescues
Management of trench collapse rescues can be as challenging as any incident in the spectrum of emergency responses. The factor of immediate risk to rescue personnel, added to the needs of the trapped person, increase the stress to an entirely new level for most incident commanders.

Rescue personnel must be adequately trained with the proper skills and provided with the appropriate equipment to make a successful rescue. Additionally, the incident commander must be trained to understand the challenges of the situation, as well as have the intestinal fortitude to make the tough decisions when they need to be made.

Trench rescues can be and usually are extremely dynamic incidents. Inherently, this makes them extremely dangerous. Shifting soils and the risk of additional collapse add to the dynamics. Often, there are flammable or toxic atmospheres, electrical hazards and pressurized product transmission lines, like water or gas mains. Poor communications can compound an already difficult situation.

The combined challenge of the soils hazards with controlling the overall environment can stress even the most seasoned commander.

As with all other emergency incidents, a simple, systematic approach to managing the trench collapse incident limits the stresses and enables the command function to focus on supporting the rescue and being the think tank for the incident.

A good basic approach is to handle the typical trench rescue as a “Permit Required Confined Space Entry” as defined by the Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA). If you look at it simply, a trench does meet the OSHA criteria of a confined space. A confined space is defined as: having sufficient space and configuration to enter and work; having restricted means for entry or exit and not designed for continuous employee occupancy.

Meeting all three requirements constitutes a confined space. A trench certainly meets all three. A Permit Required Confined Space is a confined space with any one of the additional following hazards, according to OSHA Regulation 29 CFR, 1910.146: contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous atmosphere; contains a material that has the potential for engulfing an entrant; has an internal configuration that could trap or asphyxiate the entrant; contains any other recognized serious safety or health hazard.

Now, it could be argued that a trench rescue would be somewhat of a stretch to define as a confined space, but it would certainly not be by much. However, from a management perspective, handling the incident as a permit required confined space entry essentially addresses all the issues and considerations.

The Entry Permit
When you confirm you have a collapsed trench, get out that “Confined Space Entry Permit” you have been so diligently carrying around in your vehicle. This gives you a sound starting point on the issues to address and a guide to exercise your memory as well as a check sheet to keep track as you address them. You may even consider incorporating changes in your existing agency permit to include issues such as “edge protection,” “exit ladder,” or “mark bottom of trench” to make it multi-functional suitable for use in any type of technical rescue scenario.

Trench rescue operations can be time consuming, staffing intensive and require a considerable amount of logistical support. As soon as you recognize you have an actual trench rescue, from that point on, figure three hours of operations – minimum.

With that set as a framework, let’s walk through a trench rescue and the command considerations.

Taking Command
Upon arriving on the scene, assume command. This not only means identifying your Incident Command Post (ICP) location, giving a verbal size-up to dispatch, establishing a staging location and requesting additional resources, it means taking command. Now is the time to make your best effort to make the incident as static as possible.

As the commander, you’ll need to get those convergent rescuers out of the trench immediately. Statistically, the odds are they too will become victims. You’ll need to eliminate sources of vibration by stopping all operations in the area including nearby traffic. Don’t forget to address potential trains on nearby tracks.

In order to make good command decisions, you need information. Begin a fact-finding process to provide the information you need to make those decisions. This will require the assistance of a fire company or other resource to assist and/or assume the fact-finding role.

In that assignment, the fact finders will be looking for the following information: the purpose of the trench; the length of time its been open; its original depth; known hazards in the trench, if any; the history of other excavations in the immediate area; the number of victims in the trench; how long they’ve been trapped; whether the victims can be seen or heard; time of the last communication with the victims; whether all personnel have been accounted for; check for witnesses; and ensure that all considerations have been completed to make the situation static.

As you collect this information, verify it and write it down. Making sure witnesses stick around for future and further questioning might require special help. Consider asking law enforcement officers for assistance to keep witnesses and co-workers available. In cases such as children playing around an open trench, you may need law enforcement officers to physically go and check on the well being of the children who may have run home from the incident. It’s important to make sure everyone is accounted for, especially children.

Once the information has been collected, you can realistically begin putting together a rescue plan. Keep in mind, the command function is to command. Walking through the incident, think of the logistical support needs to run the operation. Consider assigning a logistics section chief and appropriate subordinate staff to relieve you of the logistics function.

Armed With Answers
Armed with the answers to the aforementioned issues, consider the following initial actions: requesting additional resources, such as additional fire units, law officers, EMS personnel and USAR teams; consider rotation of staff; establish a staging area while maintaining a static environment directly at the site; identify the location of the command post; request specialized resources, such as a vacuum truck from public works; order supplies to support the incident, lumber, plywood, shoring materials as necessary; request command support, such as a public information officer (PIO) and safety officer; and request outside agency support, such as an OSHA inspector.

As rescue resources begin to arrive on-scene, assign them the essential tasks first. You must address the basics to move forward in your rescue operation (CFR 29, 1926 Subpart P).

If it hasn’t already been completed, and it should be at the top of your list, ask additional personnel to assist with information gathering and making the incident static; establish a perimeter; maintain control of the site; establish edge protection; mark the bottom of the trench; attempt to contact trapped victim(s); remind rescuers to approach from the end of the trench; acquire on-site shoring materials; establish a work area for shoring materials; assemble cutting tools in the work area; and coordinate control of potential hazards in the trench, such as water or gas lines.

Above all else, DO NOT allow entry into the trench unless the members are trained and the trench is shored. Statistically, the odds of a secondary collapse are very high.

OHSA’s  typical “Permit Required Confined Space” entry permit documents specific items that must be addressed prior to an entry in accordance with CFR 29, 1910.146, Appendix D. Among the items to be documented include: location; purpose; time and date of entry; entry supervisor; entrants (rescuers); attendants; back-up team; facility contact; technical safety officer; lock-out/tag-out “Qualified Person;” use of space – purpose; special hazards; communications plan; atmospheric monitoring/ventilation plan; and pre-entry checklist.

Everyone Must Be Trained
All of these are applicable to an entry into a trench collapse. This is why a “Permit Required Confined Space” entry approach is sound. For the purposes of this review, we will assume all of your rescue personnel are trained in trench rescue procedures.

When requesting additional resources, have them dispatched or respond to your staging location, not to the incident. This maintains control of both your resources as well as your personnel. This also maintains access to the site for specialized assets such as vacuum trucks. Some situations may dictate assigning a “parking coordinator.” Engineers are great for this essential task.

Place incoming company/rescue personnel based on the needs of the incident. Once you have controlled the site and gathered the information, the rescue can begin.

Organizational Structure
Priority should be given to filling out an organizational structure to effectively manage the various parts of the incident. Under the operations section, or the incident commander if operations is not assigned, assignment priorities would include the following: rescue group supervisor, a strong officer who effectively manages the overall rescue operation; perimeter control personnel, who are trained in trench rescue and work with law enforcement officers to ensure a secure incident work area; rescue team leader, which is an excellent position for a USAR or rescue company officer, to direct the technical aspects of the rescue; rescue team members who will operate in the trench and must be trained in the tools and techniques of trench rescue. Only trained personnel should enter the operational area of the trench.

Other personnel essential to a successful operation are attendants who will assist the rescue team members and must also be fully trained in trench rescue operation. To minimize confusion and frustration, only the attendants should talk or communicate with the rescuers. This maintains simplicity and consistency of communications.

A back-up rescue team will also be needed. This team needs to be fully trained and suited up to relieve the first line rescuers and to provide rescue of the rescue team members in the event they become trapped. If the back-up team is deployed, immediate action should be taken to establish an additional back up team.

Concurrently, the atmosphere needs to be monitored. All trench incidents present the potential for poor conditions. Unfortunately, atmospheric monitoring is commonly overlooked or ignored, during times when flammable, toxic or low oxygen levels are likely. Generally, the attendants handle atmospheric monitoring, but incident complexity may dictate a dedicated atmospheric monitor.

The Technical Guru
The technical support team leader is responsible for the overall technical support of the incident and the technical safety officer should be your technical guru. This member oversees the safety aspects of the technical portion of the rescue. This is not to be considered the same as the incident safety officer who is a part of the command staff. The technical aspects require a person with significant technical expertise who understands shoring systems, rope rigging and other related systems.

Next, rescue operations will need a rigging crew to provide ropes, rigging and hoist systems for moving equipment and support for rescue personnel and patient removal.

A cutting crew will be responsible for shoring stockpiles by cutting and building shoring sized to order as communicated from the rescuers via the attendants.

A Ventilation Crew
There might be a need for a ventilation crew to supervise and conduct any venting of the trench as required. Breathing air for rescuers may also be needed, and personnel should be dedicated to that effort as necessary.

The support team will provide labor and other assistance as ordered. This team provides transportation of materials, movement of spoils piles or whatever miscellaneous tasks are needed to accomplish the mission.

A medical group supervisor should be readily available. Trench rescue incidents result in unique injuries such as crush syndrome, which require specific treatment protocols. Additionally, the medical group supervisor would work with the incident safety officer assessing and overseeing rescuer well-being.

The staging area manager plays an important role by coordinating parking and activities in the staging area. Staging is where the movement of materials, supplies and equipment are coordinated in preparation for deployment to the incident site.

There’s a lot to keep in mind during a trench rescue operation and the primary one to remember is securing the scene. Make every effort to make the site static, including first responders.

It’s critically important to make sure you have an accurate victim count. The only thing worse than attempting to rescue somebody that does not exist, is not rescuing somebody that does.

Avoid the moth to the flame syndrome by maintaining control of your people. Avoid unnecessarily loading the side of the trench by keeping personnel and equipment at the site to a minimum. Ensure supervisors maintain strict accountability of their assigned personnel.

Frequent rescuer rotation is important as trench rescues are physically and mentally taxing. Tired minds make mistakes. Rotate frequently to keep crews fresh.

Listen to your in-house trained personnel as they are the experts. Their recommendations and advice should matter. Use their knowledge and skills to your advantage.

Informed Decision-Making
Keep in mind, as the incident commander, you are responsible for rescuer safety and the more information you have, the better the decision. Taking the time to make a good informed decision is better than making a fast bad decision.

It’s imperative to not allow any entry into the trench – not even for a minute – until it is shored and secure, despite the urgency and the pressures to do otherwise.

After the rescue efforts have been completed, consider a tailboard after-action with your crews. It’s important to recognize the hard work and efforts immediately. This also allows an opportunity to access further stress management issues.

Minimizing Risks
Consider OSHA standards and publications on trench safety with your personnel and make sure they are trained and equipped to perform the rescue so they’re ready when the call comes in.

Trench collapse incidents are stressful from the youngest firefighter up to the incident commander. It is similar to sending a truck company to the roof for three hours. You know, the longer they are there, the greater the risk.

To minimize the risk, make sure your troops follow the basics. Control the site, use edge protection, evaluate the soils and what you are dealing with, shore and work down. Also, avoid excess personnel in the immediate area, make sure shoring is done right the first time and be aware of signs of secondary collapse.

And always make safety the first priority.

Editor’s Note: Mark Saxelby is a battalion chief with the Los Angeles City Fire Department. In 1990 he started the department’s first Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team and has been its logistics manager since its inception. He teaches disaster logistics throughout the country and has conducted numerous command, logistics and rescue training classes.