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This section provides an overview of rescue planning including procedures, prevention, 
rescues and responsibilities of individual team members.

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Rescue Plan and Procedures 

Under the new legislation, every workplace must develop an adequate onsite rescue procedure that will be able to start an immediate rescue attempt in emergency situations. Training also must be provided on rescue procedures, first aid, CPR and use of equipment that is suitable and readily available per the plan. Review Appendix E: Confined Space Rescue Plan and Appendix H: Confined Space Procedure.

Non-entry Rescue

In a confined space emergency, seconds count. Your life may depend on your ability to exit a space fast. A trained rescue team may not arrive on the scene in time to save you. As many as 60% of those who die in confined spaces are would-be rescuers—well-intentioned, usually untrained co-workers who enter in a desperate attempt to help.

Fortunately, you can often exit a space fast and safely in an emergency by using the following techniques:

• Self-rescue – Evacuate a space by yourself at the first sign of trouble.
• Non-entry rescue – Your attendant uses a retrieval system to pull you out of the space without entering the space.

Neither technique puts others at risk by entering the space. Yet both require advance training and ongoing teamwork between the entrant and the attendant.

Preventing Accidents

Your employer will take steps to protect you before you are authorized to enter a permit space. These include the following:

• Identifying the hazards in the space.
• Taking measures to control them, such as isolation, lockout/tagout, atmospheric testing and ventilation.
• Training you to follow safe entry and work procedures. Providing you with appropriate safety equipment.
• Ensuring that a thoroughly trained and equipped emergency rescue team is available if needed.

Before you enter a confined space, you should:

• Read the written assessment, entry procedure and review the entry permit.
• Check the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for any hazardous chemical you may use or find in the permit space. The MSDS will tell you how to protect yourself against exposure and what to do if you are exposed.
• Ask yourself what could go wrong and plan what you will do if it does.

Responsibilities in a Confined Space Entry Rescue

Entrants and Attendants

Both self-rescue and non-entry rescue require careful teamwork between the entrant and the attendant. The roles are complementary and sometimes interchangeable. If you are an entrant:

• You are trained and authorized by your employer to enter a permit space.
• You must be alert for any sign that you’re being exposed to toxins or other hazards. For example, loss of fine muscle control, confusion, difficulty breathing and ringing in ears can indicate oxygen deficiency.
• You must be aware of conditions prohibited on the entry permit such as improper ventilation.
• You should use all personal protective equipment exactly as specified on the permit. For instance, an air-purifying respirator, which filters impurities from the air without supplying oxygen, cannot be substituted for a supplied-air respirator, which corrects oxygen deficiency.
• At the first sign of any hazard, you should notify your attendant and begin self-rescue.
• If the attendant orders you to evacuate, do so immediately. 

If you are an attendant:

• You are stationed outside one or more permit spaces to monitor the location and condition of authorized entrants.
• You are specially trained to recognize entry hazards and to detect any effects on entrants. You must maintain effective contact with all authorized entrants throughout entry. You act as the entrant’s eyes and ears outside the space, remaining constantly alert for potential hazards in or around the space.
• You order entrants to evacuate the space the moment you detect any hazardous situation. 

Effective, reliable communication can be a lifeline. Some rules are:

• Entrant and attendant must maintain contact during entry. Set a standard routine so the attendant can detect subtle changes in entrant speech or behaviour. 
• If entrant will not be in view of attendant, you may need to use two-way radios, television or other continuous monitoring equipment with alarms and voice contact. 
• Have a backup communication system in case of technical problems or if the entrant wears hearing protection. For instance, several pulls on a tag line can be a signal to evacuate.  

Types of Rescue

Self-rescue

Self-rescue requires teamwork.

• At the first sign of trouble, the entrant notifies the attendant and begins to evacuate immediately—without taking time to notify other workers in the space.
• Upon being notified that the entrant is evacuating, the attendant warns other workers in the space to evacuate and summons the rescue team if necessary.

Non-entry Rescue

When the entrant cannot self-evacuate, the attendant may need to use non-entry rescue techniques. The attendant should use a mechanical device such as a hand-cranked, man-rated winch with a tripod. OSHA requires that a mechanical device is available to retrieve personnel from vertical-entry permit spaces more than five feet deep. A winch with a 25.1 mechanical advantage lets you lift 250 pounds with 10 pounds of force. Here’s how it works:

• The entrant wears a chest or full-body harness connected to the retrieval line. A full-body harness is safer because it is more secure, and there is less risk of injury from a fall because weight is more evenly distributed.
• The winch’s wire cable attaches to the entrant’s body harness, so the attendant can crank the entrant back out in an emergency.
• A retrieval line should be attached to the harness at the center of the back near shoulder level. This minimizes slumping and makes the body as straight as possible when pulling it out.
• Cranking an entangled person can quickly cause injury. Any extra pressure on the line means the entrant may have become entangled in a ladder or other obstacle—stop cranking immediately. Back off by lowering the cable a bit, then move the cable with your hands to disentangle.
• Never try to drag the entrant out of the space without mechanical assistance. You could injure your back trying to move the victim or be overcome by fumes in the space. When removing a victim from a vertical space, you are required to use mechanical assistance. Do not use a motorized winch system.

Technical Entry Rescue

Technical rescue involves the use of specially designed equipment and hauling systems based on mechanical theory. Using a system of ropes and pulleys, a rescuer can employ mechanical advantage to haul people safely and rapidly. In other words, with mechanical advantage, it takes less effort to move a load. 

One of the most important goals of confined space rescue training is learning to work as a team. Everyone on the team plays an important role in the rescue effort. If all members work together as a smoothly functioning unit, your confined space rescue can be safe and successful.

Rescue Training

The rescue team will receive extensive ongoing training courses to enable them to perform workplace-specific confined space entry techniques. They will be expected to maintain current certification in First Aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). During training, you will learn how to:

• Recognize confined space hazards.
• Communicate in a confined space.
• Use personal protective equipment in rescues.
• Perform rescue techniques and use equipment geared to the confined spaces in your workplace.
• Know when to perform self-rescue in a confined space.