Searching a smoke-filled space and rescuing casualties
1The lesson in plain words
In thick smoke you cannot see your hand. Stay low, keep a hand on the wall, stay with your partner and follow your line back out.
Before going in
A search team enters only on the team leader's order, in breathing apparatus (BA), as a pair, with a charged hose (filled with pressurised water) or guide line, a radio and a lamp. Assess the door and surrounding smoke without exposing yourself. A cool door does not prove safety. Open only under the team leader's direction, staying low and to the side, with controlled door movement and a charged hose ready.
Stay low, feel ahead
Heat and smoke gather under the deckhead, the underside of the deck above. Stay low, in BA. Feel ahead cautiously with a gloved hand. Keep clear of cables and damaged electrical equipment; no hand position makes touching a live cable safe. Check the deck ahead for open hatches, ladders and holes. Move slowly and stay with your partner.
Right-hand or left-hand search
Choose a wall and keep one hand on it, for example your right, all the way round the space. That is a right-hand search. Your partner searches within reach while keeping contact. Report any area you cannot reach safely. Check under bunks, inside wardrobes, behind doors and in the bathroom: people hide or collapse there. To get out, turn round and follow the same wall with your other hand, or follow the hose or guide line back.
Guide lines and lifelines
A guide line tied off outside the space marks the way in and out. A lifeline links a wearer to someone outside who tends it. Hose lines also lead you out: never let go of the hose unless you have a wall or line. If you become separated, stop, stay calm, call by radio, and use your line or wall to find the way.
Bringing a casualty out
When you find someone, report by radio and bring them out together by the shortest safe route. Never give a casualty your own mask. Enclosed spaces, such as tanks, holds and voids, may be toxic or short of oxygen; unprotected rescuers can become casualties too. Enter only in BA, with a trained team, standby support and rescue gear. Entry rules: Law: personal safety, and Ropes: deck work safely.
2Key data
- Clearest air
- Low, near the deck: crawl
- Electrical hazards
- Avoid exposed cables; hand position does not prevent electric shock
- Right-hand search
- Right hand on the wall in; left hand on it out
- Check
- Under bunks, wardrobes, behind doors, bathrooms
- Rescue readiness
- Trained BA team, standby support and rescue equipment ready
3Key points
- 1
Search only in BA, as a pair, with a hose or guide line, radio and lamp.
- 2
Stay low, feel ahead cautiously with a gloved hand and avoid electrical hazards.
- 3
Keep one hand on the same wall; reverse hands to come out.
- 4
Search under bunks, in wardrobes, behind doors and in bathrooms.
- 5
Enclosed-space rescue needs BA, a trained team and standby support; unprotected rescuers can become casualties too.
4Frequent mistakes
Wrong: Walk upright so you can search faster.
Right: Heat and smoke are worst high up, and you cannot feel holes ahead. Stay low.
Wrong: Let go of the wall to reach the middle of the room.
Right: Keep wall or line contact. Search only within safe reach and report any area you cannot reach.
Wrong: Share your mask with a casualty to keep them alive.
Right: Removing your mask can kill you. Get them out fast instead.
5Practice case & exam keys
You are the second in a BA pair searching a smoke-filled crew mess room with no visibility. Your leader keeps her right hand on the bulkhead. You feel a closed door on the wall.
Show the answer
Tell your leader. A cool door does not prove the space beyond is safe. Keep contact with your partner and your wall or line. Do not open it or extend the search without your leader's assessment and order. If ordered to open, stay low and to the side, keep the door controlled and the charged hose ready. Report heat or smoke changes. Withdraw together at the planned air or time limit, or immediately if either wearer has a problem or a whistle sounds.
Exam keys
- Search in BA pairs with hose or guide line, radio and lamp; check doors first.
- Stay low; feel ahead cautiously with a gloved hand. Avoid cables and damaged electrical equipment.
- Right-hand or left-hand search: keep wall contact; reverse to come out.
- Enclosed-space rescue only with BA and a team; entry rules are in Law: personal safety.
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