USS Enterprise trains for "deep" rescue

USS Enterprise (CVN 65) shipboard firefighters rescued a 300-pound shipyard worker during the aircraft carrier's re-cently completed availability. The man had complained of chest pains while working in a machinery spaces deep in the bowels of the ship.

This rescue was significant because the Sailors had to use their rope-and-confined-space training to lift him from the engineering plant, yet only a handful of the crew was trained to conduct such a vertical rescue.

"The shipyard showed us four instances where we had to rescue out of a void or trunk," said DCC(SW/AW) Brian E. Brooner, the damage control division's leading chief petty officer. "On board a ship with hazardous working environments, it's important to have a well-trained rescue team."

These four potential scenarios indicated the ship needed to qualify more Sailors to be able to conduct such unique rescues. Chief Brooner turned to PRISM Technical Rescue Training, Inc., a firm that had conducted training aboard Enterprise before her previous deployment. This encore "deep" rescue training--it centered around vertical rescue from a trunk, void, or any other confined space--taught the ship's firefighters how to rescue someone using ropes and stretchers, since it would be the firefighters who would be called to conduct such a rescue. The training is fairly new to Navy ships.

Sailors participating in the training received eight hours of classroom instruction followed with 32 hours of hands-on training to tie it all together, and during which they demonstrated proficiency by using required equipment and participating in rescue procedures.

"Most of the stuff we do is hands-on," said Chief Brooner. "They [instructors] show pictures and videos on how to do it, but the only way you know how to do it is by doing it."

"You can't do this kind of job reading a book," said company owner Phil Perry, who also instructs. He and the other trainers did not just stress technical knowledge: Safety was also always at the forefront, being part of both the classroom and hands-on scenario training.

"We learned how to rescue safely ... operational risk management is big in the Navy, so the training we went through applies to safety first," said DC1(SW) B.J. Berryhill, the damage control division's leading petty officer.

Sailors who completed the course were certified in Rope Rescue I and Confined Space Rescue by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs.

"The training helps us do any kind of rescue," said Petty Officer Berryhill. "Plus, it will benefit those who plan to stay in the Navy ... or those who choose to get out and use the certification they received in the civilian sector."

Berryhill described the training as being different from anything he had ever experienced. "None of the other ships [I was assigned to] offered me this kind of training," he said. "In the past, we pretty much did it [deep rescue] however [best] we could do it."

Chief Brooner agreed. "In the old days, we used to just pull them out of the trunk, sometimes injuring the person. Now we have the technology and training to make it more stable and less harmful," he said.

Both Enterprise crew members agreed the PRISM training was top-notch and should be expanded to include more of the fleet. In fact, Chief Brooner says, "PRISM's training should be mandatory training on all the ships."

Petty Officer Berryhill summed it up with, "I would highly recommend all ships in the fleet go through the training that PRISM offers. It helps us do the evolution safer, quicker, more efficiently and, in the end, save someone's life."

Note: Specific equipment requirements and deep-rescue procedures are found in NSTM 555, Chapter 7 (Vertical Entry) and in the SurfLant Damage Control Manual.

COPYRIGHT 2003 U.S. Navy Safety Center
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group