PUASAR031 — Undertake an urban search and rescue Category 2 rescue technician

Elements & performance criteria

Performance evidence

• accessing and utilising rescue resources
• applying Work, Health and Safety (WHS)/Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) requirements including secondary structure collapse monitoring procedures and safe work practices in a range of environments
• assessing and working within USAR incidents including reconnaissance
• completing allocated rescue, logistics and communications tasks
• completing organisational documentation including exposure records
• cutting concrete, reinforcing bar, structural steel, timber and a range of non-structural components and contents
• demobilising as part of a USAR team
• determining location and condition of casualties
• gaining access to casualties
• implementing hygiene precautions
• implementing stabilisation techniques
• maintaining situational awareness and being alert to environmental and situational hazards including assessing and evaluating potential risks and hazards, monitoring and using acquired information of collapse patterns in structures and putting strategies in place prior to hazards becoming a threat to the team
• managing and controlling access at a scene including tag in and tag out procedures
• managing USAR scene
• mobilising and participating in the establishment of a remote base of operations
• mobilising as part of a USAR team
• operating equipment techniques including
• air bags and other lifting equipment
• concrete cutting, coring, breaching and lifting equipment
• generators and lighting equipment
• heavy duty cutting, breaking and lifting equipment
• jacks and props
• manual handling equipment
• ropes, anchors and rigging systems
• structural collapse rescue equipment
• visual and audible locating devices
• participating in rescue scene reconnaissance activities
• preparing and planning to respond to USAR incidents including collecting task information and rescue resources
• preserving evidence at incident scene
• prioritising, packaging and handling patients in surface/confined space environments
• recognising and reporting on signs and symptoms of fatigue and stress
• recovering, cleaning and maintaining of rescue equipment including
• checking inventories
• cleaning or disposing of contaminated clothing and equipment
• conducting a general clean-up of the rescue work area
• inspecting equipment for damage and serviceability
• rescue scene reconnaissance
• removing casualties whilst minimising further injury to self or others using recognised techniques and equipment for removing casualties including
• creation of exit route for technicians and packaged casualty
• mechanical advantage hauling and lowering systems
• stretcher packaging as appropriate including
• rescue and spine board
• stretchers appropriate for packaging in a range of situations
• team stretcher handling
• taking part in briefings and debriefings
• treating located casualties must include packaging and removal of casualties for handover to local authority
• undertaking a primary survey using methodical processes to identify immediate life-threatening injuries and conditions that require intervention
• using a range of
• breaching, coring and cutting equipment
• equipment and techniques to locate and stabilise trapped casualties
• search techniques and equipment to locate trapped casualties
• shoring and cribbing techniques including constructing and safety assembling a range of shoring and cribbing sets needed to allow teams to safety move in and around a collapsed or practically collapsed structure and/or zone
• techniques appropriate to nature of entrapment
• utilising appropriate marking systems
• wearing personal protective clothing and equipment
• working with tunnelling techniques safely
• working in a team within an organisational command and control structure

Knowledge evidence

• base of operations
• casualty search techniques and strategies
• communication methods and techniques including face to face, marking systems, radio communications and whistle or horn warning signals
• construction and utilisation of a vertical raising and lowering system
• cutting concrete, reinforcing bar, structural steel, timber, non-structural components and contents
• disaster victim identification procedures
• equipment and expertise to support lifting loads utilising heavy equipment
• equipment capabilities and limitations
• extrication techniques appropriate to nature of entrapment including
• HAZMAT (hazardous materials) detection and reporting
• individually or as part of a team demonstrate breaking and breaching including
• concrete coring
• dirty and clean breaches
• penetrating below to a void space, laterally to a void space and overhead to a void space
• individually or as part of a team demonstrate shoring - stabilising and supporting structural components with the use of
• cribbing and wedges
• horizontal shores
• split sole shore
• T-shore, sloped floor shore, laced post shore, and vertical or dead shore
• window and door shores
• first aid including primary surveys
• hazards including adverse weather conditions, below debris hazards, biological hazards, different levels of elevation, hazardous materials, overhead hazards, structural instability and surface hazards
• heavy lifting techniques including manual handling
• industry standards, guidelines and methodology for marking systems
• lift equipment to move loads
• manage scenes to control access
• medical considerations and casualty packaging
• movement and lifting of concrete slabs
• operational briefing and debriefing processes including tasking information
• organisational documentation including exposure reports
• organisational incident command and control system
• organisational policies and procedures including relevant legislation and personnel roles and responsibilities
• personal documentation and kit
• personal protective clothing and equipment
• potential hazards
• preserving evidence at a scene
• principles of dynamic risk assessments
• principles of structural collapse operations
• range of environments
• relationship of USAR team with other rescue response and emergency management organisations or agencies
• rescue resources
• search techniques and equipment to locate trapped casualties including primary surface search and rescue and technical search equipment
• signs and symptoms of fatigue and stress
• situational and cultural sensitivity requirements when working with trapped persons
• sources of information
• stabilisation techniques appropriate to a range of environments
• structural collapse patterns and monitoring techniques
• tasking information
• treatment of located casualties
• types of personnel including local emergency management personnel
• voids and spaces
• Work, Health and Safety (WHS)/Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) requirements including risks associated with working in voids and spaces

Unit content sourced from training.gov.au — © Commonwealth of Australia, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Auditori is not affiliated with the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.

Questions about assessing PUASAR031