CASE NUMBER

DESCRIPTION

84001

An employee was participating in wall rappel training and he experienced pain in the groin area. The employee was sent to medical and was diagnosed as having a strained groin muscle.

84010

During a rappelling drill for a hillside rescue, an employee pushed off from the side of the hill and dropped about two feet. Due to the steepness and unevenness of the hillside and the semi-rapid movement down the face of the hill, all of his body weight may have been on his right leg for a fraction of a second when he landed, and he was unable to push off the hillside again due to a sprain or strain in his right leg.

84013

While participating in a rappelling exercise, the employee's feet slipped as he was stepping over the edge of the rappelling wall and he fell a short distance and hit his back against the wall.

84015

While participating in a rappelling exercise, an employee proceeded to the edge of a cliff to get out of the rain when he stepped on a slick rock and twisted his right ankle.

84016

While training on ropes, an employee slipped over the edge of the drill tower and scraped and bruised his left elbow.

84017

An employee was rappelling during a drill and strained his left hip muscle.

85010

An employee was participating in a rappelling exercise using the "Australian" technique when his knee gave way. The employee was belayed to the ground, and an ice pack was applied to the knee. An examination later revealed he had sustained torn and stretched ligaments and slight cartilage damage, which required surgery to repair.

85017

While involved in a rappelling training exercise, an employee pushed off the wall and twisted his left ankle upon making contact with the wall.

85031

An employee was rappelling down the side of a building when he dislocated his left knee. It was determined that the rappelling activity aggravated a pre-existing non-occupational injury.

85038

An employee was participating in rappelling practice, and while in "free fall" from the three- story drop, his right foot struck a window sill. The employee sustained multiple fractures of the right foot, and possible back strain.

86001

During a training exercise, an employee was demonstrating a rappelling technique and as he was talking, he failed to properly connect his equipment and he fell from the rappel tower. He was admitted to the hospital, where it was determined that he had sustained a cracked vertebra, compressed discs, and minor internal bleeding.

86008

An employee was participating in helicopter rappel training when he lost control of his descent approximately 15-feet above the ground. The employee landed on the ground with his feet separated, fracturing his right ankle.

86012

An employee was participating in rappel training when he lost control of his descent. The employee stuck out his right leg to grab hold of a pipe which ran along the wall of the building to slow his descent, but he continued to descend faster than normal and landed on a cement surface feet first. The employee was taken to medical and treated for a contusion. Additional tests later revealed increased compartment pressure, and surgery was required on his leg to relieve the pressure.

86116

During a training exercise, an employee was rappelling down the outside of the firehouse hose tower when his right elbow struck the masonry wall resulting in a laceration to his right elbow.

87035

An employee was participating in a rappel training exercise when he suffered first and second degree friction rope burns to both hands on the palmer side. The employee was not wearing the required gloves for this rappel exercise as instructed.

88004

During SRT qualifications, an employee was doing a "spider drop" from the second story roof. The employee neglected to remove his wedding ring from his finger before participating in the exercise, and the weight of his body caused the ring to cut into his finger. The cut required five sutures to close.

89001

As an employee was rappelling from a building during a training exercise, his rifle swung around and hit his chin with the rifle scope. He sustained a cut that required six sutures to close.

89017

An employee was rappelling down a practice tower and impacted the ground at an angle that caused him to sustain a fracture to the right ankle.

89020

An employee noticed pain in his back after participating in a rappelling exercise. Employee sustained back strain.

90001

During helicopter fast-rope training, the first employee to rappel down did not get off the rope quickly enough, and was struck in the head by the next person's feet and the rope. The injured employee was taken to the hospital for observation after complaining of headache, nausea and vomiting as a result of being struck on the head.

90022

An employee was rappelling at the live-fire range for security training. While rappelling down the rappel tower, the employee's shirt pulled tight in the underarm area and pinched a mole, which promptly filled with blood. Treatment resulted in the employee requiring two sutures.

90023

An employee was rappelling down a four-story rappel tower when his legs slipped and he lost control of his descent. His right shoulder struck the side of the tower resulting in a trapezius strain.

90025

An employee was rappelling down a tower as part of required training when he lost control of his descent and as his hand collided with the tower wall. The employee reported to medical and was treated for a right hand contusion.

90053

An employee was rappelling from a tower and as he was descending he entered a window. After leaving the window, the employee swung back to the wall, his foot slipped and a knee impacted the wall. The knee became swollen due to fluid collecting.

91009

An employee was fast roping down the rappel tower during tactical training. The employee was not familiar with the landing conditions, which was uneven piles of gravel, and he came down the tower too fast to have a stable or controlled landing. He hit a pile of gravel, causing him to make a forward landing and he sustained a strain to the muscles and tendons in both ankles and shins.

91013

An employee was performing a 50-ft. helicopter rappel and was approximately 20" from the ground when he lost control of his brake hand. The constant motion of the helicopter made it difficult to keep the belay man properly placed, and he was not able to stop the rappeller's descent. The rappeller hit the ground and sustained a sprained right ankle.

91015

Utilizing the fast-rope method, an employee was rappelling from a training tower and he failed to brake his descent because he had his hands improperly positioned on the rope. The employee then landed with his feet approximately 18-inches apart, instead of having his feet together, and he sustained a fractured right leg.

91132

An employee was participating in rappel training and reported that he felt very hot. The employee was diagnosed at a health center as having mild heat exhaustion due to the stress requirements of the rappelling operation.

92009

An employee (SI) was participating in Helicopter Rappel Proficiency training when a second employee came down and swung in on the other side of the helicopter and his feet struck the SI in the head. The SI remained conscious and came down the rope on his own, and was then transported to the hospital for observation. The injured employee suffered small cuts on his head, and a sore neck and upper back.

93014

An employee was participating in helicopter rappel training from an altitude of approximately 40-feet, and while attempting to brake his descent, he lost the rope from his brake hand and visual contact with the ground. The employee fell, landed on his feet and fell backward. The employee was taken by ambulance to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a dislocated fracture of the left ankle and a fracture of the left tibia, which required surgery to repair.

93047

An employee was rappelling from a helicopter from approximately 40-feet above the ground, and while descending he experienced pain in his right arm and shoulder. At the hospital, it was determined that the employee had sustained torn ligaments to the right shoulder.

93054

An employee was participating in a Tactical Proficiency Evaluation and was carrying an additional 50-pounds of gear. As he pulled himself into a window off the caving ladder, he experienced pain in the lower middle portion of his back, and when he rappelled off the rappel tower, he felt the pain intensify.

94004

An employee was injured while participating in an "Australian" rappelling exercise. As the rappeller approached the edge of the structure, his legs appeared to twist and fail to move. The rappeller was lowered to safety and then transported to a hospital where he underwent surgery for torn ligaments in his right knee.

94013

During a training exercise, an employee rappelled from a helicopter and was then unable to disengage from the rappel rope. The aircraft began to ascend and move toward a fence with the employee being towed. The employee struck the fence, was pulled over the top, and fell to the ground outside of the fence. The employee was taken to the hospital, examined and released that same evening.

94059

An employee was participating in rappel training from the top of a 40-foot building. He had completed his hook-up and had been checked, and as he was making his descent he lost control of the rope. A co-worker on belay noticed that the employee was falling and immediately tightened the rope to stop his fall. The rappeller stopped falling approximately 2-feet above the ground, but he had extended his arm down to stop his fall, and a bone in his right arm was fractured upon impact.