CARRYING & DRAGGING TECHNIQUES – LET’S GET CARRIED AWAY
LEARN THE PROPER TECHNIQUES TO CARRY OR DRAG AN INJURED PERSON TO SAFETY
Written by SCOTT FINAZZO on February 2, 2018
SAFETY DISCLAIMER
his article is meant to be an overview and not a detailed guide on rescue carries and drags. Seek professional training before attempting to use any tools or techniques discussed in this story.
I have been a firefighter for over 20 years and relocating people away from precarious or deadly incidents is an essential component of my job. Among the seemingly endless tactics a firefighter is taught from day one, the ability to remove someone from harm is near the top of the list. Life safety is the top priority and whether you’re moving someone from danger or delivering them to lifesaving medical aid, knowing safe and effective ways to conduct these maneuvers can make all the difference.
For many people, the general inclination is to carry someone as they’ve seen on television. Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, you will rarely, if ever, see someone carrying an adult victim out in front of them “cradle in arms” style. This can be used for an infant or child, but carrying a full-sized adult victim for any distance greater than a few feet, particularly over uneven terrain, is impractical and dangerous. Therefore you’ll need to know the correct techniques to use when moving a victim and when you should employ them.
Once you’ve determined there’s a need to remove someone from harm or get them to a position where they can receive help, quick but careful thought must be given to how this will be performed. There are two different categories of emergent victim removal: carries and drags. Each has their place and which one you should apply depends on several factors.
Victim Carries: When one or more rescuer is able to lift the victim and carry them to a location of safety.
Victim Drags: The movement of a victim by lifting part of their body as the other part drags — often used when a carry isn’t possible or practical.
Regardless of whether you carry or drag a victim to safety, you must remember to keep your own safety a high priority. It doesn’t sound heroic to say, but it does no good for anyone if you injure yourself and become part of the problem rather than the solution.
Moving a victim is harder than most realize. If the victim is conscious, pain from their injuries may cause them to shift their weight around while you’re moving them, creating a scenario where your back or joints are forced into unnatural or unsafe positions — leading to a strong likelihood of rescuer injury. The victim may be vocal, crying or shouting, distracting you from your task, which also lends itself to injury.
If the victim is unconscious this creates a deadweight situation. They’re unable to assist you in any way, tell you if you’re hurting them, or causing greater injury by your movements. Also, the mental demands of moving an unconscious victim already increase the rescuer’s anxiety out of concern.
The techniques discussed in the article are tried-and-true first responder techniques that are applicable to any survival situation. The way you choose to relocate a victim will depend on several factors and exact steps may vary depending on victim injury:
How many victims are in need of rescue?
How many rescuers are available?
What are the capabilities and conditions of the rescuers?
What is the size and condition of the victim(s)?
What is the safety and stability of the environment?
One-Person Carries
You may be the only person available to help, or perhaps your team has already split up to render aid to multiple victims. Either way, there are times when you’ll be forced to move someone by yourself. Carries conducted by a single rescuer can be extremely taxing on the rescuer. Adrenaline will work both for and against you. You may feel a sudden burst of energy and strength, but will lose it just as quickly. The body will compensate by relying on large muscle groups, such as the back, as this could result in rescuer injury. One-person carries should only be performed with the confidence that you won’t cause injury to yourself or further injury to the victim.
One-Person Walk Assist
In mass-casualty training, we refer to people who can self- extricate with little or no assistance as walking wounded. If your victim is able to walk with only minor help from you, let them. The one-person walk assist offers the least chance for injury to both rescuer and victim.
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