Cave Rescue is a highly specialized field of wilderness rescue in which injured, trapped or lost explorers are medically treated and extracted from various cave environments. Cave rescue borrows from firefighting, confined space rescue, rope rescue and mountaineering techniques but has also developed its own special techniques and skills for performing work in conditions that are almost always difficult and demanding. Cave rescues are a slow, deliberate operations that require both a high level of organized teamwork and good communications. The extremes of the cave environment (air temperature, water, vertical depth) dictate every aspect of a cave rescue. Therefore the rescuers must adapt skills and techniques that are as dynamic as the environment they must operate in. Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico A cave is a natural underground void large enough for a human to enter. ... Firefighter with an axe A firefighter, sometimes still called a fireman though women have increasingly joined firefighting units, is a person who is trained and equipped to put out fires, rescue people and in some areas provide emergency medical services. ... Confined space rescue is a subset of technical rescue that involves the rescue and recovery of victims involved in situations where there is a confined space, which is defined by OSHA as follows: Having limited or restricted means of entry or exit Is large enough for an employee to enter... Rope rescue is a subset of technical rescue that involves the use of static nylon kernmantle ropes, anchoring and belaying devices, friction rappel devices, various devices to utilize mechanical advantage for hauling systems, and other specialized equipment to reach victims and safely recover them. ...

Organized Cave Rescue Units in the United States are generally city/county funded volunteer squads, comprised mainly of seasoned, local cavers. The average Southeastern U.S. cave rescue team averages between 15 and 20 active members. Due of the excessive amount of manpower required on a large scale cave rescue, it is not uncommon for multiple cave rescue units from other regions to assist another in extensive underground operations. Because organized cave rescue teams are quite rare, it is also quite common for local units to cover regions that extend far beyond their agencies jurisdiction. The number of cave rescues in North America are relatively small compared to other common wilderness rescues. The average number of reported cave related incidents is usually 40 to 50 per year. In most years approximately 10 percent of reported accidents result in death.^[1]

In the United States, the leading cave rescue training curriculum is developed and deployed by the National Cave Rescue Commission^[2] (NCRC), which operates as part of the National Speleological Society (NSS). The NCRC is not an operational cave rescue unit, but the organization is comprised of members of regional rescue squads. ^[3] The National Speleological Society (NSS) is an organization formed in 1941 to advance the exploration, conservation, study, and understanding of caves in the United States. ...

Outside of the US there is a network of international cave rescue units under the banner of the Union Internationale de Spéléologie (UIS) - cave rescue commisison. Most international cave rescue units such as the New South Wales Cave Rescue Squad based in Sydney, Australia are listed with contacts in the event of cave incident, rescources, cave and karst information within their region. www.speleosecours.org/countries.htm

Notable Rescues or Attempted Rescues

• Marcel Loubens from Pierre St - Martin Cave in the French Pyrenees in 1952. Loebens died from a fatal plunge down the 1,135 foot entrance shaft after a clasp on his harness broke on ascent. Members of Loubens' expedition spent over 24 hours attempting unsuccessfully to haul their friend back to the surface. Despite the efforts of the team doctor, Loubens died 36 hours into his ill-fated rescue attempt. After his passing the remaining members aborted their recovery attempt. Louben's body remained in the cave for two more years before cavers returned him to the surface in 1954. The blood transfusion given to Loubens by the team doctor was likely the first subterranean care of its kind. ^[4]

• Emily Davis Mobley from Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico in 1991. More than seventy people worked over four days to bring her to the surface after her leg was broken. This was the deepest and most remote cave rescue in American history.

• Floyd Collins in Sand Cave in Kentucky in 1925. Likely the first high profile cave rescue in history. Floyd Collins' desperate situation in the depths of Sand Cave made headlines across America. Over 10,000 spectators flocked to Sand Cave in the week following the news of Floyd's predicament. The National Guard was called in to control the carnival-like atmosphere surrounding the cave. Despite the heroic efforts of volunteers who attempted to dig a parallel shaft to free Collins, he was found dead, buried to his shoulders in debris. One 25 pound rock had lodged Collin's foot preventing his escape. Floyd Collins remained trapped in Sand Cave for another 2 months until a crew of German engineers finished the digging of the shaft and extracted his body.

• Neil Moss in Peak Cavern, England in 1959. Trapped in a narrow tunnel, he was eventually suffocated by carbon dioxide after prolonged efforts to free him. Rescuers were unable to free Moss and eventually the family asked that his body remain in the cave.

• Gerald Moni from McBrides Cave in Alabama 1997. Moni and his group entered McBrides Cave in flood stage attempting a pull-down trip to the cave's lower entrance. A flash flood caused the situation in the cave to become extremely hazardous. While attempting to negotiate a pit being inundated with a high flow of water, Gerald mistakenly grabbed only one of two ropes necessary to descend the pit. The resultant fall to a ledge part way down the drop resulted in a broken femur. A few members of the group managed to negotiate the lower stream passage before it sumped and reach the surface. The others remained with Moni until local rescue agencies could mobilize and attempt a rescue. Rescue teams spent hours waiting for the water levels in the cave to recede enough to attempt an extraction. When teams finally reached Moni, he had been exposed to frigid water for over 12 hours. Rescue teams risked drowning themselves and Moni while traversing the flooded lower cave. 18 hours after his fall Gerald was returned to the surface alive. ^[5]

Pic de Bugatetin the Néouvielle Natural Reserve Central Pyrenees For the mountains in Victoria, Australia, see Pyrenees (Victoria). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Chandelier Ballroom in Lechuguilla Cave Lechuguilla Cave is, as of 2006, the sixth longest cave (120 mi, or 193 km) known to exist in the world, and the deepest in the continental United States (489 m, or 1604 ft), but it is most famous for its unusual geology, rare... Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Area  Ranked 5th  - Total 121,665 sq mi (315,194 km²)  - Width 342 miles (550 km)  - Length 370 miles (595 km)  - % water 0. ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... Floyd Collins William Floyd Collins (July 20, 1887 - c. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Area  Ranked 37th  - Total 40,444 sq mi (104,749 km²)  - Width 140 miles (225 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 1. ... Year 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Neil Moss (full name Oscar Hackett Neil Moss) was the victim of a famous caving accident in England on Sunday March 22nd, 1959. ... Peak Cavern entrance. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... Year 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar). ...

Notable North American Cave Rescue Units

Chattanooga/Hamilton County Cave/Cliff Rescue Unit---- Chattanooga, Tennessee

Walker County Cave Rescue Unit ---- Lafayette, Georgia

East Tennessee Cave Rescue---- Knoxville, Tennessee

Cave Rescue Management

Organized Cave Rescue Teams generally utilize the Incident Command System. Originally devised for wildland fire teams, today the ICS is used by agencies throughout North America. The ICS can be modified by each agency depending on the nature of their emergencies. Below is an example of a typical cave rescue Incident Command System.^[6] A typical Incident Command Post The Incident Command System (ICS) is a management system used within the United States to organize emergency response and was designed to offer a scalable response to incidents of any magnitude. ...

• Incident Commander - is responsible for all activities, including the development and implementation of strategic decisions during the course of an incident. The IC monitors all aspects of an operation including planning, logistics, communications and information.

• Underground Manager - is usually responsible for the implementation the plan provided by the incident commander. The underground manager assigns and monitors vital tasks including rigging, medical, patient packaging and transport, and communications with the IC on the surface. The underground manager is also usually responsible for the safety of the entire underground team.

• Initial Response Team - is a small unit of 1st responders. The task of the IRT team is to travel through the cave to the patient and evaluate the situation with the purpose of reporting back to the appropriate manager. The IRT team usually includes the medical personnel so medical treatment can start early if necessary.

• Medical Team - varies in size and level of the medics ability from agency to agency. The medical team rarely participates in any other rescue function other than managing patient care.

• Communications Team - are responsible for creating and maintaining communications between the teams in the cave and the Incident Commander. A common means of communications on a cave rescue are military field phones. Military phones are reliable but heavy, and the need for abundant amounts of com-line can make running communications deep into a cave difficult. Another, more advanced type of communication, are low frequency radios, which eliminate the need for thousands of feet of com line in a cave. Low frequency radios can communicate through thousands of feet of solid rock, making them ideal for use deep into caves.

• Rigging Team - are responsible for one or more stations in a cave that require the rigging of ropes or systems to safely transport the patient and emergency personnel through the cave. In a large scale rescue, many rigging teams could be scattered throughout a cave, assigned with multiple tasks.

• Litter Team - is made up of rescue personnel that are not already assigned to rigging, communications, medical or management positions. The responsibility of the Litter Team is the packaging and safe transport of the patient through the cave.

• Entrance Control - is responsible for the logging of all personnel entering and leaving a cave. In some cases the Entrance Control could also be assigned the duty of logging all gear entering and leaving the cave. This is an important task on any cave rescue.

An Incident Commanders (IC) responsibility is the overall management of an emergency incident. ...

References

1. ^ American Caving Accidents
2. ^ National Cave Rescue Commission
3. ^ Manual of U.S. Cave Rescue Techniques, 2nd Edition
4. ^ "Underground Worlds" (1985) Time-Life Book
5. ^ National Geographic, Expeditions to the Edge, 2004
6. ^ Manual of U.S. Cave Rescue Techniques, 2nd Edition

External links

• Derbyshire Cave Rescue Organisation, UK
• Devon Cave Rescue Organisation, UK
• Irish Cave Rescue Organisation
• Cave Rescue Organisation Based in Yorkshire Dales, UK. Also involved in fell (mountain) rescue.
• Spéléo Secours Français, FR French Cave Rescue
• Spéléo-Secours Suisse, CH Swiss Cave Rescue
• National Cave Rescue Commission, US
• New South Wales Cave Rescue Squad Inc, Sydney-Australia
• countries/ Union Internationale de Spéléologie - International list of cave rescue units
• Union Internationale de Spéléologie - Contact
• Australian Speleological Federation

See also: The Yorkshire Dales (also known as the Dales) is the name given to an upland area, mostly in Yorkshire, in Northern England. ...

• Mountain Rescue England & Wales