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HK Confined Space Competent Person Test study materials
HK Confined Space Competent Person Test study resources

HK Confined Space Competent Person Test: Emergency Preparedness and Rescue: Plans, BA, Tripod/Winch, Communication, First Aid

HK Confined Space Competent Person Test · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

All guide sections

Emergency Preparedness and Rescue: Plans, BA, Tripod/Winch, Communication, First Aid

This domain tests whether you can plan and deliver a rescue without creating a second casualty. Most confined space fatalities include would-be rescuers who entered without breathing apparatus.

The rescue plan

Required before entry and based on the risk assessment for that space. It should cover foreseeable emergencies: collapse from gas, fire or explosion, flooding, engulfment, falls, injury and equipment failure. It must state the rescue method, equipment, team, communication, access, first aid and hospital route, and it must be rehearsed.

Rescue hierarchy

  1. Self-rescue - the entrant can leave unaided.
  2. Non-entry rescue - retrieval by harness and lifeline using a tripod, winch or davit; always preferred.
  3. Entry rescue - a trained, BA-equipped team; a last resort.

Equipment

Full-body harness with dorsal D-ring worn before entry; retrieval line; rated tripod and winch with the safe working load checked and the brake tested; SCBA with spare cylinders; resuscitator and oxygen; first-aid kit and stretcher; intrinsically safe communications and lighting; barriers and signs; gas detector.

The standby person

Stays outside, maintains the entry log and continuous communication, operates the winch, raises the alarm and prevents unauthorised entry. They must not enter unless trained and equipped for rescue. Call 999 early and meet the Fire Services with information on the space, the substance and the layout.

Communication

Agree signals and check-in intervals before entry; use intrinsically safe radios; treat a missed check-in as an alarm. Agree the evacuation signal in advance.

First aid

Give oxygen for suspected carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulphide exposure; start CPR if needed; use a bag-valve-mask rather than mouth-to-mouth where toxic gas may be present; treat burns, fractures and hypothermia; always evacuate to hospital because delayed pulmonary oedema can follow H2S or chlorine exposure.

Worked example

An entrant collapses 5 m down a manhole. The standby person does not enter: he raises the alarm, starts ventilation and rigs the tripod. The entrant is already in a harness with the retrieval line attached, so he is winched out within two minutes, given oxygen and taken to hospital by ambulance. Had the line not been attached, a BA team would have been required.

Traps that cost marks

  • Treating "we'll call 999" as the whole plan.
  • The tripod not set up before entry, or not rated for the load.
  • The lifeline not attached to the entrant.
  • The standby person entering without BA.