Rescue Support at Height: How AIMMS Plans Rope Access Rescue on Flare Stacks

When an emergency occurs at height on a flare stack, help is not close at hand. Wind, heat, noise and sheer height complicate every step of the response, and the casualty is a long way from medical care. Every minute between the alarm and the ground matters.

Most rescue plans treat this as paperwork exercise. AIMMS treats it as an engineering discipline. On a recent flare stack project, we developed a site-specific rescue plan built around one question: if a person is injured at any working level or on any platform, how do we bring them safely and efficiently to a waiting medical team?

The Challenge: Why Standard Rescue Plans Fall Short

Flare stacks combine extreme height with structural complexity. Any rescue route must account for the following:

• Working levels

• Platforms

• Guy wires

• Fixed riser obstructions

A generic rescue plan cannot address these conditions. Our plan is custom built from the actual drawings, platform schedules and obstruction registers of each level.

Prevention Comes Before Rescue

The most effective rescue is the one never required, and rescue planning supports a safe system of work rather than replacing it. Before any rope access task begins, the following must be in place:

• Risk assessment and method statement: Reviewed with the people doing the task, with controls agreed before work starts.

• Permit to work and toolbox talk: Scope, hazards and emergency arrangements confirmed at the start of every shift.

• Equipment inspections: Harnesses, ropes, descenders, connectors and anchors checked before use, and doubtful items withdrawn.

• Dropped object control: Tools tethered, loose items secured and the area below controlled.

• Two independent lines: A working line plus a separate backup line, so a single failure does not become an emergency.

People, Communication and Site Conditions

Every team member should hold the appropriate rope access certification, understand the emergency plan and know their exact role when the alarm is raised. Reliable radios, agreed call signs, a clear stop-work rule and a buddy system, in which colleagues check each other's harnesses, connections and anchors, prevent many incidents.

Wind, lightning, rain, heat and visibility are monitored throughout the shift, with defined limits at which work stops and the team descends. In hot climates, hydration, shaded rest breaks and awareness of heat stress are part of the plan. Technicians must be fit, rested and unimpaired, and access routes and the ground area are kept clear for the emergency and medical teams.

The AIMMS Approach: Controlled Descent on Twin Tension Lines

From a working level, the casualty is secured on a horizontal stretcher and lowered along twin tension lines rigged from the working platform to a guywire deadman anchor at ground level. This keeps the stretcher clear of platform edges throughout the descent. Line lengths are calculated for each working level from platform height and the deadman distance.

A rescue attendant travels alongside the casualty on an independent pulley, with separate working and backup lines. Each working platform has its own self-contained rigging arrangement, with its own anchors and lines running to the deadman of the guy wire below it, so the system is ready wherever the team is working.

For incidents on intermediate platforms, we use a controlled offset lane. Lane bearings are selected to sit 60° clear of the guy wires, and the stretcher is held at least 1 m outside the handrail line so that it passes the platforms without landing on them. The casualty is never forced through handrails, cages, piping or brackets. If the lane is obstructed, lowering stops and the redirect is adjusted. The same standby team responds to these incidents: a rapid-response pair reaches the casualty on a pre-rigged access line, secures them to a separate anchor and starts first aid, and the casualty is then packaged and lowered on the same twin-line system.

Two Rigging Options, One Method

The twin tension lines can be anchored in two ways. The line geometry, the seven-person team, the sequence and the timings are identical; only the anchor hardware changes, and the choice can be made for each working level.

• Option 1 - Platform Structure Anchors:

  The top anchor is a rated point on the working 360° platform, and the bottom anchor is the existing guywire deadman anchor point. No new welded fittings are needed; only a structural check of the platform anchor points and a load check of each deadman anchor point are required.

• Option 2 - Riser Pad Eyes:

  A pair of pad eyes is welded to the riser shell about 1.2 m above the deck of every platform, 360° and partial, with a matching pair of new rescue pad eyes on each deadman used. Because there is a pad eye above every platform, the same line can be rigged from wherever the casualty is.

Option 2 is a client scope of work: pad eyes are designed, welded, tested, certified and tagged by the client, with as-built records issued as a hold point before work starts. Pad eye height, bearing and spacing are confirmed against the client structural design.

A Dedicated Seven-Person Rescue Team

The same standby team covers every scenario, from a working-level incident to a casualty on an intermediate platform. Each role is defined in advance. The team is made up of two Level 3 and five Level 1/2 rope access technicians, and the positions are the same under either rigging option:

• Rescue Controller (L3): Command, radio communication and supervision of the lowering.

• Attendant (L3): Packages the casualty and descends alongside the stretcher.

• Rapid-response rescuer (L1/L2): Reaches the casualty first, then operates the lowering line.

• Tension-line rescuer (L1/L2): Rigs and tensions the twin lines.

• Line operator (L1/L2): Manages the attendant's lines and relays radio communication.

• Ground rescuer (L1/L2): Anchors and tensions the lines at the deadman and receives the stretcher.

• Ground rescuer (L1/L2): Runs the tag line, clears the landing zone and hands over to the medic and ambulance.

Because the twin tension lines keep the stretcher clear of every platform, no redirect stations or guides are needed. The controller, rapid-response rescuer and riggers work from the platform, the attendant rides beside the casualty, and the ground riggers wait at the deadman.

Casualty Care Built into the Procedure

Rescue is not only a matter of speed. For a collapsed or unconscious casualty, the plan specifies a horizontal stretcher with a cervical collar, head immobiliser, and chest, hip and leg restraints. The casualty's own harness remains in place and is independently linked to the stretcher. A four-point bridle keeps the stretcher level, and every connection is checked by a second person before the radio call to lower.

Realistic Timings, Stated Openly

Our planning target covers the full time from alarm to medical handover, built from four phases:

• Alarm and command

• Access and stabilization

• Lowering at a planned descent rate

• Handover

Actual times will vary from one flare stack to another, and between working levels on the same stack, because the descent is longer at the higher levels. For intermediate platforms the figure also depends on where the standby team is working, because platforms above the team do not yet exist while sections are erected in sequence. Where the planning target cannot be met at the top levels at the planned descent rate, proving the descent rate and validating the timings through full-scale drills are items to close before work begins. We report this openly because a rescue plan is credible only when it is transparent about its limits.

Standards and Client Requirements

Rescue planning on a flare stack must meet recognized rope access practice and the expectations of oil and gas clients. Our approach rests on three things:

• IRATA-certified technicians: Every member of the rescue team is a trained, certified rope access technician, with Level 3 technicians leading command and the casualty attendant role.

• Recognized practice: The rescue plan follows IRATA guidance and is built into the method statement and risk assessment for the task.

• Client review and agreement: The plan is submitted for client review, with anchor points, rigging options and team structure agreed before work starts.

Readiness Before the First Shift

Before work starts, AIMMS ensures that the following are in place:

• A site survey or 3D model check to confirm the rescue lane at each working level.

• Structural approval of the rescue anchor points and a load check of each deadman, covering platform anchor points under Option 1 or welded, tested, and tagged riser and deadman pad eyes under Option 2.

• Rescue equipment on site, including the stretcher, twin tension lines with at least 20% additional length, two lowering devices with independent backup, tag line, radios, first-aid kit, oxygen and an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).

• A medic and ambulance stationed at the deadman.

• Client agreement on the rigging option for each working level, and acceptance of the seven-person team.

• A full-scale rescue drill from a working level and from an intermediate platform, with times recorded.

Rescue Equipment’s

Learning from Every Drill and Incident

Safety is a continuous process. After every drill, near miss or incident the team reviews what worked and what must change, records findings, closes out actions and shares lessons across the project, keeping the plan accurate as site conditions and working levels change.

Why Choose AIMMS?

AIMMS Group is a UAE-based provider of marine inspection, maintenance and rope access services, with delivery centres in India, KSA and the UK. Our NDT and UT gauging specialists and rope access mechanical teams support the oil, gas and marine industries where safety, quality and reliability matter most.

Our services include:

• Rope access services: Access to flare stacks, towers, chimneys, tanks and vessels with minimal downtime

• Rescue planning and standby: Site-specific rescue plans, trained teams and equipment

• Mechanical installation and maintenance: Installation, alignment, repair and overhaul of equipment

• Flange management and bolting: Torquing and joint integrity work, including at height

• Piping and structural works: Piping and structural steel fabrication, erection and repair

• Shutdown and turnaround support: Skilled manpower for planned shutdowns

Frequently Asked Questions

• How is a casualty rescued from a flare stack?
  They are secured on a horizontal stretcher and lowered along twin tension lines to a ground anchor, accompanied by a rescue attendant.

• Why does each flare stack need its own rescue plan?
  Platforms, guy wires and fixed obstructions differ on every stack, so the route is planned from that stack’s actual drawings.

• How long does a flare stack rescue take?
  It depends on the stack and working level. We validate timings through full-scale drills before work begins.

• Who is on standby during the work?
  A dedicated rescue team, plus a medic and ambulance at the base of the stack.

• What happens if the rescue route is blocked?
  Lowering stops and the route is adjusted. The casualty is never forced through obstructions.

• Why is rope access used for flare stack work?
  It reaches tall, complex structures quickly, with minimal scaffolding and less downtime.

• Are AIMMS technicians IRATA certified?
  Yes. Our rope access technicians are trained and certified, and Level 3 technicians lead the rescue team.

Ready to plan your next work at height project?

Contact AIMMS for safe rope access and mechanical services, with rescue planning built in.

📧 Email: projects@aimmsgroup.com
📞 Call / WhatsApp: +971 50 753 8371
🌐 Website: www.aimmsgroup.com