A casualty who needs recovering is rarely wearing a harness, and if they are, they may be unconscious and unable to help you use it. An evacuation triangle solves that: it goes on a person who cannot assist, in seconds, over their clothing, and it lifts them upright with their weight taken at the thighs and around the torso. Three D-rings give the rescuer options for how to attach, including a dorsal ring specifically for guiding the casualty during evacuation rather than lifting them.
Universal size, so one triangle fits whoever needs it, which is the only sensible arrangement for equipment that lives in a rescue bag.
Key Features
- Fits a non-assisting casualty: Designed to be applied to someone unconscious or injured, quickly, by a rescuer. That is a different design problem from a harness someone puts on themselves.
- Three metallic D-rings: Attachment options at the lifting points plus a dorsal D-ring for guiding the evacuation.
- Elastic webbing shoulder straps: Accommodate different body sizes and clothing without needing adjustment first.
- Automatic buckles, five adjustment points: Fast to fit and secure under pressure.
- Universal size: One unit covers all users, which is what rescue equipment needs to do.
- EN 1498 Class B: The rescue loops standard.
Technical Specifications
| Property |
Value |
| Product Code |
FA 70 005 00 |
| Type |
Rescue evacuation triangle |
| Attachments |
3 metallic D-rings, including dorsal guide ring |
| Adjustment |
5 buckles, automatic |
| Shoulder Straps |
Elastic webbing |
| Webbing Width |
45 mm |
| Size |
Universal |
| Material |
Polyester webbing, alloy steel fittings |
| Conformity |
EN 1498 Class B |
EN 1498 Class B Rescue Loops | Category III PPE
Conforms to EN 1498 Class B, the standard for rescue loops. Category III personal protective equipment under Regulation (EU) 2016/425. Rescue equipment must be used only by trained personnel within a documented rescue plan. Requires inspection by a competent person at intervals not exceeding 12 months and immediate withdrawal after use in a rescue involving shock loading.
Suitable Applications
Kept as part of a rescue kit for confined space entry, tank and vessel work, shaft and manhole access, tower work, and any site with a rescue plan requiring casualty recovery. It is the equipment used on someone who is not already wearing a harness, or whose harness cannot be reached or used. Under the Work at Height Regulations and confined space regulations the rescue plan is a legal requirement, and a triangle is often what makes that plan actionable rather than theoretical.
More About This Product
The anchorage is the part of a fall protection system people think about last and should think about first. Most sites can produce a harness and a lanyard within minutes; producing a certified, assessed anchor point is a different matter, and it is what genuinely determines whether the system works.
The forces involved are the reason. Arresting a fall is a dynamic event, and the load a falling person imposes on an anchor is many times their body weight — which is why BS EN 795 exists as a standard in its own right, and why the structure the anchor attaches to has to be assessed separately by someone competent to do it. The anchor may be certified; the beam, the tube, the roof purlin almost certainly is not.
Anchor Position, Fall Factor and Swing
Where the anchor sits changes the severity of a fall more than any other single decision.
Fall factor is the ratio of fall distance to the length of lanyard available to absorb it. An anchor above the head gives the lowest factor and the gentlest arrest. An anchor at foot level gives a factor 2 fall — the worst case, generating forces a shock absorber may struggle to control, and it is what happens when someone clips onto something convenient at their feet rather than something suitable above them.
Pendulum swing is the second consideration and the one that catches people out. An anchor directly overhead means a fall goes straight down. An anchor off to one side means the faller swings, and the swing can be more dangerous than the drop — into structure, into plant, or across a surface at speed. A swing that ends against a steel column is not survivable simply because the harness held.
The practical rule is to position the anchor as high as practicable and as close to directly overhead as the work allows, and to reassess it every time the work position moves.
How to Use the Evacuation Triangle
- Train on it before you need it: Fitting a triangle to an unresponsive casualty under pressure is not something to work out on the day. Practise it.
- Apply over clothing: It is designed to go on as found, without removing PPE or workwear.
- Secure all five buckles: Partial fitting means partial support.
- Attach to the lifting D-rings: The dorsal ring guides the casualty during evacuation; the lifting attachment is at the designated points.
- Keep the airway clear: The casualty should be upright with the head supported and airway unobstructed.
- Move promptly: Suspension trauma develops in minutes and a casualty may already have been suspended before you reached them.
Warning: Rescue equipment is only useful within a rehearsed plan. This triangle must be used by trained personnel who have practised fitting it. Withdraw from service after any rescue involving shock loading.
Safety Information
- For use only by trained personnel within a documented rescue plan.
- All buckles must be secured before lifting.
- Maintain the casualty upright with the airway clear.
- Suspension trauma develops within minutes; recovery must be prompt.
- Inspect webbing, stitching, D-rings and buckles before every use.
- Withdraw after use in a rescue involving shock loading.
- Inspection by a competent person required at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
- Store away from direct sunlight, heat sources and chemicals.
Inspection and Maintenance
Rescue equipment sits unused for long periods, which is its own risk: it gets forgotten, stored badly, and nobody notices deterioration because nobody looks. Deploy the triangle fully at each inspection rather than checking it folded. Examine all webbing on both faces for cuts, abrasion, fraying and UV degradation, check the elastic shoulder straps for perishing and loss of tension, and confirm all five automatic buckles engage cleanly. Inspect the three D-rings for distortion and wear and their attachment stitching closely. Check the label is legible.
Downloads
- No documentation supplied by GT for this product. Contact us for the Kratos user instruction manual.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why not just use a spare harness?
Because fitting a
full body harness to an unconscious person is slow and difficult, and getting the legs through the thigh straps of someone who cannot help you is close to impossible in a confined space. A triangle is designed to go on a non-assisting casualty quickly.
Q: What is EN 1498 Class B?
The standard for rescue loops, equipment used to lift a casualty during rescue. Class A and Class B describe different constructions and applications. This is Class B, as is the bosun's chair; the rescue strap in this range is Class A.
Q: Does one size really fit everyone?
That is the design intent, using elastic shoulder straps and five adjustment points. For rescue equipment it is the only workable approach, since you cannot know in advance who will need it.
Q: What else does a rescue kit need?
Depends on the plan, but typically a means of lifting or lowering, an anchor, and the triangle or strap to attach to the casualty. For confined space, that usually means a tripod and winch. The equipment is the easy part; the rehearsed plan is what matters.
