The S.A.R.T. unit of the Malta Red Cross Gozo Branch has been offering Confined Spaces courses for the public, since the unit’s four instructors did a training visit in Italy during the summer months. The first call from the general public was from the General Soft-drinks Limited, showing interest to educate some of its employees due to the nature of their job. Course preparation started by the formulation of an appropriate curriculum made to measure for the special requirements for the General Soft-drink Limited company.

The course was conducted over 3 whole days. The first day started by introducing the ‘tools of trade’ – the personal safety equipment used for basic abseiling, including also use of specialised equipment, maintenance, role of the team members and safety. Then the students were shown how to rig the ropes for a basis abseiling session and they were given the opportunity to practice in the class room. Emphasis was placed on safety and knowledge of knots. Afterwards, the group was taken outdoors and the students had the opportunity to practice what they have learnt that morning on the field. Basically they had to prepare all what is necessary for a real abseiling session. The role of the instructors was shifted as supervisor. The all of the students had the opportunity to abseil, always accompanied by an instructor.

On the second day, a summary of the first day was carried out, both theory and practice. Afterwards, the students were introduced with specialised equipment used for rescue purposes. They were shown how they work, in a classroom setting. When all the students had all the necessary hands on and the instructors were satisfied, the group shifted all the equipment on the production floor. On the production floor, the company has a number of water reservoirs in which employees have to descend on a regular basis for inspection. The scenario for the particular training exercise performed that day was that an employee who descended into the reservoir had a trauma while inside and had to be rescued. The students had to use the rescue equipment to evacuate this simulated victim from the well, using all the learning learnt in the past days. Every student had the opportunity to practice rescue in this scenario. Afterwards, the team was given feedback on the goings of the session.

On the third day, the group was given a summary on what was learnt from the last lesion, including also some practice. Following this, the students were given a lecture on the hazards of confined spaces, including air monitoring, hazards of water, psychology of the victims and basic first aid. Afterwards, the students were taken to the production floor and various simulations were performed, focusing on team work and using different rescue equipment that were not covered on the first simulation. For instance, the students were shown how to rescue a person with the help of a rescue triangle.