NFPA 1983 STANDARD ON
FIRE SERVICE LIFE SAFETY ROPE
AND SYSTEM COMPONENTS
1995 EDITION
The 1983 Standard 1995 Edition is a copyrighted document published by the National Fire Protection Agency. No attempt has been made to reproduce the actual document into this webpage. Pertinent information concerning definitions and design, construction, and performance requirements are referenced from the Standard in order to provide the reader with supplimental information.
The purpose of the 1983 Standard 1995 Edition is to provide performance requirements and a reasonable degree of safety for new life safety ropes and system components used to support fire and emergency services personnel and civilians during rescue, fire fighting, and other emergency operations, and training.
The 1983 Standard 1995 Edition does not apply to rope and equipment used for special rescue operations such as mountain rescue, cave rescue, water rescue, lead climbing operations, or where specific rescue situations dictate other performance standards. The Standard also does not cover industrial fall situations or for recreational use.
Ascent Device - An auxiliary equipment system component; a friction or mechanical device utilized to allow ascending a fixed line.
Auxiliary Equipment - System components that are load-bearing accossories designed to be utilized with life safety rope and harness including, but not limited to, ascending devices, carabiners, descent control devices, rope grab devices, and snap links.
Block Creel Construction - Rope constructed without knots or splices in the yarns, ply yarns,, strands, or braids, or rope.
Carabiner - An auxiliary equipment system component; an oval or D-shaped metal, load-bearing connector with a self-closing gate used to join other components of a rope system.
Descent Control Device - An auxiliary equipment system component; a friction or mechanical device utilized with rope to control descent.
General Use - A designation of auxiliary equipment system components intended for use where the system could be subjected to a two-person load.
Hardware - A type of auxiliary equipment that includes, but is not limited to, ascent devices, carabiners, descent control devices, pulleys, rings, and snap-links.
Line - Rope when in use
Maximum Working Load - Weight supported by the life safety rope and system components that must not be exceeded.
Minimum Breaking Strength (MBS) - The result of subtracting 3 standard deviations from the mean results of the lot being tested using formulas in 6-1.1.4 and 6-2.1.3 (in text).
- One-person Load - 300 pounds
- Two-person Load - 600 pounds
- Personal Escape Rope - See Rope
Personal Use - A designation of auxiliary equipment system components intended for the sole use of the rescuer for personal escape or self-rescue, or for the sole use of the rescuer in gaining access to victims.
Rope - A compact but flexible, torsionally balanced, continuous structure of fibers produced from strands that are twisted, plaited, or braided together, and that serve primarily to support a load or transmit a force from the point of origin to the point of application.
- Life Safety Rope - Rope dedicated soley for the purpose of supporting people during rescue, fire fighting, other emergency operations, or during training evolutions.
- One-Person Rope - Life safety rope designed to support a one-person load when in use; also can be used to support a two-person load when used in systems where two ropes are used as separate and equal members.
- Two-Person Rope - Life safety rope designed to support a two-person load when in use.
- Personal Escape Rope - A system component; a single-purpose, one-person, one-time use, emergency self-escape (self-rescue) rope; not classified as a life safety rope
Rope Grab Device - An auxiliary equipment system component; a device used to grasp a life safety rope for the purpose of supporting loads; can be used in ascending a fixed line.
Self-Destruction Action - Interaction of materials in a manner that leads to deterioration.
Snap-Link - An auxiliary equipment system component; a self-closing, gated, load-bearing connector.
Software - A type of auxiliary equipment that includes, but is not limited to, anchor straps, pick-off straps, and rigging slings.
System Components - Personal escape rope, life safety harness, belts, and auxiliary equipment devices.
Webbing - Woven material in the form of a long strip; can be of flat or tubular design.
Design, Construction, and Performance Requirements
Life Safety Rope and Life Safety Harness/Belt/Auxiliary Equipment System Components
Life safety rope shall be designed and designated in accordance with one of the following classes:
- Rope designated to have a maximum working load of at least 300 pounds shall be designated as a class one-person life safety rope.
- Rope designated to have a maximum working load of at least 600 pounds shall be designated as a class two-person life safety rope.
- The life safety rope person designation shall be calculated by dividing the maximum working load by a factor of not less than 300.
- The maximum working load for class one- and two-person rope shall be expressed in pounds and shall be calculated by dividing the new rope minimum breaking strength by a factor of not less than 15.
- Life safety rope shall be constructed of virgin fiber
- Life safety rope shall be of block creel construction; load-bearing elements shall be constructed of continuous filament fiber.
- The minimum breaking strength for new two-person life safety rope shall not be less than 9,000 pounds. The minimum breaking strength for new one-person life safety rope shall not be less than 4,500 pounds.
Life Safety Harness System Component
Classifications:
- Class I - a harness that fastens around the waist and around thighs or under buttocks and designed to used for emergency escape with one-person loads.
- Class II - a harness that fastens around the waist and around thighs or under buttocks and designed for rescue where two-person loads can be encountered.
- Class III - a harness that fastens around the waist and around thighs or under buttocks and over shoulders and designed for rescue where two-person loads can be encountered.
Belt System Component
- Ladder Belt - a belt that fastens only around the waist and is intended for a positioning device for a person on a ladder.
- Escape Belt - a belt that fastens only around the waist and is intended for use only by the wearer an an emergency self-rescue device.
Auxiliary Equipment System Components
- Auxiliary Equipment shall not be designed or constructed in a manner that allows self-destructive action.
- "Personal Use" shall apply to auxiliary equipment intended for the sole use of the rescuer for personal escape, self-rescue, or gaining access to victims.
- "General Use" shall apply to auxiliary equipment intended for use where the system could be subjected to a two-person load.
- Snap-link and carabiner gates shall be self-closing and of a locking design
- Rope Grab devices shall be designated as being designed for use as component parts of personal ascent systems or as grabbing devices for use in rescue systems.
- General use carabiners and snap-links shall have major axis minimum breaking strengths, with the gate closed, of at least 9,000 pounds (2,400 pounds with gate open).
- General use descent control devices shall withstand a minimum test load of 1,200 pounds without permanent damage to the device or damage to the rope.