Many of the same lifesaving principles you can use to save someone from a teetering car apply to a victim who finds himself hanging off a high ledge. Firefighters employ various tools to help someone off a ledge, and you can improvise your own. If you find someone hanging from a ledge or out a window, you should follow these steps to save his life.
Step 1: Secure the victim.
As with a teetering car, your first task should be to secure the victim so that he doesn’t fall further. Find a rope or other strong cord, and tie off one ed on a fixed object that won’t break loose. Then tie the opposite end in a loop and lower it to the victim. Instruct him to slip it underneath his shoulders. If you can’t find rope or other strong cord, consider using your belt, notched in one of its holes or tied off.
Step 2: Grasp the rope, and brace yourself.
Keep yourself upright and braced, with your spine straight and leaning slightly back. Don’t lean out. If you lean your body out over the victim, you might lose the leverage you need to keep him from falling. Also, keep your knees bent slightly, using your own body as a counterweight so that the victim doesn’t slip.
Step 3: Call for help.
Balanced as you are, you won’t have sufficient leverage to reel the victim in. The victim could try climbing up, but one false step or missed clutch, and he could pull you both to your doom. Better to seek help from someone else to pull the victim off the ledge, or wait for help to arrive. In securing the victim, you’re essentially buying him time until trained rescuers with the right equipment can make sure he’s brought off the ledge intact.
