Page 20 - Jim Whippy "Reeds Knot Handbook"

The fireman’s chair knot (also referred to as Tom Fool’s knot)
is tied in the bight and forms two adjustable, yet lockable,
loops. It is designed to be used as a rescue harness and is
capable of supporting a person as they are lowered or raised
to safety. One of the loops is designed to support the body by
placing the rope under the armpits and around the chest. The
second loop supports the legs, around the back of the thighs. overhand Knots and hItches
Although you will hopefully not find it necessary to have to
tie this knot, it is handy to know just in case of an emergency
when there is no proprietary harness to hand. Pulling the
loops so they fit snugly around the person’s body allows you
to manoeuvre them safely even if they have lost consciousness.

STEP-BY-STEP

1
Twist the rope from
right to left to form two
overhand loops
(A and B).
B A

2
Next, lay the second loop
(B) you made on top of
the first loop (A) so that
B A the two overlap.

19

Rev_Reeds_Knots_inside pages.indd 19 16/07/2012 23:32