After performing a diligent, rapid, and safe primary search, firefighters have located a victim needing rescue. Should they carry or drag the victim to safety? That depends on some variables. Is the victim conscious and able to assist in his own evacuation from the immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) environment? If so, it could be as simple as the firefighters' shepherding the victim toward the safest exit from the IDLH area. If the victim is conscious and can do so, he can assist himself by following simple firefighter instructions that detail how he is to exit the window and mount the ladder positioned there, where a waiting firefighter will receive and guide him down to safety. In these cases, this is not a true rescue but rather, as the late Chief Tom Brennan, former Fire Engineering editor in chief and technical editor, would describe it, "a victim removal."
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