Every department trains. Some departments train weekly, monthly, daily, etc. My question for you is:
HOW do you train?
I already talked about practicing like you play and training hard, so lets talk about training CORRECTLY.
I, sadly, know of more than a few fire departments that are stuck in their old ways. They train using the same methods that the old salts learned when they were in the academy. This is not completely a bad thing, as using the irons on a door hasn't really changed too much in the past 50+ years, but how about vehicle extrication. We can't pull steering columns anymore. You can try to take a booster line into a structure fire but it probably will not end up well for you and your crew.
I strongly believe that it is better to have less training then it is to have an abundance of poor training. This will lull the members into a false sense of security. "We trained on this, we are good." Well if you train unsafely or improperly, you will get someone killed or injured on a scene.
By reading websites such as these you show that you aren't going to fall into complacency. You are constantly striving to learn all you can, different methods of doing things, and maybe meet a few cool people in the process. This is the easiest way to get quality training. I also would recommend looking to outside agencies for training. I have gone to classes all over the country, some on my own dime, some paid for by my departments. I understand that with today's economy this may not be possible for many people, but at least keep reading and learning from the internet. There are tons of great videos and articles out there that will help you do your job safer and more effectively.
A tragedy could happen to any of our departments at any time, but by getting GOOD training from a variety of sources and putting some thought into how what you have learned can be adapted for your operations will greatly decrease the chances of an unspeakable tragedy occuring to your department.
I have friends that run a few fires a day on huge career departments and I have friends that run 300 total calls in a year on a rural department. I have learned things from guys that are on each end of this spectrum and everywhere in between. Some things that I have brought back from conversations or trainings are easily adaptable to our operations and have helped us immensely. Other things, simply would not work in our department. Remember, just because a big city department does something a certain way, doesn't mean that you and your department should blindly follow their ways and adapt what they do for yourselves. Analyze what they do, why they do it, and how they do it, and use your head to see if these different tactics could help you.
Until next time... stay safe.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Practice Like You Play
I'm sure that many of you have heard this saying, whether it was on the baseball field, basketball court, or maybe even on the training ground, but do you follow it?
If you lag behind and don't take your training seriously, how can you expect to do a job right on the fireground? Especially at 3am.... you're not going to have time to think, normal people would be sleeping but the tones and bells just dropped and woke you up from a dream about being on a desert island with a horde of gorgeous supermodels and its time to go to work. In the middle of the night, you're not going to have time to think about what you need to do, you're going to have to fall back onto muscle memory.
If it's been months since you last threw a 24 footer by yourself, when you pull up on the apartment fire at O-dark thirty where there are people hanging off multiple balconies with fire blowing over their heads, you're not going to have time to think, "Does the fly go away from or towards the building?" (obviously in an urgent situation such as this, it doesn't particularly matter) or " Will the 24 work or should I grab a 35?"
I've heard of some departments where there has historically been a lack of aggressive training and where drills were just "walk-throughs". Now these departments are paying for this dearly as with new leadership, drills are being made more realistic and full speed. I think that its a great idea to train "at the same speed" as a real incident, however, if there is a history of walk through training, maybe its a good idea to start slow.
At my vollie house a few weeks ago, we practiced some hose operations and some of the older guys got mad as hornets. These guys got frustrated as they couldn't remember how to stretch a line, forgot their mask on the rig, or couldn't get the deck gun off the truck mount. Luckily for our citizens, these guys usually aren't responding on emergency calls, but at any time, they could be on the first due engine. This mentality isn't totally their fault though. I'm sure when they first started, they were eager to train and get better but I've heard about some old chiefs who were never really interested in doing good training so everything was half assed. At some time between their first day and the present time, these guys got complacent and no longer felt the need to train.
Whatever you do, DO NOT fall into this false sense of security.
On the other end of the spectrum however, we have some younger guys who are off probation and have a year or two on the department and get pissed when we practice pulling lines. Their comments usually go something like this :
"Aww man, we just did this a few weeks ago. We all got it right. Why do we have to do it again?!"
I tell them "Amateurs train until they get it right, PROFESSIONALS train until they can't get it wrong."
There is no such thing as too much practice. Do you think that Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, or the Super Bowl Champions ever say, "I/We practiced really hard a few days ago, no sense in giving it 100% today". Of course not, they are constantly striving to get better ever single day.
You don't need to pick up a huge new topic everytime you train. Maybe you just learn an easier way to get that 24 footer off the truck, or if you rest your knee on the saw as you're pulling the cord its easier to start. Keep track of the little things because they matter.
Regardless of where you go through your fire training, whether your department runs an academy, you go to the state academy, or a local college, most firefighting is pretty much the same across the country. It is the LITTLE THINGS that make certain departments better and more aggressive than others.
So in closing....
1- Never get complacent and NEVER stop learning
2- You can NEVER practice enough
3- Listen to all ideas presented. Just because a guy has 18 months on the job doesn't mean that he doesnt have a tip that could help everyone.
4- LOVE THE LITTLE THINGS! You're going to get better over time. Most babies don't just start walking. They start slow, stumble alot, and eventually get the hang of it. You will too. (But as we get older with the comsumption of certain beverages it seems like we never learned how to properly walk!)
5- Don't let bad attitudes drag you down. ALWAYS keep a positive attitude and desire to learn. Just because you've been on the job for 20 years doesn't mean that things stay the same. The fire service is constantly changing and if you want to stay good at your job, you too need to be willing to adapt.
If you lag behind and don't take your training seriously, how can you expect to do a job right on the fireground? Especially at 3am.... you're not going to have time to think, normal people would be sleeping but the tones and bells just dropped and woke you up from a dream about being on a desert island with a horde of gorgeous supermodels and its time to go to work. In the middle of the night, you're not going to have time to think about what you need to do, you're going to have to fall back onto muscle memory.
If it's been months since you last threw a 24 footer by yourself, when you pull up on the apartment fire at O-dark thirty where there are people hanging off multiple balconies with fire blowing over their heads, you're not going to have time to think, "Does the fly go away from or towards the building?" (obviously in an urgent situation such as this, it doesn't particularly matter) or " Will the 24 work or should I grab a 35?"
I've heard of some departments where there has historically been a lack of aggressive training and where drills were just "walk-throughs". Now these departments are paying for this dearly as with new leadership, drills are being made more realistic and full speed. I think that its a great idea to train "at the same speed" as a real incident, however, if there is a history of walk through training, maybe its a good idea to start slow.
At my vollie house a few weeks ago, we practiced some hose operations and some of the older guys got mad as hornets. These guys got frustrated as they couldn't remember how to stretch a line, forgot their mask on the rig, or couldn't get the deck gun off the truck mount. Luckily for our citizens, these guys usually aren't responding on emergency calls, but at any time, they could be on the first due engine. This mentality isn't totally their fault though. I'm sure when they first started, they were eager to train and get better but I've heard about some old chiefs who were never really interested in doing good training so everything was half assed. At some time between their first day and the present time, these guys got complacent and no longer felt the need to train.
Whatever you do, DO NOT fall into this false sense of security.
On the other end of the spectrum however, we have some younger guys who are off probation and have a year or two on the department and get pissed when we practice pulling lines. Their comments usually go something like this :
"Aww man, we just did this a few weeks ago. We all got it right. Why do we have to do it again?!"
I tell them "Amateurs train until they get it right, PROFESSIONALS train until they can't get it wrong."
There is no such thing as too much practice. Do you think that Michael Phelps, Lance Armstrong, or the Super Bowl Champions ever say, "I/We practiced really hard a few days ago, no sense in giving it 100% today". Of course not, they are constantly striving to get better ever single day.
You don't need to pick up a huge new topic everytime you train. Maybe you just learn an easier way to get that 24 footer off the truck, or if you rest your knee on the saw as you're pulling the cord its easier to start. Keep track of the little things because they matter.
Regardless of where you go through your fire training, whether your department runs an academy, you go to the state academy, or a local college, most firefighting is pretty much the same across the country. It is the LITTLE THINGS that make certain departments better and more aggressive than others.
So in closing....
1- Never get complacent and NEVER stop learning
2- You can NEVER practice enough
3- Listen to all ideas presented. Just because a guy has 18 months on the job doesn't mean that he doesnt have a tip that could help everyone.
4- LOVE THE LITTLE THINGS! You're going to get better over time. Most babies don't just start walking. They start slow, stumble alot, and eventually get the hang of it. You will too. (But as we get older with the comsumption of certain beverages it seems like we never learned how to properly walk!)
5- Don't let bad attitudes drag you down. ALWAYS keep a positive attitude and desire to learn. Just because you've been on the job for 20 years doesn't mean that things stay the same. The fire service is constantly changing and if you want to stay good at your job, you too need to be willing to adapt.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Are You At Work or At The Firehouse?
Many of us have either seen firsthand or heard about the Pride and Ownership series by Chief Rick Lasky of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department so I won't give you a synopsis but rather use it as a building block to talk about some related issues.
Like I have posted before, do you check the rigs first thing in the morning? Do you get your chores done and then ask the officer what more needs to be done? And if he doesn't have anything else for you, do you find something to do for a bit or do you just plop on the couch and channel surf?
Not to talk myself up, but I am always one to do the rig check first in the morning, get chores done, and find more that needs to be done around the firehouse. If I can't find anything, it never hurts to go over the bathrooms again in more detail. But after that, I try to do a little training. Rarely is anyone else at the house interested in what I'm doing, but I try to learn something new everyday or at least reinforce and sharpen my skills.
Somedays this will mean doing a full work up on the saws and other days it might be throwing ladders. If the weather is less than favorable, I might go through the RIT pack, polish some brass, and paint tools. Some say that its easy to see I haven't been on the job for an extended period of time because you "eventually grow out of that stage and just come to work and want to go home."
Quite frankly I believe that's a load of BS. We have some GREAT firefighters at work and I would take a booster line to the gates of hell with these guys, but we also have quite a few guys that want to do as little work as possible and as much sleeping as they can squeeze out of 24 hours.
On our shift we have multiple guys qualified as drivers so we rotate day to day who's turn it is to drive. Some days the engine driver will check out the rig.... other days they will blow it off. When I'm driving, I consider the Engine "MY" truck. For the day it doesn't belong to the taxpayers or the chief, it belongs to ME. I take better care of it than I do my own belongings. I strive to go above and beyond our basic check out that is spelled out for us in our morning checksheet that must be completed every day. I don't care if the saws were just run yesterday, I want to know that they are fueled up and ready to go. I don't care if the ladders were just pulled out and cleaned two shifts ago, I want to make sure that the halyards are tied correctly and that the fly section isn't going to get caught up by any debris. I know how it is, you run a job in the middle of the night, you get back to the firehouse and think I can squeeze and hour of sleep in before the shift is over... the guys tomorrow will clean it up, I'll just let em know in the morning.
Well, when at 0725 we catch a first due house fire and you're still sleeping and failed to mention that there were equipment issues, we might have some problems on the fireground. I want to know for DAMN sure that all MY equipment on MY truck is in working order for the day. I want to know that when MY crews pull something off MY truck that it will work properly the first time, without any troubleshooting or swearing.
Today we had a relief captain at our station and he was dumbfounded when he came out on the apron at 0710 and I had saws and fans running, the pump in gear, and ladders thrown. He asked me point blank "What the hell are you doing?" I said, "Cap, just checking my equipment." He kind of looked at me for a minute, shrugged his shoulders and went back into his office.
Not only am I making sure all my equipment works during this check, I'm learning my equipment better every day and I'm training. I know that our chainsaw will take two pulls on full choke, and after one at half choke it starts. EVERYTIME. Throwing a 24 footer singlehandedly is like brushing my teeth.
(Disclaimer: Like I said before, this isn't to puff out my chest and say LOOK AT ME!)
If I do get a chance to sit down in front of the TV or in the kitchen and catch my breath for a few minutes, chances are that ESPN will be on in the background and you could find me with my nose in a Fire Engineering magazine or on my laptop looking at any various Fire/EMS blog or on some sort of firefighting forums.
A few months after getting hired on, a lot of the guys labeled all of us rookies as money hogs. They said we were just here for the money and could care less about the community as none of us probies grew up in this city and most of the old timers have lived here for years. Well, I know for a fact that it didn't take long for their opinion of me to be changed for the reasons described above. I took better care of the rigs than the guys who paid for them!
At the volunteer house it's the same way. I'm always trying to wash and wax a truck, check equipment, etc. I'm actually part time at the vollie house too, so if I'm working a shift (combination department) I am rarely in front of the TV playing XBOX, dozing off in a recliner, or minding my own business in my room. I am really into all aspects of technical rescue, whether its extrication, ropes, trench, collapse, confined space, or water rescue, count me in! Now even though my tax dollars have paid for these trucks, I don't take care of them any better than the rigs at work. I don't know how it would be possible to take any better care of them! Some of the older guys that really don't know why they are still on the roster, but still hang around and contribute their 2 cents at the most inopportune time give us younger guys tons of crap. Most of them give me crap about our Rescue Squad being "Jake's Truck."
And you know what? I'm totally cool with that!
I love that truck and drive it every chance I get. If I respond from home for a call, I'll run through the Rescue Squad real quick just to make sure everything is there and nothing is out of place or broken.
Well.... after rambling on about how great I am, I guess I just have one question for you....
Are you at work or at the firehouse?
Like I have posted before, do you check the rigs first thing in the morning? Do you get your chores done and then ask the officer what more needs to be done? And if he doesn't have anything else for you, do you find something to do for a bit or do you just plop on the couch and channel surf?
Not to talk myself up, but I am always one to do the rig check first in the morning, get chores done, and find more that needs to be done around the firehouse. If I can't find anything, it never hurts to go over the bathrooms again in more detail. But after that, I try to do a little training. Rarely is anyone else at the house interested in what I'm doing, but I try to learn something new everyday or at least reinforce and sharpen my skills.
Somedays this will mean doing a full work up on the saws and other days it might be throwing ladders. If the weather is less than favorable, I might go through the RIT pack, polish some brass, and paint tools. Some say that its easy to see I haven't been on the job for an extended period of time because you "eventually grow out of that stage and just come to work and want to go home."
Quite frankly I believe that's a load of BS. We have some GREAT firefighters at work and I would take a booster line to the gates of hell with these guys, but we also have quite a few guys that want to do as little work as possible and as much sleeping as they can squeeze out of 24 hours.
On our shift we have multiple guys qualified as drivers so we rotate day to day who's turn it is to drive. Some days the engine driver will check out the rig.... other days they will blow it off. When I'm driving, I consider the Engine "MY" truck. For the day it doesn't belong to the taxpayers or the chief, it belongs to ME. I take better care of it than I do my own belongings. I strive to go above and beyond our basic check out that is spelled out for us in our morning checksheet that must be completed every day. I don't care if the saws were just run yesterday, I want to know that they are fueled up and ready to go. I don't care if the ladders were just pulled out and cleaned two shifts ago, I want to make sure that the halyards are tied correctly and that the fly section isn't going to get caught up by any debris. I know how it is, you run a job in the middle of the night, you get back to the firehouse and think I can squeeze and hour of sleep in before the shift is over... the guys tomorrow will clean it up, I'll just let em know in the morning.
Well, when at 0725 we catch a first due house fire and you're still sleeping and failed to mention that there were equipment issues, we might have some problems on the fireground. I want to know for DAMN sure that all MY equipment on MY truck is in working order for the day. I want to know that when MY crews pull something off MY truck that it will work properly the first time, without any troubleshooting or swearing.
Today we had a relief captain at our station and he was dumbfounded when he came out on the apron at 0710 and I had saws and fans running, the pump in gear, and ladders thrown. He asked me point blank "What the hell are you doing?" I said, "Cap, just checking my equipment." He kind of looked at me for a minute, shrugged his shoulders and went back into his office.
Not only am I making sure all my equipment works during this check, I'm learning my equipment better every day and I'm training. I know that our chainsaw will take two pulls on full choke, and after one at half choke it starts. EVERYTIME. Throwing a 24 footer singlehandedly is like brushing my teeth.
(Disclaimer: Like I said before, this isn't to puff out my chest and say LOOK AT ME!)
If I do get a chance to sit down in front of the TV or in the kitchen and catch my breath for a few minutes, chances are that ESPN will be on in the background and you could find me with my nose in a Fire Engineering magazine or on my laptop looking at any various Fire/EMS blog or on some sort of firefighting forums.
A few months after getting hired on, a lot of the guys labeled all of us rookies as money hogs. They said we were just here for the money and could care less about the community as none of us probies grew up in this city and most of the old timers have lived here for years. Well, I know for a fact that it didn't take long for their opinion of me to be changed for the reasons described above. I took better care of the rigs than the guys who paid for them!
At the volunteer house it's the same way. I'm always trying to wash and wax a truck, check equipment, etc. I'm actually part time at the vollie house too, so if I'm working a shift (combination department) I am rarely in front of the TV playing XBOX, dozing off in a recliner, or minding my own business in my room. I am really into all aspects of technical rescue, whether its extrication, ropes, trench, collapse, confined space, or water rescue, count me in! Now even though my tax dollars have paid for these trucks, I don't take care of them any better than the rigs at work. I don't know how it would be possible to take any better care of them! Some of the older guys that really don't know why they are still on the roster, but still hang around and contribute their 2 cents at the most inopportune time give us younger guys tons of crap. Most of them give me crap about our Rescue Squad being "Jake's Truck."
And you know what? I'm totally cool with that!
I love that truck and drive it every chance I get. If I respond from home for a call, I'll run through the Rescue Squad real quick just to make sure everything is there and nothing is out of place or broken.
Well.... after rambling on about how great I am, I guess I just have one question for you....
Are you at work or at the firehouse?
Monday, March 28, 2011
FDIC
Well after a hellacious 24 hour shift right after getting back from Indy I am finally getting to update this thing for the first time in a while.
Saw some interesting things in Indy and for starters I was super pumped to see plenty of Squads on display this year. Most of them appeared to be very well thought out and one tiny detail on one rig caught my eye. A squad from Elizabeth, NJ I believe it was, had a small mirror mounted just forward of the rear cab doors so that crew members can check for oncoming traffic before the members disembark the squad. This little detail probably cost maybe $50 but is invaluable for firefighter safety.
Of course I saw plenty of new "toys" that I can add to our equipment committee's wish list or at least research more.
Freebies were even more plentiful than last year and I got more than my fair share of them and even conned some vendors out of things for free. All in all, I would say it was a successful weekend.... Even without the hotel troubles we had.
I won't even start about the fun me and the fellas had though. Count this one as another great weekend in the books.
I will try to get some pictures up soon.
Saw some interesting things in Indy and for starters I was super pumped to see plenty of Squads on display this year. Most of them appeared to be very well thought out and one tiny detail on one rig caught my eye. A squad from Elizabeth, NJ I believe it was, had a small mirror mounted just forward of the rear cab doors so that crew members can check for oncoming traffic before the members disembark the squad. This little detail probably cost maybe $50 but is invaluable for firefighter safety.
Of course I saw plenty of new "toys" that I can add to our equipment committee's wish list or at least research more.
Freebies were even more plentiful than last year and I got more than my fair share of them and even conned some vendors out of things for free. All in all, I would say it was a successful weekend.... Even without the hotel troubles we had.
I won't even start about the fun me and the fellas had though. Count this one as another great weekend in the books.
I will try to get some pictures up soon.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Riding the Seat.....
How many departments have requirements to ride the front seat and act as an officer?
At work we always have an officer on shift or at least a senior firefighter as the acting for the day so its not an issue, but at the vollie house, its anyone's guess as to who may be riding the seat to any particular call.
We are a combination department and have a Captain on each shift who rides the seat of the engine and is in command for the day but as far as volunteer response, we respond from home most times (unless we are riding extra and staffing a truck or two) and its hard to guess who will be the acting officer. Writing this off as a downfall of the volunteer fire service would be ignorant. There are plenty of great volunteer fire departments that do have requirements in place to act as an officer, but there are also plenty of great volunteer departments that don't.
Among other things, one of the most important skills a firefighter who will be acting as an officer can have is good radio communications. At our department, sometimes the highest qualified individual will end up being the driver. On MVAs this is no big deal really as the driver can still get out and function as a member of the team or take command but when you're driving the wagon, you can't effectively supervise your crew inside the structure. Therefore, the responsibility falls to the member riding the seat. Hopefully you will get someone with a few years under their belt who has a good idea of what it takes, but on occasion you may not.
I know at our department, everyone wants to ride the front seat. Winding up the Q, stomping on the airhorns, and talking on the radio seems like every probies dream.
How do you train new members on radio procedures? How do you correct bad habits with older members? Do you just expect the rookies to listen to how the other guys do it and emulate that?
Most of our older members have a tendency to say nothing but " truck XXX is on scene." Quite a few times I have gotten back from a run and say, "Why the hell were you talking so damn much on the radio when you got on scene?" When all I said was, "XXX is on the scene, two car MVA, one overturned in the ditch, we will be investigating."
Make sure that your guys who are acting as officers know that the apparatus responding behind them need to know what they are facing and should have a quick mental picture from the initial on scene report.
This is especially important on fires. Even if you live under a rock, I'm sure you would give a report as you're pulling up to a rocking fire something like this, " Engine XXX is on scene, fire showing." What about where the closest hydrant is? How about other hazards or obstructions? Or, if you don't have pre arranged assignments for responding apparatus, a quick order to the second due to grab the plug at the intersection, etc?
Another point to be made as far as communications goes, is tell your members to leave their bedroom voices at home. Some of our guys speak so softly into the radio you wonder if they think it will explode in their hand if they speak in a normal tone of voice. It's common sense that you don't want to be yelling into a radio but there is a difference between freaking out on the radio and speaking in a clear, authoritative voice over the radio.
As the header on the main page says, this blog is pretty much just a collection of random thoughts so I'm sorry if they haven't made too much sense. I'm 40 hours into a 60 hour shift (trades suck at first, but when you don't have to come to work for two weeks they are great!) and my brain is pretty scrambled. Hopefully soon I will try to elaborate further on what it takes to RIDE THE SEAT.
At work we always have an officer on shift or at least a senior firefighter as the acting for the day so its not an issue, but at the vollie house, its anyone's guess as to who may be riding the seat to any particular call.
We are a combination department and have a Captain on each shift who rides the seat of the engine and is in command for the day but as far as volunteer response, we respond from home most times (unless we are riding extra and staffing a truck or two) and its hard to guess who will be the acting officer. Writing this off as a downfall of the volunteer fire service would be ignorant. There are plenty of great volunteer fire departments that do have requirements in place to act as an officer, but there are also plenty of great volunteer departments that don't.
Among other things, one of the most important skills a firefighter who will be acting as an officer can have is good radio communications. At our department, sometimes the highest qualified individual will end up being the driver. On MVAs this is no big deal really as the driver can still get out and function as a member of the team or take command but when you're driving the wagon, you can't effectively supervise your crew inside the structure. Therefore, the responsibility falls to the member riding the seat. Hopefully you will get someone with a few years under their belt who has a good idea of what it takes, but on occasion you may not.
I know at our department, everyone wants to ride the front seat. Winding up the Q, stomping on the airhorns, and talking on the radio seems like every probies dream.
How do you train new members on radio procedures? How do you correct bad habits with older members? Do you just expect the rookies to listen to how the other guys do it and emulate that?
Most of our older members have a tendency to say nothing but " truck XXX is on scene." Quite a few times I have gotten back from a run and say, "Why the hell were you talking so damn much on the radio when you got on scene?" When all I said was, "XXX is on the scene, two car MVA, one overturned in the ditch, we will be investigating."
Make sure that your guys who are acting as officers know that the apparatus responding behind them need to know what they are facing and should have a quick mental picture from the initial on scene report.
This is especially important on fires. Even if you live under a rock, I'm sure you would give a report as you're pulling up to a rocking fire something like this, " Engine XXX is on scene, fire showing." What about where the closest hydrant is? How about other hazards or obstructions? Or, if you don't have pre arranged assignments for responding apparatus, a quick order to the second due to grab the plug at the intersection, etc?
Another point to be made as far as communications goes, is tell your members to leave their bedroom voices at home. Some of our guys speak so softly into the radio you wonder if they think it will explode in their hand if they speak in a normal tone of voice. It's common sense that you don't want to be yelling into a radio but there is a difference between freaking out on the radio and speaking in a clear, authoritative voice over the radio.
As the header on the main page says, this blog is pretty much just a collection of random thoughts so I'm sorry if they haven't made too much sense. I'm 40 hours into a 60 hour shift (trades suck at first, but when you don't have to come to work for two weeks they are great!) and my brain is pretty scrambled. Hopefully soon I will try to elaborate further on what it takes to RIDE THE SEAT.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Outstanding Firemen
-Outstanding Firemen (gender neutral! Outstanding firefighers just didn't sound right)
- Yardbreathers, etc.
Most of our departments have them or we know of places that do. Of course I am not referring to smart, aggressive firefighters who love the job, but rather those firefighters who can be found "out-standing" in the yard while everyone else is working. Forget RIT and other essential positions, I am referring to those unique individuals who have a knack for getting out of work. Usually they arrive on the 3rd or 4th due engine and do just enough that they feel they should stand in the front yard looking crusty and basking in their smoke-eating glory.
Please don't take this wrong as we all know that there are essential fireground positions that must remain outside. Some of the best firefighters I know can usually be found at the pump panel. In my opinion, there is more honor in running the pump because you're a damn good operator rather than going in on the line. Knowing that your guys will always have good water at the end of that line is more important than going in on the nozzle and wondering if Cletus can run 3 lines off the same truck.
There are a few reasons that you might have a yardbreather convention at your next fire. Perhaps command is preoccupied with all that comes with running a fire or maybe even a bit overwhelmed. Maybe the guys are just coming out for a break/rehab which of course would be completely acceptable. About a year ago, I learned the hard way that even though im young, in good shape, and thought I could handle anything thrown at me, sometimes you just get your ass kicked at a job and need to take a break.... or else you earn yourself a ride to hospital with two good friends half-joking about starting 4 large bore iv's just for practice and maybe a surgical cric if they have time before we get to the hospital.
- Yardbreathers, etc.
Most of our departments have them or we know of places that do. Of course I am not referring to smart, aggressive firefighters who love the job, but rather those firefighters who can be found "out-standing" in the yard while everyone else is working. Forget RIT and other essential positions, I am referring to those unique individuals who have a knack for getting out of work. Usually they arrive on the 3rd or 4th due engine and do just enough that they feel they should stand in the front yard looking crusty and basking in their smoke-eating glory.
Please don't take this wrong as we all know that there are essential fireground positions that must remain outside. Some of the best firefighters I know can usually be found at the pump panel. In my opinion, there is more honor in running the pump because you're a damn good operator rather than going in on the line. Knowing that your guys will always have good water at the end of that line is more important than going in on the nozzle and wondering if Cletus can run 3 lines off the same truck.
There are a few reasons that you might have a yardbreather convention at your next fire. Perhaps command is preoccupied with all that comes with running a fire or maybe even a bit overwhelmed. Maybe the guys are just coming out for a break/rehab which of course would be completely acceptable. About a year ago, I learned the hard way that even though im young, in good shape, and thought I could handle anything thrown at me, sometimes you just get your ass kicked at a job and need to take a break.... or else you earn yourself a ride to hospital with two good friends half-joking about starting 4 large bore iv's just for practice and maybe a surgical cric if they have time before we get to the hospital.
The day after a fire last week, a non firefighter friend said that he watched all the news stories about the fire and was curious as to why he didn't see me (our names are on our running coats) I simply told him that at a fire you wont see the guys doing the real work on the news, as we don't let the news crews inside the burning building!
How can we cut down on yarbreathers? Accountability is one way. By keeping track of what crews are where and what their tasks are, command can see if guys might need a break and if other crews haven't done much of anything. Another way is training. By training today's firefighters to be aggressive and want to do as much as they can on their next fire, you will have guys tripping over one another trying to find something...ANYTHING to do!
So at your next fire, while you're pulling ceiling on the second floor, take a quick look out the closest window at the outstanding firemen in the front yard and just smile knowing that you're not one of them!
Friday, February 11, 2011
Your fire academy
What was your fire class like? Did the instructors mainly yell and scream all the time or talk to you like a human being and actually teach (but yell when it was warranted)? Im an assistant instructor for a Firefighter 2 class and in my opinion we have a great cadre of instructors. Easily 200 years of experience between all of us. We try to talk at the students level and not down to them. We don't set them up for failure but let them make mistakes (that don't affect safety of course!) and then afterward discuss what went wrong, how they could prevent the mistake next time and what they learned. Even us instructors are learning a thinor two, both from our fellow instructors and from the students.
Of course, maybe im biased to these instructors as we all work together on a daily basis and they all taught me when I was in the academy but I honestly think that every single member of this class will pass and turn into great firefighters. They are a few weeks into the program and are really starting to work as a unit.
Tomorrow, I'm the lead instructor for a probationary drill at the volunteer house, we have had great success so far with our probationary training program and hopefully tomorrow will also be a great drill.
Until next time, stay safe.
Of course, maybe im biased to these instructors as we all work together on a daily basis and they all taught me when I was in the academy but I honestly think that every single member of this class will pass and turn into great firefighters. They are a few weeks into the program and are really starting to work as a unit.
Tomorrow, I'm the lead instructor for a probationary drill at the volunteer house, we have had great success so far with our probationary training program and hopefully tomorrow will also be a great drill.
Until next time, stay safe.
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Friday, February 4, 2011
Let's Get Started
Some random thoughts this morning as I sit here trying to wake up.....
- What time do you show up for your shift? At work, the shift starts at 0700 and people show up at all kinds of different times. Some will show up around 0545 or 0600... most show up between 0615 and 0630... and some will come in with 2 minutes to spare (if they are lucky).
- When do you do your daily rig check? As soon as you get in? At shift change? After breakfast? After your first run?
Despite fighting the urge to want to curl up in a dark corner somewhere and go back to sleep, I check out the rigs every morning right at shift change. I usually get in around 0615 and will sit in the kitchen with the off going crew to find out what they had the other day, if any equipment is out of service, if any drug box tags were changed, etc.
I feel that getting the rig checked out first thing in the morning is imperative in our line of work. How many times have you had a call come in a few minutes after the start of your shift and you're not 100% sure as to whether or not everything is where it should be or if the equipment is there at all?
Some call it complacency, but I just think of it as laziness when people don't do their rig checks first thing in the morning. You can still drink your coffee, listen to the radio, and BS with the guys while checking the equipment.
A little about me... I have been around the fire service since I was born. My Dad was a Fireman for 34 years and I was actually taken straight to the firehouse from the hospital after being born rather than going home. I couldn't even begin to guess how many times I would hang out with my Dad and his crew on the weekends or during summer vacation. When I was about 8 and my Dad got a new rookie, he would send me out with the rookie to explain where the equipment was on the rig. So needless to say, I have always been pretty obsessed (for a lack of better words) with firefighting. Even in high school, as I played 2 varsity sports and was All-State in both, I was involved in a local fire explorer program. Even then, I would spend most of my free time reading firefighting magazines and websites trying to learn everything that I can. In the years since high school, I have become a volunteer paid-on-call firefighter in my hometown and a paid firefighter in another community not far from my home.
At work, I'm just your average private. I wear a black helmet, take orders, and spend most of the day cleaning and drilling. At the volunteer house, while just a private, I head up our Equipment, Technical Rescue, and Probationary Training committees and am a member on our Spec Committee. Over the past few years some drastic changes have been made for the better in our department through some pretty hard work by our committee members.
Some big things our committees are working on:
- Charge EMT Competency Exam - At present time, all someone has to do is get their EMT card and they are cleared to operate independently in the back of the ambulance. While this has not come back to bite us yet, we recognize the need for these members to be evaluated before being "turned loose" on our tax-paying citizens.
- Squad Technician Program- This will be an in-house certification program training people to technical rescue risks that we face in our area. Getting NFPA technician level certification in all technical rescue disciplines would not be practical for our department and we realize this so we will be looking at risks we have and how to adequately train our personnel for these. Topics included will be basic/advanced vehicle/machinery extrication, basic rope rescue (rappelling, pick offs, haul systems, litter rigging), Confined Space Rescue, Water/Ice Rescue, and we are considering Trench Rescue.
- Specing a New Ambulance- We have 3 ambulances with the newest being 3 years old with 35k miles and the oldest is 11 years old with 140k miles. We are looking to replace our oldest ambulance with a twin of our newest rig which has worked great for us. (Random note- my volunteer department is actually a combination department where we have 5 guys on a shift 3 on the engine and 2 on the medic unit) As I'm sure you all know, no matter how great a vehicle is, there are always small improvements that can be made here or there and you must evaluate new technology and standards that must be addressed on the new piece of apparatus.
- Probationary Training Program- We started this last year after signing some automatic mutual aid agreements with surrounding departments and realized that there were some basic deficiencies in the education that our new firefighters had. While they had enough book knowledge to pass the certification test, we were finding some deficiencies in their fireground operations skills. So we designed a curriculum and pick 1 Saturday a month where we get our probationaries and invite the surrounding departments to send their rookies to practice basic skills such as pulling lines, throwing ladders, doing searches, etc. Our Feb drill will be a new topic for us, MVA Operations. Alot of these new firefighters, despite having a Fire card, really don't have much direction on accident scenes and if they aren't under the watchful eye of a senior firefighter or officer, they tend to just stand around.
Well, as of now that's all I've got but depending on how slow we are today at work, I may try to think of some new ideas for posts on here. Hope you enjoyed the first post and cut me a little slack, this is my first time in the world of blogging!
Stay safe.
- What time do you show up for your shift? At work, the shift starts at 0700 and people show up at all kinds of different times. Some will show up around 0545 or 0600... most show up between 0615 and 0630... and some will come in with 2 minutes to spare (if they are lucky).
- When do you do your daily rig check? As soon as you get in? At shift change? After breakfast? After your first run?
Despite fighting the urge to want to curl up in a dark corner somewhere and go back to sleep, I check out the rigs every morning right at shift change. I usually get in around 0615 and will sit in the kitchen with the off going crew to find out what they had the other day, if any equipment is out of service, if any drug box tags were changed, etc.
I feel that getting the rig checked out first thing in the morning is imperative in our line of work. How many times have you had a call come in a few minutes after the start of your shift and you're not 100% sure as to whether or not everything is where it should be or if the equipment is there at all?
Some call it complacency, but I just think of it as laziness when people don't do their rig checks first thing in the morning. You can still drink your coffee, listen to the radio, and BS with the guys while checking the equipment.
A little about me... I have been around the fire service since I was born. My Dad was a Fireman for 34 years and I was actually taken straight to the firehouse from the hospital after being born rather than going home. I couldn't even begin to guess how many times I would hang out with my Dad and his crew on the weekends or during summer vacation. When I was about 8 and my Dad got a new rookie, he would send me out with the rookie to explain where the equipment was on the rig. So needless to say, I have always been pretty obsessed (for a lack of better words) with firefighting. Even in high school, as I played 2 varsity sports and was All-State in both, I was involved in a local fire explorer program. Even then, I would spend most of my free time reading firefighting magazines and websites trying to learn everything that I can. In the years since high school, I have become a volunteer paid-on-call firefighter in my hometown and a paid firefighter in another community not far from my home.
At work, I'm just your average private. I wear a black helmet, take orders, and spend most of the day cleaning and drilling. At the volunteer house, while just a private, I head up our Equipment, Technical Rescue, and Probationary Training committees and am a member on our Spec Committee. Over the past few years some drastic changes have been made for the better in our department through some pretty hard work by our committee members.
Some big things our committees are working on:
- Charge EMT Competency Exam - At present time, all someone has to do is get their EMT card and they are cleared to operate independently in the back of the ambulance. While this has not come back to bite us yet, we recognize the need for these members to be evaluated before being "turned loose" on our tax-paying citizens.
- Squad Technician Program- This will be an in-house certification program training people to technical rescue risks that we face in our area. Getting NFPA technician level certification in all technical rescue disciplines would not be practical for our department and we realize this so we will be looking at risks we have and how to adequately train our personnel for these. Topics included will be basic/advanced vehicle/machinery extrication, basic rope rescue (rappelling, pick offs, haul systems, litter rigging), Confined Space Rescue, Water/Ice Rescue, and we are considering Trench Rescue.
- Specing a New Ambulance- We have 3 ambulances with the newest being 3 years old with 35k miles and the oldest is 11 years old with 140k miles. We are looking to replace our oldest ambulance with a twin of our newest rig which has worked great for us. (Random note- my volunteer department is actually a combination department where we have 5 guys on a shift 3 on the engine and 2 on the medic unit) As I'm sure you all know, no matter how great a vehicle is, there are always small improvements that can be made here or there and you must evaluate new technology and standards that must be addressed on the new piece of apparatus.
- Probationary Training Program- We started this last year after signing some automatic mutual aid agreements with surrounding departments and realized that there were some basic deficiencies in the education that our new firefighters had. While they had enough book knowledge to pass the certification test, we were finding some deficiencies in their fireground operations skills. So we designed a curriculum and pick 1 Saturday a month where we get our probationaries and invite the surrounding departments to send their rookies to practice basic skills such as pulling lines, throwing ladders, doing searches, etc. Our Feb drill will be a new topic for us, MVA Operations. Alot of these new firefighters, despite having a Fire card, really don't have much direction on accident scenes and if they aren't under the watchful eye of a senior firefighter or officer, they tend to just stand around.
Well, as of now that's all I've got but depending on how slow we are today at work, I may try to think of some new ideas for posts on here. Hope you enjoyed the first post and cut me a little slack, this is my first time in the world of blogging!
Stay safe.
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