Most of you probably read the title of this post and are thinking to yourselves. "What is this lunatic talking about? We train all the time!" and some of the volunteer firefighters are thinking that the training requirements of your fire department are already harsh enough and are extremely difficult to manage with your family and work.
I agree with you. The current "training epidemic" that is sweeping the fire service nationwide is not a lack of training, but a lack of relevant, and job oriented training. Let me explain.
Over the past few months between work and my volunteer department I have sat through some of the following drills:
- Water Systems (Guy from the water department came in and explained how fire hydrants work then showed us a 30 minute video on how to properly open and close a fire hydrant)
- HAZMAT ( refresher on how to use the ERG ( the little orange book) and how to approach HAZMAT scenes)
- A powerpoint presentation straight from Firefighter 1 class about SCBA
- Sepsis in the Pediatric Patient
- Pre-Plans (multiple times)
- Radio Communications
- Looking over our first due on Google Earth
This obviously is not a list of all the drills that we have done, as we drill every day at work and once a week at the volunteer house, but just a sampling.
Most of these drills were not terrible. I learned a few things about water mains and how we get our water that are little factoids but of no use to firefighters, the pre plans are always good as we make ourselves visible to the taxpaying citizens by being out and about and we also increase our safety by having an idea of what the layouts of our high hazard structures are, but I could not even tell you the last time that I put on my running gear and did a drill that truely applied to fireground operations.
Most departments these days are "All Hazard Agencies", we do fire suppression and prevention, EMS, Extrication, Water Rescue, Rope Rescue, Ice Rescue, Confined Space Rescue, HAZMAT for the whole county, and a few other odds and ends. Obviously, a great amount of training is inherent with these responsibilities. Not everyone is trained in all of these areas, all are certified as a minimum of Firefighter 1 and EMT-B but most are Firefighter 2 and we have tons of Paramedics. Past the fire and EMS certifications, it's a hodgepodge of people who are certified in the different disciplines. Most are trained in just a few, but some of us are certified in all of the above areas. The time initially required to just obtain the certifications is obviously taxing enough but to keep current and proficient truely takes dedication.
At the end of the day however, our two main jobs are Fire and EMS. We drill ALOT on EMS and are very good at it. We have an awesome medical director who allows us to be one of the most progressive and best equipped EMS systems in the state if not the country. Quite a few of our paramedics have part time jobs in the ED at area trauma centers or fly with local medevac helicopters. On the flip side of that coin though.... the firefighting aspect, our training is grossly deficient. We have some great firemen who have seen quite a bit in their time on the job, but we rarely actually train for fireground operations.
I couldn't tell you the last time I threw a ladder, did a search, or stretched a line in an "official" department drill. Luckily, both the guys on my shift and the core group of us at the volunteer house realize that these are perishable skills that need to be practiced so quite regularly, we will have an impromptu training session where we will decide to practice something on our own.
Sometimes our company level or in house drills are short, simple, and to the point. We may practice setting up a 3:1 Z- Drag haul system in the engine bays or set up the Rescue 42 stabilization struts. Other times though, we will pull the reserve engine around back to the training tower where we can practice pulling lines, searching, and throwing ladders full speed.
I've talked to quite a few people from departments across the country and it seems like we are not the only department having problems like this. I'm sure that if your department training is anything like mine, many times the powerpoint presentation you sit through for drill is very informative and you will pick up a thing or two, but when was the last time a powerpoint presentation put out a fire? Or the last time you tried to remember what the 63rd slide out of 141 said about thermal layering while pushing down a hot, smoky hallway? People are always saying that "fire departments that provide EMS are becoming EMS departments that provide fire suppression services", or "we go to less fires than we used to". In most places, this is probably true as most departments across the country run at least 70% EMS calls.
Remember, firefighting is a PERISHABLE skill!!! "If you don't use it, you lose it." The knowledge still might be there if you haven't trained appropriately in some time but end up fighting a fire, but the muscle memory will not be. Muscle memory is what its all about folks. If you get trapped in a room on an upper floor do you know exactly how your radio is set up so you can call your mayday? Or which pocket your bailout equipment is in and how it is set up? At times like these, you will have no time to think, you will have to just DO. This is why aggressive training fireground operations needs to be the rule rather than the exception.
I teach on the side at a local community college in their fire training program. Everyone who has been through the fire academy, remembers learning how to throw a 24 footer with 3 guys and all the commands, etc. But what happens when you're on a 3 man engine and pull up to that house fire at 430 am and kids are hanging out the second floor windows with heavy smoke pushing out above them? You're not going to have the luxury of manpower or time to think, you have a job, the most important job on the fireground (saving lives), and it needs to be done QUICK. I've talked quite a bit about ladderwork in this post and you're probably wondering why. Well, recently we started teaching ladders in the fire classes and started with the good ol' powerpoint, then went out to the training ground and taught them all the commands, etc that are associated with learning to place ground ladders. After the students had a firm grasp on raising ladders "according to the book", we taught them how ladders can be thrown with two people, or even one depending on the situation. As a fire service, we need to start to get away from just drilling on how "the book" teaches it. "The book" is designed to take average people off the street and teach them how to be firefighters. Once on the job, it is YOUR responsibility to yourself and the entire fire service to research and experiment and find new ways to do things and to become the best firefighter than you can possibly be. Sometimes, or maybe most of the time, you won't have the luxury to do everything according to the IFSTA manual. Even at my departments, manpower is an issue. Especially in the first 5-10 minutes of a fire which is easily the most important time on the fireground. We all are trying to do more with less and we need to learn how to do it efficently and safely.
This is where your department training comes in. Talk to your chief or training officer, tell them you would like to see more drills on things that you will actually be doing on the fireground. Be the vaccine for this epidemic raging through the fire service. Change the mindset of your department. It won't be easy, believe me. As I have written about before, many times the older guys on your department won't want to do much work, they would rather sit in a classroom watching a powerpoint in the climate controlled room in a comfortable chair, then they turn around after the drill is over and complain about how all we do is sit and stare at a screen all the time. But when you actually do a "hands on" drill, the complaining from these guys increases exponentially or if they know what drill is ahead of time, they just skip. Chances are, you will not change the mindset of many of these members, but worry about what you can change. Get your probationary members and those with just a few years on the department involved in training ideas and keep them interested in improving themselves. At our department, the under 30 guys are the core of the department. I understand that many of the older people are married, have stressful jobs, and family commitments but if it were not for the core group of guys, day to day operations would be severely hampered. Try to keep your core group of firefighters involved and interested in training.
You might not be able to influence the older members or even the training chief/officer/committee, but nothing is preventing you from holding informal drills with the guys who run most of the calls, the guys who the Chief is depending on at the fireground to get the job done. Stay positive, chances are that you will encounter alot of opposition in your attempt to become a great firefighter. It's tough, I never said it would be easy, but the benefits of this dedication will become apparent at your next fire.
Remember, BE THE VACCINE in your department!
Stay safe.
Squad Goes!
