Over the last year, what did you do to increase your emergency services knowledge, skills, and abilities? What supporting educational programs did you complete? What training classes did you attend? Most importantly, what changes in behavior did you implement after attending the programs?
Here’s a three step process to help you further your abilities and provide new information to fellow crewmembers. The process can be remembered using the acronym A.C.T. The letters stand for:
A- Attend a class.
C- Contribute to the classroom conversation.
T- Take-back what you learned to your crew.
Don’t just “ATTEND” any course. When you peruse a course catalog or conference schedule in search of a course to attend, think about topics of interest to you. Remember, the idea is to increase your knowledge about subjects you find interesting and want to learn more about. If you could care less about driving or pumping an apparatus, don’t register for a pump ops course!
“CONTRIBUTING” to the course can occur in a variety of ways. You hear other students with questions about what is being presented but the other students will not ask the instructor? CONTRIBUTE by asking the question for the other student. Trainers love questions! If the instructor asks for assistance with a demonstration or needs some help, volunteer! Your participation will be greatly appreciated.
“TAKING IT BACK” is the most important thing you do with your new knowledge, skills, and abilities. The department spent money to send you, one person, to the class. Why not help the department get the biggest “bang for the buck” and spread the new material with your co-workers and others?
Grab the fire academy course catalog, thumb through a training conference schedule, or check out your county fire association’s website. Select an interesting class, register, and attend the program. When you come back to the station, share what you learned with your co-workers. Alternately, search the web for a computer basd course, complete the course, and share what you learned with others.
You arrived fire showing, Alpha, Bravo Second story .
Often times firefighters miss the opportunity to get it right on the drill ground by failing to work on steps in small segments. In order to be able to gain proficiency we must start at understanding why we are using the hose load we are using and the pros/cons when stretching in your response area. What are the streets like? What are the dwelling sizes? What are the building types? Are you prepared for extended stretch?
Do you know your SCBA? Really, REALLY know it? I do…mostly, I’m ashamed to admit I could know the numbers and pressure levels a bit better. My current position as Fire Academy Instructor has really opened my eyes to some of the basic tasks of this calling that I may be lacking adequate skills in. Granted, I could tell the recruits that I could pump water from the East coast to the West coast and they would most likely believe me. But if they challenged me to prove it I would be hard pressed to demonstrate it. I don’t generally talk about things I don’t know or that I cannot demonstrate.
So when one of the recruits challenged me in a race to assemble and don an SCBA, I accepted. The challenge is to mount the bottle, attach the lines, turn on the bottle, don the face piece and start air flow. But of course I had to handicap it in my favor. I told him the only way I would race him is if we put flash hoods on backwards first. I won.
With that in mind today’s drill is SCBA familiarization. This floated to the surface after watching the recruits struggle with the maze confidence course. There is nothing life threatening in there. It is a chance for them to work through a search and negotiate some obstacles. Some obstacles require the removal of the pack, and there are some entanglements but nothing that should be too difficult to work through. The recruits had a difficult time, which is to be expected. We also ran a couple of seasoned guys through during that same time and a couple had SCBA issues that I can only attribute to lack of familiarization with the equipment, but they did make it through without “dying”.
My opinion is that training should be harder than any expected reality. Anyone can kneel down and assemble a bottle and harness. Try to make it harder.
Start with all necessary equipment laid out in front of you however you like, some guys kneel on their gloves etc… The standards I used for a successful finished product in this drill are; Mask on flowing air, pack on your back fully opened cylinder with straps adjusted and seatbelt on, 2nd PASS activated, gloved hands in the air.
The levels I had the recruits do are as follows.
1. No restrictions
2. Gloves on
3. Gloves on and a flash hood on backwards.
4. Gloves and reversed hood on, equipment messed with.
For the “Equipment messed with” the instructors would go around and rearrange the layout, randomly tighten straps, buckle the seatbelt, turn the bottle or even the harness around. For the recruits that were really good we would tangle lines and straps.
With Christmas arriving in the next few days, many retail stores have greatly increased the amount of stock on shelves. Unfortunately, some businesses may go overboard and place products and/or packing materials in emergency exits. Restricted, or blocked, emergency exits have been contributors to great loss of life during fires. When this problem is identified, firefighters must quickly notify the store manager and make sure the problem is immediately corrected. If you’re not 100% sure about fire codes, speak with your company officer about your findings. If the company officer is not sure, NOTIFY THE FIRE MARSHAL or FIRE INSPECTOR and work with him/her to correct the problem!
Here are some photos I’ve taken in various locations around the country. A short explanation accompanies each photo.
Photo #1: Blocked exit. Beyond the blocking, these smaller items will become tripping hazards for people exiting the building. Move the trash! (Extra points for you if you noticed the pile of trash impedes access to the fire extinguisher.)
photo by author
Photo #2: Blocked emergency exit. In this photo, an emergency exit has been blocked by store employees. No store employees were present to quickly move the blocking device. This emergency exit is very wide and designed to move large numbers of people to safe areas. Note the items intruding into the exit access.
photo by author
Photo #3: Blocked exit discharge. Emergency exits must lead building evacuees to a safe area. This emergency exit discharge is significantly restricted by the automobile; as evacuees come upon the vehicle, they slow evacuation! (Super-extra points if you noticed this emergency exit is too narrow for code and is a ROLL-UP door!!)
photo by author
Be a proponent of fire safety whenever you are out in the community, whether on, of off, duty. Company officers: share emergency exit information with your crew. Ask the crew if anyone has ever found an obstructed or blocked exit? If so, how did he/she handle the problem? Let your crew know what the departments policy is for blocked emergency exits.
when you enter the room check behind the door. Even though it may not stop there could be a decent pocket for a small person or child
Pick a pattern left or right
Use tool to keep you oriented to wall depending on the search you are doing
Ensure that you are actually finding the windows and doors
Communicate size of room. No point in crowding into a small room
We will provide different illustrations of various techniques. If you are looking for books or videos Fire Engineering and Fire Department Training Network
Okay, so I know that it’s been a while since I have last posted, so I thought I’d start with a short one as I dust off my keyboard. This story occured a few months ago, and I have been meaning to share it, but haven’t gotten around to it, until now. One thing that I have always advocated to everyone is the standard morning checks of one’s equipment prior to starting the shift. In addition to the standard SCBA checks of checking the bottle, turning it on and hearing a PASS device arm, I also allow my PASS to alarm after the 30 second time out. Once it alarms, I silence it, then re-activated it by pushing the manual activation button before silencing it for good. Upon completing this ritual, a “senior” firefighter came up to me and said, “You know that’s pretty loud, right?”
Of course, my reponse went something like this, “Well ya, I think it’s supposed to be, right? So when I fall through a floor, someone may hear it and help me, right?”
Thus, he replied, “Well, you don’t have to check it every morning, the things do work, and they are pretty loud in the morning. Do you really think it’s necessary to go that far in your checks, that is why we carry radios, so you can call the Mayday if you need it.”
Well, I had to leave it at that, because I was clearly not going to change this firefighter’s mindset, yet still knowing that I am in the right. I also elaborated to him that there are only 2 things on the fireground that I can control which could save my life: My PASS device and my radio, which was another thing he didn’t seem to understand. I always change my own battery in the morning at shift change, and tell my guys to get in this habit as well. This way, you know you are startign fresh in the morning, and not depending on someone else to do it for you. I know in many departments and companies have a good policy of the chauffer doing this job, but I still recommend taking the additional 30 seconds to make sure yourself that you are ready to go to work. No one else is responsible for your life, but you. Anyways, in closing, take a few extra minutes and really go over the equipment that could mean the difference between being heard and saved versus not working and being dead. We can only hope that this culture of safety will continue, and that we can contiue to lower the LODDs in this country every year we think this way.
-Ladder Jack
If you are in these areas, this is an awesome opportunity to attend a FREE US Department of Energy Radiation Technician training program. The course uses radiation sources with significant strength; this offers an excellent opportunity to see how radiation instruments react in real radiation fields. Additional course and contact information is in the below, attached PDF (SC TMERRTT).
We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.
Often times fire departments will arrive on the scene of a building or dwelling fire and have to over come the obstacle of a long stretch when trying to reach the front door, not even including making it to the fire.
Go out and stretch the lines repeatedly so that you start getting the muscle memory and are able to develop a vision for aprroximate length.
Take a measuring wheel and count it out. This will also be good to add to a pre-plan during those times.
Note: Hose lines should be setup to reflect your response area and departmental policies, and not because that is what we have always done
Thank you for the introduction, firestudent1. I’m EMAGUY, another contributer for the site with a strong desire to learn. I have a diverse background, including fire, ems, and emergency management. My fire experience includes paid (county and industrial) and volunteer; my emergency management experience includes time at a county agency and healthcare positions.
In some articles, I may include a different viewpoint than you’re used to; however, I hope the different perspective helps you see the point I’m trying to make. Also, if you have a question, thought, or concern, post a comment! Maybe your comment will help generate additonal conversation about the topic.
Here are some article ideas I have:
Haz Mat: there’s always opportunity to learn something to keep us safe at haz mat incidents.
Fire and EMS: articles designed to help you operate more efficiently and effectively on the scene.
Company officers: the critical link between department administration and members. It’s a tough job; we’ll look at some ways to make better operational decisions, manage staff, and provide quality company level instruction.
Training officers: how to develop a training program and plan, covering regulatory and department requirements for all staff, including: firefighters, company officers, instructors, and department administration.
Again, thank you firestudent1 for providing me the opportunity to work with you and The Basics crew!
Generally, emergency responders expect to happen upon hazardous materials when responding to transportation or fixed facility incidents. Sometimes, haz mats (or potential haz mats) may be found in unexpected locations. Familiarity with haz mat container shapes and colors can be important clues indicating the presence of haz mats.
Crews responded to a grass fire on a cold day. The fire was running through some overgrown back yards; the fuels were light and about 18-24 inches high. A slight breeze was blowing, keeping the moderate smoke condition low to the ground. While pulling a hose line toward the fire, a long, cylindrical object with round ends was spotted! What’s a pressure container doing in a back yard?? The Incident Commander was informed of the finding. Flames around the cylinder were knocked down, the cylinder was removed from the burn area, and crews were able to determine the object didn’t pose a hazard.
Photo: author
This object wasn’t the only potentially hazardous item found. A 1.5 gallon, plastic gasoline container and a portable shop air tank were found in the burn area. Several tires were burning, requiring staff to remain clear of the tire smoke while extinguishing the fire.
Always be on the lookout for potentially hazardous items. Sometimes, hazardous items will be found in unexpected locations. For a quick drill at the kitchen table, discuss this subject with your crew. What unusual conditions has your crew found? What examples can you bring to the table (pun intended) for this drill?
We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize.
After being apart of some conversations, emails, and training I found that firefighters do not have an understanding that fire ground survival skills and Rapid Intervention are two separate disciplines. Fire Ground survival skills such as low profile maneuvers, ladder bails, and entanglement training provided the skills need to rescue a fellow firefighter who may encounter a fire ground emergency. Survival skills and Rapid Intervention get used everyday interchangeably but deserve their own time to develop these skills. Think of it like this we learn in school how to add and subtract, and those two alone are the foundation and survival skills you need later on for advanced mathematics such as Algebra. The reason we should know the difference is often firefighters on the fire ground are asked to be a RIT on the fire ground, but have no survival skills training to base RIT operations off of. When departments are creating training programs, trainers need to make sure members understand and are not getting burnt out on RIT training as many will say. Explanation will be required for members to understand how regular training allows for the proper default to learn skills when faced with emergencies. In the future we will post individual survival skills and rit drills. For success and more information on fire ground survival and rit I use the Fire Department Traininig Network. The Network has Fire Notes easy to read books that are practical and to the point as well as joining and receiving the monthly newsletter, and drill packages can be purchased check it out.
We will now go forth with our Fire Ground recognition series. We want you to Identify basic functions by putting yourself in the position of our brother and sisters in the videos. Remember these are videos and you could be the next week. We want to learn and grow not critcize. Five basic points to consider.
There is always talk of the basics and what they mean to the fire ground. Basics are the Key to preventing fire ground emergencies. Every week we will look at a fire not to poke fun or disrespect the agency in the photo or video, but in an effort to use these to open discussion about the basics and use them to identify flaws in our own fire ground operations!
So what does it take, to effectively manage a scene and not be labeled as a “Legacy” department?
First, you must understand your response area, resource availability and the ability of your personnel.
Secondly, once you arrive on scene, paint the picture gives a “Windshield size-up”. Then you must exit the vehicle and conduct a 360 degree walk-around. If the Incident Commander does not complete the initial walk around, a seasoned firefighter or officer must complete the walk-around. They will know what they are looking for and be able to relay the critical information to the incident commander via radio or face to face. During the walk-around, scene observations are made, roof line, initial smoke and fire conditions. Reading smoke is critical.
Next, the incident commander must quickly develop a plan. One that weighs Risk vs. Benefits. Once the plan has been established, ACCOUNTABILITY has to be established and utilized. ACCOUNTABILITY has been a façade for many departments that acted as a security blanket for years. Tactics have to be given, in order of priority based on the fire ground priorities/strategies. Once these tactics have been thought of and handed down to the company level will then employ functional assignments/tasks.
Communication from the crews to the Incident Commander or Operations sector and communications from the Incident Commander or Operations sector to the crews has to be a priority. This is the only way to achieve better accountability. Benchmarks have to be utilized by using a checklist (Tactical Priorities). These bench marks will drive the overall tactics, which in turn will cause the incident commander to reevaluate their strategies.
This will not be foreign material to “Modern” departments, however “Legacy” departments will be at a loss with the information and the mind set of what has to be accomplished.
I commend those that are a “Modern” department and I pray for those that are still a “Legacy” department. There is more at stake than an ego and hiding behind the “It’s always been done that way” attitude. Families, communities and organizations are at stake. If you are an officer and want to gamble, go to Vegas or Atlantic City. Don’t gamble within your own department. If you don’t want to stand up for your safety, your family’s safety and change within the department. Then do the fire service a favor and change professions and allow someone else who is willing to affect change to take your place. Start early with young firefighters, introduce them to the NFPA standards, professional journals, well grounded web sites. Learning never stops and more than ever, we as a fire service cannot sit idle by as hydrocarbon based materials become more and more volitile and building construction becomes more lightweight/deadly.
I have viewed the “Legacy vs. Modern Room” video that was done by NIST a dozen times. Every time I watch the video, I wonder how many departments are still operating as a “Legacy” department with tactics. Strategies have pretty much stayed the same throughout time, Life Safety, Incident Stabilization and Property Conservation. The last two always seem to switch based on what we as a fire service has presented to us upon arrival.
“Legacy” departments have not stayed up with building construction, fuel loading and validated articles, classes or the NFPA standards. When I started my career almost twenty years ago, NFPA standards were just a number on a label in the gear. Little did I realize back then, what they really meant or how few actually pertained to firefighting. In the recent years, 2in/2out, Rules of Air Management, Rapid Intervention Teams, Manning standards have hit the fire service. Understanding that these documents are national consensus standards and not law or regulation is a hard thing to swallow. The fire service has seen some major advances in the quality of PPE and apparatus design. However, this comes with a cost. The first thing you probably thought of was cost. Let’s look past the cost and look at how many departments don’t know that these documents even exist. This is the start of the “Legacy” department.
In recent years, NIST and UL have done extensive research on room by room comparisons, fuel loading, burn through times and even what can be accomplished tactically from a 5 person crew down to a 2 person crew. NIST and UL have been major advocates in promoting firefighter safety. When you view the videos and can’t see what has been done for the fire service with the research, well then, please don’t play the part of the incident commander.
Numerous articles have been published in recent years with some very solid research that has had a major impact on the fire service as a whole. Articles dealing with building construction, effects of fog stream nozzles, positioning, command and control. There are numerous reputable professional journals that are on the market today, that if you say you can’t find the information that you are looking for, then you are not looking. The internet has allowed us to watch some very interesting videos and well some less that desired tactics and training. The “Art of Reading Smoke” has become a major part of the fire service. NIOSH reports unfortunately give us history lessons of what does go wrong. To many NIOSH reports have the same items that seem to have a consistent theme: Command and Control, Communications, Standard Operating Policies and Training.
“Legacy” departments have been put into motion well before the call for service to respond to a working incident ever goes out. Change is not an option. Evaluation of current practices of tactics is not even considered. When these above mentioned items are not considered, read or even researched, the term that runs ramped through the firehouse is “We’ve always done it that way” or “It’s worked like that in the past”.
Why it is then these departments are surprised when something bad happens or even worse a close call occurs and nothing is learned from the incident.
Building construction has to be a driving force into our tactics. As materials become more lightweight and cost effective, benchmarks have to become part of our everyday fire scenes. Checklists have to be used to make sure that we are still on track and not deviating from firefighter safety and survival. “Legacy” department’s incident commanders and members will have denial and frustration. Why, because the admittance of being labeled as a “Legacy” department means there is a lot of catching up to do and a lot of changes that need changing. The likely hood of these departments truly changing is slim to none. Now I am sure there are some that will change. But, understand this cultural change. The “Legacy” departments will not even understand the 16 Rules of Engagement for the Incident Commander and the firefighters will not understand the 11 Rules of Engagement for Firefighter Safety published by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Departments do not want to admit how the lack the resources, knowledge or procedures to change. Firefighters will not understand in a “Legacy” department what they are doing wrong or what they need to be looking for.
Often times fire ground operations dictate aggressive engine work and the situation will get better for everyone, but who is looking out for the firefighters making the push. We are condition to make excuses or rely on the Fast/RIT teams to do basics fire gorund functions such as placing ground ladders for egress for operations such as VES or even emergency escapes when conditions change. Chief Ed Hadfield and a number of others out there have ask the question WHERE HAVE THE LADDERS GONE? So I ask you when operating at a dwelling or building fire does your fire ground look like this and why not?
The discussion of Rapid Intervention continued to come up among various groups. So from my vantage point R.I.T is both a Crutch and a Foe. I see as I go on vacation and travel for departments who have a solid grasp on training dictates the outcome of your operations where RIT is truly a service provided for when an incident happens the IC has his Spec Ops team to ensure everyone goes home. Now my problem is the department who leans on RIT as a crutch when providing poor fire ground operations, and/or not wanting to address reckless behavior on the fire ground. So my question are we so focused now on saving our own that we now don’t see training on the basics as the prevention needed to successfully make rapid intervention the most boring job on the fire ground?
Often times aggressive fire companies want to get inside and do work, but it is with that same aggression firefighters get killed. If any firefighter out there could justify why 15 firefighters should be operating in a 1100 sq ft ranch house here is your opportunity. Firefighters have to be thinking firefighters, and use the basics. What do I mean? One company for fire attack, a company to back them up, a company to search and open up. I do realize that the number increases as the square footage goes up but it still needs to be managed. Interior supervisor’s need to recognize when too many companies are on the interior and correct the problem. It has already been proven that it takes 12-14 people for a RIT team to rescue one down firefighter, but yet we continue to put RIT teams in a position to rescue multiple firefighters with only a 3-4 person team. My point being if your position is not to be committed to interior operations your time will come so stand by. Remember the items that burn today are highly volatile and cause conditions to change as well as the inexperience on the fire ground making poor hose line selections, and improper fire ground coordination of ventilation.
The point of view in this video shows almost everything that is happening so you have to imagine yourself showing up at street level and the limited view you would have had. The first arriving companies thought it was a fire in the rear porches. They were right, but, the fire was already inside the second building when they arrived.
I spoke with the officers on scene and from their point of view upon arrival they thought it was back porches and they thought they may have inadvertently pushed the fire into the second building. The officer on the first line to the rear was wondering why the fire was going to 3 alarms, let alone 4. It was obvious to command what was going on, but from the rear it was a different story. You can see the rear was a floor lower than the front.
I wish we could just get a couple second video from the front when the first arriving companies got on scene, but that’s not going to happen. Too often when someone posts a video the commenter gets to watch the whole thing and then decide what they would have done. It would be better to just get a few seconds and then watch the comments, to keep everyone honest. But comment away.
Was going to the rear with the first line a good choice?
Would going in from the front then making a basement attack have worked?
What size line are you going to bring?
Are there any other issues that should be brought up?
I may sometimes sound like a stickler for rules because a firefighter should at least know the procedures that way if they do something that isn’t in line with the procedures they have to provide reason instead of “I didn’t know”. My only critique is that at least one of the trucks arriving on the subsequent alarms should have looked at the roof instead of just putting the stick up. This would have minimized the chance of a guy alone on the roof, especially a relatively new guy. That’s just my opinion and I have had that opinion since this video was taped almost 9 years ago.
I was checking out some of the other firefighter blogs looking for something entertaining. Lucky for me I stumbled across Lt. Lemon at ELAFF complaining about Radio Redundancy. http://elaffhq.com/2011/08/19/radio-traffic-redundancy/
I suddenly have the urge to complain about the way some people use the radio. For entertainment purposes only:
Push and hold the little button before you start to speak, and hold it down until you are finished speaking. Nothing is better than getting the middle and the end of a message. “…teen update for the EMS, patient is not….conscious…”
You aren’t in the military anymore. “Roger, Wilco” and you don’t have to worry about the enemy tracking you so you don’t need to do the 5 second rush.
On the 5 second rush note, don’t think with the mic on. Think, THEN speak, and make it short.
Don’t over lawyer it. Yes you are being recorded, but you still have a job to do. Don’t start changing protocols or common phrases at random. For example; MVC or MVA, not giving updates if the patient/incident status changes, don’t hide things that should be broadcast.
Speaking of lawyers; you are being recorded, be professional. “applyin O2″ classic. “Patient is disorientated”,”It’s just a bum-he’s moving on”.
You aren’t a Doctor (If you are why are you reading this?). In my department we are only authorized 1st responder level care, EMT-B or P doesn’t matter so-”This guy is drunk” I prefer “altered mental status”. “Heroin overdose” unless there is a needle nearby I usually go with “respiratory arrest”.
If you aren’t first to the scene, you don’t need to call off, especially if you have no intentions of leaving the piece, thanks. Exceptions; it is a working incident, you are the chief, the ambulance we are all waiting for, or you are positioned out of sight and ready to provide a function from there. “E12 to dispatch, we are investigating on High St” …3min later…”Ladder 3 is on High St” Good job, the engine is already inside investigating, maybe even done already, they’ll see you when they are done.
Last but not least. DON’T EAT THE DAMN THING! Keep it away from your mouth. Did you know you may actually be able to leave it on the clip and speak? That’s 2′ from your mouth!
I know we’re called Firefighter Basics. I was actually wondering if this subject was TOO basic to cover. It’s not. We went on a run the other day and the officer told the 5 year guy to chock the door. The 5 year guy reaches up to his helmet and lo and behold the 2 chocks that he wears to balance out his helmet were missing. He says “My chock is missing”. The way he phrased it made it seem like it’s not his fault made my mouth drop. (He didn’t say “I don’t have one.”). The second reason I stared at him like he was and idiot was because we were in a crappy building with litter, debris and CRAP everywhere. I carry a chock block and have only used it once, to help pop a car door, I only have one chock and I know it’ll magically disappear if I use it somewhere. So here is a quick primer on “chocking” that door.
Remember; the Fire Service is goal oriented. When we do a job there is a mission to accomplish and steps that need to happen along the way. What are the goals of chocking the door?
We can get out easily if needed, no locked doors behind us.
Others can get to our location easily, no locked doors in front of our back-up.
Cause no damage or as little as possible if appropriate.
Walk out with all of our equipment.
There are 2 basic ways to chock the door, the first is so its wide open with unobstructed access, and the second is to prevent it from securing. Preventing the door from securing is usually pretty simple; obstruct the frame, wrap the latching hardware or some sort of complex remove the cylinder process (I’m not a fan). Preventing the door from securing is the most reliable, the door will usually hold these things in place, they may fall out the first time the door is used but that may be all that is needed. Propping the door wide open is actually more complicated because whatever you use has to be heavy enough or wedged in adequately to hold the door open reliably
Honestly the highest demand for propping a door open is on the routine medical calls where the apparatus arrives before the ambulance. An example is a semi-secure building with a desk guy or a buzz to enter building. The goal is to allow the door to be opened without someone there. All of these will work and I prefer to use a magazine or flyer of some type at these places.
Everyone loves to talk about chocking a door at a fire. “Door control is paramount” true, but at a legit fire I don’t give a shit about the door, put the Adz end of the halligan behind the hinges and pop the bottom ones free, the door will shift and sit on the ground. If you need to shut it the top hinge is still in place and the door can be closed if needed. Understand I’m not talking about forced entry here.
Stay safe
At a tech rescue call where all the other options to chock the door were more of a problem.
Cord, rope or inner tube with 2 holes wrapped around door knobs.
Rug, Mat or some item of clothing thrown over the door.
Old reliable
Floor mat, Magazine, Newspaper under/opening side of the door
Floor mat, Magazine, Newspaper Hinge side of the door
Trash can, furniture, Flower pot as a chock on an open door or agaist the frame.
Some purchased hinge hanger, could also us a wooden Dowel 3/4"X3" with a bent nail for this.
The inverse old reliable, watch out, it falls, but it has it's application.
During the setup a multi-agency drill, a conversation was started after a prop that was going to be used was built. The conversation covered when to remove a firefighter from the prop that will be used as apart of an Air Management course. The statement was made a firefighter starts to lose it you remove them from the prop. My feelings of course is that you allow them to stay there and work it out. My feelings are this way because, I feel that we are giving firefighters a false sense of security. Allowing them to believe that there is going to be a hand to just reach in and grab you when your in trouble. Firefighters who have experienced being lost and disoriented, or running out air know that this is not so. It was said to me that it seems like we just want firefighters to fail this particular skill by allowing them to panic and not pulling them out. My thoughts are the failure would be to pull them out and build that falsehood that help is always going to be right there. The basics are simple and plain if and when you get jammed because if your a firefighter going into structure fires you will, its simple you panic you could very well DIE! Yes I said it! Its a harsh reality, but true. You have to have a survival attitude and training to go along with it. So I ask you the fire service where is the failure. Is failure allowing firefighters to be pulled out because they panic, or Failure not to let them panic and hammer the point home?
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