Skip to content

Archives for professional-development

See all posts in the network tagged with professional-development

A.C.T now!

Written by

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.

Hurry! A.C.T. now! Operators are standing by!

Posted in administration-leadership, Education/Training, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, Motivation, Thoughts, Training, training-development, Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

April 24, 2013 • 1 comment

“He writes his own headlines”

Written by

What does “Writing his own headlines” mean?  That’s when someone spends so much time thinking about how this is going to look in the news they forget they have to do the work before the story gets written.

Example:

“Hey Lt Can I borrow one of your guys for this medical call?  My guy is cooking supper.”

“Of course, no problem” was my reply.

1/2 hour later both companies get a call for a Central Station Alarm, and the cook shows up on his piece to go.  When we return the cook asks my guy to cover for him again.  I say No.  He says “But how can you let US run short?”

I understand the cook is doing something for the benefit of everyone in the house that’s why I have no problem running short if his boss does have a problem running short.  My guys are not here to fill in so you can cherry pick your calls, either we cover you or we don’t.  So, in order to prevent digressing into an all out rant, let me be a bit more positive.  Or try.  All companies are equally important in the fire service.  If a company was not needed believe me the bean counters would close it.

If you think that chasing the beeping boxes all day downtown makes you a more important firefighter than the firefighter that works in the retirement firehouse in the affluent neighborhood, you are wrong.  It’s just your job, volunteer or paid.  For the paid guys who think they are more important than the vollies ask the residents of Breezy Point about how important their volunteer companies are.

What makes a company more important than another one?  Nothing on a day to day basis. No resident cares as long as someone shows up.

Knowing your job and doing your job when it matters makes you a BETTER company, more PREPARED Company.  I’m sick of hearing about the “Elite” companies that just drew a short straw that one time. EVERY TIME. Wow, the “Elite” company has a straight up figure eight in the feeder….. that IS awesome.

You know what, I’m going to go negative.  It’ll be more fun this way.  Here is a short list of ways to tell if your company is spending more time writing their own headlines then they are making the story worth reading.  Please feel free to add your own.

1. Oh jeez!  I thought Stedman Court was off Stedman Ave, why would it be 3 blocks away?

2. If you can get to the address, but not to the fire.

3. If you can get to the roof, but dog gone it that guy yesterday didn’t fill the saw.

4. If you know what every other Fire Company did at the incident.

5. If you know what every other Fire Company did WRONG at the incident.

6. What the hell is he checking that tool for?  We never use it.  He must be new.

7. I didn’t know they were building this massive apartment complex in my district.  Those lazy Fire Prevention guys should have told us.

8. We don’t need training, they do.

9. Look at them wearing their equipment while investigating.  Are they afraid of fire or something? It’s just an alarm.

10.  Its not our fault the piece is all beat up.  It’s too big for our district, the city should have thought of that.

Maybe you should have a look in the mirror and see what is really there.  You cannot be that unlucky, maybe you just suck at this.  There is hope, and training is the light at the end of the excuse tunnel. If something is going wrong every time you go out and it always seems to be someone else’s fault, um, sorry but it’s not them…it’s you.

Let’s do the Jeff Foxworthy thing; “You might be writing your own headlines if;”….

 

Posted in Motivation, Thoughts

Tagged , , ,

January 16, 2013 • 1 comment

Residential Search Drill Part I

Written by

For this drill you will need

  1. Full turnout gear w/o SCBA
  2. Room setup like a bedroom
  3. Hand tools
  4. Department SOP’s for search

Remember to cover the basics

  1. Check the door for heat before opening
  2. 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
  3. Pick a pattern left or right
  4. Use tool to keep you oriented to wall depending on the search you are doing
  5. Ensure that you are actually finding the windows and doors
  6. 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

 

Posted in command-leadership, Drills, Education/Training, firefighting-operations, Training, training-development

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

November 12, 2012 • 5 comments

Unexpected Haz Mats

Written by

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.

Photo: author

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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?

Posted in Education/Training, hazmat, training-development

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 20, 2012 • No comments

Fire Ground Survival the Foundation for R.I.T

Written by

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.

Posted in Education/Training, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, special-operations, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

July 3, 2012 • 1 comment

10,000 Hours?!

Written by

 

How do some firefighters get really good at their job and some, well, not so much. I was just perusing Malcolm Gladwell’s book “Outliers” and one of the focuses of the book is the 10,000 hour rule to become an expert or successful. I don’t plan on reading the book, but I’ve heard this 10,000 hour number before.

10,000 hours….

5 years full time employment (40hrs a week)

10 years part time

For the average firefighter that may take an hour a shift to check the piece; 64 years, if you do 3 shifts per week

OUCH! And that is just operating the piece and the equipment on it, not RIT training, not roof operations, not EMS skills, not fitness all of which a firefighter should be an expert at. Or is it 10,000 hours of “firefighter job related stuff”? Either way, I’m nowhere near it.

Now Gladwell is far from THE authority on the subject, having written about other people’s research and weaving in some interviews for flavor, but the idea is interesting.

I may have brought this up before, but have you ever watched someone at an incident farting around with a power tool like a monkey fornicating a football? Don’t you just think “Come on guy, the switch is still off”? How much time has he spent with that saw? How many hours? Minutes? He is acting like it’s his first time.

We ran a 2 1/2″ line in an attempt to fill our local pond on my last shift. The crew was all experienced and professional and I would consider a most of them to be experts. I asked for a solid stream (built into the nozzle) we had an issue finding it, when the hydrant was charged it gave the line too much pressure, We had a difficult time with apparatus placement to have an easy escape in order to stay available for responses.

The placement issue was all me. It was a silly new officer mistake. I try not to micro manage so I let the driver pick the placement based on my requirements, now I know better. The line problems were just rust. Not equipment rust, but firefighter rust. I know they are good at their jobs, it was a good refresher for all. The total delay or inconvenience was negligible and barely noticeable to anyone watching but everyone involved knew what happened and how to fix it.

When we were harassing each other about it later one of the younger firefighters ask what we were talking about and why it was an issue. So I see we need to do it again and get him a little closer to the 10,000.

Every time you put your hands on that piece of equipment you are learning something about it. All those little things that make checking the piece faster and easier for you also make you more familiar with it. The more familiar you are, the better you are but also the more complacent you become, not getting into that today.

Do I think the saw needs to be checked every day to be maintained? No. I do think it needs to be checked every day to maintain our readiness and competency with it. I can understand getting rusty with a 2 1/2″ line, 75% of our work is handled with an 1 3/4″, but there is no excuse for not knowing your saw, ladder, EMS equipment.

Are you going to get 10,000 hours of training and become an “expert”? I doubt it. Most of us have long passed the expert level at sleeping or channel surfing, maybe Grand Master level for some. But the general idea here is that you need to get your hands on that stuff. Get your face in the books.

Become a student of the fire service.

 

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, Drills, Education/Training, Engine Tips, Motivation, Thoughts

Tagged , , , , , , , , ,

June 28, 2012 • No comments

Fire Ground Operations # 4

Written by

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.
•Size-Up
•Command
•Hose Lines ( Deployment, Number )
•Truck Functions
•Water Supply

Posted in command-leadership, Education/Training, firefighting-operations, fires, Training, Uncategorized, videos

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

June 19, 2012 • No comments

WHY?

Written by

Hey everyone, I’m back like a really bad habit! How often in your next tour will you as a fireman or a company officer hear the word “Why” come out of a members mouth? This word can be good, bad, or just downright insubordinate. This is my getting back in the grove, so this will be short, but for anyone that knows me at all, much more is coming on this issue! Drillmaster’s challenge is simple. Count the “Why’s” your next tour, keep track positive or negative. Let me know and we are off to the races! I’m back, more opinionated as ever Brothers! Always remember those who came before us on this Memorial Day Weekend! we are our Brothers Keepers!

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, firefighter-safety-health, Motivation, Thoughts

Tagged , , , , , , , ,

May 27, 2012 • 2 comments

Legacy Tactics Part II by Training 38

Written by

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.

Posted in Building Construction, command-leadership, Education/Training, fire-prevention-education, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, Thoughts, Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

May 17, 2012 • 3 comments

The Greedy Ones

Written by

Over the past couple of weeks I have become very disheartend with the fire service in my local area. I have realized that there is a lot of  lip service paid to Doing the Right Thing, but very little action as to which. The dishearting comes from the lack of truly sharing resources and information. Even though I have been in the fire service very long when I started thirteen years ago it was expected and acted upon when you had information or were doing a training, that it was going to be shared so as many firefighters as possible could be affected. Now with that being said the Greedy Ones and in this case Greed is not Good. The belief I was given coming up in the fire service and still believe today is share the information, share the training so that many can be affected not just your particular group or agency. Do the days no longer exsist of if I got it you got it. It appears that firefighters now use the mentality of the fish from the movie Finding Nemo Mine! Mine Mine! Who are you? Where did you come from? Last time I checked that ain’t the Brother/Sisterhood I knew or know and/or want to be apart of. My point is as you go out and find new information and you know its validated and correct share it with the masses it does you know good trapped up inside that head of yours.

Posted in administration-leadership, command-leadership, Education/Training, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged , , ,

June 27, 2011 • 4 comments

To Invest or Not to Vest? That is the Question

Written by

We have been fortunate here at Firefighter Basics to make a lot of friends of some very well known talented Brothers and some unknown talented Brothers of which all provide training at some level. Whether it is FDIC on down to the Company level in their firehouse. The topic that always occurs or seems to at least is the fact that firefighter’s talk a great game but never want to show up for practice. Firefighters say that want to be the best and want our Profession respected, but is that really true? Do we ourselves really respect our Profession? Do we really work hard at perfecting our craft or do we allow that word that we use called Tradition to continue to be a crutch. Our actions are not imitating our words. It is said that less than 1 percent of the Firefighters in this country are really seeking to be the best at our Profession. I say that strongly because as a good friend put it, ” This ain’t no game. People die in this job. If you think this is a hobby and not a Profession it is just a matter of time before you get someone killed. ” I see Fire Schools and classes getting canceled all around the country for lack of participation. When will we stop looking for a handout and become accountable for ourselves. Sure I agree the department should be seeking to provide great training, but if it is not the responsibility falls on who?

Firefighters need to start being willing to invest in themselves and do everything possible to make it back home at the end of the tour. We are not babies here time to wake up. As I quote the movie ATL ” This grown folk business here “. I ask you to look inside yourself and decide are you ready to make a commitment to yourself, your family, and your Brothers?

Will you be a professional and prepare yourself for the fight. The Choice is yours.

Posted in Thoughts, training-fire-rescue-topics

Tagged ,

October 21, 2010 • 4 comments