Category Archives: Firefighter Safety

Searching Without a Line!

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SEARCHING WITHOUT A LINE: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
05/01/1998

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SEARCHING WITHOUT A LINE: WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
BY MIKE LOMBARDO
Risk analysis models influence much of the fireground decision making in the fire service today. But at times we are called to go against these models, act against the odds. The results of such actions are sometimes tragic and sometimes successful. Regardless of the outcome, the fire service must remember that we are a human service, and a standard set of rules or guidelines cannot always dictate the actions of the firefighters who serve the public.
On the evening of January 29, 1998, at approximately 6:30 p.m., a full first-alarm assignment was dispatched to a report of a fire on Townsend Street in Buffalo, New York. The assignment consisted of three engine companies, two truck companies, a rescue company, and a battalion chief.
Truck 11 arrived right behind Battalion 3; the fire was only two blocks from the unit`s quarters. It is a single unit stationed only with the chief; it carries no water and was staffed that evening with five firefighters and an officer. On arrival, the fire was observed venting from two doors and two windows on the number 4 side, from the first-floor rear apartment of this two-story wood-frame dwelling.
With very heavy fire venting from every opening on the number 4 side of the building except one and no engine company yet on location, the prudent decision would have been to await the arrival of an engine and the stretching of a line. However, there were also a frantic mother and father screaming that one of their children was not yet out of the apartment.
Battalion Chief Tom McNaughton also relayed to us that a child was indeed inside the building. He requested that we attempt to enter and search for the child.
There were no openings on the number 3 side of the structure, and windows on the number 2 side were immediately inaccessible by security bars (doors to the apartment were on the number 4 side).
I made the decision to enter the only remaining window into the apartment that was not venting fire. Heavy smoke pushed from the window. Firefighters Tom Jackson and Chuck Sardo and I entered the window into a bathroom. There was a high heat condition in this room. Ahead was a small hallway, where fire was rolling across the ceiling. Jackson crawled through the hallway and into the kitchen. Conditions were worsening rapidly. Fire was heavy in the kitchen.
Outside, Truck 11`s driver, Firefighter Tom Schmelzinger, handed a 212-gallon extinguisher into the bathroom window to me while Firefighters Tom Sullivan and Mike Taube went to the number 2 side of the building to force entry through the security bars on the windows there. (There were also scissor gates on the doors of this apartment house, though they were not a factor in the fire.)
Jackson traveled through the kitchen, with Sardo following. I tried to protect them as much as possible with the water can. Then Jackson entered a small bedroom off the kitchen. He searched a set of bunk beds in this room, with negative results. He came to a pile of clothes in front of the bedroom closet. He found a two-year-old boy.
The bedroom window was barred, providing no exit. Jackson rushed the baby out of the room and almost became trapped in the tiny space at the beginning of the hall between the kitchen sink and hallway wall, which measured less than 18 inches. His helmet was dislodged halfway off his head. He handed the baby to Sardo, who handed the child to me, and I passed him outside to firefighters. The child was in cardiac arrest, and the firefighters performed CPR as they rushed him to a waiting ambulance.
Meanwhile, I used the water can to protect Jackson and Sardo as they made their way forward to the bathroom. It did not extinguish much fire but slowed its progress. I ascertained from Chief McNaughton that this was the only person reported to be in the structure, and we exited the structure. Engine 3`s crew had advanced a line into the building by this time and pushed into the apartment, quickly controlling the fire.
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
There was tremendous heat in the bathroom, where our team entered. The tub surround had melted into the bathtub, and a medicine cabinet had melted off the wall. Firefighter Jackson received minor burns to his head when his helmet was dislodged in the hallway. These types of conditions normally would indicate that entry should not be made without a handline.
However, with reliable reports such as those given that evening by the child`s family, an attempt must be made to enter and search. If a handline had been immediately available, it still may not have guaranteed success; it most likely would have been advanced in through the apartment door, and crews would have had to delay the search while this line was advanced.
About two months after this fire, a man and woman walked into the quarters of Truck 11. With them was their son, Elijah, the boy rescued from the fire. The child had a fairly large burn on his head that was still healing, but otherwise he was in great shape. If his parents were asked about the firefighting risk vs. benefit of the rescue of their child, there is no question what their answer would be. And with the successful rescue of the baby, I am sure that the collective fire service voice is in agreement.
At the time we entered, Elijah Hall`s life was in the balance, and the duration of that life would be decided within the next few seconds.
But what happens when the child does not survive, or a firefighter does not survive or is seriously injured? It seems, then, that the collective fire service voice is very muddled with armchair quarterbacks saying, “I told you so.”
Decisions such as the one made on Townsend Street are not made by a computer or in a classroom with time to ponder. They are made in a split second and often without complete information. Elijah Hall`s life was saved primarily by the actions of Firefighter Tom Jackson, but also in part by all the members of the team of firefighters who responded that evening. He was saved because Tom–with his training and experience and his team behind him, fully recognizing the risk–“went out and did what he had to do.” And that`s the essence of the fire service.
Events like this take place throughout the fire service. We seldom see names associated with these types of actions. They are not a component of ICS. What drives them cannot be taught in the classroom. Even with our ever-increasing reliance on technology and business management philosophies, the fire service must not lose sight of our primary mission–to save lives–and the fact that it is often the immeasurable personal qualities of individual firefighters that are the driving force behind the accomplishment of that mission. n

Legacy versus Impact: I’m In conflict

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“They’ll remember us for this”

 

Can I be honest?  I think any time you discuss maintaining proper life and work balance it can become intensely personal quick. But I also think this is one of the most important things we need to talk about.  I’m hoping if I go first, then maybe you’ll keep your defenses lowered and allow this to soak in.  If our personal lives are the exposures on our firegrounds, then it does nothing to have a great career (fire attack) if we let it all burn down around us. I’m a husband and a father who is spoiled by three incredible and beautiful ladies who love me very much. But my home life and work are out of balance and its causing conflict with my family…I’ve confused leaving a legacy at work with having impact.

I’m a fire officer and I have to have hard talks with people at time who are in crappy situations (sometimes personal or professional and a result of something they caused; other times its thru no fault of their own).  Sometimes I get the message right and everyone benefits.  Other times the situation is messy or rushed and perhaps my advice or opinion is just wrong for what’s happening.  I read the situation wrong, missed the full context, simply lacked experience, or someone else with more influence made the situation worse with their advice. If I’m really being honest, you should know that I’m your typical Type A, motivated, passionately driven, stubborn, thinks he knows it all fireman (and I admittedly don’t—yes I can admit it).  I consider myself to have more wins than losses, but I do try new things, and old things in different ways in the name of perfecting our “craft”. And from time to time I get “it” wrong.

Those of us who care about the fire service tend to share the same values.  We work and train hard to create and maintain a reputation in which we are credible, trustworthy, and competent to pass the job on.  We hope we are “one of the good ones” (in whatever role or rank that might be). We want to be a person people will consider a positive role model, want to work with, and reach out to when help is needed.  To achieve this we spend countless hours away from home in training classes and attending conferences.  The very nature of the job will cause us to miss holidays, birthdays, and other important events in our family’s lives in the name of work.  We’ll put in 25 years and hope to retire happy, healthy, and with someone who cares about us.  For all this hard work maybe they will name a sports arena, conference, or courage award after us!  Probably not, and unfortunately more likely some of us will inadvertently sacrifice our marriages, or strain relationships beyond repair with the ones that truly matter, like our children.  We will miss lunches at schools with our kids, and reading books before bedtime.  I think you are starting to see the picture I’m trying to paint.

Can you picture someone like me that works in your department? Here’s a hint, if you’re reading this, try looking in the mirror.  Chances are if you care about the fire service and your role in it, we have a lot in common including our professional values.  We would probably get along really well, and have a lot of fun training and working together.

So what’s the difference between legacy and impact, and which should we concern ourselves with? To understand my take on this, you need this example.  The fire department that I work for incorporated EMS in the 1980’s (well before my time).  This is arguably the largest culture change in the history of the fire service—no matter how you feel about it (sorry SLICERS, it can’t all be about you).   The story goes, that the men and women that put our first ambulances in-service would show up in the morning with calls pending, and leave in the evening—with calls

pending.  When the ambulance shifts became 24 hours you can imagine there was very little sleep to be had for those individuals as well.  This marked a significant increase in calls for service and obviously changed the fire service forever.  Today’s parallel is shared by our brothers and sisters who maintain their assignments at core busy stations, where an opportunity for a solid three hour block of sleep is a treat, not the norm.

Fast forward to today.  We recently concluded a project at work that I worked on with a group for over 16 months.  Most nights at the station I would retreat to the officer’s bunk around ten in the evening and then work another three to four hours to make sure I was meeting deadline.  I did this while at a core busy station and I averaged two hours of sleep a night.  I came home exhausted and if I wasn’t working part time I would often nap the next day and miss spending mornings with my kids.  When I was awake, I acted like a robot just sitting there until I would snap at them and even my wife because I was so tired.  Do you know this kind of tired? When I would talk, it was usually about work or I was on the phone with someone about work.  Have you ever had to have a meeting during the summer that interrupted family outings or prevented vacations? I’m sure you’ve never received a phone call from people needing information while you are trying to put the children to bed or eat dinner.  All in the name of meeting a deadline.

As I sat there pouring over the project drafts, I kept reminding myself that the work the group was doing was one of many paramount to the future success of our department. I might have even said “they’ll remember us for this”.  The project work often followed me home and after several hundred hours invested—we were done.   I bet the people who worked to get that first ambulance in service might have said something similar— “This is important to the department….they’ll remember us for this….this is our legacy.”  And in these last few words I see the problem. Would you like to know the names of these folks who sacrificed themselves to get that ambulance in-service? I can’t tell you.  I can’t even tell you the exact year or firehouse where it occurred.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate their sacrifice and professionalism.  I love learning about the history of ours and the fire service. It’s just over thirty years later after the first EMS call, we run so many it just fades into the background.  I’m responsible for knowing so much about so many different things and there simply isn’t enough time in the day to value or pay attention to everything.

I’ve confused legacy with impact.  Impact is the ability to literally collide ideas and values benefiting the here and now, with an eye towards the future.  As leaders, we should all strive to have a positive impact at work.  Legacy, is an opportunity to create a gift—an inheritance of our values about the world and how to navigate within it—that we can leave to the ones we love.  The mistake leaders make is thinking the place to create this is at work.  Avoid confusing the two and realizing neither. My passion for the fire service has blinded me to my shortcomings as a husband and father and this is creating a conflict within myself.  My wife and little girls will remember the memories we make together.  I hope to pass on my values and best attributes while raising them.  Hopefully they will go on to have great impact in the world and create their own families and

legacy.  We will sit around one day and watch home videos and joke about how much more hair Daddy had back then.  We won’t sit around and talk about the project that Daddy worked on for 16 months.  And the reality is that in another 10 years, no one else in my organization will either.  It will more than likely be redrafted and improved upon by the next “go-getters” of the organization.

My role in the fire service is to have a positive impact at work—do a great job, have fun, and empower the next generation of firefighters and leaders.  My legacy is always growing at home with my wife and children and ultimately is determined by their success.  They should receive the bulk of my time, attention, and investment.  We sink a ton of time into developing our teams and ourselves at work, but are we doing the same at home? If you read a fire service book, do you read one on marriage or parenting? If you travel for a fire conference, do you attend a marriage retreat or take a family vacation?  Like a see-saw, it is difficult to maintain balance, and we will have ups and downs in the process.

Anytime I take the time to read something like this (and I appreciate it that you’ve made it this far), I always look to see if the author is offering anything usable moving forward.  In the spirit of this, here’s what I’m currently doing and preaching.  I talked with my wife, and told her this was on my mind. I asked for her help and support in making this change a priority.  I also asked her to be patient and forgive me when old habits emerge.  I was intentional about letting her know that the family is the priority, not work.  I am learning to respectfully say no.  It’s ridiculous how easy I volunteer for projects.  I’m very curious and like problem solving, and people are well aware of how to pitch me an idea to get me on board.  Spread this message to young folks as you see them along the way.  A lot of senior people in my department gave me warnings and advice throughout my career.  I hope they forgive me for not listening sooner, and are happy I’m starting to get it now.  I’m not preaching don’t get involved, (it’s hypocritical given my lengthy committee involvements) but in doing so seek balance.

Quite simply, if you feel overwhelmed chances are, you are either out of balance or quickly headed that way.  To borrow from the fire service, you should maintain a manageable “span of control”: 3-7 life priorities with an optimal of 5.  Your significant other and children should each occupy a priority.  If you have children with multiple sports or clubs that split your family into different directions and make it hard to eat family meals together, then that occupies a third priority.  If you are not currently in a relationship (either divorced or not dating), make sure you keep a slot reserved for meeting new folks.  We were not made to be alone, and you shouldn’t let work prevent you from having a social life and finding people that add value and meaning to your life.

So that leaves us potentially only 2-4 more available priorities.  If you are a leader at work, then your team is a priority.  If you have a rookie, guess what, his or her development needs to be an additional priority (and rightfully so).  This is your largest chance to create lasting impact: provide a positive influence while they learn the culture of the fire service.  Your own development, especially as leadership, is also a priority.  Spend time reading, attending classes (in moderation), listening to leadership and training podcasts—making yourself a better leader benefits your team.  So before we have added the first “special project” we have almost exceeded our span of control.  Make sure you always have at least one slot available for emergencies such as a family death, mental health crisis, or illness such as cancer.  It’s like having a rapid intervention team for our personal life.

I’m not preaching don’t fall in love with the fire service.  Just know that she can only love you but so much back, and is very fickle when she does.  There is a season for everything, and being a young officer with young children is currently my struggle.  I’ve worked over the last two years to honor current commitments but also to not take on any others that might distract from my goal at work, which is to create value and opportunity for the team everyday.  This is an on-going process and I’m not perfect in it.  I’ve set my sights on making a change where home is the priority, and I work hard while at work, but leave it there. I wish you the best success in your career, and hope to see and hear from you on the road to recovering balance between life and work.  If there is anything I can do to help or offer advice, please feel free to contact me at mar91@henrico.us.

Benjamin Martin is a lieutenant with the Henrico County Division of Fire (Va) and an 11-year veteran of emergency services.  He is a graduate of and former Deputy Curriculum Chief with The Virginia Fire Officers Academy.  He focuses on empowering aspiring leadership ahead of promotion.  He is equally passionate about supporting and promoting resiliency in existing leadership.  He has two bachelor’s degrees in Allied-Health (Pre-Med) and Fire Science and is currently working on a Master’s in Public Administration.

RIT Deployment “Firefighter Triage”

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Article Updated 05/07/2023

The Ultimate Test!

RIT DEPLOYMENT

Firefighters rescue civilians daily from the interior of a working structure fire and SAVE many lives by going interior to suppress and search for trapped occupants. Civilians have incredible respect for firefighters because saving lives is our top priority. Respect is enormous and not to be taken lightly. However, we can quickly lose it. Generally, most civilians respect the average firefighter and place them on a pedestal compared to other occupations. Firefighters should respect this and work to continue this admiration that is placed on our calling. I appreciate the admiration and respect that most civilians give us. Still, it is not what I’m looking for concerning earning respect/admiration. The civilian is very high on my priority list.

Still, the firefighters I’m responsible for are VERY high on this same list, and they frequently RISK their lives to save others. I want to feel confident I can command a Firefighter Rescue Operation “Mayday.” A Mayday and RIT operations is the ultimate test I may face one day as a Fire Ground Commander. I think about it every single day. I study previous Maydays and RIT OPERATIONS. I also do a lot of WHAT IFs. What if this happens, What if that happens, and how would I/we deal with that? We cannot do too much “What If Thinking.”

Recently I notified my battalion that we would be performing a RIT DRILL and gave them some details. I explained it would involve a down firefighter trapped in a collapse that required them to use airbags in a low visibility environment under challenging conditions. They had a few weeks to prepare/ train however they deemed necessary.

The drill involved two firefighters trapped in a basement under a simulated collapse. We used couches with bags of concrete as the weight to simulate a floor on top of rescue dummies. One of the dummies/downed firefighters only wore an SCBA mask and no airpack. Another dummy/downed firefighter with an airpack and SCBA mask in place was ten feet away. The low-air alarm bell had just run out once the RIT entered the basement. We also had smoke detectors and pass devices sounding. Distracting noises are critical for firefighters to learn the difference between a pass and a smoke detector. Smoke detectors can cause a false attraction and delay air/rescue to a trapped firefighter. Once the RIT locates the down firefighter, they must ID, check the air supply, and silence the pass. The three initial actions must occur in unison, and the RIT must report the findings to the incident commander. History tells us that we could find additional firefighters other than the one or ones that called a mayday. Historically, many firefighters located by a RIT never transmitted a call for HELP” MayDay.”

During the drill, each RIT found the firefighter with strictly a mask on first. They did the above priorities the best they could. They could not ID the firefighter because the firefighter was not adequately marked, YES, adequately marked. All firefighters operating on the fire ground should have their name on the bottom of the mask, front piece, and lower part of the bunker coat. In addition, the air pack’s bottle band and front shoulder strap must have the company designation. With these markings, IDing a down firefighter and confirming their assigned company is easy. Many fire departments still need to properly ID their firefighters, which amazes me. I have operated on the fire ground with well-identified and poorly-identified firefighters, which is a huge difference when firefighters are visibly marked.

Now back to the RIT drill.

Once the RIT gets the first firefighter on air and silences the pass, they hear a second pass alarm ten feet away. This downed firefighter has a fully operational airpack that is very low on air or has just run out. Now the RIT has a serious decision to make. Do they try and get RIT PACK between the two and provide a regulator to the mask of the first firefighter and trans-fill the second firefighter? Doing so would be a great option, but in this scenario, I purposely spread the two just enough that the RIT hoses would not reach. I wanted them to decide, YES, downed firefighter TRIAGE. Nobody wants to talk about it.

Yes, everyone goes home, but they might not go home alive. With this reality’s obvious nature, we must train to save those that can be saved. We do it with civilians, and it is a probability to be faced with the same situation during a RIT operation. I placed Worcester District Chief Mike McNamee’s picture on my screen saver in December 1999 and left it up for almost a year. I looked at his picture daily and thought about the decisions he faced and the ones he made that night. I have never met him, but he has impacted my career and voyage to prepare for the ULTIMATE test. So do we disconnect the first firefighter, trans-fill the second, then return to the first and re-hook up the regulator? I don’t know; each situation is different. Consider the downed Firefighters’ location, previous radio communications, signs of injuries, firefighter age, and other considerations we would prefer not to discuss openly.

DOWNED FIREFIGHTER TRIAGE.

Once you have established air to the down firefighter, the extrication process begins. What tools will you need, and have you trained to use them in this environment? Are the tools set up for RIT operations? Airbags used in a RIT operation must be set up correctly by the RIT Team with ropes or webbing to assist in dragging and operating in a hostile environment. They also need to be marked appropriately with isolation valves already pre-connected. The hoses need to be marked so you can identify them in low visibility. The setup of the control box and hose needs to be streamlined. When operating two bags, you should have three different colors, something to help manage the hoses during deployment and while setting up on arrival at the downed firefighter. It can be frustrating if you have not trained and thought out your airbag operation.

Back to the top.

The civilian respects you, but do your fellow firefighters RESPECT YOU?
Have you genuinely worked at preparing yourself for the Ultimate Rescue, a Firefighter Rescue?

I want the civilians I swore to protect to respect what I do and how seriously I take my calling. But more importantly, I want my fellow firefighters to feel confident that I have done and will do whatever is necessary to save them if they get caught or trapped in a fire. I hope to fulfill my calling.

Every day must be a Training Day!

Curt Isakson

Additional Note!
Do not run out of air as a RIT TEAM member with a FULL RIT AIR PACK in your hands or available. The RIT TEAM may need to share the RIT PACK. Practice trans-filling yourself. It takes practice..

The Ultimate Test!

RIT DEPLOYMENT

Firefighters rescue civilians everyday from the interior of a working structure fire and SAVE a lot of lives by going interior to suppress and search for trapped occupants. Saving Lives is our top priority and this is the reason civilians respect firefighters so much. Respect is huge and should not be taken likely. It’s not easy to earn, but can easily be lost. I think generally most civilians respect the average firefighter and place them on a pedestal in comparison to other occupations. Firefighters should respect this and work to continue this admiration that has been placed on our calling. I appreciate the admiration/respect that most civilians give us, but it is not what I’m looking for in relation to earning respect/admiration. The civilian is very high on my priority list, but the firefighters I’m responsible for are VERY high on this same list and they frequently RISK their lives to save others; and I want to feel confident, that I have the abilities to command a Firefighter Rescue Operation “Mayday”. I view this, as the ultimate test that I may face one day as a Fire Ground Commander. I literally think about it every single day. I study previous Maydays and RIT OPERATIONS. I also do a lot of WHAT IFs???? What if this happens, What if that happens and how would I/we deal with that. I don’t think we can do, to much What if thinking.

 

Recently I gave notice to my battalion that we would be performing a RIT DRILL and gave them some of the details. I explained it would involve a down firefighter, trapped in a collapse. That they would be required to use airbags in a low visibility environment, under challenging conditions. They were given a few weeks to prepare/ train however they deemed necessary.

The drill consisted of two firefighters trapped in a basement under a simulated collapse. We used couches with bags of concrete as weight to simulate a floor on top of rescue dummies. One of the dummies/down firefighters strictly had a mask on and no airpack. Ten feet away was another dummy/down firefighter with airpack and mask on. The bell was ringing or had just ran out once the RIT makes it down into the basement. We also had smoke detectors and pass devices sounding. This is critical for firefighters to learn the difference between a pass and a smoke detector. Smoke detectors can cause a false attraction and delay air/ rescue to a trapped firefighter. Once the RIT locates the down firefighter they must ID, check air, and silence the pass. These three priorities should almost be done together and reported to command. History tells us that we could find additional firefighters other than the one or ones that called a mayday. Historically a large number of firefighters have been located that never transmitted a call for HELP ” MayDay”.

During the drill, each RIT found the firefighter with strictly a mask on first. They did the above priorities the best they could. They were unable to ID the firefighter, because the firefighter was not properly marked. YES, properly marked. All firefighters operating on the fire ground should have their name on the bottom part of mask, front piece, and lower part of bunker coat. In addition to this, each air pack should be marked with company designation on the bottle band and front shoulder strap. With these markings, it should be fairly easy to ID a down firefighter and confirm the company they are assigned to. It still amazes me how many fire departments do not properly ID their firefighters. I have operated on the fire ground with both and it is a huge difference when firefighters are visibly marked.

Back to the drill.

Once the RIT gets the first firefighter on air and silences the pass, they hear a second pass ten feet away and this down firefighter has a fully operational airpack, that is very low on air or has just ran out. This is where the RIT has a serious decision to make. Do they try and get RIT PACK between the two and provide regulator to mask of first firefighter and trans-fill the second firefighter. This would be a Great option, but in this scenario, I purposely spread the two just enough that the RIT hoses would not reach. I wanted them to decide, yes down firefighter TRIAGE. Nobody wants to talk about it. Yes, everyone goes home. They just might not go home alive. This is a reality and we must train to save those that can be saved. We do it with civilians and we may be faced with this same situation during a RIT operation. I placed Chief Mcnames picture on my screen saver in December of 1999 and left it up for almost a year. I looked at his picture everyday and thought about the decisions he faced and the ones he made that night. I have never met him, but he has impacted my career and voyage to prepare for the ULTIMATE test. So do we disconnect the first firefighter, go trans fill the second, to then return to the first and re hook up the regulator?? I’m not sure, each situation could be different. Location, previous radio communications, signs of injuries, age of firefighter and other considerations that we don’t like to openly discuss. Down FIREFIGHTER TRIAGE.

Once you have established air to the down firefighter, now begins the extrication process. What tools will you need and have you trained using them in this kind of environment? Are the tools set up for RIT operations. Airbags used in a RIT operation need to be set up properly with ropes or webbing to assist in dragging and using in a hostile environment. They also need to be properly marked with isolation valves already pre connected. The hoses need to be mark where you can identify in low visibility. The control box and hose need to be stream lined. When operating two bags, you should have three different colors and something to help manage the hoses during deployment and while setting up once at the down firefighter. It can be very frustrating if you have not trained and thought out your air bag operation.

Back to the top.

The civilian respects you, but does your fellow firefighters RESPECT YOU?

Have you truly worked at preparing yourself for the Ultimate Rescue, a Firefighter Rescue?

I would like the civilians, I swore to protect, to respect what I do and how serious I take my calling. But more importantly, I really want my fellow firefighters to feel confident that I have done and will do whatever necessary to save them if they were to get caught or trapped in a fire. I hope that I am able to full fill my calling.

Everyday must be a Training Day!

Curt Isakson

Additional Note!

Do not run out of air as a RIT TEAM member with a FULL RIT AIR PACK in your hands or available. The RIT TEAM may need to share the RIT PACK. Practice trans-filling yourself. It takes practice..

On-Duty Checklist “The IDIOTS of the Fire Service”

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When reporting to the firehouse, are you ready for a shift change FIRE? Have you prepared for the FIRE that will happen just as you relieve the off going firefighter? We must look at a Tour Of Duty/24 Hour Watch in the firehouse like a marathon. We must show up READY! You just don’t wake up one day and say, I’m going to run a marathon today. No, you train, train, and train some more. You prepare and plan out all 26 MILES, just as you should be training for the marathon that will happen while On-Duty. It doesn’t happen every watch, but it does happen, and usually on a  day when you least expect it.

photoAre you ready for the early morning/shift change fire? Are you scrambling when the tones drop? Do you put your gear next to the rig first thing? This could be your first call of the day….

You walk in the door and tell the off going firefighter sitting at the kitchen table  “I Got Ya”, and a minute later you get toned out for the worst fire of your career. The question is, did this firefighter already store his or her gear away in their locker, and have you even gotten your gear out of your locker before saying “I Got Ya”?  Are you ready for the early morning/shift change fire? Are you scrambling when the tones drop? Do you put your gear next to the rig first thing? This could be your first call of the day…

This job is for REAL, and is not very forgiving when you fail to prepare and take it seriously. You must respect your fellow brothers and sisters, and the civilians that are relying on you to be READY! Being ready to be On-Duty, starts before you arrive at the firehouse, it starts when you decide to be a firefighter, and chose a career to SERVE OTHERS!!

On-Duty Checklist for 2015

1. Do you eat properly the night before your watch?

2. Do you properly hydrate?

3. Do you get a good nights sleep or were you up all night at your SIDE JOB?

4. Do you shower and shave before leaving the house?

5. Do you show up in uniform, or get to work early so you can be in uniform?

6. Do you go straight to your gear and put it next to the rig?

7. Do you ask for a proper pass down before you say “I Got Ya”?

8. Once you say “I Got Ya” do you start checking the rig or eat breakfast first?

9. Do you confirm your SCBA is FULL and READY?? Actually turn it on and breathe from it?

10. Do you confirm your 911 System works?? That would be your portable radio!

The above 10 steps should be completed before the off going firefighter even leaves the firehouse..

If you are a Firefighter and you are overweight, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ABOUT IT??
We do not care about EXCUSES….. Manage what you eat and burn more calories.
I have watched the BIGGEST LOSER, and it can be D O N E!!!  If you are overweight, everyone sees you and wonders if you will be able to get the job done at crunch time. The majority of LODDs are from firefighters being overweight and out of shape. If you are overweight and are spending you’re time talking about those that are trying to make the fire service better, you are an IDIOT!!  The definition of IDIOT is a person considered stupid, foolish, or ignorant.

If you are in shape and take this job seriously, THANK YOU!

The link below is an article I wrote a while back. I am very proud that I did not succumb to the IDIOT mentality.  If you are a young firefighter and love this job, please do not give up. Do not let those that view working at the Fire Department as JUST a JOB keep you from training and doing the right thing. Just because they come in to work with a three day beard and sit at the kitchen table for hours before putting their gear next the rig, doesn’t make it right. Even if they have 20 years on the job, it just means they are a 20 year IDIOT. If you are a firefighter and your Company Officer doesn’t wear their gear, or gets off the rig on fire calls without an SCBA, they are an IDIOT. You must make a mental note of all the IDIOTS you work with for your own SAFETY.

The New Yorker “Urban Legend”

Curt Isakson

Tactical Safety for Firefighters- Facebook Firefighting

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Ray

Tactical Safety for Firefighters

F A C E B O O K
F I R E F I G H T I N G

The tactics used by Facebook firefighters vary almost mirroring the real fire service. I say almost because what often gets hit hardest is not the adz end of the halligan but the keyboard of ones digital device. Facebook firefighting is always safe even when you let it all hang out, your worst injury suffering an unfriending. Let’s not forget flash mobs of outrage which of course are much less injurious than a flashover even if you don’t detect it coming. For improved awareness become a student of Facebook behavior which of course is always modern.

Fighting fire via Facebook is very convenient too because even with a pause for your enlightened reply the fire doesn’t die. Profiling which is shunned by most is often the center piece of survivability odds makers and extolled by many FBFD members as good stuff. I wish those same firefighters could guess the stock market too, that would be rich.

There is so much experience at the ends of many hands in fact All Hands. The outgrowth of social media equality, everyone is an expert at least at an inch deep. No finger pointing here I will save that for my instructor photo and my keyboard. Have a gonger of a time and remember no bunker gear cleaning is necessary as a Facebook firefighter, no matter how many J O B S you take in.

By Ray McCormack
Keep
Fire
In
Your
Life

Tactical Safety for Firefighters- False Positives

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Ray

Tactical Safety for Firefighters

F A L S E
P O S I T I V E S

There is much talk in the fire service regarding how some pass downs have been proven wrong due to current research. In some categories, this legacy behavior has been explained utilizing a more scientific language which is one aspect of research. The other is how to avoid the legacy outcome regardless of what you label it now (hint : Better Engine Company LeadershIp).

Another aspect to be watched more closely is the false premises where a fire example is given along with a bad solution and now we fix it with a modern solution. The problem is if you were applying the original solution to the problem, then you didn’t understand basic firefighting anyway. So now we have SME’s (Subject Matter Experts) or a talking head who comes along with a new solution to fix it for you. You should have known this solution and you should be able to recognize silliness when you see it. The point is that some fire attack videos are giving you solutions to problems that should not have existed. Beware the peddler and their improved and enlightened ways. It’s only enlightening if you have had your head buried in the sand.

Get informed and pick up on what you’re being shown and just as importantly, what you’re not being shown.
If you want to improve the fire service, work on yourself first!

By Ray McCormack

Keep Fire in Your Life

Do You Know the Monster Within?

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So your a hard charging, fire eating, truck ape … not scared of anything, as a matter of fact you fight what we fear. You tell your friends your job is snatching lives from the jaws of death, running into buildings that the roaches and rats run out of. Your collection of fire department t-shirts is only surpassed in awesomeness by the tattoos on your flesh depicting the 343 … your a mans man, and dam proud of it.
You hear the stories of brothers, and sisters who are claustrophobic and you chuckle. You scoff at the people not capable of making decisions, they seem to “freeze” when they are under duress. You “tch, tch, tch” the NIOSh report of the fireman who made a mistake ventilating, setting the stage for the burns sustained by another firefighter that lead to his death. You watch a video of our “brothers” on a fire where tactically they appear to not know what they are doing. This video spreads virally from Youtube, to Statter, to Facebook. The comments by all the other “hard charging fire eating truck apes” are often harsh criticisms, all in the name of better training, and tactics “killing fireman the old fashioned way” … you fall in line posting “train like your life depends on it, because it does”. You read an article about a fireman who rips his mask off in a fire, and standing up, he begins to run in an atmosphere he must know is toxic, and fatal. You shake your head incredulously wondering “what was he thinking”.
Then one day everything changes, something happens, and your world is turned upside down. What you were once so sure of seems to have abandoned you, leaving you wondering if you were ever that “good” at your job. Your breathing becomes accelerated at times, and the anxiety builds. Your ability to do the things you once were capable of doing has left you … your left feeling emasculated, you begin to avoid certain training exercises, maybe even making excuses for your new found “weaknesses”. These weaknesses seem to be gaining ground on you … maybe I’m just not drinking enough, or puffing enough weed … maybe I should conquer more infidelity to prove I am a man … and if all else fails, there is always rage, and if all else fails I’ll just isolate myself. No one will ever know my secret.
Sound familiar, or far fetched?
According to researchers this is not just an occurrence, but a very common occurrence in law enforcement, the military, professional sports, aviation, and the corporate world not to mention rape, and assault victims, or terrorism.
So why should the Fire Service be exempt? Ignorance.
The fire services dirty little secret is firemen get scared. Bad shit happens, and it effects us, it builds within us, and can have a synergistic effect. Then one day it happens, your armor cracks.
You try EAP (if your lucky enough to have it) and your told your normal … by a woman, or a mild mannered man with a sensible manicure (fml), neither who have ever made a hot smoky hallway. What do they know, PTSD my ass! I’ve never been to war.
The truth of the matter is they are right, your probably more normal than you think. How much tragedy can anyone see before it effects them? Who determines what a tragedy is? Maybe it is just a bad experience, and not a tragedy. Maybe you barely made it out of the hallway into the stairwell as the floor flashed … or maybe you were pushed too hard in training as a recruit, and you developed a fear, albeit a “small” fear.
Did I just mention training can cause these symptoms? Bet your ass I did. To quote a term from Christopher Brenan it’s called “Training Scars”, and they will turn into monsters (The MOnster Within) if left untreated, just like any other PTSD exposure. I’ve explained many of the common signs of PTSD above, now I will explain how it happens.
It starts with the fear, (maybe from a previous experience, or founded in a lack of confidence) the anxiety builds, which in turn causes your heart rate to accelerate. Your physically taxed, and the anxiety adds to the rate increase, once your rate exceeds 170 (+/-) your brain shifts into the “Mid-Brain” which is commonly referred to as fight or flight. This is where the irrational thought processing takes place, its where your respirations get rapid and shallow, where your inability to think rationally will kill you … it has been the demise of over 230 firemen over the past 15 years (info provided by USFA via LODD NIOSH reports).
There is a host of other symptoms such as tunnel vision, auditory exclusion, loss of small motor function, loss of bowel/bladder, and dry mouth to name a few. These occurrences, and symptoms are well documented in law enforcement, and the military, but virtually invisible (undocumented) in the fire service.
Back to training. For those that confuse battles of attrition as training, your wrong, and worse yet your responsible for creating PTSD in firemen by teaching it as training. Listen closely, I AM NOT SAYING ENDURANCE TRAINING IS BAD. I am saying confusing training, where you teach firemen viable skills that they can develop over time, and once they are mastered, they may then confront endurance (testing). Like boxing, if your new to boxing you would not step into the ring with a pro. If you did you would wake up in the emergency room with a broken nose, broken jaw, and both eyes swollen shut. What did you learn? You have to start with the most fundamental things first, like the jab, and how to hold your hands when you throw a punch. As you refine those skills, more are added, maybe body punches, how to bob/weave, to generate power from your hip. As you refine these skills you then learn to throw them in combination with each other. All the while your practicing on heavy bags, speed bags, focus mitts, and in front of a mirror. Then, maybe, you can start to spar with someone who will go easy on you so you can learn rhythm, breathing under duress, keeping your balance centered. As you get better, your sparring partners get better … and if your good enough, maybe you reach pro status … a big reach, but I think you follow my example.
The technique of using an example other than your primary subject (fire fighting) as an example allows for your subconscious to make the associations with the techniques I am discussing. If I were to discuss SAR, Force Entry, Ventilation, Hose/Stream Management, Incident Command, Situational Awareness, Staying Oriented or any of the other hundreds of techniques we use in the fire service it would have elicited a justifiable response, causing you to miss the point, and justify rather than listen … the point is best made with a neutral experience, which is why I used boxing.
To this point, in this article, we have covered PTSD, the development of neural pathways, RPDM, and we haven’t even begun to speak of body control. This is where you incorporate visualization techniques, which is what almost all of us do subconsciously but need to learn to do consciously. Self talk always precedes anxiety, mastering what we tell ourselves is the first step in getting better at anything we wish to do. Breath work, breathing is not done properly in the fire service, and it is the key to physiologically regaining control of ourselves.
If you objectively look at the information I have provided (I know it is extremely difficult to get intent and meaning across with the written word) you can probably recognize some things in your life that have effected you. You may even find yourself agreeing with some of these things, even though you may not completely grasp the concepts, that is not uncommon. I think the subconscious recognizes things … similar to that “gut” feeling that has kept you alive all these years. Some things just resonate.
I apologize if I have not answered all the questions you may have regarding Stress Inoculation, my lecture typically takes at least 4 hours, and a lot of ground is covered (character, learning processes, decision making, training, ptsd, and much more). I wanted to try and unlock a provocative thought in you … that maybe, just maybe, the stories you hear, videos you view, or actions you see in person may not always be explained away as people being ass clowns. Maybe there is more involved than you know … because after all, how do you know what you don’t know?
Think about the men and women who have died not knowing what may have kept them alive … there are at least 230 of them … so check your ego at the door, stay teachable, and remember, we don’t wear capes, we wear bunker gear.
God Bless, stay low, and stay strong brothers and sisters.
Ric Jorge
PBCFR
Station 33A
The Fire Factory
(561)239-1908

Tactical Safety: Much Ado About Nothing

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The following is from Ray McCormack’s Tactical Safety Blogs, you will be able to see all Ray’s Tactical Safety Blogs here on County Fire Tactics.

ppv

Much Ado About Nothing

Tactical Safety for Firefighters

By Ray McCormack

We have Near Miss reports. We have LODD reports. We even have accident reports, but the last category doesn’t get much play. Accidents happen and firefighters get hurt. Many say accidents are preventable, but only if you have the wisdom to see the fault beforehand. That’s what we try to do when it comes to training – eliminate accidents that hurt firefighters especially at live fire events. Not everyone is successful, not everyone is as aware as they should be, and someone always pays a price.

Sometimes the price is steep; a job or title is taken away and it usually coincides with the level of injury sustained or the lack of injury prevention put forth. Sometimes it is the injury itself that is the price paid. A recent example of firefighters injured and people fired concerns a live fire training event that happened last year. The video now posted on the web shows how flames filled the room two firefighters were in. They escaped death by bailing out of a window. I was not there. Most of the people who will read this were not there. So, what do we do? How do we learn from this?

This was a training event.
The training involved live fire.
The training involved PP fans.
The training went bad and fast.

Training is the one world where we should aim to make sure that no catastrophic events occur. We have all the time in the world to make it a safe environment. As safe as possible, that means closely examining every element and taking a fresh look at all burn sets and how they will develop. Live fire events are guided by NFPA 1403. It is the standard you will be judged against if injuries occur; that’s the way it works. You can do as you like, but if it comes to litigation, that will be the rule book you answer to.

So how come the fire service doesn’t erect web sites and pour grant money over preventing training injuries? Maybe we find it more enjoyable to discuss the almost event instead of facing the reality of real training injuries.

It’s not about finger pointing, it’s about finding the root cause and how the dominos fell. Many times, especially with live fire training injury you might see are the nozzle firefighter sustaining a minor burn. People jumping out of windows however is a bit more critical. In the first example, the firefighter may have gone to deep to quickly or the fire moved a bit faster than they thought, or a piece of gear showed some skin. but at least they had the protection of a charged handline. The firefighters who jumped out the window did not appear to be similarly protected.

Are you placing firefighters at live burn events in a position which will force them to bail out a window? No, not if the drill is laid out correctly. When we watch a video such as the aforementioned one, even if we were not physically there, we all know some huge mistakes were made. There are some “nevers” at a live burn when it comes to avoiding preventable injuries.
One is to never let anyone ahead of the safety line or attack hoseline.
Another is to never allow anyone to be past the fire room or allow anyone just to hang out inside the building without a hoseline.

Not hard to figure out, yet not always done. The biggest problem with live burn injuries and past tragedies is that the trust was broken, the trust between student and instructor.

You must decide for yourself what level of commitment you bring to the table. I believe we must bring the highest level of training possible to these events. Much ado about nothing?

Keep Fire in Your Life