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Airbags in the Dark

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How often do you practice with these?

So, we all have these on some piece of our fleet. Most places will have a set of  these on every truck.

The questions that I want to pose are these: How often do you drill with them? What are the instances that you would use them? Do you every practice with gloves and low/zero visibility?

I know that where I am we don’t use these very often but the potential certainly is there.  I have seen many drills where they get aired up and then put away.  It is also important to understand where they are useful other than vehicle rescues.

The main area I am pointing to here is RIT or FAST activities.  If you include this in your RIT cache, do you regularly drill in zero or low visibility. Let  me tell you, it is a totally different experience.

You must understand leverage points and counter points or balances. Whatever terminology you want to use, if you lift from one side, you have to expect the opposite to move as well.

So, when you drill for these, lift something, anything, like pallets with full visibility. Watch what happens to the opposite side of the lift and make notes. When you get into the dark you will have to crib, raise, and lower all by feel. Oh, and up on red and down on blue is difficult at best.

After training, let us know how you identify the difference and how you communicate those instructions.

Keep up the good work and train hard.

Posted by dc802 on August 30, 2010 • Filed under: RIT, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, mayday, rescues, situational awareness, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Which Way is Out?

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This may seem a bit simplistic, but I am always surprised when I ask someone to close their eyes and hand this prop to them. After I hand them the hose I ask which way they would go to get out of a building?

Follow the Male Lugs Out

This is typically with no gloves on and they are just standing or sitting there, so they are not stressed or in a tough situation. But, most get it wrong.  Why?

Well, I say it is because of the lack of fundamentals and not enough training on the simple stuff.  In this instance it is basics of hose, in my humble opinion anyway.

If you are well versed in hose operations and how the hose is deployed and which end of an attack line is at the truck and which end is inside the building, you should have no problem with this “pop quiz.”

Take the time to learn about your hose.  More on hose lays later, but this little drill that can be done anywhere and any time is valuable and a good discussion starter.

By the way, when they tell you which way they would follow, make them tell you “why” so that you know they aren’t just guessing and watch them squirm.

Remember the fundamentals and stay safe.

Posted by dc802 on August 27, 2010 • Filed under: RIT, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, mayday, search, situational awareness, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

Horse in the Loft

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Here is a synopsis of a challenging call from a neighboring volunteer department.  This is written by Chief Daniel Whatley of the Bourbon Fire Protection District in Bourbon, MO.  Pictures were provided by him as well.

Just goes to show that you need to be ready for anything.

On June 13, 2010 Bourbon Firefighters were called to a local farm for a report of a horse on the second story of a barn.  When fire personnel arrived they noticed that the 1500 lbs equestrian was greeting them at the second story hay loft doors.  Caretakers of the horse said that the horse had been chased up the stairs by other horses.  They attempted to lead the horse down with food to no avail, prompting the call to 911.


Assistant Fire Chief Jared Boast contacted the owner of the horse which happened to be a veterinarian in St Louis and was on his way to assist as well as a local vet.  Given the complexity of the rescue, additional resources had to be contacted to facilitate the removal.  Eureka Fire Protection District in St Louis County was notified with their Technical Rescue team that has an Equestrian Search Team and also performs large animal rescues.  Local business owner Tim Reinhold of TRE responded to the scene with a crane for the ultimate removal of the animal.

horse42
horse28
horse12

horse37
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horse32
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horse38

horse08
horse09
horse18

horse33
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horse35

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horse12

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Upon the arrival of the veterinarians and Eureka Fire the incident moved swiftly.  A header for the second story hay loft was removed to facilitate the cranes boom to be maneuvered into the second story.  Veterinarians mildly sedated the horse for the rigging procedure.  Eureka Fire secured the horse to the crane using their specialized rigging equipment for large animals.  Ultimately the equestrian had to have additional sedation for the lowering procedure and was removed from the second story to the ground below.  The horse was removed from harness and released uninjured.


Many ideas had circulated throughout the incident of different ways to remove the horse many good and a few not so good.  Without knowing the resources of different specialized teams in the area, the outcome may have been worse for the animal.  With this not being Eureka Fire’s first “rodeo” things moved smoothly and upon their arrival, the horse was lowered to the ground safely within 20 minutes.

www.bourbonfire.org

www.efpd.org

Posted by dc802 on August 26, 2010 • Filed under: special-operations • Tagged: , , , ,

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

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Elevator Windows

I recently was in downtown St. Louis with my family for a day with the kids before school started.  We were across the street from the building in the picture.

What you see in this picture is just a row of windows, right?  Well, they are labeled, which is nice because if they weren’t there could be big problems.

You can see in the second picture that the labels identify this as an elevator shaft.  This is a heads up move for the building department and/or fire department for requiring this labeling.

Just imagine trying to make entry or counting dwelling/unit windows for RIT or emergency escape and finding out about this later.

This is just another example of knowing your area and the unique construction methods that are used.

Get in your buildings and be familiar. Had these not been labeled and a significant fire broke out here, this could have caused some serious problems.

Just for fun, what kinds of problems can we identify as a result of these windows not being labeled?  I look forward to hearing some great ideas.

Stay safe and be careful.

Notice the labels?

 

Posted by dc802 on August 21, 2010 • Filed under: RIT, buildling construction, elevators, fire codes, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, rescues, situational awareness, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , ,

Learn Something

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I debated myself on whether I should post this video or not. I don’t like to be critical of fire departments and how they handled a call. I, and many others have made poor decisions on the fire ground over the years and we will likely make unintentional mistakes in the future. After all, we are human.

But, the more I thought about it the more I believe that there is just too much to learn from here. Notice the word learn? This video is being shared as a learning tool and to show how easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking it will never happen to me.  We have all been there and done that and this video will hopefully provide as a reminder of what we need to consider on the fire ground.

So, I ask you, what is to be learned here?  What lessons would you share with your crew and fellow firefighters?  Be constructive and not critical.  Remember, you never know when the camera will be on you and I know I am not perfect.

Let’s learn something that will keep us safe and make us better and thank the guy who filmed and posted the video for the experience.

Stay safe and be careful.

Posted by dc802 on August 15, 2010 • Filed under: buildling construction, command-leadership, fire sprinklers, firefighting-operations, forcible entry, situational awareness, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

A Simple Move

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Exterior of door

Forcible entry is an ongoing skill that must be practiced. A huge part of that is knowing your doors and construction of entry ways.

On a recent inspection we started discussing getting into these locked doors that are pass-coded for the resident’s protection.

As you can see, this is an outward swinging door that should be reasonable easy to force with the right tools and skill.  Of course, in my experiences people aren’t spending as much time as they should practicing forcible entry techniques.

Interior of door

As a crew we started discussing how we would gain entry. One method is very simple and can be done with one tool.

Bust out the window, this one has no wire mesh, and drop the tool down to engage the panic bar.

I know this is very simple, but it can be effective if you only have one tool. You also have to have a good idea about the interior workings of the door.  Showing again the importance of getting familiar with your buildings.

Stay safe and use your time out and about wisely.

Posted by dc802 on August 11, 2010 • Filed under: buildling construction, exits, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, forcible entry, inspections, situational awareness, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , ,

Standpipe or Not?

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Not typical for stairway standpipes

We were recently going through a large senior residential occupancy. This occupancy has 7 wings and several different stairwells.

Not all of the stairwells have standpipes in them.  Most were typical connections with a valve and 2 1/2 inch connection. As you can see in this picture, this one was not a typical seen in a stairwell.

At the left of riser you can see the standpipe connection.  They basically put the sprinkler room in the stairwell.

If you weren’t familiar with this, a person might just start turning valves or just think that there is not a standpipe connection at all.

The point here is that not all standpipe connections are created the same. Nor are all sprinkler rooms in a closet.

Get to know your buildings and the systems that operate in them. You never know when you will need to use them.

Posted by dc802 on August 10, 2010 • Filed under: buildling construction, fire codes, fire sprinklers, firefighter-safety-health, inspections, situational awareness • Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

Help Build a Monument

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For those of you who remember my posts about FDIC 2010, I met some really great people of the Brownsburgh Fire Department. Not only did I get to meet these fine people, but they generously invited us to a dinner that was awesome, just because they believe in and exude what Brotherhood is.

Now they need out help. They are working hard at getting a very fitting tribute to the 343 who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 2001.

If you could find time while your surfing the web to get to the “Build a Monument” site for Pepsi, our Brothers and Sisters in Brownsburgh would really appreciate it.

Below is a short video rendition of what the memorial will look like. Please take the time vote everyday. Hey, pass this on to your family and friends and other bloggers. Let’s help Brownsburgh FD help us to never forget.

Posted by dc802 on August 2, 2010 • Filed under: 911 coin, Foundations, charity, in-the-line-of-duty, line-of-duty, major-incidents • Tagged: , , , , ,

Blog Carnival 5: Minimum Standards?

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I have had this discussion several times with fellow fire service professionals.  It is something that is also asked of me in a more indirect manner by friends and family when talking about my job.  The fire service professional usually has one answer and my family and friends are shocked that there aren’t any standards.

Personally, I believe that there needs to be, at least at the state level, a system that requires continuing education and minimum job performance evaluations.  I have heard that the last thing the fire service needs is more unfunded mandates required by non-firefighting personnel.  To that comment, I agree.  However, it cannot be overlooked that we are in a time and era of firefighting like we have never seen before.  We have all heard someone say that “this ain’t your father’s fire service anymore.”

I have been a paramedic for 17 years and I am required to acquire a certain number of continuing education units over a five year period.  In addition, the CEU’s must be in particular categories and areas in order to keep me a well rounded educated paramedic.  It works and it is expected by the public.  After all, do you want a medic that is keeping up with the profession or one that got his license and then never did another thing in his career working on you or your family?

Well, that is exactly what we have in the fire service. We have what I believe is a majority of our peers getting “in” and never doing anything extra.  I know firefighters who are more interested in their side jobs and hobbies than they are in the profession in which so many depend on his skills.  I have heard one say that he has no desire to go get any extra training or to read the trade publications because he “just isn’t that in to it.”  WTF!

I have seen guys fight and fight to get into the academy. They spend ten weeks learning very basic information that must be continually expanded on and re-learned over years to become proficient.  Then they get hired and never do another thing in their career.  This leave us open for scrutiny and makes the fire service a dangerous place.

Although I am not a big fan of making government a part of the fire service as we know it, I am fearful that if we don’t fix some of our own problems they will fix them for us.  Part of the fix should include requiring recertification, fitness testing and job performance evaluations. Now before some of you have a complete seizure, hear me out.

First, there should a required number of CEU’s that must be obtained in each discipline over a predetermined amount of time.  For example, you have to get formal training in ventilation, forcible entry, etc, every three years.  Yes, your employment would depend on it, just like my medic license. I want to know that the person crawling down the hall is up to date with our SCBA techniques and rescue drills in the event that something goes bad.

As I said before, I don’t think that this should be regulated by a national standard so much as state oversight.  The reason I say this, as much as I would like to see a national standard, is that each state is unique in its needs.  If you are a firefighter in California you will need more extensive training in wildland than someone in Missouri.  The examples are endless, so I believe each state should meet minimum national requirements and then can adapt their own program.

I think we only hurt ourselves when we don’t train and encourage measurable professional development.  We owe it to the people we protect and to our peers and to our families to be highly trained and educated professionals.  The only way to be “professional” is to continually train and learn about our profession.

Posted by dc802 on July 29, 2010 • Filed under: administration-leadership, command-leadership, fire-rescue-topics, forcible entry, scba, search, training-development, training-fire-rescue-topics • Tagged: , , , , ,

What Do You See?

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I am a big fan of companies getting out and scoping out their response area. Just when you think you have seen it all, something catches your eye that you missed the other 100 times you passed it by.  We all know what I am talking about.

Look at the picture above. As a fire service leader, what do you see?  What have you learned from your years of experience and training about these types of buildings?

What is of significance?

What is of significance that you see right away but the new guy might not have a clue about?

As an officer that will be making the initial decisions on this building you have a great responsibility to know as much about this structure as you can.  It will certainly help you to make the best possible decision about your tactics.

Take the time to sit with your crews and look at the features of this building. What type of construction is it?  What type of occupancy is it?  Why are both so important?  It just might mean the difference of saving the occupants and yourself.

Stay safe and be careful.

Posted by dc802 on July 28, 2010 • Filed under: buildling construction, command-leadership, engineered lumber, fire codes, fire stopping, fire-rescue-topics, firefighter-safety-health, firefighting-operations, i joists, rescues, residential sprinklers, situational awareness, training-fire-rescue-topics, trusses, ventilation • Tagged: , , , , , ,