So, sometimes we need a change of pace or we've had a busy day on shift, but we still need to drill. Or, maybe your at your volunteer department and you have some guys just hanging out waiting for the next call.

 Here is a quick drill that, in many cases, will turn into a great discussion and even progress into some flowing of water or advancing of lines.

As the company officer we are tasked with drilling our company and personnel. It doesn't matter whether your paid or volunteer, the task is the same.  For this drill make a list of the hose appliances and equipment you have on your apparatus.

–Give each member the correct name or lable for one piece of equipment.

–Make them correctly retrieve it and identify it and to hook it up or depoly it.

–They have to give a little presentation on what it is for, how your organization uses it and a scenario that would require its use.  This should include flow rates, friction loss, limitations, capabilities, etc.

This creates some great discussion and is excellent for reviewing items that are infrequently used but could be critical for our success if needed.

This same format can be used in relation to other tools and pieces of equipment as well.  Hand tools, forcible entry tools, hose loads, specific parts on your SCBA, RIT bags and so on. You should get the point by now.

The idea is to get intimate with all of the equipment on your apparatus and to do it as a team.

Another method is to have the crew inventory the entire apparatus. Write each piece of equipment on a piece of paper and tear it off and place into a hat or empty coffee can.  Have each firefighter draw a slip of paper and have them write down what compartment its in.  After everyone has drawn and written down the compartments, go out and see how you did and explain each piece of equipment you drew.

This is a great familiarity drill and works really well during inclimate weather.

Whatever you do, get out and drill.

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

Here is the review of the gloves.

A HexArmor sales rep stopped by the fire house one day last week while on way to another fire department.  He wanted a few minutes of our time to show a product that we have never used before.  He showed us the different styles of Extrication gloves that they sell.  We were then given a few pairs of gloves to demo and write a review on.  We then set up an extrication day with our local tow company to work the gloves through the test. 

  We had 4 different pairs of gloves on 4 different firefighters.  We then swapped with each other to see and compare the differences.  We also had another crew from a different house use the different styles of gloves.  4 pairs of gloves 10 different views and opinions. 

One of the neatest options that we shown by the sales rep was the super fabric lining.  Immediately our captain brought out his pocket knife and with a few passes  of the blade the  sample material remained intact with absolutely no signs of damage.

With all of the styles of gloves we tested we all agreed that the protection was excellent.  That was not based off of any cut rating or knife demonstration it was based off of pure use. The gloves feel strongly made and comfortable.  The dexterity and movement was great.  Grips on all models were great  whether wet or dry.  

We were able to move and turn the ball bearings collars on our hydraulic hoses easily.  There were only a few downfalls that we identified one of which was not being currently NFPA compliant.  To our understanding they are working on that.  

The other downfall was  when worn with PPE / turn out gear the models 4011 and the 4013 they could not be worn with our wristlets built into our coats. However, the model 4012 worked fine with the wristlets in our gear.

Thanks

Andrew, Glen, Steve

Different Views of gloves broken down

Gloves 4011 i used immediately after getting them on i noticed the dexterity. Usually with gloves with great dexterity you suffer with protection. That was not the case here.  These gloves have the leather palms and grips that did not slip at all.  The outer shell of the gloves has alot of the rubber which did not affect any of the dexterity as well.   My only downfall of the 4011 was that when used with my PPE my wristletts in my gear did not fit under the coat and could not be used.

 This problem was also the same problem Steve had with the 4013 style gloves.  Overall our opinions of the 4011 was a great overall glove with great support and protection that did not affect dexterity.

Glen started with the model 4012 he liked them alot and they worked well with his wristlets in the PPE. He felt that he put them to good use.  He got them wet, oiled, and never lost grip.  He felt protected and did not feel any of the sharp edges when removing glass was removed or any of the sharp edges.   The dexterity was excellent.

Steve was using the 4013 model gloves.  He felt just like we did the dexterity was great and even with hydraulic fluid, gas and water on the gloves the grip was excellent. 

Share on Facebook

Knife Review

Today during our extrication demonstration my crew and I put the knife to use. We broke windows cut seat belts and really put it to the test. Initially with the knife you notice the overall look and appeal. The belt clip is strong and when opened you notice the straight and serrated blade. Upon my first couple of times opening the knife i did not like how un stable it felt open when you do not use the secondary lock. It felt like it wanted to close on me but when i used the secondary lock it was fine. I don't know if every time i open the knife that i would like the extra work.

During the extrication we used the punch to break out the windows. It took a few swings to understand the strength needed to punch the windows. I hit the corners like needed but it took a few hard swings to break the window. Others that used the knife did not use as many swings and grasped the idea faster than me. It was an effective tool and i would carry this knife for a punch before i carried a window punch.

During the removal of the seat belt I was skeptical but with very little ease the belt was cut clean. We did notice that it was harder to cut when there was no tension on the belt. As long as there was tension and belt held straight the belt cutter razor worked like a dream.

Overall it was a great tool to have and carry daily or leave in your turn out gear just for car extrication minus the looseness of the primary lock.

Andrew Krato

Share on Facebook

While teaching some of my classes the topic of today’s fire service being so much different than from years ago always comes up. There is no doubt that we are fighting fires in a much different environment than in years past. But, how different is what we are doing on the fireground from the way we did it 20 years ago?

Now I understand that we have to make changes and improvements and I am usually one of the biggest advocates if it is something that makes sense. But, change for the sake change is not good and usually causes more problems than not.

The real reason for this blog post is to encourage all of you to obtain a copy of and read and re-read Tom Brennan’s “Random Thoughts.” I keep this book with me just about all of the time and it is crazy good stuff. I marvel over and over again at the timely material and tactical suggestions that are from 1991! Yes, they are still relevant!

I never knew Mr. Brennan, but his ‘random thoughts’ are timeless. Just the most basic of topics like using a roof ladder is made interesting and is still very applicable today. How to stretch a hose line and how to search. It’s all in there.

I am not one for plugging products or materials, but I feel if ‘we’ in the fire service would follow the advice in this book and learn and share from these nuggets of knowledge, we would all be much better served, and safe.

Take some time to get back to the basics of firefighting and read this book. Just pick a page or two a day, and keep doing that for your career. You and the firefighters that you share with will be much better for it and so will the people you protect.

Thanks for reading and take care,
Jason

Share on Facebook

Use these photos to explain the challenges, dangers, benefits and tactical oppportunities with this roof. Share what you see and pass it on. You might pick up on something that someone else does not. But, maybe we can reach a firefighter with this drill that we don’t have on our crew. Maybe we can reach a volunteer that doesn’t have that daily mentor.

Share and thanks for reading.

Jason

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook

This past Fall we were doing a Survival class and one of the drills we do is the “following the coupling” drill. It is one of the most basic of drills and is well known throughout the fire service. We have posted on this drill before on using a cut piece of hose to hand to your firefighters and have them tell you which way would be back to the truck.

We get comment about how basic this drill this and some like to try and shrug it off. Well, as we all know, we must master the basics. Like in athletics, we building the fundamentals and gradually move to more advance skills that expand on those fundamental skills. On the surface these skills are very basic but look a little harder; we can make these advanced drills easily that will incorporate the basic skill and more advanced techniques.

This is true for any drills, start with the most basic and when mastery is achieved, add to the drill and make it more advanced. Do this in steps and before you know it you have an expanded drill that will challenge the most seasoned firefighter.

So, for this example of drill progression we will use the “follow the coupling” drill. We start wtih one firefighter on a charged hose line. Black them out or in a smoked room, put them on the line somewhere in the middle. Have them find the coupling and make their way out. Easy enough.

Now, we want to build in the parameters for calling a Mayday, so we have them call the Mayday using LUNAR and they must communicate with command as they find their way out by “following the coupling.” Now they have to think about more than just following the coupling but the basic skill is still being used.

You get the idea. Here is how this drill can progress:

-One firefighter lost off of the line, one on the line. The one on the line verbally leads the lost firefighter to the line and they follow the coupling out.

-One firefighter has an air issue, they can buddy breath on the way out following the coupling.

-A downed firefighter on the line and his crew packages, fixes the air and removes him following the coupling out.

So, you can see that we can expand on this drill. Your only limited by your imagination and creativeness. Use caution not to make so unrealistic that it frustrates your firefighters though. It doesn’t take much to make a drill challenging; keep it simple.

Have a Blessed and Safe New Year and thanks for all of the support this year.
Jason

Share on Facebook

To increase the amount of frequency that you get to connect and disconnect your Buddy Breathing Hose all you need to do is ride in your apparatus.

For most of us, not all, but the majority of us we have our SCBA in seat mounts so that when we mount the apparatus and buckle in we have the packs in our back. They are in the position they would be in if we were wearing them. This makes the ability to get to our straps fairly easy.

While riding around town, going to a non-urgent call, wear you gloves and find your Buddy Breathing Hose. As you ride, practice disconnecting it and connecting it over and over again. Try not to look while you do it. This will create muscle memory and confidence when we get on the drill ground.

Use your time wisely and be productive as often as you can. Be creative and you can practice other skills like knots while riding the apparatus.

Thanks for reading and train hard. As always, expect fire.

Share on Facebook

This is a great drill from a great Brother and friend, Lance Peeples of the Webster Groves Fire Department in St. Louis County.  Look for more great material from Lance in the future.

Daily Drill 1: Standpipe Operations

“The Daily Drill” is designed to spark discussion about operational issues in YOUR fire department.  To do this we use photographs or videos depicting fire operations in other fire departments.  We do not know the exact circumstances in which our Brothers in these fire departments are operating.  Photos or videos are not intended to embarrass our BROTHERS and SISTERS but rather are intended to provide US with learning opportunities relevant to OUR specific operational framework.  DON’TFOCUSONWHAT THEY’RE DOING…FOCUS ON WHAT YOU WOULD DO!  Stay safe!

Watch the video below and answer the following questions:

1.  Using the National Fire Academy Fire Flow Formula, what gpm would be required to extinguish a completely involved 500 square foot apartment fire?

How large of an undivided floor area is often found in high rise office buildings and what fire flow would be required there?

2.  Under previous editions of NFPA 14 what was the minimum psi required to flow 500 gpm at the most remote riser?

3.  What is the target gpm you are attempting to flow from your standpipe hose and nozzle combination?  What psi must be available at the standpipe operation to supply that hose and nozzle combination in order to flow your desired attack flow?

4.  The operation depicted showed using 4” supply line into the fire department connection.  What is the working pressure limit of LDH used in your department?  What is the elevation head pressure in a 30 story building?  Are standpipe operations usually high flow or high pressure operations?  Is using large diameter hose in FD standpipe connections a good idea?

5.  What is the diameter of hose used in your standpipe pack?  Is it an automatic/constant flow fog/smooth bore tip?  What nozzle psi is required for its designed flow?

6.  Will rust, scale, and other debris commonly found in standpipe systems pass through an automatic fog nozzle?  Will rust, scale and other debris usually pass through an 1 1/8” smooth bore tip?

7.  Can fire department pumpers ALWAYS be used to increase available pressure on the fire floor?  What about damaged or missing FD connections?  Pressure reducing and restricting valves?  Missing piping or excessive head pressures?

8.  At the One Merdian fire in Philladelphia on February 23, 1991 what was the length, diameter, and nozzle type (including psi/flow requirements) of the standpipe kits used by the fire department?  Did this setup work?  Why or why not?

9.  What were the names of the Brothers that died at One Merdian that tragic day?

Share on Facebook