The official release of our Associates Degree in Fireground Operations is scheduled for April…it’s been a long time coming but will change the face of higher education in the fire service! Let’s face it…there really is only one way to Learn the Job…by Doing the Job!

Don’t forget…Join FDTN this month and receive a copy of our best-selling FireNote – Firefighter Survival – as our gift to you!

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FIRE TRAINING is FDTN’s no-nonsense monthly training magazine designed to get you thinking about an actual fire — today! That’s right, none of the extra fluff, just meat-and-potatoes firefighting like stretching and advancing, forcible entry, searching – and what it takes to be ready to perfom those skills when the tones go off.

In addition, Members also benefit from, and become a part of, the collective voice that is influencing today’s firefighting, fire training, and fireground strategy and tactics across the country. BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!

The Fire Department Training Network has released the 2013 calendar and registration is now open for 2013. If you haven’t made it to FDTN’s National Fire Training Academy then it’s time to mark your calendar, round up some friends, and make the trip. This year is sure to be even more exciting than last year.

Download the 2013 Product & Training Course Catalog.

In case you’re wondering what to expect:

All members must be proficient with the skills used to search for and rescue a firefighter so they can focus on the bigger picture if an actual MAYDAY occurs.

RIT DEPLOYMENT
This is what it’s all about, why you’ve done all the training and preparation. A firefighter is trapped, missing, disoriented, or has simply declared a MAYDAY with no additional information. When it happens it won’t be textbook. What’s important is that the RIT is deployed — immediately — to begin their search for the firefighter.

ENTRY
Where are you going? Who are you looking for? Where will you enter the building and begin the search? When the RIT is deployed it must get as much information as possible — LUNAR — and, combined with the previous information it has gathered, determine the best entry location. Once determined, the entry location should be announced — for Command, other members of the RIT who may have been performing proactive tasks, and additional RITs who will stage at the location awaiting further information.

Once at the entry point the RIT Officer should confirm the team assignments (Navigation/Air, Search, Packaging…) and brief the members on the search plan (initial direction, possible location, knowledge of PASS activation or any radio traffic from the victim, etc). All members should also make a quick check to ensure that all the equipment and tools needed for the search are assembled and ready to go. The Navigation/Air Supply firefighter should secure the tag line to the outside and the RIT Officer should benchmark that the RIT has entered the building.

The time from deployment to entry should be as short as possible. If the team is maintaining a ready-state, staged with the proper tools at the probable entry point, then it’s simply a matter of masking up and starting the search. Remember, the clock is already ticking when the MAYDAY is declared — the firefighter’s already in trouble — and time is running out.

SEARCH
During the search, maintain composure! Stick to the plan. Perform your assignment. The RIT Officer must determine the direction of travel and type of search to be used — this may change throughout the search. In addition, the RIT Officer must benchmark major changes in location (first floor, second floor, basement…). Don’t forget to update Command and keep track of your crew.

The Search firefighters must aggressively search. Don’t become a part of the problem by straying off from the rest of the crew. Be aggressive but be accountable. Search the area, communicate your findings, and move. Remember, you’re searching for a firefighter!

If you’re responsible for Navigation, manage the tag line. Keep the line tight when it’s deployed. If you move in and out of a room then make sure the excess line is picked up and the slack is removed. Don’t make an incoming RIT team follow 200 feet of line to move 70 feet into the building — manage the line.

Monitor your air supply — individually and as a team. Don’t wait until your low air alarm starts sounding to start paying attention. Depending on where you are in the building you may have just become part of the problem. Call for an additional RIT before you’re running out of air so that they can continue the search without delay.

Searching for, and locating, the firefighter is critical! The rescue can’t start until the search is complete (the firefighter is found). Use any and all techniques available to find the firefighter.

ASSESSING, STABILIZING AND PACKAGING THE FIREFIGHTER
When the firefighter is found it’s time to switch gears from search to rescue. While assessing the firefighter, it’s also important to make a quick assessment of the fire and structural conditions, the RIT, and their air supply.

The RIT Officer should benchmark that the firefighter has been found, announce the RITs current location, request an additional RIT to help with the removal operation, and begin to develop the rescue/removal plan. If additional tools are needed to extricate the firefighter then they should be requested and brought in with the incoming RIT. Another possibility is that a hose line may be needed to protect the firefighter (and RIT) during the extrication/removal. The need for a hose line must be communicated immediately.

The Navigation/Air Supply firefighter, along with one of the Search firefighters (Packaging), should assess the firefighter’s condition and secure his air supply. When the air supply is secured (benchmarked by the RIT Officer) the Navigation firefighter should secure the tag line in the area or hand it off to the RIT Officer to secure. The Packaging firefighter should continue preparing the firefighter for removal (tighten shoulder straps, convert harness, apply sling, etc.).

The other Search firefighter should perform a quick search of the area for any nearby windows or doors that can be used for immediate egress. If a potential exit point is found it should be communicated to the RIT Officer so it can be factored into the rescue/removal plan.

RESCUE
When the firefighter is ready to be removed (packaged, extricated) then it’s time to implement the rescue/removal plan. The RIT Officer should benchmark the intended removal location so that additional help can be assembled. If it’s an extended extrication then the RIT may act as support for a specialty team (collapse, etc.). An additional possibility is that the RIT can prepare an exit location while the specialty team is freeing the firefighter (rope-assisted, exterior wall breach, etc.).

When the firefighter is on the way out (the rescue is under way) the RIT Officer must maintain control and discipline within the rescue team. Frustration will be high, adrenaline flowing, and tempers short — not to mention the fatigue — so clear communication and direction is a must.

If the rescue/removal plan calls for the firefighter to be removed along the tag line then the RIT Officer maintains the line behind the other RIT members as they remove the firefighter (drag, carry, etc.). The RIT Officer will be the last one out — keeping the line tight to provide the shortest and most direct route to the exit.

If the rescue/removal plan calls for the firefighter to be removed following a different route — or through a nearby window or door — then the tag line should be extended until the exit location is reached. At this point, the tag line may be deployed and managed by the RIT Officer or the Navigation firefighter (depending on his involvement in the actual removal process).
The RIT Officer should benchmark when the firefighter has been removed from the building and that the RIT team is accounted for.

REMEMBER THE BASICS

BEFORE ENTERING…
■ Confirm the MAYDAY information — LUNAR
■ Confirm assignments
■ Recall additional members who may be performing proactive tasks
■ Announce the entry location
■ Use a RIT tag line and attach it outside

WHEN SEARCHING…
■ Have a plan — and follow it
■ Communicate findings/location
■ Bring the right equipment
■ Search for a firefighter (it’s different than a civilian search!)
■ Monitor interior conditions
■ Monitor air supply
■ Don’t become part of the problem
■ Call for additional resources before needed
■ Use any and all techniques to FIND the firefighter

WHEN THE FIREFIGHTER IS FOUND…
■ Notify Command/Rescue
■ Call for an additional RIT
■ Assess the firefighter
■ Assess the conditions
■ Assess the RIT members
■ Secure the firefighter’s air supply
■ Develop the rescue/removal plan
■ Determine the best removal location
■ Package the firefighter for removal
■ Rescue/remove the firefighter
■ Update Command/Rescue of progress

THE MAYDAY/RESCUE ENVIRONMENT

Nothing can prepare you for the actual conditions and stress that will accompany a lost, missing, or distressed firefighter emergency on the fireground. The fireground will be chaotic — to say the least! Discipline, developed through previous training and preparation, will play a role in the overall success of the mission.

It seems to be happening more and more, injuries and deaths during live fire training. Not for nothing but most, if not all, of the injuries — AND ALL OF THE DEATHS — are preventable, period! The knee-jerk reaction that comes after any injury or death during a training session is always the same – suspend all training and in some cases discontinue it completely. That is not the answer.

You know the saying…Firemen are their own worst enemies. Nothing could be further from the truth as it relates to live fire training. Why do we constantly make things more difficult than they really are…and, more importantly, why are we adding to the LODD numbers while trying to teach firefighters how NOT to become a LODD?

It just doesn’t make any sense, light and fight fires that we don’t see on the street. Sure, we get some tough fires on the street but they usually go defensive in a relatively short period of time if we don’t get a handle on them and then we’re on the outside looking in. For the occasional tough interior firefight that we encounter there is some true street-experience to be gained. Those chances are few and far between.

The problems on the fireground start way before we ever show up — with a lack of basic skill training and proficiency. In today’s fire service the next major problem area is responding (like maniacs). So we finally make it to the fireground only to botch the layout, fail to establish a sustained water supply, go Italian-style with the attack line (in front of the engine or in front of the entrance, your pick), try to blow the fire out, try to asphyxiate the fire (by not venting), or simply try and piss the fire off by not using enough water or the right-sized hand line. I’m sure you can come up with more of the basic skills that we routinely botch on the fireground.

Unfortunately, during all the bad performances we usually come out with no problems and then pat ourselves on the back thinking we did one hell of a job. Excuses are as common as you know what when something doesn’t work out the way it should have. The companies you run in with are never up to your performance standards and are always the first reason that you didn’t get the job done. Any of this sound familiar?

So, we head off to a vacant structure and decide we’ll do the same skills the same way and expect the same outcome. Using that mindset is like playing Russian Roulette, only one of our own may ultimately be on the losing end.

You see, live fire training is an invaluable part of training firefighters. For new firefighters it’s like drivers education for kids getting their license. For existing firefighters it’s like weekly practice for a professional sports team. In either case, you can only get better by learning the basics and then continually learning from experiences (and mistakes) gained through training (and sometimes on the street).

Live fire training is not an E-ticket carnival ride and until everyone who is involved with this type of training figures this out there will continue to be injuries and, unfortunately, fatalities. Here’s the catch: without live fire training there will also continue to be injuries and, unfortunately, fatalities. The only difference between continuing to run live fire training sessions incorrectly and not running them at all will be where the injury or fatality occurs — on the training ground or on the fireground. In all honesty, the training ground is the fireground during live fire training.

So let’s talk about aggressive live fire training designed to SAVE FIREFIGHTERS. It all starts with solid basic skills. Proper knowledge and understanding of water supply and of fireground hydraulics. Proper line selection (both size and length). Proper stretching, advancing and operating techniques of all hand lines. Proper forcible entry. Properly coordinating ventilation with the movement of the attack line. Proper and efficient search size up. Proper and efficient search (and rescue, if needed). Properly reading the fire and staying out of trouble. Knowing your SCBA inside and out. Properly communicating. Performing an ongoing size up of your (and the overall) situation. Preventing problems from occurring. And all of this without every starting a fire! Total proficiency working with your crew and members of other crews. Consistency in department operations from one person to the next, from one company to the next, from one officer to the next, from one chief to the next, from one shift to the next. Everybody on the same page. Everybody with a similar skill set.

Then, when you’ve got a solid grasp of these basics through repetitive training, practice them in simulated conditions. Once you’ve got them down practice them some more. Then, and only then, practice the same skills under live fire conditions. Don’t change things at this point — practice them the same way, every time, so you get better and better and better. Then, and here’s the important one, have the discipline to use the skills on the street — if you don’t then you haven’t trained enough!