During my time in the fire service, I have had the opportunity to meet firefighters from all across our great country. One thing is constant every time I meet a firefighter. We are all the same!
As the wildfire season rages on in the west many of us have answered the call to assist in the battle. These brothers and sisters leave their loved ones and normal duty assignments for two to three weeks to live in a tent and work 14-16 hour days to meet a common goal.
I recently returned from a deployment in Northern California. As with every deployment, I met some amazing firefighters who have a great passion for the job. These men and women came from all walks of life. Some appeared as they actually live in the mountains others coming from urban and suburban departments like many of us. We may have all looked a little different, but we all had the same objectives: keeping firefighters safe, professionalism and excellence in our duties. We are all same!
The fire I was assigned to had representation from all across the United States. From up and down the east coast, the midwest, the great plains, the western states and even Hawaii and the American Samoan Islands. All these firefighters converged on this small area in Northern California to work under one system to combat a common enemy. This was one example of a scenario that has been playing out hundreds of times throughout the west this summer.
I am honored and proud to be a member of this community that we call the fire service. Whether you are a backstepper on engine company running a line into a apartment or a hand crew member punching line up a ridge. We are all the same!
As the fire season rages on in the west keep our fellow firefighters in our thoughts and prayers. These men and women are dealing with very rough conditions and are working hard to preserve the life and property of their fellow citizens. BE SMART out there!
A few years back I was having a conversation with a
firefighter from a neighboring department.
He made the observation that we in the fire service sometimes lose sight
of the basic skills that are important. My
good friend said we need to focus on the “Big 6” if we want to be proficient at
our jobs and provide the correct level of service.
Most of us have a specialty niche of some type. I personally like to don nomex pajamas and do
high speed gardening. We have those who enjoy
donning a Level A suit and deal with the methyl ethyl bad stuff. We even have Firefighters in our region who
work right alongside police swat teams for medical and/or forcible entry
tasks. The one thing that we have to
remember is that we are still the FIRE DEPARTMENT. We are the only group that has the
responsibility to respond to fires in our communities.
What is “The Big 6”?
They are the six major firefighting tasks that we should be knowledgeable,
competent and proficient at:
Forcible
Entry
Hose (stretching,
advancing, fire streams, and water supply)
Ladder
Work
SCBA
Search
and Rescue
Ventilation
“The Big 6” encompasses what we as the Fire Service are supposed
to be good at. These are the skills which
perform at almost every structure fire, and have been performing for many, many
years before anyone of us were here.
When is the last time you or your crew threw a 35’ ground
ladder? When did you last force a
door? When is the last time you
stretched a line off your engine? If you
cannot remember then you have some work to do.
Every time we show up for a shift we have a responsibility to
the citizens we swore to protect and our fellow firefighters not just to be
“OK” these skills but to be knowledgeable, competent and proficient. How do we get to this point? My simple answer is Company Level Training. In
the confines of your own station or first due response area, everyone has a way
to perform training on any one of these tasks.
Here are some examples, but the list can be endless with some creativity
and ingenuity:
Forcible Entry
Many of us only get the opportunity to force doors on actual
incidents. We may say it is too hard or
difficult to find opportunities to drill on this subject. With a few dollars and minor ingenuity you
can build yourself a “prop” that will help hone and refine your forcible entry
skills. If your department has a commercially
manufactured prop, use it! If there are
no props available scout areas in your district where buildings are being
renovated or demolished. There is a good
chance you could get permission to some FE work before they get rid of the doors. If hands on is not available to you, tour
your first due and perform some simple size up drills and discuss how you would
approach a FE scenario in a fire.
Hose (stretching, advancing,
fire streams, and water supply)
Put some hose on the ground!
It only takes a few minutes to pick it up. Be creative and work on hose deployment, fire
stream work, and even water supply. A
drill my company often performs is stretching a hoseline, advancing it around
some obstacles and then flowing some water.
It only takes 15 minutes start to finish. This breed’s repetition which we all learned
is the motor of learning.
Ladder Work
We all have ground ladders on our rigs. Ladder the windows at your station. Ladder
the roof to your station, Practice single person ladder carries and throws, and
every once and a while throw the 35’ Ladder.
If you don’t have a 35’ ladder in your station I’m sure your local truck
company could get a permission slip signed to take a field trip to your first
due. Drills like these take only a few
minutes, but again breed repetition.
SCBA/PPE
Does your crew wait on you to get your gear on? Can don your mask with gloves on? Put your self in situations that are
uncomfortable. Again inexpensive props
are easy to put together and utilize in your station. Search the web there are dozens of SCBA drills
you can do in the confines of you fire house.
Search and Rescue
Perform a search of your station. Sure we all know the lay out, but searching
and removing a victim takes teamwork and coordination. It makes us work in our gear with limited or
zero visibility. The last time any of us
practiced our search techniques shouldn’t be that last fire you had 4 months
ago.
Ventilation
With all the recent research we have found ever-growing
importance of methodical coordinated ventilation. Deploy your blowers to station doors and practice
PPV. Ladder the roof to your station and
simulate a vertical vent operation. The
“chalk saw” is a low cost effective tool.
If you have a roof prop available in your area use it.
I have a continuous goal for my crew to become diligent
about focusing on “The Big 6.” I even
went as far as developing a spreadsheet track amount of hose deployed, searches
completed, ladders thrown, and doors forced.
This tool will allow us to track how much or how many times we performed
some of these tasks in either a training environment or on actual
incidents. Share your thoughts and ideas
for “Big 6” training and drills lets all learn together!
We like to call ourselves occupational athletes. Take a look at your favorite sport, favorite
team and see what they focus on. I bet
it is the “Basics” of their sport. “Amateurs train until
they get it right, professional train till they can’t get it wrong.” unknown
author Be Smart and Combat Ready!
Leaders are present at all levels of the fire service. I preach this constantly to our fellow fire service members.
Many of the best ideas, concepts, and methods have been developed and lead, by members who are not the"designated leaders" of their organizations. This occurs because those individuals have the COURAGE to to expose themselves and share their idea or vision. These individuals are also able to lead, because someone along the way has told them it is OK to lead.
As the "designated leaders" in our organizations it is our responsibility to to EMPOWER and TRUST those individuals who are willing to stick their neck out and lead the charge. As the designated leaders we must to make it a priority to coach, teach, and pass-on all the information possible that you may have picked up throughout your career. A leader is not judged by what he/she has done while they are present, but what takes place after they are gone.
Create a legacy. Trust your team, provide an environment for learning, leading and growing. All our days are numbered in this great career leave your mark by serving those around you!
Welcome to my blog. The intent of my blog is to share my thoughts and views on the fire service experience. I have been involved in the fire service my entire adult life. I have had the opportunity to be a part of volunteer, paid-on call, combination, and career organizations. My current agency is a medium sized career organization, where I am a company officer assigned to an engine company.
I have a strong passion for the fire service and see this as a calling. I am truly living out a childhood dream. My personal niche, as we all have is engine company operations. I currently lead the majority of engine company based training for my agency. I have also been blessed with the opportunity over the past six years to be a lead instructor for engine company operations for our regional recruit academy.
Please enjoy my this blog, I hope it provides some insight, education, and entertainment!
