Motivation
On the truck today I have a guy who’s newer on the job and regularly assigned to an engine. After about an hour of drilling on portable ladders and forcible entry he said to me “Sarge, I just don’t wanna let anyone down…” Probably one of the best things I’ve ever heard a fireman say.
I told him “well if you start with that everyday, that will give you motivation and the rest will quickly fall in line with practice”. Sometimes it’s just that simple – his motivation inspired me.
This is a team sport. We’re all counting on you to be in the right spot, with the right stuff, and the right skills, at the right time. We can’t let anyone down.
Combat Ready.
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready | Posted on 14-03-2012
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Got Stickers?
Got Stickers?
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready, fire-rescue-topics, firefighting-operations, RIT / Survival, Tips & Skills, training-development, Truck Company, Uncategorized | Posted on 14-02-2012
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FDIC 2012: COMBAT READY Firefighting (lecture)
**This week we are featuring a short run-down of each of the programs that our staff will be presenting at this year’s FDIC in Indianapolis**
Thursday, 130p-315p - COMBAT READY Firefighting
TT’s Nick Martin will be presenting this engaging, interactive presentation on the cornerstone belief of Traditions Training – bringing a combat ready attitude and skill set to the fireground. We’ll talk about things you can do to prepare yourself, your equipment, and your apparatus to be at the top of your game. Full of actionable ideas that you can take back to the firehouse.
Course Description: The objective is to motivate firefighters to recognize complacency, how it can cause errors to creep into your operations (“error creep”), and how it can snowball on the fireground and possibly lead to catastrophe. Interactive activities and multimedia presentations illustrate how and why we must combat it. Tips on attitude and readiness will be offered for the engine and truck companies, rapid intervention team, and the incident commander. Scenarios focus on near-miss fireground incidents and show how the presence or absence of a “combat-ready” mindset influenced their outcomes. You will be challenged to rethink what it means to be “ready.”
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready, Upcoming Classes | Posted on 01-02-2012
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New UL Study Reinforces Sound Old Fire Tactics
I can be a pretty skeptical guy when it comes to new studies and ideas in the fire service. That’s because it seems that lately our profession tries to solve “hands-on problems” with fancy new catch-phrases rather than firefighting skill. So when I read and watched the recently released ”Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Residential Construction” released by Underwriter’s Laboratories I was on watch for what “zany solution” they were going to have for our “modern fire problem”. I was pleasantly surprised.
The study was released in December 2010 and I’ve heard quite a bit about it in the background of the fire service. This study has been referenced in a lot of circles recently. One “fire chief” tried to even use it to say we shouldn’t fight fires interior anymore (he must’ve not read the same piece I read). Not wanting to remain uninformed, I took a look… For all those who don’t like reading 400 page reports, I suffered for you. And here’s the FIREMAN’s version:
Summary:
The study compared a series of residential fires in a 50′s-60′s construction style 1-story house of 1,200 square feet with a “modern” 3,200 square foot 2 story house. These are those new houses we hear about being so different in “today’s fires”, referenced by many who advocate we completely change our approach to firefighting.
Now I was not one of the scientists on the study, but I did look at it fairly closely and here are my take home thoughts on what it means for fighting fires in “today’s fires”:
- Coordinate ventilation with hoseline advancement, including forcing doors that feed the fire area.
- Get a hoseline on the seat of the fire quick.
- VES is a great technique.
- Closing interior doors saves civilians and firefighters.
- No smoke showing means NOTHING.
That’s it? Yeah – pretty much, at least from my perspective. Now there’s a lot of “why” that supports those conclusions. But what shocked me there is – did you hear anything NEW? I didn’t. No new safety vests, no blitz-fires, no buzz terms. Coordinate engine & truck work, get a line in place fast, and use good techniques to isolate and rescue. Sounds like the same things the “old school” fire service has preached for decades!
So what’s the problem?
The problem is the same thing I started this article with: these days we’d rather get a new colored vest, or practice taking blood pressures, or use some fancy multi-syllable phrase than do what this study supports: GET GOOD AT OFFENSIVE FIREFIGHTING. What do I mean? Here are some buzz-words I think we ought to be practicing, and this fancy 400-page study supports:
- ”Running Hoselines” – that’s a geographical term in my area for stretching and operating interior attack lines. How often to your firefighters pull lines? I’d bet you many firefighters haven’t pulled a line off in a “non-parking-lot” scenario in the past year. THAT’S A BREAD & BUTTER SKILL! Do they just know the crossly or can they extend and adapt to various scenarios with the precision of a offensive football line under the 2-minute warning? What is your fire department’s benchmark time for: from arrival having to firefighters stretch a 1.75″ line to the front door and be masked up and ready to enter the fire area? Based on a survey of YouTube I don’t think many departments have ANY such benchmark. This study says you have between 100 and 200 seconds to get water on the fire after ventilation occurs. That means you ventilating, or the fire ventilating the windows for you. How good are your back up firefighters? How well do you chase kinks? Poor performance with either of those will drastically delay your fire attack and your flow.
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| You have 100-200 seconds after ventilation to put the fire out or suffer rapid fire growth. |
- ”Coordinated Ventilation” – a concept that many departments struggle with. This was a no-brainer “back in the day”. We need to spend more time training on coordinating the location and timing of ventilation. This study clearly showed the impact of ventilating in the wrong time or in the wrong place. Ventilation should be timed with the knowledge that you only have 100-200 seconds after to get water on the fire before the fire will rapidly grow. The best way we can do this is “run scenarios”. Look at fire pictures with your crew. Where would you ventilate? When? What would be the challenges? How about coordinating with the line? You can just wait and see what happens when you get a fire, or you can take a few minutes to TALK FIRE and PREPARE so you’ll KNOW what’s going to happen.
- “Vent, Enter, Search” – this study also clearly showed that these fires were survivable for civilians who were laying on the floor in just about every room of the house except for the fire room. Closing the door made things even better. Keeping this in mind, along with the rapid growth of fire if water is not supplied, further supports the efficiency of Vent, Enter, Search technique in rescuing civilians. Particularly where a larger square foot home delays searches done with the conventional “left right” patterns. Some advocate it should be “Vent, Enter, Isolate, Search” – maybe, but when I first learned VES, and every time I’ve taught it, closing the door has ALWAYS been the first action after you enter. Maybe some people were just teaching it wrong…
- ”Isolate and flow water” – In trouble? Either get out, isolate yourself (close a door), or flow water. This study supports the tenability of firefighters when we knock down fire with a hoseline or isolate ourselves from the fire until the fire is knocked or we can obtain an exit.
- “Nothing Showing Means Nothing“ - Among others, I’ve said it for years. Three of the worst fires of my career started out as “nothing showing”. That’s when everyone let’s their guard down, doesn’t want to lay lines, leaves their tools behind, and moves slow. When you have fire showing – you know its a fire. When you have nothing showing – THE FIRE WILL CATCH YOU OFF GUARD. This study reinforces that with our modern construction, it is quite likely that a good fire will show nothing to the outside until it is ventilated. KEEP YOUR GUARD UP – IT’S THE FIRE OF YOUR CAREER UNTIL PROVEN OTHERWISE.
In Conclusion:
There’s a lot more to it than that, and if you’ve got about an hour the video on it is worth watching. But the take home here is NOT that we need to re-invent the fire service. It seems to me that often we’d rather float lofty ideas in the air conditioning then get out there and WORK at improving our bread & butter firefighting skills. Not running much fire? The need is even greater. We need to go back to practicing the tried & true skills of coordinated engine/truck work, rapid hoseline advancement, and targeted search. Stop creating fancy buzz terms and get out their and train. Think fire, talk fire, run through scenarios. Stay sharp. Stay COMBAT READY.
Referenced Study information:
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready, Engine Company, Truck Company | Posted on 29-11-2011
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I Have Five Little Rats
Among other things, at a fire a good truck company makes a lot of additional egress points, searches, and removes any victims. Ok, so the truck has forced multiple doors, placed the aerial, has portbale ladders up, and has made windows into doors. Now we’ve found a victim. How are we bringing that victim out?
“I Have Five Little Rats” is a useful mnemonic for remembering the order of preference in our removal options – under most circumstances.
- I – Interior Stairs. The interior steps under many circumstances are the fastest and safest means of removal. They are often the way we came in and we can’t really fall off of them. However fire conditions, the victims location, or the location of operating members may make the steps less preferable, or impossible, at some fires.
- H – Horizontal Exits. Removing the victim to another wing of the building, into a tower ladder bucket, etc.
- F – Fire Escapes. Fire escapes seem like a great idea until we consider that they have been on the outside of the building for quite a while and we have no idea how well they’ve been maintained – they’re structural integrity could be in question, especially when we add a victim to the FF’s weight. In addition, they’re usually quite narrow, making movement of the FF and victim difficult.
- L – Ladders. Civilians are not good with ladders. Conscious or unconscious, removing a civilian via the aerial or portable ladder will be a difficult and dangerous process for both parties.
- R – Rope. Rope rescues from the roof or an upper floor are extremely dangerous and require immense coordination and practice. In rare scenarios, this may be the only way to save our victim and we should be practice and prepared to execute this skill, but only as a last resort.
This is just another topic that is something our shift/company/crew should discuss BEFORE the fire. Perhaps this concept might need special modification to fit your department’s staffing, operations, or response area. Let us know your thoughts and what YOUR plan is for removing the victim.
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready, Tips & Skills, Truck Company | Posted on 16-06-2011
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T-Shirt Give Away – Show us your COMBAT READY!
“COMBAT READY” is the cornerstone concept and belief behind our mission here at Traditions Training, and we want to see how YOU are taking it to the streets. You’ve got till next Wednesday to show us a picture with explanation or a video of your best “COMBAT READY” concept. We’ll send the top pick from each category a free Traditions Training t-shirt. Here’s the deal:
- Categories are Engine Company, Truck Company, Rapid Intervention, Personal Equipment, and Incident Command.
- Personal equipment is anything carried on you individually, such as in your PPE. The rest would be on the rig, policies, mounted tools, etc.
- To participate you must “Like” our Facebook page, and sign-up for our mailing list below.
- Post your pic with description or your video directly on the Traditions Training Facebook wall.
On Wednesday we will judge the submissions, choose the winners, and send you your swag!
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Posted by | Posted in Blog | Posted on 26-05-2011
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Forcible Entry Success Story
NOTHING makes what we do more worthwhile than hearing back that information we passed on in our programs was put to use effectively in an operational scenario. There’s a lot of effort behind the scenes in what we do, but a story like this makes every second worthwhile:
“Howdy Fellas,
My name is Johnny Davidson. I work for the Round Rock FD in Texas. Back in April we had pleasure of attending a class put on by Nick and Danny. I’ve been to a lot of rescue course’s in my career and these guys along with Traditions Training stand among the best. So here’s my short story about forcing a door after attending their class.
A few weeks after the class we were called out to a medical alarm for an elderly person who pressed their alert button and the alarm company could not get a response from the victim. On arrival we discovered all the doors & windows were locked. Out of habit I grabbed the door spreader and went to the front door. After two attempts with the door spreader we had no success. I looked at the dead bolt and it hit me like a brick. I advised my firefighter to get the “irons” of our rig. As he was striking the door, I radio our dispatch and advised them we were attempting to force the door again. My firefighter then set Halligan and I began to strike it. It was like a hot knife thru butter. The door opened and we found our patient laying on the bedroom floor semi-conscious.
After checking my run notes it took 13 seconds to get thru the door using a version of the techniques learned from Traditions Training. Thanks for giving me another tool in the tool box of knowledge.
Be safe,
Johnny Davidson
Lieutenant Rsc3/B
Round Rock Fire Department”
Thanks you, Lt. Davidson, for sharing this story with us. And thank you to everyone out there who ever let us share a skill or piece of knowledge with you – PASS IT ALL ON!
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Tips & Skills, Truck Company | Posted on 23-05-2011
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Multiple Options are Key in Forcible Entry
Like many firefighters, I have witnessed someone at the door to the fire building repeatedly trying the same technique over and over with no success. This is frustrating because, with the exception of some public service calls, we were not called to force the door but rather to handle the fire (or other emergency) on the other side of it. All firefighters, regardless of position or assignment must maintain good forcible entry skills, because we can’t do our job until we get inside the door.
Over the years, forcible entry has become a speficic interest of mine. I have had many great mentors on the topic and my own share of fireground screw ups, all of which taught me one very important fact about forcing doors of any kind: YOU MUST HAVE MULTIPLE TECHNIQUES FOR WHEN PLAN “A” FAILS.
As an example, last month Danny Doyle and I were just outside Austin, TX working with the Round Rock Fire Department on truck company operations for the week. Of course one of the skills was forcible entry. Using their department’s door prop, each student forced the door numerous times. Now each student forced the same door prop, which used the same stock of material, and forced it using the same approach. Below is a picture of some of the metal “locks” that they forced. What do you notice? THEY ARE ALL DEFORMED DIFFERENTLY.
Know how you know how the door will respond? AFTER YOU'RE DONE.
It goes to show the point that 2 doors, made by the same company, installed by the same person on the same day, and locked in the same manner, will likely respond differently even when attacked with the same series of techniques. This is just due to subtle variations in angle/placement of attack, force delivered, and probably the inherent slight variations in a piece of metal.
The take home here is that you can’t just have plan A, or just plan A & B. You have to have C,D,E,F,G,H,I, et cetera. Because when YOU’RE the one between the fire and the rest of the box alarm, ALL EYES ARE ON YOU and everyone is WAITING FOR YOU – it’s probably the most stressful spot on the fireground. It means we have to expect the unexpected – we have to be able to recognize when what we are doing is not working, and have another step to move onto.
In our classes we teach “troubleshooting forcible entry”. This video is a brief demonstration of one of the students forcing a troublesome door and working through a variety of steps in order to get the door in a pretty quick timeframe. As a disclaimer, it it not an inclusive discussion of all the skill points and tips for an inward door. I always say that there is a list of techniques and a list of tools, all possibilities to get us through the door. The kicker is that the list is CONSTANTLY RE-ORDERED at each fire based on asking yourself:
- What tools do I have available?
- What manpower do I have available?
- What I have I already tried?
The results of thinking those questions may take what was previously #22 on your list of preferences and move it to #1 for this fire, because for instance you are by yourself and only have a Halligan bar.
Remember forcible entry is NOT AT ALL about force, it’s all about technique.
If you’d like to break some doors, we have a combination Truck Company Ops and Forcible Entry Academy class coming up in Bensalem, PA in August. Click here for information and registration. Or we’d be happy to come to you, just email us.
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready, Tips & Skills, Truck Company | Posted on 04-05-2011
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The Basic Goals of RIT & Class in Bedford, VA
This weekend TT instructors Nick Martin (DCFD/KVFD), Scott Kraut (FFxFD), Chris Birch (DCFD), and Roger Steger (BCFD/KVFD) traveled south to Bedford County, Virginia. We were being brought in to do some RIT training with the 3 departments in the county that had primary responsibilities for RIT – Bedford FD, Forest FD, and Stewartsville FD.
Class focused on two simple sets of rules.
The primary goal of the RIT should be to:
- Locate the downed firefighter.
- Keep the downed firefighter on continuous air.
- Keep the fire off the downed firefighter.
Most operational LODD’s result from asphyxia first and burns second. The goal of the initial team is to create a protective envelope around the downed firefighter. If you keep the firefighter on air and the fire away, you can work on solving any additional challenges such as collapse, etc…
Our second rule was:
Most successful rescues of firefighters are a combination of:
- Excellent basic firefighting skills.
- Basic tools and equipment.
- Ingenious, out of the box thinking.
- Communication, problem-solving, and teamwork.
There is not a one-size fits-all tool you can buy and throw on the rig to solve your RIT problems. Scenarios are often unique and often highlight a situation we hadn’t thought of until after it occurred. To be prepared we must first be excellent at fighting fire and PREVENTING the RIT deployment and second we must be problem-solvers with many “tools in our toolboxes” from which we can pull and generate a solution.
Class on Saturday started with a 4-hour seminar on RIT essentials and team formation. In the afternoon we worked on practical skills focusing on:
- locating the firefighter and use of search-rope kits
- troubleshooting and resolving SCBA emergencies
- packaging and moving the downed firefighter
Sunday was entirely hands-on scenarios. We demonstrated the reality that a 4 firefighter RIT is NOT likely to last long enough to complete an entire rescue. Students overcame scenarios involving missing firefighters, a catastrophic floor collapse, burned through stairs with members trapped above, and firefighters through a hole into the basement, among others. The staff of TT was constantly impressed at the skill, ability, and attitudes of the members from Bedford County. All scenarios were successful and much was learned by both students and instructors.
What was the last RIT training you did? Was it realistic? Was it based on the rules above? Remember – no one is coming in for us, but US. Stay COMBAT READY.
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Posted by | Posted in Blog, Combat Ready, Company News, RIT / Survival, videos | Posted on 07-04-2011
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Video Tip: Cutting the Adams-Rite Lock
We’ve done a bunch of talking about the Adams-Rite lock and forcing entry to storefronts, partly because it’s a forcible entry challenged found almost anywhere and everywhere. Like all things firefighting, the key to success is having not just “Plan A” – but multiple plans. Depending on your scenario, one may be preferable than another at one fire and less preferable at the next.
Once option for forcing entry at these fires is of course to cut the throw of the lock. Check out this quick video tip:
- What is your “go to” technique for these doors? Why?
- What circumstances would cause you to move this cutting technique to the top of the list?
Let us know your thoughts, and check out these other related articles on the topic.
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