Firefighters & Building Construction

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jay Michael on March 17, 2008 at 6:06pm

Al,
Take them out to construction sites. Have them identify how the load transfers to the ground. Have them explain what parts of a beam or girder are under tension or compression. Explain the hirearchy of beams, girders and columns. Believe it or not have them color, yes color the load transfer. Just standing and watching a building under construction is interesting. Its even better if you can see a tilt up concrete panel wall being assembled. Post-tension concrete is time consuming but it is basically the same as pre-stressed as far as assembling it (the concrete). For the post -tension looking at the false-work and the dangers of the false-work. These are a few ideas, they have worked for me.
Jay

Permalink Reply by Glenn Corbett on March 17, 2008 at 8:29pm

Thanks for your comments, Al. I have found that visiting construction sites seems to engage firefighters mpre than just giving lectures. How about following up a visit with a quick rundown of an actual fire which incorporates the type of construction that was viewed? I'm sure that if you post here, others will provide accounts of actual fires that can pique your firefighters' interest,

Permalink Reply by William Glaser on March 19, 2008 at 8:46am

I teach building construction for the fire service for new recruits. It is a dry topic to lecture abput. I have found that by adapting all of the information to the fire ground keeps thier interest. Referincing LODD or injury caused by these construction elements also keeps the importance of the topic in thier minds. I teach from Ifsta and Building Construction for the Fire Service 3rd and 4th edition and take local and internet photos to enhance the program. What we need to tell them is that if the McDonalds burns down, they will build a new one. It is not worth our life. The only way to protect ourselves is to know where the fire is, where it is going, how it will get there and then what it will do. This involves fire behavior and building construction. It all is relitive. Hopefully your passion will rub off onto them.

Permalink Reply by Mike Walker on March 21, 2008 at 6:50pm

I think I'd like to hear your lecture Will!

Permalink Reply by Chad Abel on March 21, 2008 at 7:17pm

I can remember my very first building construction class when I went through fire school so many years ago. The instructor began his lecture by saying, "Bare with me, this stuff's boring". After the longest hour (at the most)of my life wrapped up, I found myself agreeing (and remembering) his first statement. He was right...it was boring. That got my appreciation for building construction off to an extremely slow start.

It took several years before I learned the true importance of the subject. Deputy Chief (ret.) Harry Tibbets of the Indianapolis Fire Department taught a building construction class based on Brannigan's Building Construction for the Fire Service. He presented it in way that was anything than boring. He forced us to look at buildings for what they are...our enemy. (Yes, he got that from Brannigan) I soon found myself VERY interested in building construction and how it relates to firefighter safety, tactics, occupant survival, etc. By the way, I shared with Chief tibbets the other day how much of his presentation style I have "stolen" over the years. I also told him if I give him credit two more times...all of his jokes from class become mine.

The bottom line...there is little room for ANY instructor to start ANY presentation by saying "Bare with me, this stuff's boring". I mean really...., why even bother? I start out by sharing that story with my students. I then explain that building construction only tends to be "boring" until the building is coming down. At that point, it gets really exciting, although not in a good way.

I too take them to construction sites, but I also like to travel to buildings that have been in existance for a while and really start having the students themselves identify hazards they will face. I like going to the nastiest (most obvious hazards) buildings we have as well as buildings that have very subtle hazards (just as deadly). I also have our recruits do short research papers on firefighter LODDs that relate to collapse of burning buildings. This usually gets there attention.

The best I can say...you sound like the best guy to teach building construction. Enjoying it does not make you look "geeky", merely relevant.

Keep it up!

Permalink Reply by Albert W. Schlick III on March 22, 2008 at 11:34pm

Thans to everyone who responded to my question. I have gotten some great ideas and more importantly some excellent motivation! I always feel like I am reinventing the wheel and would like to know what other folks are using in the classroom. Brent mentioned the NFA Building Construction clases which are excellent. What else are you using and would you be willing to share it with us? I look forward to your comments!

Permalink Reply by Drew Smith on March 22, 2008 at 11:55pm

I too am a building construction junkie. At home I receive a maganize called FINE HOMEBUILDING. It is for contractors and has a format similar to Fire Engineering, except its obviously for guys who pound nails and such. Unlike common "idea" magazines which offer a fluffed up version of decorating as house, this magainze has product reviews, alternative ays to frame for different loads, weather conditions, etc. Where all this is leading me is that I would really like to get a few subscriptions for the stations to this and a few other similiar magainzes. ANother good maganize is THE FAMILY HANDYMAN which covers a lot of common household problems suchs as resolving electrical wiring issues, replacing bathroom fans and how water heaters. While these situations are not usually fireground issues, many of them are the conclusion to an odor investigation or other service call.

Permalink Reply by Joel Thacker on March 23, 2008 at 8:32pm

I am a bc junkie as well. At least once a week if not more, our guys and gals are out taking pics of buildings and remodels to these buildings. The personnel put their pics into a PowerPoint and present to the rest of the department. Locally we have a college level building construction class offered by a community college. This program is a requirement for company officer promotion. Since reading the 3rd and 4th edition of the "Firefighter's Bible" I never look at buildings the same way again. Great topic Man!!

Permalink Reply by Albert W. Schlick III on March 23, 2008 at 10:23pm

Great idea Joel and thanks for sharing it. Do you have a template for your members to plug their pictures into or do you give them creative license to develop their own presentations. I could see this going both ways for our members. We have some who are great with the computer and can develop presentations that will amaze as well as educate and we have some who couldn't find the computer with a map and a flashlight. Also, how often do you do these presentations? Thanks again for the response!