Breakdown of FDIC 2010 H.O.T. Classes: Large Area Search

These are pictures of the Large Area Search class that I took at FDIC on Monday of last week.

The class was held at the old airport terminals, which was kind of cool, and created a great opportunity for many crews to operate effectively.

As you can see, there was a lot of use of ropes and knots. Although the knots were simple, tying them with blacked out masks and gloves on is still challenging and gives you an appreciation for this seemingly simple task.

This was a four hour class and could have easily been an eight hour class. It seemed that we were just building on the last evolution with a new skill when we had to break down and load up the bus, with box lunches in hand, to head off to the next class.

The important thing to take away from this class was effective communication and fast, effective search patterns. Both are critical in performing a good search.

The class was led by Bob Athanas from FDNY. The assistant instructors were good to work with and loaded with knowledge. Great class and I would recommend for those of you already planning for next year.

Tomorrow, Personal Harnesses review.