Training Ideas

Comment

Comment by Ron Becknell on February 23, 2013 at 11:26pm

You're welcome.  Hope it helps

Comment by Brent Blamires on February 23, 2013 at 11:21pm

Thanks for all the help! I am excited to try these drills.

Comment by Ron Becknell on February 23, 2013 at 11:17pm

I am not sure what your department will allow but if you can get a few cars to burn is best.  If not at least try to get a junkyard to let you practice on a couple of cars.  Have your firefighters practice gaining entry into the hood by folding up a corner with a haligan or opening the hood with a K12.  (anytime they get to cut, force or destroy something they keep interested).  Forcing access into the trunk can be challenging as well.

If you do get the cars to burn loading some extra pallets and hay into them can help expecially if you have to burn one car more than once.

Comment by Brent Blamires on February 23, 2013 at 11:06pm

Do you have any good ideas for live vehicle fire attack? I just am trying to keep our volunteers from getting board.

Comment by Ron Becknell on February 23, 2013 at 11:01pm

Although the "back to the basics" is always usefull it tends to lose interest quickly with the "I've done that before" group.  Mayday training is always good.  One thing is using blacked out mask (wax paper inside works great) have them follow a hoseline using couplings to identify the way out, then use a bed mat (the rubber kind used in pick-up beds) to drop on them along with one or two people to simulate a colapse and have them call the mayday on the radio and activate their PASS.  You can also use a section of chain link fence in place of the bed mat.  Its a good quick training drill that easy to fall back on when something else fails last minute.

Another rarely trained on subject is tree removal.  In our area we are often called out for trees across roadways and have to respond to remove them to allow emergency vehicle access.  Although many of us that grew up working in the woods with our fathers learned these skills at a young age.  Not everyone was exposed to the same up bringing and some had never cranked a chainsaw until joining the fire service.

One thing to keep in mind is to train on those High Consequence/Low Frequency skills.  These are the ones that get people hurt since we get little to no "on the job training" at using them.

Hope this helps.

Ron

Comment by Pete Forshaw on February 18, 2013 at 12:12am

Hey Brent take a 8ft table then drape a tarp over it. Then you have your guys pack up with there balaclava in there mask so they are not able to see at all.

Have them crawl under the table into the tarp that is laying on the floor. you will need to have approx 6ft of tarp on the floor trailing the table. Once the fire fighter enters under the tarp you slowly walk onto the tarp trapping him under the tarp. you need to find out if he struggles to get out or slows the thought process enough to active his man down and have his hands up high in case of collapse so he is able to reach his radio for transmissions of mayday.

Also another quick test for SCBA in the hall. Have one guy pack up full PPE on-air have someone get a chair and sit in the chair preferably an old wooden back chair with metal legs. Then make sure the firefighter is not able to see out of his mask. place him on the ground beside the chair and this will simulate going through a confined space and having to take off his pak while on air slide it under the chair and then get himself through the chair and pak up again.

Just a couple of hints Fella.