Hump Day SOS - Spider Webs in the Hose Bed

Are there spider webs in the hose bed?

There are a multitude of skills that must be mastered in order to be proficient on the fire ground. There are two skills make or break the fire operation. They are the ability to stretch hose effectively and search effectively. No doubt there are numerous other tasks that must be accomplished along with these to make them possible but when a company can’t effectively stretch hose or search things tend to get worse instead of better.

Today however I’m focusing on hose. When is the last time you had your company out to practice basic and advanced hose stretches? Have you pulled up to long alley with the only access to particular structure, or an apartment complex that was so eloquently designed that all the access is from a center courtyard that requires a  300’ stretch just to get to the courtyard? How about the 6 story with no standpipe? How quick can you catch the hydrant and establish a water supply?  It takes more than just talking about what you would do. You actually need to do it again and again to become proficient.

The new trend of covering an operational topic at the muster table and logging in an hour or two of training in Target Solutions does not develop the skills of the member. We have plenty of members and officers that can tell you how something should be done but they can’t actually pull it off when it’s needed.  Push away from the table and go log some hours stretching and loading and stretching and loading and stretching and loading hose.

Correct technique taught along with repetition is the mother of skill. All firefighters should be experts in stretching hose.

Correct technique taught along with repetition is the mother of skill. All firefighters should be experts in stretching hose.

Correct technique taught along with repetition is the mother of skill. All firefighters should be experts in stretching hose.

Maybe it will sink in....................