Check Your Equipment Your Life Depends on it

Every morning since I have been working at my Internship I have become a creature of habit. In the fire service habits can be a bad thing, right? However, not in this case as my life depends on it. When I get down to the bay floor I always check my SCBA first thing. Yeah, so what everyone says, but do you check it like it's your lifeline. I thoroughly check my SCBA every morning such as the mask for cracks , does my regulator flow, and the RIT bag for  every morning because I also know if I am deployed for RIT that downed firefighter wants and needs that air more than I do. Not becoming complacent is a very hard thing to do in the fire service. Every day we need to make sure our trucks and equipment are ready at moments notice. It isn’t your job to check your buddies pack it is their responsibility.  Furthermore, you want to make sure your couplings on your hydrant are ready to be deployed and ready for action and anything else on the truck. You don’t want to be standing on the corner at the hydrant when your interior crew is waiting for water because you can’t get your couplings apart because the hydrant doesn’t need the hydrant catcher. If your job includes catching the hydrant its important you have your equipment ready to deploy as stated above. We never know when the call will come in and we have to be ready at all times. When I first came into the fire service I never really knew how important it was to check your equipment until I got on a fire and my saw wouldn’t start and my air bottle had 4000 PSI instead of 4500 PSI. After that day I chose to check the stuff even if someone else had checked it because ultimately it was my responsibility. Even as a company officer it’s important to check your equipment because you’re role model and you want your guys to follow you. If all you do is set and watch TV all day and drink coffee then your crew is going to follow you. Lead by example and they will follow you. Being a firefighter is a great career and fun. If I have learned one thing it’s to always be on the lookout and always check yourself because the one-day you don’t is the day you’ll wish you had.

Stay safe and Keep Training

T. Foust