Weekly Fire Drills
In our continued effort to help identify and solve FIREFIGHTING problems with “real world” solutions, we now have a basic, easy to follow and printable “WEEKLY FIRE DRILL” for use at your Fire Department.
Unfortunately, many FD’s have little to no regular FIRE related training-this might help “jump start” that process. These training scenarios will be provided to help make us think about “what if” in our communities.
The goal is to be asking yourself “what would we do if this happened at our FD – how would we handle this event – how does our policy, procedure, protocol, training, rules, orders etc… aply to this scenario… what would be our turnout, our staffing our equipment response?” And then maybe even get your crew OUT of their recliners and do a related street drill on that specific subject.
Our lawyer advises us not to recommend a course of action or to tell you what to do because some numbskulled moron will do it “their” way, screw it up all to hell, and then come back with some weasel shyster screaming “but www.FirefighterCloseCalls.com told me to do it this way.” Duh. We are not telling you how to do anything-or to do anything. What we are doing is offering ideas that have worked for other FD’s and their crews over the years. We are trying to get all of “us” to think “what if.”
Please use these ‘WEEKLY FIRE DRILLS” as a guide where you can sit down as a group in your firehouse and think these things through in advance by using the rules and guidelines of your specific department, in your specific state, with your specific training standards, following your FD’s chain of command and then apply’ em. And don’t worry-these will be related to FIRE & RESCUE “bread and butter” daily responses. No “Weapons of Mass Destruction” or “Terrorism” training info here…we are of the opinion that we all need to focus on the “daily” stuff first such as structural firefighting, auto accidents, wildland and related daily responses… We are focused on THE BASICS. THAT’S where we have the most RISK to get hurt… or worse.
At www.FirefighterCloseCalls.com, not only do we “whine and bitch” about the stuff that gets us hurt (or worse) but we also TRY to provide some “real world” ideas and solutions to the excuses. TRAINING continues to be one of the most common neglected areas requiring information, assistance and support. These “Weekly FIRE Drills” can help. The next time you hear… “But what should we drill on?” YOU will have a few solutions and ideas to answer the question.
Reminder: When considering these, be sure to follow your FD’s chain of command, SOP’s, SOG’s and protocols.
Q: How can I use the fire drills?
A: WEEKLY FIRE DRILLS INTRO SHEET
NOTE: The following drills are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. (Left-click on the drill’s name to open with Acrobat, or right-click and choose “Save Target As…” to save.)
Aerial
Hose
SCBA
FDNY Div 7
Firefighter Survival
Pump
Ventilation
Back Pocket Drills
General
Rescue
Water Supply
THE SOURCE OF THE DRILLS
In an effort to “jump start” the process of getting these suggested drills available to you, we enlisted the services of a good friend, well respected Fire Instructor and 25 year fire service vet, Chief Forest Reeder, the Chief of Training for the Pleasantview Fire Protection District. He is also the Director of Training for Southwest United Fire Districts, a training consolidation of the Darien-Woodridge, Pleasantview and Tri-State Fire Protection Districts in the Chicago suburbs. These responsibilities include the design, implementation and coordination of all training activities for the combined 150+ members of these fire districts.
Forest currently serves as Vice-President of the Illinois Society of Fire Service Instructors and was the Fire Science Coordinator at Moraine Valley Community College for 10 years. Forest is a field staff instructor for the Fire Service Institute and the Illinois Fire Chief’s Foundation. He additionally is the coordinator of the Fire Officer I and II programs for the Illinois Fire Chief’s Foundation. Forest is an Illinois Fire Officer III, has an Associates of Applied Science Degree in Fire Science Technology and a Bachelors Degree in Fire Department Administration from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He will graduate from Lewis University with a Masters Degree in Public Safety Administration in 2004.
QUESTIONS on the WEEKLY FIRE DRILL? www.FirefighterCloseCalls.com members can E-Mail Forest directly at forest@firefighterclosecalls.com.
Notification
USE OF INFORMATION FROM FirefighterCloseCalls.com and The Secret List should be passed along to FIREFIGHTERS and those who support (or are supposed to support!) us! Credit shall be given to www.firefighterclosecalls.com and if you are truly committed to firefighter safety, that should be no problem. If you aren’t, and you don’t give us credit and try to prostitute this stuff as your own, we’ll find you and expose you. We Promise. Odd’s are… our mailing list is bigger than yours!