Training - it doesn't have to be scheduled.

[Remember585 815]

Drill night doesn't have to be our only means of learning new skills or fine tuning what we already know. There are countless ways to sharpen our skills and our minds. Five of these examples are listed below.

1. "Routine Runs." I hate to use this phrase, but those alarms we go to on a regular basis are a valuable training resource. Even though a majority of the time we bring in the clipboard and get the info, have your crew(s) take a stroll around the building. This way they can learn the layout, escape routes, standpipe locations, etc.

2. EMS Calls. Believe it or not, this is a way to "cheat" and see how the house, or facility looks, and gives you a sense of what you may encounter if ever dispatched for a fire. For example, responding on an EMS run at a local Nursing Home or Skilled Care Facility gives you a chance to see the place "Un-pilished." What I mean is if you go in the EMS aspect, they dont concern themselves with how the place appears, or even if the place is up to code. While your EMS crew is working on the patient, or on the way out, snoop around and take note of the things that catch your eye.

3. Publications. Work all the time? Got a Honey-do list longer then your hosebed? Pickup the latest industry magazine and scan the pages. These are outstanding sources for the latest, and most innovative things out there. If you're like me, you can spend countless hours surfing the web as well.

4. Drive around. Got nothing to do? Jump in your car or if you can, take the rig around the district. You don't even have to get out and walk around, just cruise the neighborhoods. Make a mental note of where hydrants are, what streets are tight, which buildings the aerial cannot reach, and different ways to get to the location. Knowing the quickest way is great, but knowing an alternate route can be critical if the main route is inaccessible.

5. Swap Stories. Sometimes, believe it or not, just listening to the stories some of the veterans have to tell can be educational. For example, one of your brothers could enlighten you as to what to and what not to do on a fire scene, things like where to position the rig, how to direct the handline, and other invaluable lessons learned.

I hope my babbling has brought some insight to you. Remember, we don't have to limit ourselves to our scheduled drill nights to learn something. Until next time...

[x635 4,066]

Some great points/tips there!!!

[TR54 239]

point # 5 is the best ! Very true -- every member of a department has knowledge / experience that can be shared with others. This is what helps keeps the fireground safe. Look out for other members.

Live a Learn :idea: Be Safe

[chris 18]

Sometimes drills end up being the most enjoyable when a few

of the guys hanging out at the firehouse go out to play on the rig. Or just play some b-ball at the firehouse. Cant wait for warmer weather and more daylight.

[Guest rreimund]

Agreed.. I like learning often at the routine and not so routine runs.. Just last night, we had the 10-75 at 200 S. Broadway. See Incident Alert It's a large medical office building housing numerous doctors' offices, etc. All of them with copious files, etc. I started looking around after we had knocked it down (dry chem extinguishers did the job.. were even able to save the files that were adjacent to the burning files from water damage. ) and realized that there were no sprinkler heads.. Got to look around for standpipes, or lack thereof, etc.

There's often lots of time after an event when you're waiting for tanks to be refilled, or for a C&O team to show up, or even for a keyholder to come and reset an alarm or something at a PIAA, where you can be walking around checking out exposures, looking at adjacent buildings and taking the time to size up buildings in town without the detriment of the adrenaline rush in a real situation. It then becomes second nature.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Knowing building construction in your area is one of the best tools you can have. You hit it on the head brother with the checking out buildings while on calls! And in one of my aritcles I mention on how EMS response offers this much more then waiting for fire calls and can give you a ton of info about a certain building. The question is how/will do you pass it on?

[Guest rreimund]

Unfortunately, one of the biggest challenges is getting all of that knowledge and information out to the rest of the department. I know for a fact that there's someone amongst all of the members of the department that knows something about each and every building, house, shack, and garage in town. The problem is, just that one person might know about that one particular building. We've actually had a drill with a guy from Valhalla's Training Center (I forget his name.. I want to say it was Walter Ferguson..but don't quote me on that). He came through town, took pictures around town, made them into slides, and the drill was basically going over what the building had, didn't have, practicing size up, etc. It was good since amongst the members there, we had some knowledge about some of the buildings and it brought some of the knowledge out and it was shared. It was extremely valuable, but we're looking to do it again with more and different buildings.

That said, in the absence of some sort of organized drill, we as individuals can learn to identify some of the guys in our department who've been around the block a few times and know a thing or two. When I have a question about a building in town, or about a neighborhood's predominant construction, etc. I know who to ask. This is just as important, not just at alarm time, but also when you're just hanging out, sitting at the bar... err. I mean service counter... You can bring this up, ask about this place or that.. It's just important to know who to ask.

[Guest]

Drilling!!! I love the word....In my comany I look forward to monday nights when the "brothers" go out and drill.. I think with all the experience and knowledge that you encounter in the fire service, drilling is a everyday kinda thing. Listening to other members, reading fire magazines, and just picking up a tool and trying different approaches on how to make it better. There are so many ways we can learn and get better, on the web, taking the rig out during the day while your bored anyway, and finding easier ways to do stuff, and pre-plan. Pre-planning should be done all the time...We are in a everchanging society, and we need to adapt to survive. So don't be content on the one night a week training, take advantage and use the countless resources out there, and take it in, and spread the knowledge.