Role Instructors Can Play in Improving Fire Service Cited by FDIC Speakers

Role Instructors Can Play in Improving Fire Service Cited by FDIC Speakers

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DICK SYLVIA

Associate Editor

The role of the instructor in improving the fire service was stressed at the 52nd Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) at Memphis, March 24-27. The FDIC was sponsored by the International Association of Fire Service Instructors and hosted by the Memphis Fire Department.

In a challenge to instructors to improve rural fire service training, Lawrence W. Davis, Jr., chairman of the ISFSI volunteer section, declared, “Fire fighters will change when they want to and we, as instructors, have to motivate them to change.”

He stressed the need to provide a water application rate that is large enough to handle a specific fire, and he commented, “If you don’t protest the use of too small a line on a building, you are at fault, too.” He also emphasized the need to use large diameter supply lines to at least try to keep pace with the size of the pump.

Davis advised, “We have to teach people that there is a definite relationship between the size of the pump and the hose,” and pointed out the absurdity of feeding a 1000-gpm pumper with a 2 21/2-inch line. He called for awareness of the effect of hose diameter on the flow it can provide.

In rural departments, Davis commented, everyone has to be trained at the officer level so they all can work to solve fireground problems. An effective fire-fighting organization has to be maintained despite the absence from town during an alarm, Davis said, and added that we “have to teach people they have to be organized on the fireground if they are to survive.”

Improving training

The challenge of improving training programs in the face of fiscal austerity was tossed in the laps of the instructors by Assistant Chief Carl Holmes of Oklahoma City. He told them that they “don’t have an excuse for letting your people be undertrained” and declared that they would have to write innovative training programs themselves. “You and I in this room are going to have to do it or it isn’t going to be done,” he added.

Asserting that there isn’t going to be any more money for expanding training staffs, Holmes said that a secret resource is available and advised, “We can begin

to look for it in our own departments— namely our company officers.” He defined the role of the company officer as that of leadership and the development of skills, and he charged that “we in training have done little to develop those skills.” He urged the instructors to design programs to help company officers to develop the skills to advance the training of their companies.

Holmes also stressed the need for instructors to conduct behavioral skills programs within their department to develop leaders. He warned that when such programs are lacking, departments are going to have to open up their officer ranks to nationally recruited applicants.

BART fire lessons

Declaring that mass transit fire safety must start on the drafting board, Chief Andrew Casper of San Francisco told of lessons learned from the fire aboard a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train in the tunnel under San Francisco Bay. He recalled that BART had been warned before the fire that 30-minute breathing apparatus was inadequate for tunnel operations, the communications system needed upgrading and emergency training was inadequate. “All turned out to be true,” he stated. He said that fire fighters went into the tunnel with what was thought to be adequate training, but “that wasn’t so.”

Scholarship honoring retired Chief Edward A. Hamilton of Memphis, left, was announced by Claude Armour, former Memphis public safety director. Scholarship was donated by Ira A. Lipman, president of Memphis-based Guardsmark, Inc.Honorary chief’s badge is presented to Gordon Vickery, United States fire administrator, by Robert W. Walker, Memphis director of fire services, after Vickery addressed the FDIC—start photos.Lawrence W. Davis, Jr.Assistant Chief Carl HolmesChief Andrew CasperChief Warren E. IsmanJoseph McDonaghJames Nichols

Casper asserted that the fire department commander at a rapid transit incident must be in charge of all agencies involved and the fire department must have a signed agreement with those agencies. He also said that the fire department must have an extensive knowledge of the problems it could face, and he called for training and simulated emergency drills with transit employees. He deplored the lack of mass transit system fire safety standards and stressed the need for an adequate communications system.

As a BART car burned in the 5-milelong tube, the polyurethane car floor gave off dense smoke that filled the area, but it was nine minutes after the train made an emergency stop before BART notified the Oakland fire Fire Department of a smoke situation, Casper reported. Because of the intense heat that eventually built up in the fire area, the chief continued, San Francisco fire fighters could operate only five minutes in the tunnel even while being hosed down. The fire caused the death of an Oakland fire lieutenant.

Speaking also as chairman of the Board of Visitors to the National Fire Academy, Casper said the board feels that its increased activity can help the academy. The board will become involved with the NFA superintendent in carrying out academy policies, and it is looking for recommendations from academy students and fire service organizations.

Urging fire departments to make use of countywide or regional resources, Chief Warren E. Isman of the Montgomery County, Md., Fire & Rescue Services decried exclusive territories and boundary lines that can’t be crossed.

“We need to operate on a regional basis,” he said in pointing out that everyone needs regional aid at times and particularly for high-hazard areas.

Declaring that “areawide disaster planning is an absolute necessity,” Isman challenged the instructors to begin developing plans for handling incidents at target hazards that include the resources of neighboring municipalities. He urged the development of formal, written mutual aid plans that spell out all the conditions under which all the departments involved will operate. Such a plan, he explained, could be activated either by request or automatically, and it must be signed by the highest authorities of the governmental entities affected.

Isman recommended that fire service administrators first take a hard look at their needs and available resources before seeking a solution to their problems.

Breathing apparatus

Criticism of breathing apparatus training, approval system and data on failures was voiced by Joseph McDonagh, a senior instructor with the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute at the University of Maryland. He condemned the “learn and burn” philosophy of breathing apparatus training as outmoded and assailed smoke diver courses that could emotionally hurt students.

“Fire training is dangerous, but there is no need—because it’s dangerous—to submit a human being to such emotional shock,” McDonagh commented.

He said that the National Institute of Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is responsible for approving breathing apparatus, appears to be in deep trouble

because of what he called NIOSH’s failure to keep up with the needs of the fire service. He criticized federal officials “who don’t know fire service needs” or fear to offend manufacturers. He also deplored the fact that the fire service has little input in breathing apparatus testing and design. It wasn’t until 1977 that the fire service made its first input into breathing apparatus criteria, he added.

McDonagh also criticized the lack of availability of data on breathing apparatus mishaps and deaths. He called for a reporting system and commented that in some cases, the facts are swept under the rug by the fire department or municipality involved in an incident.

“If we are honest,” he continued, “we would have to admit the lack of effective training is the major contributing factor in deaths with breathing apparatus.”

Arson for protest

Arsonists who use fire as a weapon for social protest, political terrorism and wanton destruction were discussed by James Nichols, director of fire protection technology at Tarrant County Junior College in Fort Worth, Texas. He said that “antisocial fires are growing in number,” and frequently are set to protest against ideas and create a form of coercion by people who oppose such things as birth control clinics, nuclear plants and massage parlors.

Newly elected ISFSI president, Harold G. Thompson, supervisor of the Georgia Fire Academy, shakes hands with Louis J. Amabili, director of the Delaware State Fire School, who retired as ISFSI president.Many workshops were conducted during the FDIC. At the workshop on leadership are, from left. Captain Matthew Jackson of Charleston, W. Va., a speaker; David A. McFadden, instructor at Fox Valley Technical Institute, Appleton, Wis., another speaker; and Everett Perkins, fire service instructor at the University of West Virginia, workshop coordinator.John W. Macy, Jr.

Nichols said that there has been a growing increase in the last 10 years in fires set to achieve wanton destruction as a form of resentful rage against society. Referring to such arsonists as dyssocial sociopaths, Nichols said they had learned to participate in crime as a part of their culture.

The antisocial sociopaths, Nichols added, as a group are more aggressive than the dyssocial sociopaths. He explained that they feel persecuted, and they are against symbols of discipline, such as God, country, and law and order. These people, the speaker continued, are dangerous and are loyal only to their own ideals. He also pointed to the arson committed by political terrorists who, he said, have violent personalities of a paranoid nature and are not only sadistic but strongly homicidal.

FEMA cooperation

Declaring that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is not an agency to usurp local responsibilities, John W. Macy, Jr., declared that “the measure of our success will be our success in working with state and local agencies.”

Furthermore, Macy pledged “the commitment of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the fire service in every way,” and said he recognized that ‘we have an obligation to seek your counsel and advice.”

Macy praised Gordon Vickery, United States fire administrator, and his staff for providing professional understanding ol how the fire service affects other emergency agencies under the FEMA umbrella. He viewed the location of the Emergency Management Institute on the Emmitsburg campus of the National Fire Academy as the start of a fruitful relationship with the academy. He pointed out that FEMA is concerned with all types of emergencies and recognizes that emergency incidents all have certain characteristics in common.

Macy also said that national fire data is providing information on where USFA efforts should be made and he added, “We’re disturbed at the growing incidents of arson in our citiesand more importantly, the loss of life.”

USFA wants to listen

Citing as one of the hazards the United States Fire Administration has faced in the past year, the inability to communicate with members of the fire service, Gordon Vickery, USFA administrator, said, “1 don’t think we’ve listened to enough people in the field.” At the same time, he pledged his support to listen to the instructors he was addressing and he urged them to “be critical of our performance-—he very critical.” He added, “Judge us not on our promises, but judge us by our performance.”

Vickery conceded that the USFA had’ been duplicating what was being done in the field and he declared that this duplication can be reduced by making use of training methods or programs that are already in effect. The USFA administrator called jealousy of someone who has developed something worthwhile “a tragic thing” and voiced the feeling that the USFA in the past has been jealous of programs in the field.

The total fire problem has never been identified, Vickery declared, and he said that this must he done to improve the USFA program. He mentioned a three-year study starting this year on manning levels of fire companies as the biggest program now being started. He said he hoped that this study would identify the necessary manning for different fire suppression situations.

Vickery also mentioned that he has allocated money from his discretionary fund to develop a comprehensive “EMS training program to complement what you are doing in the field.” Vickery also chided his listeners by saying that some of them “have a tendency to he reactionary” in regard to women in the fire service and the USFA will he doing some work on this problem.

Academy priorities

In discussing the acceptance procedures for students at the National Fire Academy, B. J. Thompson, NFA superintendent, said that “the concept of the academy is to multiply our deliverability” and to stress training the trainers and therefore to give priority in enrollment to those applicants who will be able to train others in their home areas.

Thompson explained that “the academy is not getting into hands-on training” but it is working with state training agencies to develop courses in the skills area and to support state agency activities.

“I personally consider the state training programs as part of the academy system,” Thompson commented.

The NFA superintendent explained that a geographical consideration is applied in selecting applicants to attend the academy in order to fulfill the academy’s legislative responsibility. The superintendent said that the academy also is interested in knowing if a student is committed to the fire service and whether his department will use his new abilities.

Pat GoffDanah FeldmanDr. Joseph DuffyCaptain Gary B. Morris

Thompson also explained the fiveyear NFA curriculum plan which will have two major divisions of courses—the fire protection and management program and the fire science technology program.

Motivation of students

A learning experience, said Dr. Joseph Duffy of Central Connecticut State College, has to be constructed so that it makes the student part of that experience. Furthermore, it has to be a satisfying experience to motivate students, he added.

Duffy recommended that motivation in refresher courses be attained by challenging students to reach greater perfection, reduce the time for accomplishing an objective and expand their understanding.

“To be a good fire fighter, you have to be continually educated,” the speaker commented.

Duffy explained that all learning consists of three domains: cognitive, the attainment of knowledge; psychomotor, the employment of skills; and affective, development of attitudes. He said that cognitive development starts with knowledge acquisition or the recall of information and proceeds to evaluation that involves application and analysis of the knowledge. In developing psvchomotor skills, the instructor should start with a step-by-step demonstration and bring the student to the skill level at which he can improve by practice and self-evaluation of his performance. Duffy advised instructors to give students freedom to manipulate in their own way as long as they attained the desired standards.

The affective domain, Duffy commented, is important because it involves desirable values and attitudes. The fire service needs people with good attitudes who are a credit to the service—people who can be depended on in a crisis, Duffy emphasized.

Women fire fighters

How women are working on forest fire lines alongside men was described by Danah Feldman, a forestry technician with the U.S. Forest Service Baker River Fire Crew in Washington State, who worked as a squad boss last year.

Exploding the myth that women have to act like men to fight fires, she declared, “A lot of people expect women to be good male fire fighters, but you can be a good fire fighter without being a man.”

As part of their daily training, the women ran at least an hour each morning and afternoon and everyone qualified as chain saw operators. Furthermore, women learned to rappel from a helicopter to a fire area and they worked alongside male fire fighters in clearing fire lines—some as wide as 200 feet—to contain forest fires.

Addressing the question of stamina, Feldman observed, “Motivation is a real key issue. Motivation will get you by when other things won’t.”

TV effect on children

TV children’s cartoons that feature violence were deplored by Pat Goff, who declared, “More people are burning to death in America than any other place on earth.” He said that fire was the number one killer of children under 14 in the home and 75 percent of these deaths can be prevented by reeducating children.

Goff showed a children’s TV cartoon film that features a mouse setting off explosive devices to frustrate the perennial cat and then asked how a fiveyear-old might react to this display of violence. He suggested that the child “would not be sure of the relationship of pain, death and suffering.” He added that by not explaining danger to children “we’re kidding ourselves and we’re not doing a service to the people around us.”

Goff introduced at the session a picture puzzle he had devised that covers such childhood fire dangers as space heaters, gasoline, open fires, matches and electrical hazards. Included with the puzzle is a set of fire prevention literature and the combination, Goff explained, is designed to get the family together in a friendly rather than a hostile discussion of fire prevention and safety.

Paramedics in Phoenix

How the fire department delivered emergency medical service with both paramedics and EMTs to the residents of Phoenix, Ariz., at $2.87 per capita was described by Captain Gary P. Morris. Out of a fire department budget of $24.6 million, EMS receives $2.3 million.

Morris explained that certification at the EMT-1 level is a fire fighter job requirement, which provides increased productivity and greater service to the public. Paramedics do search and rescue on the fireground, so 21/2 years as a fire fighter is a prerequisite for 1800 hours of t raining to become a paramedic. Morris said the fire department heavyduty rescue squads must include two paramedics. The department has one paramedic engine company and plans to have a second this summer.

The integration of fire and EMS duty, Morris explained, reduces the paramedic burnout syndrome because men can transfer from a rescue to an engine company. Also, paramedics are not cut off from the career ladder.

Emergency calls are screened by dispatchers who have EMT training. These dispatchers have even taught mouth-to-mouth breathing over the phone so that resuscitation efforts could start before the average 3.5 minutes it takes the Phoenix Fire Department to make a basic life support response.

OSHA and instructors

In reviewing the effect of the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) fire safety regulations for industry, Chief Roger McGary of Takoma Park, Md., and ISFSI first vice president, saw an expanded role for both municipal fire department and industrial fire brigade instructors. He predicted an extensive need for industry to seek the advice of fire service instructors in establishing the training and education required by the new regulations.

OSHA now requires employees to be trained how to work in hazardous operations, calls for the development of an emergency action plan and mandates the writing of a fire prevention plan. McGary viewed fire instructors as gaining an important role in helping industry comply with these requirements. The emergency action plan, he explained, is basically a training document and includes teaching personnel how to call the fire department and participate , in evacuation of a factory. In addition to training personnel in these areas, additional training must be given to those in charge of evacuating the building. The fire prevention plan must include information about the major hazards, ignition sources and fire control equipment.

McGary deplored the new regulation that says that if an industry chooses total evacuation when a fire occurs, then the requirement for portable fire extinguishers is eliminated. Hopefully, local codes will not permit industry to operate without fire extinguishers, McGary commented.

NFPA head voices support

Both the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy were endorsed by Robert W. Grant, president of the National Fire Protection Association, who said “we strongly support” both these national fire service entities and urged his listeners to give their support. He also endorsed the objectives of the FDIC.

Grant told the FDIC that the fire service has the capacity to be the number one provider of emergency medical service throughout the nation.

“The key to improved and better fire service management,” Grant declared, “is the instructor. Even more important, the instructor is the key to effecting changes in the fire service.”

He commented that the NFPA learned long ago that fire protection is best done at the local level and he stated that good protection comes from people who can see the difference between local conditions and changes in the outside world.

Garden apartments

The fire problems encountered in garden apartments were discussed by Assistant Chief William Dryburgh and Captain John Maley, both of the Pine Castle Fire Department, near Orlando, Fla. Noting that fire safety responsibilities of a fire department starts with a review of building plans, they pointed out that fire protection begins with the start of construction. Hydrants should become operative early in the construction phase, they said, because value starts rising with the building.

The two officers detailed such features as wood truss roofs, inadequate fire-stopping in ceilings and walls, wood I-beams, so-called fire walls that don’t extend far enough to really merit that designation, and holes for utility conduits and pipes that all contribute to rapid burning of garden apartments. They called attention to the mounting brackets and chimneys for free-standing fireplaces that must be inspected to ensure fire-safe installation.

The Pine Castle Fire Department, they explained, uses engine companies to inform garden apartment dwellers about the advisability of installing smoke detectors and fire hazards in apartments, such as barbecue grills on porches, kitchen appliances and cheap extension cords. While taking the fire safety message to residents and handing out fire safety checklists, the engine companies at the same time acquire familiarity with garden apartment complexes.

Chief Roger McGaryAsst. Chief William DryburghCaptain John Maley

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