On-the-Job Training

With AN influx of probationary firefighters on the job, remember that these “probies” might not have all the knowledge we think they do about some common tasks. Drilling with them on the “basics” such as the way to shut off a radiator valve or which way to loosen and tighten the saw blade bolt might require some back-to-basics training. We can’t take for granted that newer members know what the more seasoned veterans do; fewer members are coming onto the job from a trade, where most likely they would have gotten their hands dirty working with tools.

Pulling up to the building with a reported fire on the second floor and seeing people exiting the building with children wrapped in blankets is “usually” a good sign that we’re going to work. Climbing the stairs with people on the half-landing, pointing at the door puffing grayish smoke, our first priority was to relay to the chief and engine that the fire was in Apartment 2C on the second floor and that there was no well hole in the stairwell. We tried the door handle of the apartment; it was locked. Forcing the door was going to be our next priority; there was no need to force another apartment on the floor for an area of refuge because two other apartments had their doors wide open. Luckily, the adjoining apartment was one that had the door open. The front doors were positioned next to each other and shared the same common wall.

As the team began to force the door, members gave verbal communications to the probie. As he struck the ax, they told him that the apartments shared a common wall, the rooms would all be on the right going down the apartment hallway, and toward the end the apartment may open up into a large living room with another bedroom maybe branching off of this room. They also told him that once they forced the door, the officer was going to lie flat on the floor to look under the smoke conditions to see if he could see any victims, glow of the fire room under the smoke, or obstructions in the hallway (furniture, bicycles, baby carriages); hold up the thermal imaging camera (TIC) to read heat conditions; and sweep behind the door for a victim, hidden room, or hallway. It was a quick on-the-job teaching moment but one that he hopefully would remember his whole career when he forced a door.

As we donned our masks to enter, controlling the door in the closed position with the ax handle on the floor, we heard screams of people exiting the stairwell. Looking up, we saw civilians carrying an elderly woman down the stairs; we let them pass before we entered the fire apartment.

As we entered, the irons firefighter said he was going to the first room on the right, and the probie was told to proceed with the officer to the next room. The irons firefighter came out of the first room and informed the officer fire was blowing out the windows in the shaft. The truck officer quickly forwarded the information to the chief, who notified the second-due truck to be aware of the autoexposure conditions and ordered the second hoseline be stretched to the floor above to protect them and cut off any fire extension.

At the same time we entered the apartment, the engine officer was up on the fire floor landing waiting for his nozzle team and the hoseline; here he monitored the conditions of smoke exiting the fire apartment and controlled the door while the second-due truck removed other civilians down the stairwell. Proceeding farther into the apartment, we hit the end of the hallway, which made a right turn as we expected from our survey of the other apartment and from knowing this tenement.

Immediately, we saw the glow of the fire ahead of us. The probie used the pressurized water can across the ceiling to see if he could battle back the flames. Realizing that the three of us were cut off by the fire and couldn’t proceed any farther into the room, we released one firefighter to go back and tell the engine exactly where to bring the line. Because of the radio traffic, we felt it was easier to do this than transmit it.

As the probie expelled the can across the ceiling, the can began to get light and we could see fire coming back over our heads through the TIC; we began to pull back. The engine came straight down the hallway and made the turn while we ducked into the bathroom to allow their unimpeded access to the fire rooms.

As the fire was knocked down, we began to overhaul and noticed that there was the old black piping in the ceiling, triggering a thought that this place had the old gas lights in the ceiling. Immediately, we shut down the gas, just like we did for the electrical breakers in the apartment, and notified the chief.

Once the job was over, we gathered by the apparatus for our informal critique. Since it was the probie’s first job, the whole company rehashed the fire from the beginning to the end, starting with apparatus placement and how a large tree obstructed access to the building. Then we proceeded to the fire apartment and discussed the inside team’s tactics. Then we walked around the outside of the building, sizing up the fire escape locations, layout of apartments, and area of autoexposure in the shaft.

Sometimes the best and most productive training is engaging the minds of all the firefighters while still at the scene. We can all learn from a critique. Our best educational experiences aren’t from textbooks or classroom instruction; they come from the experiences and variables learned, taught, and critiqued on the streets.


MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 29-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is the lead instructor for the FDIC Truck Essentials H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com.

 

 

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