The morning started like all Saturday mornings at the Academy, with PT (physical training) and stretches.  From there we get down to business immediately.  Each company rotated through the different drills throughout the course of the day, but of course I’ll tell this as it happened for my group.

Rescue Drill #1 - Confined Spaces

First, East Contra Costa County Battalion Chief, Jeff Burris led us through the ‘confined spaces’ drills.  He showed us a section of concrete pipping that was probably about 15 feet long, but maybe 2 ½ feet wide, and told us to “get through it”.   Of my group, I was one of the bigger guys mainly because I work out a lot and have broad shoulders as a result.  This is important because getting through this section of tubing is no easy task and the wider your shoulders the less room you have to maneuver.

I have to admit, I was nervous just looking at the thing.  It was going to be a super tight fit, there was no question about that.  I just wondered if I’d actually be able to get through it at all, especially with all my gear on!  Edgar Suarez who is my engine company captain, was first in line and headed right in getting on his back, and steadily slinking his way through the tube.  Suarez made it look easy, but he happens to be one of the smaller guys in our group (engines 7 & 8).  Before me a few of the other guys (all smaller than myself) tried Suarez’s ‘on the back’ technique, and a few others went through on their stomachs. A few more guys went and struggled through it, and then it was my turn…

At this point my mind was poisoned with doubt, but there was nothing I could do except get down do it.   I initially tried going in, stomach down and was shocked at how snug and tight the fit was.  I couldn’t move and felt panic rising, but not because of fear of getting stuck, but rather fear that I might not be able to do it.

Thinking that maybe Suarez knew something I didn’t, I backed my body out (at this point my legs hadn’t made it in) and started again on my back.  Again, an amazingly tight fit, but I found I was able to slink through bit by bit with alternating shoulder motions and a bit of footwork.  As I got to the middle and was very aware of how completely wrapped in concrete I was, I knew I had two choices: freak out or stay calm and just work my way through it.

I did reach the end and was hugely relieved to be out and done!  After the rest of the guys made it through it became obvious we were far from done, but first it was Chief Burris’s turn.  Now that we had all struggled our way through the tubing, he explained to us that the key to getting through the tube was to put your arms in front of you, using your forearms as support and to keep your belly off the ground (to avoid friction) while using your feet to help move you along.  Sounds simple and obvious, right?  Not when you’re face to face with becoming a human cork.

Nonetheless, to prove his point Burris got down, slid his helmet in front of him and almost as soon as he’d gone in, he was coming out the other end.  I was truly impressed.  And with that of course, we all went again; but this time on our hands and knees.  I can’t say I found it much easier at the moment, but I did learn to become more relaxed and confident crawling through the tubes.  Eventually we all made it through and moved on to longer and more involved series of tubing, but it was a pretty thrilling experience.  Apparently there were some confined space attic drills too, but my group didn’t get to do that.

Rescue Drill #2 – Moving Heavy Objects

Alameda Firefighter, Thomas Wong ran our next drill which was to essentially move a 4,500 lbs. slab of concrete from one place to another.  Sounds simple except for the 4,500 lbs. part.  This we did slowly and deliberately using cribbing, or wooden blocks (4″x4″ and 2″x4″) stacked in a square framework fashion, and slid underneath the concrete to hold it up.  To get the slabs up, we used giant steel prying bars and as two of us hoisted it up, the cribbers would fill the gaps we made with cribbing.

As a group we were given various positions with one of us being the Incident Commander, one being the Safety Officer, two being lifters, two working as cribbers and after some time in our roles, we’d switch positions.  Danny Saballos started as our groups IC and I started as a lifter.  Eventually, Danny and I switched roles as did others within our group.  By the end of the drill we had completely moved, lifted and lowered the concrete slabs off of their original stack, and into a new location successfully.  This was another fun drill which focused on teamwork and planning.

Rescue Drill #3 – Structure Search

The next drill was the classic residential structure search, and at this point in the day, the sun was at it’s peak.  Fortunately this drill took place in doors.  The house is called the “Roach House”, not because it’s disgusting and full of roaches, but because the family who originally lived there, had the last name ‘Roach’.

Our job was was simply to put our turnouts and SCBA on, wearing our flash hoods backwards so we can’t see, and to search the house for bodies.  The hood is worn backwards so we can’t see as it would be in a highly smoky environment.  In addition, the search is done on our hands and knees as it would be in a real burning building.  In comparison to the heat of a real fire, the sun is not a bad deal.

My search partner was Dante Wiley whose father was the hugely respected Richmond firefighter, Ron Wiley.  Dante and I entered the building with me taking the lead and always maintaining contact with the wall to my left.  Wiley using a length of webbing attached to my gear extended our search by fanning out and covering all mid-sections of any rooms we entered.

It’s pretty amazing how big a place can suddenly become when your breathing is restricted and you’re getting hotter and sweatier by the moment, and all the while can’t see a thing around you.  What would otherwise be as familiar a place as any (the inside of a normal home) becomes an unexplored wasteland of corners, crevices and mysteries.

You have to make sure to feel every part of anything you come across because you never know where somebody may have tried to hide or become trapped.  In the case of our search, Wiley and I were looking for a baby which meant even the smallest of spaced needed to be checked.  We searched high and low and in every room for what felt like forever.  Finally, we came across an old boot we had found at the beginning of our search which told us we were back at our original entry point.  At this time our instructor concluded our search with the two of us disappointed for having “failed” to find the victim.

After the next team went in, and Dante and I dehydrated, we learned that the baby dummy we were looking for wasn’t a dummy at all, but a road cone.  Dante Wiley perked up at that and exclaimed “I found that a while ago!”.  As it turned out we found our victim, and didn’t even know it.   We found that “cone shaped baby” as the instructor had described it, but left it where it was for obvious reasons.  I guess we’ll have to work on our listening skills better going forward.

Rescue Drill #4 – RIT & RIC or Rapid Intervention Team/Crew

A RIC is a company of firefighters who are specifically assigned to search and rescue trapped or lost firefighters.  Unless a firefighter is in need of help, the Rapid Intervention Crew is not active.  In this final drill, our group was broken up into 3 sub-groups.  The first were to be citizen victims, the second was the firefighters who were to rescue them and the third group was the RIC team.  I was in the third group.

In normal firefighting operations, firefighters always work in teams of two.  You never do anything without your “battle buddy”.  This means that a RIC team needs at least 4 firefighters, or two for each possible downed firefighter.  For the purpose of our drills, we had only teams of two.  My battle buddy here was my team lieutenant, Edgar Suarez.  Our “residential structure” was the Contra Costa County Training Tower in Concord, CA.

The victims were in the basement.  Suarez and I waited outside while the firefighter group went in.   Eventually, we were notified that a firefighter was down.  We headed in, staying low as if there was real heat and smoke to avoid.  Downstairs we went, and though we weren’t blindfolded for this drill, we didn’t need to be.  In the windowless black of the basement, there was no light at all.  We felt our way around and eventually found a foot.  The foot led to a body which I hoped might be on a the smaller side.

My hopes were tossed aside as the “downed firefighter” turned out to be Terry “Angel” Zapata, who is anything but small.  At 215 lbs, plus turnouts and SCBA, Zapata is no light load.   Fire instructors will often tell you that in a fire, it may take 2-3 firefighters to rescue a citizen, but it will take as many as 12 to rescue a downed firefighter.   I don’t know the specifics as to how that number was arrived upon, but I will say that by the end of this drill I felt as though I had done the work of 12 men.

Rescuing Angel Zapata wouldn’t be so bad, were Angel to occasionally use a leg for a little push…. maybe make a lurching motion in the direction we were going… or even just lift an arm so we might get a better grip on him.  Unfortunately for Suarez and I, Angel plays a downed fire fighter with worthiness of an Oscar winner.   He was pure dead weight, and we felt every ounce.

Pulling a downed firefighter in tight dark quarters is tough enough, but getting a firefighter up a narrow stairway is even harder.  For anybody who’s done the CPAT, you know what pulling a 165lbs. dummy feels like, and that’s in optimal conditions without gear on, and on a smooth surface.

By the time Edgar and I had gotten Angel to the top and out the door, I was as winded, exhausted and downright spent as I could be.  Being that our BA’s don’t work, the SCBA masks make breathing even more difficult and by the time I reached the top and had dragged Angel outside, I was toast!  I got my turnout top open as quickly as possible, but was too worked over to get my helmet, flash hood or SCBA off.   Fortunately for me, Eisho Suzuki, Lieutenant of Engine 8 saw my distress (and believe me – I was distressed!) and helped free me from my gear.  Suzuki was in the next RIC team and I was able to repay the favor when he emerged with his victim.

After all the drills were done and we we’d finished cleaning up our stations Captain Grillo set up a little engine company competition.  There were to be four sets of two teams competing against one another in a 4 step firefighter challenge.  It went like this:

1. Hose Race – With live hoselines firing full blast, two cadets had to race one length of hose (approx. 50 feet).
2. Hammer Swing – Get to the waiting sledgehammers and strike a tire ten times.
3. Stair Climb – Pretty simple really.  Get to the tower stairs, go three flights up.  (Not sure if this truly counts as a step)
4. Tool Hoist – Once on the third floor, we had to hoist a chainsaw up and then back down without slipping and in the proper manner.

After the tool hoist, you had to get back down as quickly as possible and make it back to your team first and then the next person would go until all four members of each engine company had gone.  My Engine 7 was of course against our frequent partners in Engine 8.  It was a good race and Engine 8 put up an admirable fight, but of course Engine 7 (with me in anchor) won the battle.  …of course.

**Engine 8, if you have anything to say about this, please feel free to reply below.  Also, if any of the other engine companies have any fun highlights from their competitions, please tell about them below.

It was a long day, but ton’s of fun and we all got some great experience that day.  I’m looking forward to more.

]]> http://journeytofirefighter.com/fire-academy-day-17-rescue-operations/feed/ 2 http://journeytofirefighter.com/fire-academy-days-10-11-fire-hose/ http://journeytofirefighter.com/fire-academy-days-10-11-fire-hose/#comments Sat, 26 Sep 2009 00:07:46 +0000 Josh http://journeytofirefighter.com/?p=226 Fire hose, fire hose, and more fire hose!  This weekend was jam packed with pulling hose lines, rolling hose lines and loading fire hose back on the engines.   The weekend was led by Contra Costa County Battalion Chief Keith Cormier and assisted by Alameda Firefighter Thomas Wong, and Cordelia Firefighter Daniel Herrera.

Right from the start, Chief Cormier made it clear to all of us that we should consider him a resource during and after the academy and that we are welcome to contact him for help should we need it.  I thought this was kind and generous, and I appreciate his offering himself as a resource to us.

Following 45 minutes or so of physical training, Chief Cormier had us suit up (full turnout gear) and immediately unload all the hose from 3 fully stocked fire engines.  We then unscrewed every set of couplings from each section of hose and lined them all up along side each other.  Between the LDH (Large Diameter Hose), 2½ inch, and 1¾ inch lines, we must have had thousands of feet of fire hose laid along the training grounds.  The only hose we didn’t spend much time with was the booster (trash) line which is attached to an automatic hose roller.

As with most Saturday/Sunday weekends at the academy, there ends up being so many details that I can’t possibly find the time to write them all into a blog post and so I’ll be supplying a condensed version of the day here.  …until I can catch up and post entries the day they take place.

First we learned multiple ways of coupling and uncoupling hose.   Some of those include the one-person foot-tilt method, the one & two person over-the-hip methods, the knee-press method, and of course the two-person over the hip method.  Just remember to always check for a gasket in the female coupling!  Later in the day, we also had a quick lesson in using spanner wrenches.

Hose Rolls were next and Cormier pointed out the importance of finding a good balance between rolling your hose quickly and rolling it clean.  While neatness is important, don’t be slow – the roll can usually be easily manipulated into a neat condition at the end.  Beginning with the basics, we learned the straight (or storage) roll, then the double and single donut rolls.

The bulk of the days were spent learning and practicing loading the hose onto the engine.  Over and over again, we’d pull all the hose off the engine, take apart all the couplings, lay the hose in even strips alongside itself, roll it up, unroll it, attach the couplings, and load it onto the apparatus.  Overall, we practiced the flat load the most, but we by no means neglected the accordion load, or the horseshoe load or the minuteman (slot) load.  Oh, and the triple layer load.   We did everything but the reverse horseshoe load.

The day was long and very hot.  We drank buckets worth of water and sweat like monkeys.  Nobody got away without a sunburn (but mostly on the face and neck) and everybody got very proficient with fire hose.  Then it was Sunday….

Fire engine pump panel with LDH inlet near bottom right.

Sunday was similar, but Chief Cormier with the assistance of firefighter Gundlach set up various drills for us to run.  This time around rather than just practicing with hose lines, we had situational drills to run through.  In the first one, Gundlach drove the engine with four of us on it up to the hydrant, where two of us would jump out.  The first would pull the LDH off the back, and yell for the engineer to “GO!”.  The other would be prepping the hydrant by removing the cap.  The engine drove off, dragging hose behind it and the two who stayed on would then jump off, open up the engines inlet and attach the LDH to it.   Once done, they’d signal the hydrant guy for water and the hydrant would be slowly opened (open hydrants slowly to avoid water hammers).

At another station, we pulled multiple 1¾” lines from the apparatus, flaked them out and connected them to the engine outlets and/or the wall mounted standpipes on the Confire training tower.

Finally, at the last drill, we practiced running lengths of hose from to 150 feet from the engine.  Embarrassing as could be, I tripped as I pulled my sections from the compartment slots and went down right in front of Chief Cormier.  According to the other guys, I was back on my feet in no time, but to me it felt like I was laying on the ground for an hour.   Not a big deal really, but it felt like it nonetheless.

Overall, it was a long informative, hot weekend.  Still, it was a lot of fun and I think everybody got a lot out of it.

Days 8 and 9 were a Tues/Thurs combo.  They weren’t too bad.  We had a quiz, on which I did better than I thought I would.  We had lectures and things ran pretty smooth.  Not a whole lot to tell except that we covered topics like water supply and hydrants, and other related bits.

Day 7 was the killer.  This was a Saturday and the weather in Pittsburg, California was into triple digits by the afternoon.  It was a scorcher to say the least.

Class B Uniform

As is standard protocol we showed up in our class B uniforms, which are basically what you see pictured to the left (except our cadets looks much crisper than this gentleman.  *I promise to get some pictures of us up soon.

We left our bags in the classroom and met in the parking lot for our morning marching drills.  We marched about halfway around campus to the storage containers where the turnout gear is kept.  We arrived sweaty and hot, but Captain Grillo placed us in the shade of the trees and engine company by engine company we were issued our gear.

First I should note that there are 33 cadets in our academy broken up into 8 groups or “engine companies” of 4 people each.  We make up the ‘battalion’.  The 33rd cadet, Jacob Chavis is the Battalion Captain.  He was chosen for this role by Captain Grillo because of his previous military experience and because he currently works in an EMS/Firefighter capacity at a local refinery.  Captain Chavis has done an excellent job so far.

The gear we were issued was essentially the complete firefighting outfit.  We were all sized for boots, an SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus) mask and tank, helmet, and of course the full turnout pants and coat.  Prior to the start of the academy, we’d all bought our NFPA approved gloves separately.

When everybody had their outfits complete, we were instructed to suit up.  We were allowed to take our shirts off and wear just our undershirts, but with our pants on, we donned our turnouts and then began practicing the drill every firefighter in the country knows best – how to put on your turnouts FAST!

We practiced taking them off, and putting them back on, over and over again.  The minimum goal is to do it all within 2 minutes, but we’re all shooting for under a minute.  In full, we’re stepping out of our station boots, and getting into out boots and turnout pants.  Then on with the coat, flash hood, and oxygen tank followed by the oxygen mask which needs to be connected to the tank and have the air pressure checked.  then pull the flash hood over the mask, get your helmet on, and pull on your gloves.  Often, pulling on your gloves takes the longest.  They’re tight and by that point, you’re actually a bit winded.  Of course, the LMC equipment is old and not exactly a proper fit for most of us.  If we were hired at by a department, we’d surely have newer (and fresher smelling) equipment than the old recycled stuff we’re using here, and I suspect with a bit of practice we’d all be trimming our time down by a bunch.

As the day reached it’s peak in heat, most of the shade was gone and we were sweating up a storm.  Those turnouts are anything but air conditioned and the on-off routine we were doing had us sweating buckets.  Finally, we were given a break as four of the fastest cadets were brought together for a little friendly competition.  From my own engine company 7 was Daniel Saballos competing against former professional baseball player Brandon Buckley (engine co. 1), Brian Means (engine co. 5), and Scott Pitchford (engine co. 6).  In just under a minutes time, the winner was Brian Means, but all four were amazing to watch.

Though this post simplifies the experience we all shared into a brief and simple explanation of the days activities, it was actually a long, grueling and extremely hot day.  I figure this is a good thing because as it turns out fires too, are hot; and fighting them I can only imagine, is grueling.  Just know if you’re considering going into the fire academy, it’s going to be a challenge from the very start.  Those of us who were there on this Saturday the 29th of August, 2009 will surely always remember the day we got our gear.

Q. Who do you feel has been one of the most influential people in the fire industry within the last decade and why?

A. Retired Fire Chief Alan V. Brunacini of the Phoenix Fire Department –The PFD are on the leading edge of many new policies, procedures and modern technologies. They have a unique take on modern leadership and span of control and Alan had a lot to do with that.  Also, former State Fire Marshall, Ronnie Coleman.  He’s been doing fire service accreditation around the state and that’s making big differences in the quality of service being offered.  Agencies are reviewed using a set of criteria which verify that departments are doing what they’re supposed to be doing.  This helps raise the bar in terms of their service to the community and being accredited gives departments ammunition in the fight for funding.

Q. Who has been your biggest influence and why?

A. Alan Brunacini – He’s not enamored with tech and he’s a big proponent of safety.  He won’t let firefighters take risks over property, especially when it’s only going to be torn down a few days later anyway.  He always asks the question “What are we risking here?”  Life risks are taken only for life saves.

Q. What changes do you see (or imagine) coming to the fire service within the span of the 21st century?

A. The core mission will remain the same, but expansion in the medical field would be good.  The scope of practice for the paramedic is what it is, but bringing in more advanced techniques and a broader reach with drugs could be beneficial.  One potential change I hope doesn’t happen is the idea that more and more will be done at the Fire station itself.  Getting stitches at the ER takes forever; it might start being done at the Fire House.

I think we’ll need to prove our public value and worth through accreditation. Take our budget (which pushes $50 million dollars a year) and consider if that much money was even at fire risk over the course of the year. What is it really worth to go in, stop a fire, and save a house which is going to end up being torn down and rebuilt anyway?

Q. What do think the biggest “hole” in firefighter equipment is today?

A. We struggle in getting all people in the fire service to understand the value we need to provide to the public. We need to understand how important public value is.  The big budget and these fire engines need to “enhance” the value of living in the city in which we live. “I think the fire service believes its own press-clippings.  Also, we still kill people (firefighters) for no good reason. We need to recognize what’s worth the life risks we’re taking.

Q. In regards to fire prevention, what changes need to come, and where have we seen recent success?

A. Residential sprinkler ordinances have been a huge success.  Problem is, the building industry fights us at every turn.  Also, we need to ban wood-shake roofs.  We need to have the insurance industry come down on people who do not take proper fire prevention precautions.  I see homes all the time that are un-savable, but could easily be modified for fire prevention.

We are seeing success in hazard and weed abatement.  Between The “cedar fire” in San Diego county and the “Witch Fire” (2003 and 2007)…. they set up the reverse 911 system which did a tremendous job getting people out of the way of those fires, and ultimately saved a lot of lives.

Q. Are you familiar with any of the following emerging technologies?* (*See The Future Of Firefighting post)

A. I’m not a big fan of “technology” because I view it as a huge cash cow for businesses trying to invent the next big hit.  I find we always go “back to basics” for which they have training programs of the same name.  We are seeing certain additives to water which are allowing us to improve the effectiveness of our “basic” firefighting practices.  The more technology there is, the more room there is for it to break down.  I’m a big fan of simple & reliable.  I see more and more information systems like PASS and air status systems which help, though I still do pretty well with my clip board.

Q. Do you see the governments’ financial problems affecting the future of firefighter salaries and retirement packages?

A. I do.  It’s tough because you’re dealing with negotiated union contracts which are fairly safe.  Still, there are a lot of public entities who are reliant on the government having money to pay them.  I think we’ll see a tiered system in the future.  Something’s gotta give.