The Why

When was the last time you sat down and asked yourself why you do this job?  What motivates you to get up in the middle of the night or jump up in the middle of dinner to fix someone else problem?  What burns inside you to make the sacrifices that most would not?

Over the last few weeks I have had the opportunity to sit down with a number of our firefighters and discuss their perspective on the fire service, their personal motivation, and leadership traits they value.  What I observed is that there was one common reoccurring theme that was universal across all ranks and experience levels.  People want to know “WHY?”  Just as it is vital for each of us to understand why we do this job so that we can keep the motivation inside of us burning, it is vital that every firefighter in this department understand the “WHY” for each task that they may be asked to accomplish on the fire ground. It is easy to teach people “what’ we do and “how” we do it but but simply teaching someone to go through the motions with no understanding of the objective is setting them up for failure if thing go sideways.  By having a full understanding of why we are doing our assigned task, each individual will feel that they are a crucial part of a bigger picture.  We are beginning each task with a sense of purpose and the end goal in mind.  If things don't go as planned this will allow us to adapt our technique and have a better chance of accomplishing the goal.  

Link:  "Why" We Train

For the new year we are starting off with a review of the basics

Link:  Hose Management #1

Link:  Hose Management #2

The expectation is that you get the nozzle and the first coupling to the door. Why? 50' is often what you will need inside the door to reach the seat of the fire. Also, if there is a step or a threshold at the door it will likely catch the coupling...with the coupling at the door you can make sure it passes that threshold as you enter. So whether you stretch a flat load, triple layer or minute man keep the end in mind...Nozzle and coupling at the door.

Link:  SCBA Drill

The Objective is to address and remedy several problems that may occur on an SCBA.  Firefighter should be  Proficient with recognizing and fixing each of the given problems before attempting this drill blacked out.

1. PASS device activated
2. Tangled straps
3. Bypass activated
4. Loose connection on bottle
5. Donning air pack