Throughout the academy, recruits are learning the basics of ‘why’ and ‘how’ we do our job as firefighters. Too often the phrases, “This isn’t how we do it on the street” or “We’re teaching you the book way,” are spoken with enthusiasm. They discredit the information recruits are receiving and can create a negative outlook about the learning process. They can cause students to question the processes, techniques, and tactics they are learning. Then, upon receiving a new firefighter at our stations, we are disappointed when the new hire hits the bay floor with unrealistic expectations of the job.
They believe they have more than enough resources on the scene to operate far above realistic capacity. They believe they can withstand elements and conditions to advance to the seat of the fire. They treat victims like drag dummies because that is all they know from their experience.
In their first structure fire, they are met with an overwhelming amount of heat that drives them into the floor. On their first motor vehicle accident, the noise is so loud they cannot hear themselves think. A high-rise fire leads them to realize they were not prepared for the physical exertion they experienced, not to mention medical emergencies that turn into full code CPRs with a plethora of barriers and obstacles to overcome. It isn’t their fault. Hell, we were all there at one point in our careers. We have all had our “first” with every type of call.
Limits on Academies
There are limits on what can be taught in fire academies, which are governed by state and federal authorities. There are, however, people working diligently to correct the curriculum and update the information and tactics being taught so they reflect the latest research findings derived from data gathered from the streets over the last few decades. This process is going to be instrumental in the successful progression of the fire service we love.
Outside the academy, our expertise and mentorship are of great value to newer front-line personnel. Our experience and knowledge are imperative for recruits’ success and preparedness to make high-level decisions that will positively impact the outcome of the emergency scene. When we do find ourselves getting frustrated with the new person because they don’t flow a smooth bore nozzle from the hip grip or only knows a two-person throw for a 24-foot ladder, we need to demonstrate patience and grace. Patience with the new hire who may make mistakes as they learn and grace with the cadre of instructors as they are limited by the powers that be.
Consciousness and competence can be identified through skills assessments for anyone on the job today, but incompetence in one area does not always cross over to inadequacies in other skills and capabilities. We build a false confidence in training due to our comfort level because we are entering the same structure, making two left turns and then a right into the bedroom where we find a gas fire prop in the far corner and a victim laying by the door or window. We get complacent in our technique since we really don’t have to think too much about what we are doing. When the new hires come out of the academy, we are met with the same blind incompetence we once had before we realized we didn’t know as much as we believed.
Ongoing Training
One of the best parts about gaining a new addition to the crew is the amount of training the whole crew will need to take part in. The weight of responsibility for training the new addition to the crew should not fall on a fraction of the crew members. If the goal is for everyone to make intelligent and tactically sound decisions when they dismount the apparatus on scene, then it is everyone’s responsibility to contribute to training.
With the addition of a new person, each member of the crew should perform their own evaluation of skills and competencies and take accurate notes that identify areas in need of improvement. This helps build relationships as mentors, shows their enthusiasm for training, and demonstrates their investment of time and effort. The new member will typically feel a sense of self-conviction to do well and absorb information provided by the crew, aiming to meet the standards that the leadership has set.
As training begins, it should include a vivid articulation of expectations and overall goals that should come from the experience. Of course, every book or class on leadership, mentorship, and instructing tells us this should be standard practice. Once the details are laid out clearly and concisely for everyone included in the evolution to understand, the healing process begins.
Train Intentionally
Any time and dedication we put into our training yields some form of return on investment. The caveat to this is that when we train, we train purposefully, intentionally, and realistically. How many times have we laid out all our structural personal protective equipment (PPE) on the bay floor and competed in a race to get dressed in under a minute? With gloves strategically placed by their respected knees, a mask, and a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) separated and oriented, could we don it at our fastest time? How realistic is this? When have we ever done this before we get on the rig to respond to an actual call?
Typically, our gear is staged or hung on the door where donning is methodical and can be done at 3 a.m. from a dead sleep. Our SCBA is locked in the back of the seat for securing enroute or in a cabinet to be shouldered once on scene. It is evolutions like this that will make a mockery of you, your crew, your station, and possibly your department for allowing this type of “competition” to take place when it is never how it will or should be done. But, it is exactly what was taught in fire school because that is the standard in order to pass the state test.
Making training realistic and incorporating a type of open forum for everyone to engage and ask questions allows the opportunity to build a space free from fear of failure or ridicule. It is my personal experience that the person who feels safe to make mistakes in training will train harder and more often. They want to improve and learn from those mistakes, but they can’t learn if they don’t ‘do.’ People who are afraid to fail typically don’t want to increase the statistical chances that lead to failure. They will train less, stay within the confinement of others’ ideology, and hold their tongue to avoid unwanted or negative attention.
Realism Matters
Remember, expectations should always be realistic, attainable, and should have a timeline attached. Just going through the motions in training isn’t a total waste. It will allow them to get their hands on equipment or tools they likely haven’t touched in months, and it will help remind them of necessary steps to complete a task or an assignment. Overall, if people show up, allow them to feel accomplished for showing up, just don’t allow them to believe this is standard they should attain.
Give training your best effort to be more successful on the emergency scene, move with a sense of urgency, throw ladders with a purpose, and stop easing the tips into the target and flow water to cover the space and potential fuel. These are in contradiction to direction from instructors during training. Surprisingly, it’s not just from the academy. It also happens on the job during company drills and has been passed down repeatedly from prior generations. This is where it becomes our fault for expanding the scars.
During training evolutions, stop building unrealism in scenario details and crew or tool capabilities and access. If there is a tool they will use, let them use it. If they would open a bedroom window to vent the isolated space for quick search of potential victims, that is great. In order to allow them to throw ladders into the target with a purpose, we may need to install protective barriers and materials to allow it. I know, it causes more work on the front end for the training and building maintenance staff, but who cares? We continuously reduce our training and expectations because it can be inconvenient or labor intensive for us to modify and accommodate. This should never be a factor that limits our training scenarios, expectations, and requirements.
Overall, be mindful about how we operate, how we train, and how we mentor. Utilize every opportunity to heal wounds and scars created by poor training until the regulatory bodies are able to implement change and requirements to fit the advancements we know today. Train to realism and operate how we truly function, allow people to have every tool they normally carry on certain scenes, and let them make mistakes while we encourage growth and development for emergency scene tactics. The lessons learned in training drills far supersede what they retain from a lecture, a podcast, or reading an article.
Bio:
With more than a decade as a firefighter paramedic, Brent Thorn currently serves the City of Coppell, Texas as the truck company engineer. He began his service to others through eight years in the Navy. As a husband and father to two incredibly different boys, Brent finds balance and purpose through mentorship and education teaching at conferences and the same fire academy and technical rescue program from which he acquired skills and certification.
