In the wildland firefighting world, firefighters need to know the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and the 18 Situations to Shout Watch Out and respect their meaning. Many firefighters have sacrificed their lives, which resulted in the writing of these policies. Wildland firefighters must memorize them verbatim, and know how to implement them into a wildland fire situation. It has been argued that firefighters are not allowed to bend or break the rules of the fire orders and the watch out situations (Scholz). However, there are still many injuries and fatalities every year as a result of violating the 10’s and 18’s.
The Ten Standard Firefighting Orders were developed by a Task Force commissioned by Forest Service Chief Richard E. McArdle in
…show more content…
The first category is Fire Behavior. Firefighters need to have knowledge of fire behavior and pay attention to the morning or evening briefings to know what the current weather forecast and conditions are and how it will influence fire behavior. Hence the first fire order: “Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts.” The second fire order of fire behavior is “Know what your fire is doing at all times.” Firefighter are taught situational awareness or to keep their head on a swivel, to watch what the fire is doing during containment operations. At times, firefighters cannot see the fire due to smoke or topography blocking their sight. This is when a “Lookout” will be placed in an area of advantage where he/she will be able to see the fire and the crew, to keep the crew informed of what the fire is doing at all times. When the first two orders are in place, the third fire order, “Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire” comes into play. The crew supervisor will make decisions based on spot weather forecast or conduct a weather test with his belt weather kit and by information that is transferred to him/her from the Lookout (Fire …show more content…
The fourth fire order is “Identify escape routes and safety zones and make them known.” Although, escape routes and safety zones can be designated areas that are talked about during briefings, sometimes the crew needs to reevaluate the areas when in the field. Once one or more escape routes and safety zone are designated, the crew supervisor will make sure all firefighters are aware of the location in the event fire conditions become unbearable and the need arises for firefighters to escape a possible fatal situation. The fifth order, “Post lookouts when there is possible danger,” is for when firefighters can’t see the fire from where they are working. The sixth order, “Be alert. Keep calm. Think clearly. Act decisively,” is in place to remind the firefighter to depend on their training and to not panic when danger is present (Fire
At 2215 hrs, on November 28, 1942, Fire Alarm Headquarters from Box 1514, situated at Stuart and Carver streets, received an alarm. When the responding apparatus arrived they found a small car fire at the corner of Stuart Street and Broadway. After the fire was extinguished the firefighters were about to return to quarters when their attention was called to smoke emanating from the Cocoanut Grove Nightclub a few doors away. Upon their arrival at the entrance of the Broadway lounge on Broadway they encountered numerous people leaving the premises admidst the cries of “fire”. The chief in charge immediately ordered that a third alarm be sounded from Alarm Box 1521 which the alarm was received by fire alarm headquarters at 2223 hrs. A civilian sent an alarm that was received at 2220 by fire alarm headquarters. As soon as the chief in charge realized that the immediate problem was one of rescue he ordered that a fourth alarm (received at 2224) and a fifth alarm (received at 1102) be sent. The apparatus responding was comprised of 25 engine companies, 5 ladder companies, 1 water tower company, 1 rescue company and various other apparatus. 18 hose steams for cooling purposes and three ladders were utilized (located at Piedmont, Broadway, and Shawmut for venting operations).
These ten things are necessary for any new firefighter. If you wish to be successful you must respect the job, ask questions when in doubt, manage your ego, understanding failure equal death, how to maintain a truck, handling an emergency, safety, accountability and keep an open mind to learning new things. It is hard work, but it totally worth it in long run. Remember stay hungry to learn, study new fireground tactics. Learn by doing, reading, and listening.
The drought was near historic high levels for the time of year. In the moments before the entrapment on of the squads and the crew boss trainee were working with a fire engine and its three person crew when a spot fire erupted right next to the road. The seven Northwest Regular Crew number six and a engine crew got in there vehicles and drove south past the fire along the edge of the road. While driving they radioed the other 14 crewmembers who were working north further up the river about the dangerous situation. The 14 crewmembers and the incident commander and two Northwest Regular number six squad members were suppressing spot fires between the river and the road ¼ mile north of the first squad when they were informed of the situation that was threatening there es...
Policies regarding the handling of wildland fires continue to change and evolve as new information is learned each fire season. Attitudes have changed between complete wildland fire suppression to no suppression at all. We now seem to have reached a balance between the two schools of thought and fall somewhere in the middle.
The job duties and training set to be a firefighter varies from which occupational source one chooses to be. Experts say, “Control and extinguish fires or respond to emergency situations where life property or the environment is at risk.”(www.careerinfonet.org online). In other words firefighters are obligated to do the tasks required of them. Another source states, “Include fire prevention, emergency medical source, hazardous material response, search and rescue, and disaster management.”(www.careerinfonet.org online). Another way to explain this is firefighters have many dangers they have to look out for. As one website says, “Fire fighters spend much of their time at the fire station.”(www.allthingspolitcal.org online). Obviously, firefighters spend their time waiting on a call. Experts say, “Abilities Learned – problem sensitivity, - reaction time, - arm hand steadiness, - manual dexterity, - multi-limb coordination, - response orientation.”(www.careerinfonet.org online). In other words, as a firefighter you learn problem...
The duties and responsibilities of the fire department are most importantly responding to fires and other emergencies that involve the assistance from the department such as vehicle accidents, flooding, emergency rescue, and first aid response. When it comes to a fire departments duties and responsibilities when it comes to mutual aid agreements it is to coordinate planning, multiply the response resources available to any one jurisdiction, ensure timely arrival of aid, arrange for specialized resources, and minimize administrative conflict and litigation post-response.
The conclusion the author made was that the study showed that undulated training was the way to go for firefighters who need the multidimensional muscular and performance training in order to succeed at their job. Undulated training, in this sense, had greater potential. In 2000, the NFPA created a new firefighting ordinance that created health and physical fitness requirements that firefighters had to pass in order to be cleared to perform their jobs. This was to motivate firefighters to perform the best they could in order to succeed, including improving firefighter health by helping them avoid serious injury or disease and improve their performance in order to succeed at their job.
Firefighters are more than friends. You can't fight fires with friends. To fight fires you need a brotherhood. The men and women of the fire service across the globe consider each other family, this is one of the grand traditions of the fire department. Firefighters are constantly looking out for one another, thinking about the things they do and how it may affect the other’s lives and safety. Life safety is of the highest priority in the business of fire rescue. To achieve a safety standard there are many tasks that fire personnel are expected to carry out, for both a personal and a team related purpose. One of these tasks is the daily inspection of the fire apparatus upon arrival to the fire station. This task is with most certainty the most essential process that fire personnel are responsible for in order to get through the shift safely and efficiently.
As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.
Thesis: Politicians are proposing sweeping changes in bills, which have caused great controversy, in efforts to correct the problems that the Forest Service has
Health and Safety and the Fire Emergency Policy are the most important procedures in my work place. As a new employee at my company Atos, I have received the induction training to health and safety and fire safety. On the first day I was taken through some training with the health and safety officer and was shown a presentation of the safety procedures. The objective of this was to ensure that I understood the following, to be aware of the Atos commitment to health and safety, understand my responsibilities regarding health and safety, understand fire and emergency procedures and be able to recognise hazards in my working environment.
...r it is arson, an uncontrolled camp fire, or a cigarette butt it doesn’t take much for humans to spark a disaster. Yet there is as well a few set by good old Mother Nature. On top of the effects on the earth as well as humans, there is only one thing we all can do and that is listen to our old pal Smokey the Bear when he says, “only you can prevent wildfire.”
The Fire and Rescue Service employ a number of styles of communication to suit diverse audiences and for different purposes. The organization communicates with its members of staff differently depending on the circumstances and the message which is being conveyed. With such a large organization approximately 2200 members of staff effective communication is essential. Effective communication plays a vital role in the delivery of all Fire and Rescue Services.
The purpose of this CERT IS-317 course was to prepare individuals not part of the professional disasters relief field to help in the event of a disaster. These everyday individuals become part of a team that can aid in preparing their families, neighbors, and coworkers for the threat of a disaster. CERT program participants become familiar with disaster preparedness, fire safety, hazardous chemical awareness, disaster medical operations, terroristic threats, and search and rescue procedures. Following the completion of this course and along with hands-on class room course experience the CERT participants will be valuable aids to professionals during a disaster (CERT Training Manual, 2011).
Every day, firefighters across the United States place themselves in the IDLH atmosphere of structure fires. These incidents are among the most dangerous to firefighters, and therefore should be the incidents we are most prepared for. On structure fires, we have three main priorities. In order they are life safety, fire control, and property conservation. With life safety being our top priority, we place all our efforts in ensuring that task is achieved. This means that firefighters are constantly working to improve technology and methods for life safety. Among the research is that of wayfinding in zero visibility. Firefighters enter structures, only to be immediately blinded by the smoke that envelops them during a fire. Firefighters must always be aware of their locations during rescue so that they themselves do not become the victims. This article, written by Tim Robinson for Fire Engineering Magazine, does an excellent job of providing various new methods for keeping a cool head in situations of blindness on the perceptual level and conceptual level...