MAYDAY Minute

By Mark vonAppen

Just for fun assemble your personnel on the apparatus floor, then have them turnout and throw their air pack for time (if you're the one leading the drill you have to do it too - sorry).  Once they are sufficiently frustrated with you (because it is either too easy for them or they look like they are trying to fight off the rapacious spider monkey clinging to their back), ask them what their MAYDAY parameters are and have them call a MAYDAY. 

We conducted MAYDAY training for our folks (the whole thing - complete with insidious, diabolical props and obstacles) about 2 years ago and have subsequently trained about 20 probies in the intervening months.   At 6 months to a year’s time, the training seems to disappear - even after we tell them to practice calling a MAYDAY every time they check their SCBA.  The training seems to slink off into a dark nether region of the brain never to be retrieved again. There's a word for it - when vital training is allowed to lapse and we surrender to the pedestrian.  The word is complacency - and it is as nasty a word as you will ever hear in our profession.
  

Ask 10 firefighters to call a MAYDAY a year after the training and 8 of 10 will have the same reaction - if they never practice.  Their eyes roll back - they tilt their head and purse their lips in thought.  Their first words will not be, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.”  But rather, “Oh, (expletive).” Or, “Umm…”

We must find a way to reach our people though training in some way every time they report for duty.  The reaction to MAYDAY situations must be immediate.

MAYDAY and survival training are forms of “stress inoculation training” (SIT).  They are designed to create emotional responses to stressful situations in order to achieve a desired response.  These emotional bookmarks can become less vivid in the eye of our mind if we do not revisit these stressful training situations with regularity - this is true of any skill. 

Keep their heads in the game.  Make training relevant, interesting, make sure it involves everyone, and most of all, make it fun.

Ron Avery is a law enforcement trainer and a world-class competitive pistol shooter.  He pushes the envelope in terms of stress related training.  He calls the process “stress acclimatization.” The concept is that prior successes under stressful circumstances acclimatize you to similar situations and promote future success.  Avery describes the process this way:

“With proper training and the requisite conditioning and practice, we can achieve skills thought by others to be impossible.  There is a whole realm of possibilities we can teach and train (personnel) to perform.  Stress acclimatization is about measuring precise doses of stress followed by waves of recovery and then repeating these cycles very specifically.  There must be time for adaptation to take place and there must be enough training, repeated over time, to help it stick.”

Without regular practice, skills become dull, reactions to the stressor sluggish.

Individuals and crews can practice calling the Mayday using the following scenarios:

Have personnel read the following scenarios one at a time to give them an idea of the situation they have encountered.  When they have read one of the scenarios they are to call for help using the acronym NUCAN.

Scenario # 1

You are assigned to E1, your task is fire attack.  You and your partner enter a SFD via the A side door.  The floor collapses, sending you into the basement.  You cannot locate your partner, and are pinned under debris.  You have ¾ air remaining.

Call the MAYDAY.

Scenario # 2

You and your partner from E2 are backing up fire attack on the primary hose line when you lose voice contact with your partner and lose contact with the hose line.  You are in a large commercial building, approximately 200’ inside.  You attempt to find the hose line several times without success, and your low air warning device has activated.

Call the MAYDAY.

Scenario # 3

You are assigned to T1, your task is primary search.  You and your partner enter a 2 story SFD via A side door ascend the stairs and begin a primary search on the 2^nd floor.  During the search, the ceiling collapses dropping wires on your partner causing him to become entangled.  You attempt to free your partner, but succeed only in entangling him further.  Fire and heat conditions are getting worse.  You are both running low on air and neither of you have wire cutters in you turnouts.  You are both at just above ¼ air remaining.

Call the MAYDAY.

Scenario # 4

You are assigned to E3 and are performing a search with a partner in a SFD when the roof collapses on you and your partner.  You entered on the B side of house via an exterior window.  You are uninjured and mobile, but your partner is unconscious and pinned.  You are cut off from your primary exit and the fire is advancing on you.  You have ½ a tank of air remaining.

Call the MAYDAY.

Example:

•                Utilizing FACT parameters, call the Mayday based on the scenario listed above (NUCAN report)

•                State the actions you would take (turn on PASS, light, turn up radio volume)

•                State follow up information (sights, sounds, floor coverings)

Sample Mayday message:

Firefighter: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.”

IC: “Firefighter calling Mayday, give me your NUCAN report.”

Firefighter: “IC, firefighter Jones, Engine 3. (Name and Unit)

Searching first floor Bravo side. (Assignment and Location)

There was a collapse; I fell into the basement. I am alone, pinned, and cannot move. (Condition)

I am turning on my PASS and light. I have half a tank. (Actions and Air)

I need immediate assistance.” (Needs)

To add a greater degree of difficulty and realism, have the firefighter in distress don full PPE including SCBA mask and perform a physically demanding task prior to communicating the MAYDAY on their portable radio.  Place the lost firefighter in a remote location from the rescuer.  The rescuer should attempt to obtain NUCAN report from the lost firefighter (as the RIC group supervisor would) and take notes as they do so.  

Once the transmission is complete, the participants should get together to compare notes.  This is done to see if the rescuer (playing the role of RIC or IC) was able to extract key information from the lost firefighter.  Be sure to use a non - monitored tactical channel if using radios for practice.

Keep their heads in the game.  Make training relevant, interesting, make sure it involves everyone, and most of all, make it fun.

Successfully navigating the perils of a career in firefighting requires complete buy in - discipline, total commitment to training, and to the mission of safety.  It involves global awareness (meta-knowledge) a synthesis of wisdom accumulated over a career, training the right way, our perceptions, processing risk, and discoveries of the ever-evolving environment.  Only through this type of hyper-awareness are we better fire ground combatants.  Practice does not necessarily make perfect, practice makes permanent.



There is a great piece on FSW called "Stay the Course" by Gary Lane about guarding against complacency.  

Check it out.

Priorities

Intense search training keeps us incident ready.

So much of what we're willing to extend (risk) depends upon how much we are willing to put into our training (effort) in the form of sweat equity and mental preparation.  Brian Brush (The Fire Service Warrior) authors a nice article "You Will Search" on the responsibility we bear to perform a prompt and thorough search to fulfill our obligation to the public and - equally important - to each other. 


Hard work and preparation allows us to normalize risk.  Search is a top fire ground priority, not a luxury.


Think about it.

San Jose Firefighter Update

Knowing how to remove heated turnout gear is essential to limiting injuries

A San Jose firefighter who fell through a roof last week during vertical ventilation operations was injured more severely than initially reported.  Early reports were that the firefighter received burns to his hands and would not require surgery. It was determined late last week that he will require skin grafts to repair the damage to his hands.  The firefighter also sustained burns to his abdomen.


On Sunday two Modesto firefighters (members of The Firefighter’s Burn Institute) who survived of a roof collapse spent time with the injured firefighter at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. The Modesto firefighters were in the area for a presentation for local firefighters on the near-miss that they experienced while conducting top-side ventilation on a single family dwelling in January, 2010.  


In addition to reviewing safety for top-side ventilation, this incident illustrates the importance of knowing how to remove heated turnout gear from an injured firefighter. Remember the following steps when attempting to remove super-heated structural turnout gear from an injured firefighter. This is just one method, the goal is careful removal of the turnout gear without compression or water application:

1. Loosen SCBA shoulder straps and unbuckle the waist strap.
2. Open the storm flap and unclasp hooks.
3. Open the coat, rolling it and the SCBA over the shoulders and off the arms.
4. Remove gloves and finish removing the coat.
5. Unclasp the pants, remove the suspenders allowing the pants to fall.
6. Roll the pants over the boots and assist in removal.

* If the firefighter is unconscious the goal is the same, though it will be more difficult to perform the skill.  Practice methods for both conscious and unconscious firefighters. Be sure to practice this skill while wearing structure gloves as the injured firefighter's heated gear - especially metal clasps and buckles - can cause burn injuries to those trying to help. 


We wish the injured San Jose firefighter a speedy recovery.


See: Firefighter Burn Injuries - Fire Engineering; April, 2010

San Jose Firefighter Survives Roof Collapse

Truck 14 firefighter pulls himself from the hole in the roof

A San Jose Firefighter is undergoing treatment for burns to his hands and waist at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center today after falling through a hole in the roof while conducting topside ventilation at a 4th alarm fire in an occupied 2 story apartment complex on March 15th.


The firefighter fell through the roof and hung up on the ceiling joists keeping him from falling all the way through to the apartment below.  A fellow firefighter was able to assist him safely from the roof.


Take the time to discuss ventilation operations in light of this near miss. 


Some things to ponder:


Topside ventilation is one of the most dangerous operations on the fire ground.  There are a number of possible disadvantages of vertical ventilation:

• Structural collapse, disorientation, and falls from the roof
• Topside ventilation takes time to perform and is sometimes impractical based upon response capabilities - not everybody has a truck company in the barn with them 
• Some roofs are difficult to breach
• Vertical ventilation is personnel intensive
• Topside ventilation must be carefully coordinated with fire suppression efforts 

The injured firefighter is assisted to an aerial ladder by a fellow firefighter

Prior to making any opening in a fire involved structure, the IC or firefighter must consider the following:

• Burn time - be skeptical before going up - favor a longer burn time as opposed to shorter
• What are we accomplishing by venting - do we need to vent here?
• What is the location of the fire?
• Where are the victims located?
• Where are interior crews operating?

Have pre-designated escape routes

LCES for roof operations:

• L - Lookouts
• C - Communication
• E - Escape routes
• S - Safety zones

Stay safe by staying informed.  Firefighting is an art that we are required to perform without adequate preparation or practice, and without being allowed the preliminary trials, failures, and botches, that are essential to training and developing our skill set.  The fate we discover is often dictated by our level of engagement and preparation.

"It was truly a life threatening situation," San Jose Fire Battalion Chief Robert Sapien said.  He stated that crews who battled the blaze "feel very fortunate" that the firefighter was not more severely injured.


Observe the present and learn from the past.  It all matters.






Additional links:
See garden style apartment fire considerations video from "A Firefighter's Own Worst Enemy."


Fire Engineering podcast on light weight truss construction by John Mittendorf

Ghost to the Post

Freddie Solomon passed away at the age of 59.

It is with sadness that I report the passing of Freddie Solomon today.  He was a truly kind man who enriched the lives of everyone he touched.  A month ago I wrote a piece about "Fabulous Freddie" called "The Ghost" detailing the brief interactions I had with Freddie in my adolescence.

Freddie Solomon served as a youth mentor for the last two decades.

Freddie taught me many things that I did not fully realize until I took inventory of all the great people who have influenced me in a positive manner as I struggle to be a good father, husband, person, and leader.  We could all stand to learn a lot from this mighty man.  He devoted his life to helping at-risk youth in the Tampa, FL area after his retirement from the NFL.


"Freddie Solomon was a dear friend and a great teammate," Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana said. "There was no one who gave more on and off the field than Freddie. The kindness he demonstrated was inspirational to all that knew him. The warmth of his smile will be forever embedded in my heart."


King Solomon said,"Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."


Thank you King Freddie.  You are already missed.

Humility

humility [hjuːˈmɪlɪtɪ]
the state or quality of being humble


An undercurrent in many of the posts in Fully Involved has to do with the leader's role in being humble, and the importance of passing credit to the people who play a big part in accomplishing a goal.  While it is true that there is a lot that goes into the responsibility of being an officer (or a coach), a large part of the credit for the success of the team is due to the hard work of the masses.  

Harbaugh displays a deep commitment to each member of the team.

The people that fall in line with the leader's vision are those who shoulder the burden of implementing the plan. They are the ones who must execute the game plan successfully. When the goal is attained, they deserve a great deal - if not all - of the credit.

Jim Harbaugh and the 2011 San Francisco 49ers have been an excellent example of the leader - the one with the vision who inspires his disciples - deferring credit to those who do the work in accomplishing a goal. Harbaugh took a rudderless organization and turned it around with an unwavering commitment to his men. Though the team did not win it all - they were defeated in the NFC Championship game by the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants - Harbaugh was named The Associated Press' (AP) Coach of the Year.  The award is typically given to the coach who orchestrates the greatest turn-around of an organization during the previous season. Bill Walsh was the last 49ers coach to receive the award. It is an esteemed award to say the least.

When Harbaugh was notified that he would be a candidate for the award, he was so humble in his response to the honor that he dispatched his starting quarterback - Alex Smith - to accept on his behalf. Harbaugh did not want to accept credit for a season made possible by his players.

Your people will appreciate you as a leader if you take the lead when danger and adversity arise.  

"I did not want to take a deep bow for what the players had done," he said. "And what our players did was play their hearts out and had an incredible season. They are the ones that hold our fate in their hands."

Harbaugh has inspired his men by demonstrating strong beliefs, values, and vision.  He has set the example and creates enthusiasm for his vision with a strong dedication to the team, and by giving the credit to those who accomplish the work.  Harbaugh knows that his players are smart enough to understand that words alone do not accomplish much of anything.  People respond more to what they see than what they hear. What his men see is a leader who supports their efforts from a position of humility.  


He is very modest in the assessment of his own importance. "Winning as a team is better than anything. It's great to share success."


Harbaugh (The Jackhammer) is at it again.  He is laying the ground work for next season and the clean up crews at Lucas Oil Stadium haven't even finished sweeping up the confetti from the Super Bowl. He continues to show that he believes in the team concept, and that he places the success of the team above self-gratification.

Alex Smith accepts the AP Coach of the Year Award on behalf of his coach.

All members of the team are with the program. "We are in lock-step as an organization," Harbaugh said. When celebrating success, it is better to lead from the rear and put your people out front. Your people will appreciate you as a leader if you take the lead when danger and adversity arise.  


The picture of Alex Smith accepting the AP Coach's award on his leader's behalf tells the story. Harbaugh puts his players out in front - giving them much deserved credit - but the leader looms large in the background, ever watchful, and supportive of their efforts.


Think about it.

Complexity

Fireground decision making is a critical factor in the outcome of any incident.  Fireground accidents are most often the result of a series of small cascading failures - both tactical and strategic - that lead to a major accident.  Every error compounds the next - this is also known as the sand pile effect.  


Many things can influence what are often construed as errors in judgement.  Errors in judgement can be influenced by both internal (emotional) and external (distractions) factors.  With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to dissect the actions of others who came before and form an opinion, deciding on a better solution to the problem.  It is even easier when you have the test group to learn from.  

In retrospect, predictable certainly is preventable.

Some theorists, such as Charles Perrow the author of "Normal Accidents: Living with High Risk Technologies," suggest that accidents are simply a part of the natural order of things and cannot be completely eliminated.  In his book he describes systems and their interactions. "A complex system exhibits complex interactions when it has: unfamiliar, unplanned, or unexpected sequences that are not visible or not immediately comprehensible."  Perrow’s description of a complex system sounds an awful lot like the fireground.

Perrow goes on to describe complex, tightly coupled systems.  "A complex system is tightly coupled when it has: time-dependent processes which cannot wait.  Rigidly ordered processes (as in sequence B must follow A). There is only one path to a successful outcome. There is very little slack in the system- requiring precise quantities of specific resources for successful operation." By Perrow’s definition, the fire ground is a complex, tightly coupled system. Perrow’s "Normal Accident Theory" suggests that in complex, tightly coupled systems accidents are inevitable.

It's all about how we recover.

Organizations cannot train for unimagined, highly dangerous, never before seen situations. Close call and Line of Duty Death (LODD) reports are definitive learning devices; we are foolish if we do not examine them. The message that our fallen comrades are sending us through the reports is, "Don’t do what we did. Learn from our sacrifice."  It’s been said that it is unfortunate that we only get to die once, for there are so many lessons to be learned in death.

Aggressive fire companies do not make mistakes in the heat of battle- they make decisions. Decisions are based upon the best perception of the environment at the time. This is why being acutely aware of the environment and possessing the ability to adapt to changing conditions are vital.

 Preparing is itself an activity and action is preparation.

Keeping in mind that fire ground decision making is done in seconds with an endless list of often unknown variables is essential to the learning process- to honor the memories of our brothers and sisters who precede us in death we must study their every action to aid in preventing the same catastrophe again. Failure to learn from tragedies in the fire service means that we are destined to keep reliving these “unexpected” circumstances in a terrible reality production of ground hog's day.

If we continually study accident reports and learn from them, the lesser the likelihood of being surprised. Peter Leschak writes, "In fire and other emergency operations, you must not only tolerate uncertainty, you must savor it or you won’t last long. The most efficient preparation is a general mental, physical and professional readiness nurtured over years of training and experience. You live to live. Preparing is itself an activity and action is preparation."

Know what you can do and what you can't do.

Training and repetition are keys to avoiding potential errors in judgement. Captain Chesley Sullenberger speaks of the value of preparation in his book "Highest Duty". Sullenberger writes, “You can’t be a wishful thinker. You have to know what you know and what you don’t know- what you can do and what you can’t do. You have to know what (you and) your (equipment) can and can’t do in every possible situation."

Sullenberger is saying that we must train and constantly plan. Procedure, training, and planning are certainly important, but a rigid adherence to a plan that is not befitting the changing conditions can be suicidal.  Those who survive in high-octane environments are those who can anticipate changes in the environment and adapt accordingly.  They are the ones who can think and function under pressure.

Know the rules. Know yourself. Remember, the game is about vigilance and preparation.

Think about it.