The Alien on Your Face

BY Craig Donaldson

Immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH)—this phrase is the focus of our most basic training, one of the very things that separates us from the public we serve. Without our personal protective equipment (PPE) and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), we could not function in the IDLH environment. Our bodies would succumb to the heat and toxins in moments. With the advent of the SCBA, we are now allowed to enter this environment and bring out the unfortunate or stop the emergency. However, just being able to wear the equipment and exist is not enough. We must be able to perform as well.

Over the past several years, numerous articles have been written and studies conducted that show a need for air management, improvement in SCBA quality, and training. What is your department doing to implement this? What are we as a group doing to improve our ability to function in our SCBA without being hampered by it?

While instructing basic-level fire classes, I noted that the majority of the personnel in these classes behaved in the same manner when wearing blacked-out SCBA for the first time. To them, it was as if an alien creature had planted itself on their face and they were competing for air with the critter. As the class progressed, some people began to relax and stop competing while others continually struggled (photos 1, 2).

(1) This firefighter obviously is having some difficulty with his surroundings. Note his arms are bent into his body and his torso is curled almost in fetal form, as if he is subconsciously afraid of the dark. This firefighter is not effectively performing any task other than working on becoming the next Mayday; he is in self-survival panic mode. [Photos courtesy of the Deerfield Park (OH) Fire Rescue Department.]

(2) This firefighter is not even thinking about the “alien” on his face.

This problem was noted in recruit-level personnel and in some seasoned personnel who had just managed to get by without ever truly being tested. During our annual IDLH/air management and SCBA competency drills, not only did we take the time to discuss the importance of the SCBA and air management, but we also worked with individuals who were still struggling with the “alien.”

We created a series of competency objectives to help each individual become familiar with the little friend on their face and assisted them in forgetting it was there. The primary goal was for the firefighters to develop self-confidence and comfort so they could concentrate on the more important tasks such as air management and firefighting.

SCBA TRAINING PROGRAM

You can’t measure the cost of not incorporating some type of SCBA training program; obviously, death doesn’t have a price. However, instituting a program can cost as little as turning off a light switch. At Deerfield Township (OH) Fire Rescue Department, we built a double-wide trailer for mask confidence training for area firefighters (photo 3), but the first step is always the laundry room.

(3) Deerfield Township’s double-wide trailer setup for mask confidence drills.

The Laundry Room

Taking apart the SCBA (photo 4) and putting a team of firefighters in the dark to reassemble the units and come out as a team into the light accomplishes several objectives at once. You save energy by turning off the lights, of course. More importantly, the members stuck in the dark together develop a sense of esprit de corps. They learn to feel for the equipment and where it should be.

(4) A firefighter reassembles the SCBA unit.

Orientation

Once personnel have completed this basic task, they move up to the next level, being disoriented while communicating with a team and performing rudimentary tasks. A really effective and inexpensive way to conduct this drill is to use mask blackouts and the bay floor. We prefer using ready-made mask blackouts so personnel can keep practicing dressing the same way every time with their hoods in place. Personnel are in a roped-off area of the bay floor or in the laundry room again. A set of large bolts (7⁄8-inch diameter or larger) and a set of nuts in the same diameter are placed randomly in the area. The firefighters must find these nuts and bolts and assemble them as a team. During the process, they must continuously call out their air levels and communicate with the rest of the team on their findings. One person holds a bolt while another threads the nut in place (photo 5); that way, they are forced to work as a team again while monitoring their air. All the while, the crew forgets about the masks on their faces.

(5) One firefighter holds the bolt while another firefighter threads the nut in place.

Interestingly, we noted during these in-house drills that several of our personnel were color blind and had to be reminded that even though they couldn’t see the color of the heads-up display, the number of lights and whether or not they were flashing gave them the indications they needed—again, familiarity at its best (photo 6).

(6) Heads-up display at startup. Two solid greens (P3 and P4 lights) = full tank, one solid green (P3 light) = ¾ tank, one flashing yellow (P2 light) = ½ tank, and one solid red (P1 light) = ¼ tank.

Additional Tasks

At this point, the firefighters should demonstrate a base level of comfort with their mask. It is now time to turn up the heat, so to speak. There are many directions in which you can go—from rapid intervention team tasks to disentanglement to search. All these tasks can be performed in the station using existing materials and at little or no cost—for example, a wire disentanglement scenario can be created using utility rope and extension cords and some string for good measure (photo 7). Other tasks might entail finding an activated PASS device in a large area or even searching through the area and finding a downed firefighter and removing him. The latter scenario can lead to further discussion into the department’s current guidelines or policies on RIT and radio traffic (photo 8).

(7) In-house bay setup for “blind”

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(8) rope follow and entanglement drill.

These are a few of the small inexpensive but incredibly useful drills that you can conduct in a company setting, with very little setup time. They are great for a rainy day.

Although the drills are important, note that tracking, follow-up, and personal mentoring are also necessary. Most people would probably not openly admit to having issues with the SCBA while in a group. It’s the Training Division’s responsibility to find these people and help them along in their growth. Also, stacking or setting the drills up in levels allows you to build the confidence levels as they develop while giving the firefighters who need extra time and work a place from which to build.

Craig Donaldson is an 18-year veteran of the fire service and works for Safety Management Systems in Lafayette, Louisiana. During his tenure with the Deerfield Township (OH) Fire Rescue Department, he was responsible for training; shift operations as a captain; and the development and implementation of the SCBA, orientation, and rapid intervention programs.