TRAINING NOTEBOOK ❘ By DENNIS REILLY
The fire service is quick to add a phrase or jargon to our culture. People talk about the “combat ready” mindset and “quick water” on the fireground. These concepts can be the difference between life and death. However, a firefighter can also face resistance if he wants to join this school of thought. If your department leadership is not advocating these concepts, how can you become “combat ready”? Many motivated firefighters leave seminars locked in and ready to go, only to be stymied when they get home.
We must take individual responsibility for the five following items that will allow us to become “combat ready” firefighters:
- Maintain a high level of operational fitness.
- Master your basic skill set.
- Enhance your cognitive knowledge.
- Become mentally agile.
- Be emotional stable.
Maintain a High Level of Operational Fitness
To operate at a high level on the fireground, you must be operationally fit. I am not talking about your max bench press or your personal record in a 10K race. Certainly, being strong and fast are better, but you need these characteristics while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), operating in awkward positions, in extreme temperatures, and maybe when sleep deprived and dehydrated.
I frequently see firefighters doing physical fitness training in air-conditioned gyms wearing T-shirts and shorts (I train like that sometimes, too), but is that how they go to fires? I also have an old set of turnout gear and go to a parking deck on my lunch hour to climb stairs while breathing air from my self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) carrying a high-rise pack.
To be effective, your training must simulate real-world operations in full gear. You cannot be ready for the firefight if you are not training in firefight-like conditions.
To those in command, one of your most important tasks is to emphasize operational fitness. The goal should be that all members in your organization achieve and maintain a reasonable level of operational fitness. It is not necessary to be a professional athlete, but it is necessary to be able to do a difficult job under difficult conditions. People not only listen to what leaders say, they watch what leaders do. Setting the example is a solid step to ensure operational fitness becomes a valued part of an organization. If leadership does not place an emphasis on operational fitness, there is no guarantee that an operationally fit force will arrive at an emergency.
Master Your Basic Skill Set
It has been said that great organizations are ones that have mastered the basics. Your organization cannot be great unless it has great people working in it and, as such, you as an individual must master your basic skill set. If you stick around long enough (and this could mean tomorrow), you will be put to the test, subjected to an extreme situation under extreme conditions. When this happens, you will rely on either skill or luck to carry the day. Those who rely on luck forfeit the ability to influence the outcome and are just along for the ride. “Luck” is never an acceptable strategy, and I would not want to rely on those who do.
Because a mastery of basic skills is so important, there are a few points to make before moving forward. First, identify what skills you need to include in your basic skill set. Of course, operating in PPE and using SCBA are fundamental for all firefighters. Being able to search for, locate, and remove a victim from a hostile environment is an absolute must. If you are assigned to an engine company hoseline, deployment also ranks right up there. If you are on a truck company, ground ladders and forcible entry are important. Rescue and squad companies also have a laundry list of skills that are important. So, sit down with your company members and “brainstorm” what should be in this skill set. The group will probably see things that an individual would not.
Making a list is one thing; mastering it is something else. Constant repetitions are needed to achieve the level of performance that our citizens deserve. Spend some time every duty day working on your list. Maybe you take 15 minutes after your truck check/daily duties. Maybe you spend the first half hour after lunch or the half hour before supper to do skills work. Whatever fits best is fine as long as you are doing the sets and reps.
Remember, the skills you have identified are manipulative; without constant practice, they will degrade over time. When you are struggling to fit this into your schedule or are lacking a bit in motivation, ask if it would be okay for a nonproficient firefighter to show up at your house? If you want skilled professionals at your emergency, you must be able to give this back at someone else’s emergency.
Enhance Your Knowledge
Knowledge is another area we tend to take for granted. Do you really know your department’s manual of operations? You might be very proficient when it comes to procedures for a single-family dwelling fire, but how well do you know your role as the third-arriving engine company at a midrise residential fire? What about being first due at a technical rescue? Do you know your boss’s expectations? How about your boss’s boss’s expectations for your company? This is critical knowledge and can more than likely be gained simply by asking some questions.
For example, how well can you navigate your second-due response area without using the MDT or the map book? I know of one urban fire department that does not use map books. You become a chauffeur because you pass a comprehensive street test that includes your first-, second-, or third-due response areas. It’s simple: If you don’t pass the test, you don’t drive.
Even if you are not a chauffeur, how well do you know the buildings and their layouts? Do the standpipes have pressure-reducing values? Someday, you might be first due into your third-due local. How about the staircases? Are they scissor or return? Do you know the difference between these two types of staircases? Will you have the knowledge you need to make a difference, or will you just be along for the ride?
Become Mentally Agile
Mental agility is that quality that allows us to continue to push forward when we are faced with the unexpected. Mental agility means that we understand the fact that we do not get to control everything. Firefighters who are mentally agile are the ones who can roll with the punches.
Being mentally agile involves an amount of discipline. Mentally agile firefighters roll out of the firehouse expecting to find fire on every run. They expect to find multiple people trapped who cannot self-extricate. Firefighters who have the quality of mental agility never get caught flat-footed. They are not fazed when the curveball comes to the outside corner instead of a soft ball down the pipe.
Be Emotionally Stable
I’ve saved the most important element for last: emotional stability. Being a calming force in a sea of uncertainty is exactly what we need. The incidents to which we respond bring plenty of chaos with them; we don’t need to add any more than what the incident itself is creating. Your actions can be the fuel that drives the reactions of other responders. It does not take a lot for an operation to go off the rails. Often, when this happens, to a certain extent, we are the cause.
One tool to help you maintain a stable mindset is to focus on your mission. If you are part of an engine company tasked with stretching and operating a hoseline, focus on that. If you are on the truck that has been sent to the roof to perform vertical ventilation, open the roof. Live in the “six-inch world” of what you are trying to accomplish. I am not saying to turn off your radio or lose situational awareness. The more you focus on getting your job done, the more efficient you will become.
As we complete fireground tasks, we bring stability to the incident. This, in turn, will allow us to become more stable in a challenging situation. This is a simple concept but not easy to do. Remember, your one task is part of the larger picture. If you are going to handle the incident, every task becomes an important part of the big picture. Focus on your job so you can restore a sense of stability and safety to those who called for your help.
Stepping back from the response mode, take the “30,000-foot view.” People who are emotionally stable on the emergency scene are those who are emotionally stable in life. To be combat ready when the bells hit, be the type of person who is not afraid of challenges and change. Look for ways to enhance your ability to cope. Maybe it’s time to transfer into a different company or a different shift? If you have spent your entire career on an engine, maybe you should bid for a spot on a truck. Change comes very fast on the fireground. Don’t wait until you are faced with rapidly changing situations to figure out if you can function in these environments.
Each of these steps are doable no matter what your rank or your organization’s culture. In a perfect world, everybody would subscribe to the combat-ready mindset, but we know the world is not perfect. There is no guarantee in life or in our profession. These steps will help build a solid foundation and give you the confidence you need to operate at a high level.
DENNIS REILLY is a 48-year fire service veteran and a retired fire chief. Reilly was an original member of the New Jersey Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 1 and was deployed to Ground Zero on 9/11. He has an MPA from Penn State and is a CFO. In addition to his fire service career, Reilly is a combat veteran of the U.S. Army and has worked as a private security contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan.
