Training on emergency procedures must become a priority in your department. Practicing actions that may save your life or that of your crews is an essential survival skill.
During agressive interior attack operations, sometimes it is necessary to order an evacuation of a fireground. This must be done immediately upon orders from the incident commander or others who identify imminent hazardous conditions. This skill may be required if a strategy must be changed or if signs of collapse or hostile fire event are present.
Loss of water supply or identification of other hazards may be reasons for this procedure. This skill should be practiced regularly in controlled simulated fire training exercises. Use local training and policy review to identify potential evacuation situations. Incident commanders must also participate in this training along with crew members in order to effectively control this operation.
Download this week’s firefighter training drill as a PDF HERE.
Forest Reeder began his fire service career in 1979. He currently serves as Battalion Chief / Director of Training & Safety with the Pleasantview (IL) Fire Protection District (www.plvw.org) and is the Director of Training for Southwest United Fire Districts (www.sufd.org). In these capacities, he is responsible for the design, implementation and coordination of in-service training activities as well as a full-service fire training academy program. Forest holds numerous Illinois fire service certifications and holds a Masters Degree in Public Safety Administration from Lewis University.
