The ability to proficiently don a SCBA unit in as little time as possible is a basic skill that a firefighter must be able to maintain throughout his or her career. Placing the equipment into service without compromising any safety checks and wearing all components correctly needs to become as second nature as tying your shoes. Mastery level performance puts the donning sequence into a “auto-pilot” like process. A missed step in the order of putting equipment on may result in critical safety errors that could jeopardize your safety. For example, failing to buckle and adjust your waist strap may result in the loose ends getting caught on an obstruction and trapping you in a hostile environment. Practice your donning procedures until you can complete the steps in you best possible time. Create a variety of donning scenarios including from the jumpseat, from the ground using coat and over-head methods or from a compartment mount.
The objective of this drill is to don assigned SCBA from ground to an air flowing position using applicable safety checks in 60 seconds or less.
