Firefighter training drill by Forest Reeder
Officers should discuss backup person positions in all type of lead-outs and stream applications. Discuss movement inside a structure, vehicle fires, working on ladders, and in different manpower numbers as your companies are assigned. The backup position is key to effective hose movement and needs to be practiced to be efficient. In different situations, the position of the backup person changes completely during the operation. Review Fire Engineering‘s “Bread and Butter Operations, Advancing the Initial Attack Hoseline” video and other references to assist in this lesson delivery.
- Training Minutes: The Backup Firefighter Position
- Training Minutes: Tips for the Nozzle Operator and Backup Firefighter
- The Backup Firefighter’s Role in the Initial Fire Attack
- The Initial Line
Download this week’s firefighter training drill as a PDF HERE.
ALSO: Firefighter Training Drill: Backup Hoselines
MAD Training and Response Solutions
Forest Reeder began his fire service career in 1978 and retired as fire chief of the Tinley Park (IL) Fire Department in 2021. He has worked extensively in the areas of instruction, firefighter safety, and officer development and earned his Master of Science Degree in Public Safety Administration in 2004. He is the author of Fire Department Incident Safety Officer 4th edition (2025) and co-author of Fire Service Instructor Principles and Practices, now in its 3rd edition. Forest presents nationally on fire service leadership, safety, and instructor development. He was inducted into the Moraine Valley Community College Alumni Hall of Fame in 2020 and awarded the Distinguished Alumnus award in 2021. In 2008, he received the ISFSI George D. Post Instructor of the Year, considered to be the highest recognition for fire service instructors in the nation.
