Have you ever sat down with a stack of tragedies? As I continue to plug away writing my second book, this one about hoarding fires, I spent some time going through countless numbers of NIOSH LODD reports. The purpose was to search for LODDs that were due to by hoarding, clutter, or large amounts of “stuff.” As I pulled up report after report a few things kept coming up. It wasn’t the clutter that was killing the firefighters. It was a series of events that compounded to make the "perfect storm."
Being a stubborn firefighter, and not the only one I’m sure, I have never spent hours going through the lessons from the past. Why would you sort through years and years of heart break? The lessons paid for with the blood of our brothers and sisters should be the lesson that we learn the most from. Learning the what for why we had to say goodbye to our friends should be a number one priority for us all, right?
Well, sort of....you see reading these reports can hit us and hit us hard. As I poured through the reports, I realized a few things. One, this has happened to me. Two, what would happen if this happened again? Would I be prepared?
Over and over the steady feed of constant variables came up. Collapse, out of air, lost or disoriented, and no functioning PASS alarms were the factors that stand out the most. These are things that we can train on right? Do you think our fallen brothers and sisters didn’t train on them?
I would be willing to bet good money, each one had trained multiple times on these scenarios. When was the last time that you set up a drill replicating a LODD and went through the entire series of events? Reading these reports made one thing stand out for this jumpseat riding firefighter. I have trained on each of these events, but I haven’t trained for more than one event at the same time!
We review SCBA emergencies, structural collapse, and rapid fire behavior but it has been a long time since I managed my air supply, while dealing with a collapse, in a live fire environment. Okay, we can’t practice in the burn building, but we should create a similar and realisitc envoirnment. Add some realism to your next training session with SCBA.
Put the victim inside a tangled mess of wire, or down a set of stairs, then add some simulated smoke and crank up a heater. Now, this stuff is getting real. You see the fallen, most often, didn’t die from a single event. They died because a series of events went bad.
I challenege you to set up some of these scenarios in your next drill session and let the firefighters experience the pressure that comes with rescuing themselves or a fellow firefighter.
I will promise you one thing! This jumpseat rider will read NIOSH reports religiously for the rest of my career as I have learned that their stories need to be heard! Listening loud and clear will give them the biggest honor possible, saving a life. While those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, those who learn from it will be better prepared if their time comes and bring them home safe!
Rest easy firefighters...you did not die in vain...your lesson will save lives...maybe even mine!
See Ryan Live at Firehouse World: Ryan Pennington will be presenting "Behind That Door Is a Hoard” and “Communications Between the Front Seat and the Jump Seat" during Firehouse World in San Diego, Jan. 25-29. Find out more at FirehouseWorld.com.
