Chapter 18: Fire Fighter Survival Flashcards
RULES OF ENGAGEMENT FOR FIRE FIGHTER SURVIVAL:
There are 11 Rules of Engagement for Firefighter Survival. What are they?
- Size up your tactical area of operation.
- Determine the occupant survival profile.
- Do not risk your life for lives or property that cannot be saved.
- Extend limited risk to protect savable property.
- Extend vigilant and measured risk to protect and rescue savable lives.
- Go in together, stay together, and come out together.
- Maintain continuous awareness of your air supply, situation, location, and fire conditions.
- Constantly monitored, fire, ground communications for critical reports.
- Report, unsafe, practices or conditions that can harm you. Stop, evaluate, and decide.
- Abandon your position and retreat before deteriorating conditions can harm you.
- Declare a Mayday as soon as you think you are in danger.
Many departments conduct a PAR at regular set intervals. The IC should also request a PAR at tactical benchmarks, such as when the operational strategy changes, or when the situation occurs that could endanger your firefighters. When the IC request a PAR each company officer, physically verifies that all assign members are present and confirms this information to the IC.
A PAR should always be performed if unusual, or unplanned events occur at an incident. For example, if there is a report of an explosion, a structural collapse, or a firefighter missing, or in need of assistance, a par should immediately take place, so that command can determine if any personnel is missing.
If a crew splits into two or more teams, the company officer should be in contact with at least one member of each team. Once the company officer verifies the status of the crew, he or she Then communicates with the IC by radio to report a PAR.
What is LUNAR
Location
Unit
Name
Assignment/Air Supply
Resources needed
Assignment meaning, where were you last assigned.
When a LUNAR is called, the IC will repeat this information back, and then initiate procedures to rescue the Firefighter. The next actions could include committing the rapid intervention crew/company to the rescue effort, calling for additional resources, and redirecting other teams to support a search and rescue operation.
Dialog of a Mayday
Emergency Traffic
An urgent message that takes priority over all other communications with the exception of a Mayday call. It is used by many departments to indicate an eminent fire ground hazard, such as a potential explosion or structural collapse. This kind of message would also be used to order firefighters to immediately withdraw from interior offensive attack positions, and switch to a defensive strategy.
Skill Drill 18-1: Initiating a Mayday Call for Emergency Assistance
RAPID INTERVENTION CREWS/COMPANIES:
Rapid Intervention Crew:
A crew that is established for the sole purpose of rescuing firefighters, who are operating at emergency incidents. A RIC is an extension of the 2 in 2 out rule. During the early stages of an interior fire attack, a Minimum of two firefighters are required to establish an entry team, and a minimum of two additional firefighters are required to remain outside of the hazardous area. The two firefighters who remain outside the hazardous area can perform other functions, but they must Don full PPE and SCBA, so that they can immediately enter and assist the entry team if the interior firefighters need to be rescued. The two firefighters who remain outside the hazardous area fulfill the first stage of the RIC procedure. the stage involves a dedicated RIC, specifically assigned to standby for Firefighter rescue assignments.
Maintaining Orientation:
There are four different methods for firefighters to stay oriented inside a Smoke field building. What are they?
What is a Guideline?
Safety Tip:
- Before entering a building, look at it from the outside to get an idea of the shape, size, arrangement, and number of stories. After entering the structure, paint a picture in your mind of the surroundings.
- Given that most of your senses will be disrupted by dense smoke, touch may become your only means of moving through a structure. By filling out your surroundings, you will be able to tell which type of room you have entered. Feel for changes and floor coverings, and always look for alternative means of egress.
- Pre-planning helps with orientation. By reviewing the pre-incident plan before entering the structure, you will have a general idea of the structures floor plan.
- One of the most basic methods to remain oriented is to always stay in contact with the hose line. To find your way out, fill for the couplings. Place one hand on the male coupling and the other on the female coupling. To exit the building, travel in the direction of the handholding the male coupling.
Guideline: a rope that is attached to an object on the exterior or a known fixed location; it is stretched out as a team enters the structure. The firefighters can follow the guideline back out, or another team can follow the guideline in to find them.
SELF RESCUE:
Skill Drill 18-2: Performing Self-Rescue Using a Hoseline
Skill Drill 18-3: Locating a Door or Window for Emergency Exit
Skill Drill 18-4: Using the Backhanded Swim Technique to Escape Through a Wall
Skill Drill 18-5: Using the Forward Swim Technique to Escape through a Wall
Skill Drill 18-6: Escaping from an Entanglement
AIR MANAGEMENT:
Air Management Drill to do:
•Remain calm
•Control your breathing rate
•Take shallow breaths to slow air consumption.
Safety Tip:
RESCUING A DOWNED FIRE FIGHTER:
What are the first three things you should do when rescuing a down FF?
- Locate the FF and activate the mayday button, if not already pushed.
- Make a rapid assessment of the FF’s condition. (Is the Fire Fighter conscious and breathing? Does he or she have a post? Is this Fire, trapped, or injured?)
- Notify IC or dispatch of my situation and location.
SKILL DRILL 18-7: Rescuing a Downed Firefighter Using SCBA Straps as a Rescue Harness:
When it is necessary to quickly remove a down, Firefighter, you can use the firefighters SCBA straps to create a rescue harness.
SKILL DRILL 18-8: Rescuing a down Fire Fighter using a Drag Rescue Device:
SKILL DRILL 18-9: rescuing a downed Firefighter as a two person team.
SKILL DRILL 18-9: rescuing a downed Firefighter as a two person team.
CONTINUED:
RAPID INTERVENTION PACK: It contains the same basic components as an SCBA.
What is it?
Parts of a SCBA Pack
THE USE OF THE LOW- PRESSURE HOSE:
The low pressure hose on a rapid intervention pack can be used to supply air to a trapped or downed Fire Fighter in three different ways. What are they?
SKILL DRILL 18-10:
- Connecting it to the SCBA regulator. This method should only be used if the Firefighter’s SCBA face piece and regulator are in place and functioning properly.
- The low pressure hose can also be connected to the rapid intervention pack regulator and substituting, the rapid intervention pack, regulator for the firefighters SBA regulator. This method is used if the firefighters SCBA regulator is missing, displaced, or malfunctioning.
- The third way the low pressure hose can be used is by connecting it to the regulator and emergency face piece in the rapid intervention pack and replacing the down Fire Fighter, SCBA regulator and face piece. This should be the last resort and requires you to remove the FF helmet, hood, face piece, and regulator, leaving the FF without air for a period of time.
SKILL DRILL 18-11: SUPPLYING AIR TO A DOWNED FF USING THE HIGH-PRESSURE HOSE FROM A RAPID INTERVENTION PACK
CONTINUED
AFTER-ACTION SUMMARY
