Ooops

Hey Gang, Friday's post went out half developed a little while ago to those of you who get the RSS feed.  That was only about 2/3rds of the post.  Check back Friday and for now go take a look at today's post on Size Up.

It's Size Up Time! Again (Do it for Boo)

YouTube is an amazing resource for us.  We don't get to respond to a structure fire everyday, but we sure can watch one.  Look at  these videos with a critical eye.  Start the video and watch the first 20-30 seconds.  Pause it.  Close your eyes.  Do a three point size-up: Building (Construction & Occupancy), Fire Location, Stage of Fire Development.  I really believe that those three points can and should be accomplished by every Fire Service Warrior at every fire.  Go ahead, watch the first 30 seconds and see what you come up with.  No cheating.  Scroll down for my size up.












One Story, Wood Frame, 40x20, single family, fire throughout with heavy fire on the B side and in the attic.  This is structure burning.

Now watch the rest of the video.

What is going on?  What operations are going on?  What needs to be accomplished yet?  If you are pulling up and assigned as RIT/FAST/RIC what tools do you want staged?  Where are you setting up? What are your top three concerns.  For you shift commander/Battalion level Chiefs reading what are you going to start working on to make this building behave.

One year ago today the Homewood Fire Department suffered the LODD of Brian Carey in a house not much bigger than this.  Consistently we see firefighters dying in 1000 square foot or less single family dwellings.  IF we can't make this building behave what chance do we have in the 27,000 square foot warehouse?  Take a moment today and work on those two key skills: Fire Behavior (know the enemy) and Building Construction (know the terrain).  Do it for Brian.

Video Blog Episode 11

Video Blog Episode 11

Live! From FDIC

Here is Episode 10 of the Video Blog.



Things have been exciting today. I got handed the first "real" copy of my book, The Combat Position: Achieving Firefighter Readiness, Fire Engineering has launched on blogtalkradio.com and I was a guest today of Bobby Halton's. You can hear that here:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fireengineeringtalkradio/2011/03/21/episode-2--live-monday-from-fdic


Also, the folks at Fire Engineering online stopped into my Workshop session today and at this to say.

I will be tweeting all week from FDIC using the hastag #FDIC2011, so check out www.twitter.com/ChrisFSW and let me know how your FDIC is going too. Cheers

It's That Time Of Year

Well gang, I'm sitting in a far too nice hotel room getting ready to head over to FDIC. The HOT Classes kicked off this morning and I have to do a stint at the book booth starting at 10am. This afternoon I will be presenting my 4-hour workshop, Situational Awareness and Fireground Tactical Decision Making. I'll be posting photos and videos later in the week. If you are here, stop by and say hello. Cheers.

Come Buy The Book!

I will be at the Fire Engineering Books Booth FDIC 2011 Monday at 10:30am, Tuesday at 2pm, and Friday at 2:30pm. Stop by, say hi, check out the book, and let me know what you think (Oh, and buy a copy too will ya'). Also, I will be presenting Situational Awareness on Monday at 1pm in Rooms 109 and 110, and The Ready Position on Wednesday at 1:30 in Rooms 234-235.

Are You?

I had a phone conversation with a Brother a few weeks back and he asked me, "Do you consider yourself a Warrior?"  I paused and considered it for a second and said that I did.  He said he didn't feel like he was because there were still holes in his game: he didn't know EVERY sprinkler hook up in his first due, things like that.  That conversation and a follow-up email got me thinking and I feel like I need to define more clearly just what it is to be a Fire Service Warrior.

I think being a Fire Service Warrior is a state of mind, a sense of purpose, rather than a piece of paper that hangs on the wall that says you have learned some defined set of technical skills.  Being a Fire Service Warrior is a living thing, you have to feed it an nurture it for it to continue.  Maybe you have reached an elite level of fitness and wear you SCBA all the time, but if you start to slack off you are not embracing the dedication that it take to be a Fire Service Warrior.

So, I think if you take an honest look at yourself and say, "I am doing my best everyday," then you are on that Warrior path.  We all falter at times.  We all have days were our get up and go has got up and went.  One of the challenges is when you are trying to follow a warrior lifestyle alone.  We are communal creatures.  We perform better when we are encouraged and validated by our peers, and ultimately we work harder when we don't want to let down another member of the team.  This is why its motivating to have a partner that you workout with or study with.  You push each other.

So, that brings me to the new project that we are undertaking through Spartan Concepts, Inc. The Fire Service Warrior Apprenticeship. 

The Fire Service Warrior Apprenticeship is an educational path that promotes and develops critical knowledge, skills, and abilities which improve the individual firefighter’s ability to thrive on the fireground.  The Apprenticeship program includes formal courses in fire service topics, development of elite levels of functional fitness, development of intuitive decision making and mindfulness skills, and development of resiliency and endurance for the physical, mental, and emotional challenges faced by the Fire Service Warrior.

Apprentices are guided in their training by the Ethos of the Fire Service Warrior.

·         Fire Service Warriors accept the duty to stand between their neighbors and unrestrained fire.

·         Fire Service Warriors acknowledge the dangers of their vocation and do everything possible to minimize those dangers except shirk our duty.

·         Fire Service Warriors believe that all human life has value and will do everything possible to save a human life.

·         Fire Service Warriors know that buildings do not spontaneously combust; if we aren't 100% sure the building is vacant WE SEARCH.

·         Fire Service Warriors acknowledge that to reduce the risk of Cardiac Compromise they will maintain an elite level of fitness.

·         Fire Service Warriors wear seat belts, helmet straps, SCBA, and all PPE.

·         Fire Service Warriors train EVERYDAY.

·         Fire Service Warriors own their responsibility to their Brothers and Sisters.

·         Fire Service Warriors honor our fallen by learning everything possible from their deaths and from the injuries and near misses of our compatriots.

·         Fire Service Warriors acknowledge the reputation of the fire service was earned by those who came before us, often at the cost of their lives, and strive to never tarnish that reputation.

The Apprenticeship includes daily fitness and self-study training, weekly group sessions for the presentation of topics and group physical training, open communication with Instructors and fellow students, and the Agoge.  The Agoge is a 52 hour workshop presented over a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday where Apprentices receive mentoring and are tested for the skills of physical, mental, and emotional resiliency and endurance.  The objective of the Agoge is to have each apprentice demonstrate the capacity to perform under simulated emergency response conditions for a 48-hour period.  Each Apprentice MUST successfully complete the Agoge to be eligible for graduation from the Apprenticeship and elevation to the Journeyman level.

Individuals interested in participating in the Apprenticeship:

1.     Must be an active member of a Fire Department

2.     Must be certified to the Firefighter II/Basic Operations Firefighter Level or equivalent

3.     Submit a written letter of interest to info@spartan-concepts.com including a current resume, list of all education and certifications held, and an essay describing your goals as a firefighter and your reason for wanting to attend the apprenticeship.

More information is available for those interested in participating in the Apprenticeship program.  The first Apprentice class will commence in the Fall of 2011.  Those interested should submit a resume and essay as required through Spartan Concepts.

See you at FDIC.

Grace Under Pressure

The fire service lost a great Officer, Instructor, and Warrior yesterday with the passing of Ray Hoff, retired Chicago Fire Department Battalion Chief, former Chief of the Topinabee (Michigan) Fire Department, and Field Staff Instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

Ray was a professional in every sense of the word, a Truckie to the core, and he set an example of grace under pressure.  Ray was the first Truck Officer on the scene of the Paxton Hotel Fire, March 23, 1993, as the Captain of Tower Ladder 10.  He directed the Rescue Triage of the building, he chose who would live and die.  I was an Instructor at some of the classes Ray was but I wont say I ever "Taught with him," I was as much a student as any of the candidates we had in those classes.

Ray's experience formed the basis of the "Paxton Drill" that I have participated in dozens of times.  Too many victims, too few rescuers: make decisions and execute.  At least 19 people perished at the Paxton Hotel (exact numbers are not available because some victims were believed to have been completely incinerated).

Rescues at the Paxton


Ray was also a very reflective man.  In my files someplace I have a couple of very short memoir like essays that he wrote about his experience in the City as a firefighter.  He speaks of his challenges and having to deal with the very real stress of working in communities with heavy fire duty and the fire deaths and injuries he dealt with.  While my philosophy of the Fire Service Warrior is drawn from many sources it is Ray Hoff who get's the credit for the phrase, "Controlling the Door" of your emotions.

My thoughts and prayers are with Ray's family.  His brother Bob is current Commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department, his nephew Andy is a fellow instructor and firefighter.  He was a great instrucotor and a good man.  I'm proud to have known him, and honored to have learned from him.  God Speed and Following Winds, Chief.

And now for something completely different...

We are moving the weekly video blog to Mondays!  I think that it will give each of us something to think about for the week, and to be honest it gives me some extra time to get everything put together.  Believe it or not shooting and editing these things takes time.  Hopefully when the new high-speed/low-drag laptop shows up this week I will be able to get it done a bit faster... but we will see.  For now, here is Episode 9 of the Video Blog.



One drill that I really like to use is the Line of Duty Death Book Report.  I learned this from my fellow instructors at the Illinois Fire Service Institute.  I have used it in classes and find it to be a good tool for learning lessons.  Simply chose a firefighter fatality and have a member or two from your crew research the LODD.  Have them put together s brief report and a 5-10 minute presentaion on what occured, and the lessons learned.  Try to attach the NAME of the fallen Brother or Sister to the report.  I think we take these reports more seriously when we can put a name and a face to it.  Honor our fallen by learning from the events that brought about their deaths.  Strive to be prepared every day for this job.

Cheers.

Speaking of Culture Change

So, because of some technical difficulties I did not get to shoot a FSW Video Blog this week.  Sorry, but I will be back with one next week (once my new Laptop arrives).

For today I thought I would take up the discussion of Culture Change we here so much about these days.  It is the first point in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Life Safety Initiatives, we see blogs and articles demanding this need on a regular basis.  I've said before my issue with that statement is that it is vague.  It is an amorphous blob of an idea that can swallow up and tactic, technique, or procedure that people want to label as unsafe, hazardous, or inappropriate.  So I'm going to ask you the read, of the two following videos, which one shows a culture we should be changing in the American (the World?) fire service.

Option 1


Option 2



You be the judge.  I bet you can all guess which one I think needs changing.

Interesting first arriving video.



So, what's your size-up on this one?  Building Construction & Occupancy, Fire Location, Fire Development, Operating Mode.





Here's mine.

"Engine 1 is on the scene with a one story frame, 50 by 25, fire in the rear, possible exposure problem on the D side.  We are going into a transitional attack."

Now, I am not always a fan of transitional attacks but if we look at this scene we have obvious structural involvement, we have a lot of heat, and the attic space is charged.  IF I was told there was a victim inside I might go in a different direction (like fast attack with a primary search), but we have to consider that this building is a candidate for a ventilation controlled flashover. If we make entry through the front here we have to coordinate our ventilation and HAVE TO be able to get enough water on the seat of the fire in 60 seconds.  Why 60 seconds?  Look at the UL study Impact of Ventilation on Fire Behavior in Legacy and Contemporary Construction.  A compartmentalized building like this can see conditions become untenable in 70 seconds and flashover within another 30 seconds.

This is why I keep coming back to our Fireground Capacity.  Capacity is our ability to provide service on the fireground.  Some departments have the skills, abilities, and the manpower to execute an interior attack on a fire like this, most won't.  We need to understand the capacity of our department and our companies.

As a reminder the Fire Department Instructors Conference is right around the corner.  I will be presenting Situational Awareness on Monday from 1300 to 1700 in Rooms 109-110 and The Ready Position on Wednesday from 1330 to 1515 in Rooms 234-235.  Please come on by, check out the programs, and introduce yourself.  I plan on being at the ISFSI Event on Tuesday, the FOOLS Brotherhood Bash on Wednesday evening and will be running in the Courage & Valor run on Thursday.  I look forward to seeing you there.

Four Dimensional Firefighting

Since this is my 100th blog post I've decided to take up a bit of a heavier topic.  I'm going to ask you to indulge me.  Read the whole post.  Yes, some of the suggestions and ideas might strike you as "out there", others might be downright unbelievable.  This fact is true though, like all the other elements I have researched, explored, and studied; I have done my homework.

Warriors have a unique ability to understand their place on the battlefield with a depth that exceeds the typical combatant.  The combatant who has received a basic level of skill training will stand ready to go into combat and engage in battle with direct supervision and within very confined parameters.  Warriors have been seen as different from the ordinary combatant because of the Warrior's ability to think with greater independence and anticipate the unfolding battle.

In the fire service we have begun recognizing the importance of having that deeper understanding of the unfolding dynamic that is the fire ground.  The current buzz-words to find favor in describing this capacity is Situational Awareness.  Situational Awareness is an evolutionary step forward from what we have traditionally done with Size-Up.    If we look at how we have taught size-up it has involved a checklist of items to recognize.  Topics like Building Constructing and Occupancy have logically been examined together, and occasionally we have added in Fire Behavior.  We have not always done a good job of explaining how components like Auxiliary Systems and Fire Behavior are interrelated though.  Why not?

Size-up ignores a critical component of Situational Awareness - Prediction.  Situational Awareness is a three part cognitive process: Perceive, Comprehend, Predict.  It is Observing and Understanding conditions certainly, which can be seen as the underlying focus of Size-Up, however we must also have a deeper understanding of how the dynamic of the fireground will CHANGE.  It is only once we are able to predict what happens next that we can successfully use Dr. Klein's ideas of Recognition Primed Decision Making. 

Traditionally in the fire service it has required years of experience in fire ground operations to develop this capacity.  The reasons are simple: to be able to synthesize an understanding of the whole from disparate elements requires a deep level of intuitive understanding about what occurring on the fireground.  This requires the individual to process literally hundreds of observed and implied inputs each second.  For the new firefighter the mass of data is overwhelming.  For the experienced firefighter, or fire ground commander, who has been striving to amass the Patterns that Dr. Klein wrote about it becomes easier - they have experience; they have seen it before.

If we jump into the world of education for a moment we can refer to Bloom's Taxonomy, a classification of objectives in education based on the level (depth if you will)y of understanding.  We progress from the Basic Skills Application phase through more advanced applications of skills.  At the top of the affective domains is the ability to CREATE.  When we begin to really examine how to improve our cognition in the highly dynamic modern fireground we have to be able to CREATE (or Synthesize) an understanding of the whole of the fireground.

The Fire, The Building, Your Location and Situation, The Location and Impact of Others (everyone else on the fireground) on the Situation.

While Standard Operating Guidelines, Engine and Truck Company Policies and Procedures, and the ability to use fundamental skills is critical we must begin to go beyond these tasks.  The aforementioned elements, coupled with an understanding of the skill of maintaining Situational Awareness will give each of our firefighters a significantly improved chance of safely navigating the modern fireground.  However if we truly want to unlock the ability to be fully-developed, self-actualized, Fire Service Warriors we have to take another step.

Embracing the Fourth Dimension 
 A study of Warriors going back centuries will show that some of the best Warrior groups (the Spartans, the Samurai, etc.) in addition be being well trained combatants were also deeply spiritual and philosophical men.  It was with the exploration of non-combatant skills that the individual was able to attain previously unheard of levels of battlefield prowess and cognition.  It is time we begin teaching our Fire Service Warriors skills like meditation, visualization, and mindfulness.  This is a blog post and not a book, so I'm going to just touch on these ideas.  Go and try them, investigate, read, and see how these skills will work for you.

Mediation is a critical starting point.  Meditation is about finding serenity.  Serenity is being free from unpleasant change, being utterly calm and at unaffected by circumstances.  The quintessential example of the serene person is probably the image of the Buddhist monk, Thich Quang Duc, who sat without moving as he was immolated alive after lighting himself on fire during a protest in Saigon in 1963.

Photo Copyright Malcome Browne - from the interweb

The first question to ask oneself is, "How is this possible?"  How could someone be consumed by fire and not react?  Quang Duchad put himself into a deeply meditative state that allowed him to disconnect from the normal nervous system response.

This example is extreme.  It is NOT a state of detachment that most people would be capable of attaining.  However it is an example of what one can endure if his or her mind is at peace and a true and lasting Serenity has become the primary Personal Condition.

Take 10 minutes a day, 20 minutes a day, ideally an hour a day and meditate.  Find a place to sit or lie down comfortably.  Shut off the phone, the TV, ignore the day to day hustle and bustle.  Quiet your mind and focus on the sound of your breathing.  You will find serenity.  It doesn't happen overnight; it is not easy; however once you have developed the capacity to meditate you will find that it is infinitely easier to endure whatever life throws at you without becoming disturbed.

Visualization is a proactive ability to see in your mind how things will unfold.  Tiger Woods is in a slump right now because despite millions of perfect repetitions of swinging a golf club his ability to visualize success is not there.  Visualization becomes easier when you are in a state of Serenity.  Why? Simple: the mind likes to scream out, I'm bored! Pay attention to me! It fills the quiet times with distracting images and thoughts.  That's why when you are sitting in church you find you are suddenly thinking about your grocery list.  It isn't that you don't want to embrace the message of the celebrant it's that the Ego, the "I Want", piece of your consciousness hasn't been put in time out.

Once you have become adept at achieving a serene state through mediation begin to visualize the fireground, visualize your role, visualize what others will be doing.  Use a few minutes of that 10 or 20 minutes a day and visualize the act of pulling the line, masking up at the door, entering the building, and advancing to the seat of the fire.  Visualize how the smoke will behave, where the other first due companies on the fire ground will be operating, "feel" the heat, "hear" the radio transmissions and the sound of water striking the ceiling and floors, "see" how ventilation effects the path of the fire, the viability, and the heat conditions.  Regardless of the fireground role you are preparing for spend time visualizing what other companies will be doing. Visualization IS Mental Rehearsal.  

Mindfulness is the ability to bring a state of perpetual calm, a state of Serenity, on when you are actively engaged in combat.  Your capacity to operate on the fireground has been improved by the efforts into meditation and visualization that you have practiced.  It is a reality that many of our members have "accidentally" developed the ability to be mindful on the fireground.  They have done so through experience and recognition of the need to remain calm.  I've seen this ability in many of the firefighters I've worked with.  I know from spending time listening to them that it has come about because they litterally have THOUSANDS of fireground repetitions.   There was not choice but to become adept on the fireground or quit.  There is no member who will develop this capacity accidentally in the 21st century fire house.  Why not? We don't go to that many fires.  We wont see 50 working structure fires a year for twenty years.  We will not get the sets and reps for Mindfulness to be an accidental adaptation.

Practicing the skills of Meditation and Visualization can help in the quest to develop Mindfulness.  We must also develop our ability to Endure.  This requires learning how to detach the consciousness, the cognitive process, from the physical.  One way of developing the capacity to endure is through difficult physical fitness training.  It is a fact that if you are working out hard enough to develop maximal physical capacity that you are engaged in painful and difficult work.  Your mind will scream at you to Stop!  You develop your ability to endure by ignoring the voice that says Stop by not quitting when the work hurts.  On the fireground you will engage in physical tasks that hurt; your physical body will be tormented, you must be able to still synthesize the whole of the fireground operation even though you are taxed to the maximum level of physical performance.

While there are many contemporary Warriors around the globe using these ideas I think it is worth noting that I am not the first in the fire service to see the value of this concept.  The legendary Paddy Brown, Captain FDNY, who lost his life on 9/11 was a black belt in Karate and an avid practitioner of yoga, a discipline dedicated to achieving mindfulness. There is a video here where Paddy speaks about his Yoga.  Some stellar informatinon on this brave and thoughtful Warrior's life can be found at the website for the Captain Patrick K. Brown Memorial Foundation.  Paddy Brown first gained national fame for directing the rope rescue of a man from the burning building.  He lead his company, Ladder 3 up to the 40th floor of the North Tower on 9/11.  He was among the 343 brothers who perished that day.

The Next Steps
For some of you readers the idea behind meditating, visualizing, and achieving mindfulness may be new.  If you have a background in the martial arts, or have experienced a deeply spiritual experience maybe these ideas will be more familiar.  Go out and do some reading for yourself.  Look at things like The Intuitive Warrior by Michael Jaco, The Rhythm of Life by Matthew Kelly, The Art of Happiness by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Warrior Mindset by Dr.Michael Asken, Dave Grossman, and Loren Christensen, and  The Mental Edge - Revised by Loren Christensen.  Visit the SEALFit website and look at Mark Divine's ideas into Warrior Yoga.  Go watch the DVD or listen to the audio CD of Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, "The Hero's Journey", from The Power of Myth.

As for the work here at the Fire Service Warrior site... well I'm going to start delving into these ideas more.  I'm going to start talking about ways of achieving Mindfulness.  Don't worry, we will still spend time looking at the basics of improving our fireground capabilities and capacities; we will look at videos and talk about gaining experience from the actions of others; we will continue to develop the Fire Service Warrior ethos.  We will also talk about ways of developing ourselves into self-actualized Fire Service Warriors.  I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I do.

Here's Episode 8 of our Video Blog. 



Remember you can follow www.twitter.com/ChrisFSW and participate in the discussion of #FSWFitness and #FSWTraining.

This is my 99th post on here.  I'm not sure yet what post number 100 will bring, so if you have thoughts or suggestions please send them my way.  Also if you aren't already please "like" our Facebook page facebook.com/FireServiceWarrior

Did you hear something?

Here's a video I found the other day on YouTube.  Give it a watch and see if you can pick up on the one major thing that is not being properly addressed.






What do you think?





If you said the activated PASS device with no attention... you are 100% correct.  I don't do too much criticizing of a department's activities or response for a few reasons 1) I probably was not at the fire and 2) I recognize that a video posted on the internet only shows a glimpse of the overall operation.  This one is easy to pick apart though.

The point of a PASS device is to let us know one of our own in trouble.  If an SCBA is left on the bumper of a rig or the curb of a building with a PASS activating and no one reacting to it then quickly ANY PASS activation begins to be treated like a car alarm.  It is ignored; it is an annoyance; it is no longer effective as a sign of an Emergency.  Just like the problem building with a fire alarm system that activates four times a week lulls us into complacency so to do life safety devices (like the PASS) that are treated in a careless manner.  What if a firefighter in the structure had an emergency?  Would anyone have payed attention to another PASS sounding on the fireground.  Probably not in a timely manner.

So your lesson for today brothers and sisters is to make sure those PASS devices are emergency devices.  If yours goes off, secure it.  If a brother or sister allows theirs to activate needlessly, remind them to secure it. Make sure that device is a call to alarm, and doesn't turn into the "Boy Who Cried Wolf".