In house training ideas?

[pvfd1315]

Im looking for some good ideas for some in house training for the guys on my dept. We are a small dept and we dont run a lot of calls but the guys here love to train. We train every Tuesday night but were it has been snowy and cold we are limited to what we can do. So we have done a lot of the basics like search and rescue and ladder training but im running out of ideas and i dont want the guys to get board with it so any ideas would help! Also most of are calls are mva's so is there any tool training we can do without a car to cut on thanks again.

[Brick3633]

yea cold weather training makes it hard to get out and about. Just a few quick ideas I have particpated in..once did a blackout scenario where our airpack had somehow came off our back and entangled (chiefs previously tangled the packs..)we were taken to the pack in total darkness, went on air, and then had to rearrange the pack and put it on correctly..different, but an option..

another training we did involving the airpack was bottle lifespan..we had about 4 stations set up of physical activities, on air of course, and the idea is to see how long you can last in your bottle. we started time at the beginning, marked time at the low pressure alarm and marked time once the last breath of air was taken (if you make it that far) the idea behind this, is that you can see what your personal time will be to get out of a situation one your low pressure alarm sounds.. station set ups were simple..box of cribbing raise and lower from ground 4 times, a-frame ladder climb that 2, sledgehammer(up and down as if using pike pole) and crawl under a table..you can set it up however you need..pretty neat exercise

You may also look into online videos or any in house videos you have...there are tons of online articles relating to reading smoke, basic firefighing techniques, RIT, personal escape drills, vehicle extrication techniques, hybrid vehicles, ect. you can review videos now and practice the techniques when the weather warms up a bit if needed..

just a few things I had on my mind..hope this helps ya!

[fire49]

Air bag safety

If you can get some that are not deployed, you can show how fast they inflate

[voyager9]

The air management drill above is a great idea. We do something similar periodically. In our case I'll have the guys do some physical activity on air until the low air alarm activates. Then there's two different "drills": One where they continue the physical activity which simulates them continuing to work or self-rescue. The other where they stop all activity and try to make the bottle last, which would occur if the RIT was coming in. In both cases time is measured.

We also had a bunch of props for the Mayday drill created. Nothing fancy.. getting the pack hung up, drop ceiling collapse/entanglement, locked in a closed area..etc and have the members go through their Mayday.

If you do coldwater/ice rescue the winter is probably the best time to drill on that equipment.

It's hard to do any MVA/tool drills without the actual cars. Other then going over the mechanics of the tools you could create some whiteboard scenarios.. grab some pictures of previous accidents and have the crew describe what they would do. It's not hands on, but it gets the meat melon working.

[tree68]

Pick up the IFSTA Company Drills book. Plenty of short drills, some good for inside, some good for outside.

Another good inside activity is preplans and tabletop drills. Just pick out a structure in your district and figure out how you'll handle it. That might seem simple, but factors like long driveways, narrow streets/roads, etc, can throw in wrinkles. Never know, you might generate some spirited discussion. In the end, folks will have a better idea of how to handle a given situation, and you might even have a written preplan.

Doing a tabletop can be as simple as cardboard cut out to represent apparatus and buildings or as involved as using diecast toys and 3-D representations of buildings.


Tour a local industrial facility, school, or health facility. Most will be more than happy to accomodate you and point out things you need to know if an incident occurs there. You just need to meet there instead of the firehouse.

[pvfd1315]

I want to thank all of you for your ideas some we have done and some we have not so this should keep us busy for a few weeks if any more ideas pop up please let me know.......Thanks again!!

[dragonfyre]

Air bag safety

If you can get some that are not deployed, you can show how fast they inflate

Undeployed bags are not readily available anymore. The manufacturers have real liability problems with popping the bags in an uncontrolled situation.

I haven't been able to get any for my air bag classes for about 2 years.

[tree68]

Undeployed bags are not readily available anymore. The manufacturers have real liability problems with popping the bags in an uncontrolled situation.

I haven't been able to get any for my air bag classes for about 2 years.

We had some a while back. Got them from a dealer through one of his mechanics (a member here) as a result of some sort of recall.

I can see why they'd object - the things will fly.

On the other hand, I've seen Ron Moore (U of Extrication) pop them in place (still mounted in the steering wheel) while he was sitting there. If you're back against the back of the seat, they won't reach you.

Back to our regularly scheduled thread.

[pvfd1315]

I would like to get a few myself but heck we can't even get cars anymore to cut on. Right now junk prices is 12$ for every 100 lbs and all the wreckers are crushing them as soon as they get them in

[Rice09]

We have the same weather issues.

1.- Get some 2x4's and build a temp wall that resembles a residential wall. Build it so it supports itself and get you members to dress in gear and packs. Practice passing throw the studs using different techniques. Might not have to, but the skills come in handy if you have to go through a wall to escape.

2.- There's nothing wrong with have some training classes sitting around a table and training on scenerios. use a dry erase board and go over SOPS/SOGS in terms of MVAs etc. Show the a,bc and d sides and create different events.

3.- Practice window escapes.

4.- Have a smoke machine? Use it. Or blindfold guys and train search and rescue.

5.- Truck detail is big in the winter. Do a equipment inventory. run all the saws, rescue equipment and othe machines. Reorganize compartments. See where everything is and fine tune the things that never get used.

6.- Go through all of your airpacks and replaces batteries, inspect hoses and connection, tanks and masks.

Make sure everyone gets a chance at each drill, but have a circuit training where teams of two are timed in search and rescue. If you have a dummy or a member, hide them and let guys try to find them.

[Chewy911]

Just an added that might come in handy we actually did a couple months back. Go over finding your way by "reading" your couplings.Take a bunch of hose and just pile it all up in a big knot or wad. Make it an absolute mess! Have the one end connected to the truck. Put your guys on air and black out their mask. lead them to it the wad of hose and have them sit there and find there way out. Just like if you got disoriented in a house fire and just found the hose, it will teach them which way leads you to the fire and which way leads you out.

[Brick3633]

"Bumps to the Pump"..

[Shrub3234]

on wheels vehicle stabilazation step chocks and box cribbing, lifting bags if you carry them. done in a nice warm bay

[Ctuttle3d]

as Chewy said black out their masks and have them follow the hose out.... we did this a few weeks ago and timed the guys.... everyone had a lot of fun and wanted to do it multiple times....... teach them how to tell the difference between the male and female couplings and stress the female always leads to trouble..... may offend some folks but works very well for our members

[fightfor6019]

Its hard to train during the cold weather months which is actually worse for the fire service being that its fire season.
Its not a bad idea to watch a training video once in a while and learn from other experienced firemen in the videos on using different techniques to get the job done rather than always using the same guys within the dept to give a training.

videos range from engine operations to roof rope rescue and everything in between