Workplace violence seems to be back in the news again, with a man taking hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters building in Silver Spring Maryland on Wednesday. Although your average nine-to-five worker doesn’t anticipate facing an explosive-wielding gunman at the office, that’s exactly what your average cop has to be prepared to respond to, any where, any time. Are you ready?
• Mentally prepare. We all know things have changed; we don’t automatically button up the area and wait for SWAT. Are you ready to form that ad hoc team and run toward the shots, or maybe even go in by yourself? Visualize how you would respond to that “bank robbery gone bad” and several other realistic scenarios.
• Train with your beat partners. Not all departments have formal or frequent active shooter training, is yours one of them? Get together with the people you work the closest with and “tabletop” some scenarios. Where are the potential hot spots in your area? How would you approach? Where would you set up the inner and out perimeters? How would you make entry if you had to? Communication is key!
• Get that “go-bag” together. Load it up with a few basics: lots of fancy extras are fun, but basically you need a couple of energy bars, a bottle of water, some a couple of tac med bandages, and lots and lots of ammo. Your go-bag doesn’t have to be expensive, fancy, or complicated, but it needs to be ready to go when you are!
We’re living in increasingly dangerous, volatile times, make sure to refresh your self aid and buddy aid skills, train not only on the range but in your head, and always remember that you’ve got to employ that “warrior mindset” to WIN!
We’ve asked firefighters to put our new structural firefighting boots to the test while on duty and provide us with honest feedback on how the boots feel and how they are performing in the line of duty.
“Right out of the box, I put them on and fell in love,” said Lt. Michael Swiman of the Wake Forest Fire Department in North Carolina. “I felt like they were made for me.”
A key feature for Lt. Swiman is the Lock-Fit Ankle Support System™ that is unique to Lion Technical Footwear.
“I like the ankle support in the Lion boots the best,” Swiman said. “I shattered my ankle about 12 years ago, and that extra support makes a big difference.”
Working comfort is also a critical factor for another tester, Vinnie Catennaci of the Wyocena Bureau of Fire in Wisconsin.
“These are awesome boots,” said Catennaci. “I have a pair of the Commander zip/lace boots. They are very comfortable and offer great support.”
We’re also looking for some firefighters to try out products from our line of Lion StationWear. Want to be considered? Fill out the Try it Out form, and you may be reading about yourself here soon.
Don’t forget to join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest updates.
According to a New York Times report, more major cities have resorted to rolling brownouts of fire stations to balance the budget in an increasingly difficult economy. Fire and police protection, once the “sacred cows” for city officials looking to trim the budget, are now in danger as cities across the country have already cut deep into other municipal department spending with no end to the economic downturn in sight.
Some critics blame uncooperative unions and unmanageable pensions, while others insist that city officials are cutting into fire and police budgets that are already spread too thin.
Has your city experienced rolling brownouts? How do you think cities’ budget crises can be reconciled with maintaining adequate fire and police protection?
A lot of firefighting boots look flashy. But are they built for working comfort, and are they built to last? The design and construction of the Marshall and Commander leather structural fire boots from Lion Technical Footwear is driven by firefighting ergonomics to enhance comfort and reduce injuries.
Do you ever feel like your feet are on fire after an hour or two in your boots? When your feet hurt, you lose mobility and stamina. That’s why the back of Lion Technical Footwear is designed to match the anatomical shape of your heel, and the Lock-Fit ankle support system provides a comfortable, athletic fit, run after run.
If you’re thinking about buying leather firefighting boots, here are just a few things to consider when evaluating your options:
All leather or leather-and-fabric composition
Steel or composite toe construction
Kevlar or polyfelt insulation
Removable insoles
Ankle guard/lock fit ankle protection
Goodyear welt, cement or direct attached construction
Soft or rigid shin guards
Check out the below video as Battalion Chief Kenn Taylor of the Violet Township Fire Department in Pickerington, Ohio, shares his testimonial about the Marshall pull-on leather boots from Lion Technical Footwear.
Adults want to know the “why” of what they are being taught, and how that applies to what they will be doing with that information on the job. Adults bring mature reasoning skills to the learning environment. Trainers must stimulate the recruit to use those reasoning skills as soon as possible in the training cycle. Telling an adult how to perform a task without establishing the relevancy of the task to job application is simply indoctrination without setting context.
Relevancy means understanding context. Yes, we need to teach content: how to perform a search, how to apply a pair of handcuffs to a suspect’s wrists, etc. However, there are hundreds of ways to accomplish this and we refuse to be dogmatic about technique. If a recruit finds it necessary to modify a technique (or we find it necessary to modify it for him) and he gets the job done in a safe, efficient, and effective manner, then he has succeeded.
One method to demonstrate relevancy (not to mention it is simply fun for the student) is to incorporate “problem-based” learning exercises when possible. For instance, we direct them to perform a task without instruction (such as handcuffing or searching a fellow recruit), and ask them to develop a solution. This accomplishes a couple of things. First, the recruit is required to actively problem-solve and think of possible solutions. Next, the motivation factor is kicked up a notch as the student quickly realizes that even seemingly simple tasks aren’t. Additionally, you will find interesting results and observe the “training via Hollywood” effect in action. Once they see that applying a pair of handcuffs is not an effortless task, or finding a hidden weapon on a suspect is actually quite difficult, they will understand “what’s in it for me?” In other words- the why of the training.
Simultaneous to developing their attention, interest, and motivation, we instruct the recruits in the strategies, concepts, and tactics, universal to subject-control and officer survival. A training cycle familiar to many is Gary Klugiewicz’s emphasis on demonstration, explanation, repetition, and simulation. As documented in a 2005 Force Science transmission, mirror neurons will influence how the student performs a skill. The recruit’s mirror neurons are activated when they observe a physical skill or problem-solving strategy being demonstrated.
Safety is at the top of the list of concerns for every fire department in the world – volunteer or career, small town or big city. Many departments have a dedicated safety officer.
While the role of a safety officer might vary from department to department, he or she is typically charged with ensuring the safety of all department personnel, ensuring the safety of all equipment and apparatus, ensuring compliance with safety regulations and certifications and ensuring the department is current in its response protocol, technology, etc.
As tactics change, certifications are updated and new generations of personal protective equipment are developed, safety officers must constantly educate themselves – and each other.
The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA), which was founded in 1989, exists to support safety officers by focusing on topics key to their roles, sharing information and knowledge and providing a safety officer’s point of view to the broader fire service.
Each year, the FDSOA holds an annual conference for firefighter safety, and this year’s conference is just around the corner. Click here for details on the 2010 conference, which is being held Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 in Orlando, Florida.
Are you thinking about becoming a paramedic or emergency medical technician, but are not quite sure what it entails? Do you want to get into the fire service but have questions about the medical side of the career? Here’s some information about what you can expect in this field.
According to the Princeton Review, paramedics and EMTs are often the first medical people at the scene of an accident or sudden illness; they give immediate care to heart attack victims, car crash victims, gunshot victims, and poisoning victims. They even assist in childbirth. The sick or injured are then transported to healthcare facilities in specially equipped emergency vehicles. On arrival at a medical center, the paramedics transfer the patient to nursing personnel and report their observations and treatment procedure to the attending physician. The guidelines or procedures followed by EMTs are directly related to their level of training.
The NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program recently released the investigation report of the line of duty deaths of two career FDNY firefighters during a 2007 seven-alarm high-rise that caught fire while undergoing deconstruction and asbestos abatement.
By the time the fire was extinguished, 115 fire fighters had suffered a variety of injuries. Key contributing factors to this incident included: delayed notification of the fire by building construction personnel, inoperable standpipe and sprinkler system, delay in establishing water supply, inaccurate information about standpipe, unique building conditions with both asbestos abatement and deconstruction occurring simultaneously, extreme fire behavior, uncontrolled fire rapidly progressing and extending below the fire floor, blocked stairwells preventing fire fighter access and egress, maze-like interior conditions from partitions and construction debris, heavy smoke conditions causing numerous fire fighters to become lost or disoriented, failure of fire fighters to always don SCBAs inside structure and to replenish air cylinders, communications overwhelmed with numerous Mayday and urgent radio transmissions, and lack of crew integrity.
Last Friday, the fifth day of the NVFC’s National Firefighter Health Week, focused on fitness and nutrition, an essential part of firefighter health and wellbeing. Practicing good fitness and nutrition are key factors in achieving a healthy heart, body, and mind. These two components of a healthy lifestyle go hand-in-hand, lessening your risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes, as well as helping you to maintain your strength and energy so you can perform your duties as a first responder. Good fitness and eating habits will also help keep you mentally prepared for the challenges you face as a first responder.
Start building strong lifestyle habits that include healthy eating and fitness. Keep the momentum going all year long so that you remain strong for your own sake as well as for you family, department, and community. Make the commitment to take care of yourself and practice healthy behaviors for life.
Show your department that healthy cooking can be easy and delicious by preparing a heart-healthy lunch or dinner for department personnel.
Participate in a local health-related fundraising walk. This will not only raise funds for research to prevent cancer, heart disease, diabetes, or other illnesses, but also get you moving while giving you the satisfaction of supporting a great cause.
Get a registered dietician, a nutrition student from a local college, or a local chef to donate time to help make your station heart-healthy. Ask them to host a session with department members on which foods in the station’s kitchen are not nutritious and what a tasty, healthier substitute might be.
Incorporate walking into your daily routine. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park at the far end of the parking lot, go for a walk during lunch, and/or take an after-dinner walk around the neighborhood.
Buy or borrow a book on calorie counts, or use the internet to research the nutrition content of your favorite chain restaurants’ menus. Learn which items you can still enjoy while not ruining your diet.
Organize a department sporting event, tournament, or even a lunchtime game.
I always enjoy attending the expo at my state chiefs training conference. I go wading through the sea of techno cool stuff. Programs here, gadgets there and the techno-crowd all become giggly. My problem is that it goes without saying; I have not seen a gadget solve, or for that matter arrest, book or pop out a set of handcuffs yet. OK, I know about computer tracking, evidence tracking and all the cool nicky neat gadgets but I sometimes am not the more high tech guy in the crowd.
Training the real software
Maybe I am old school, but the best crime fighting tool or instrument is a well trained police officer. Lets see, if a good cop is hardware, lets work on their software end – which would be their training. You cannot expect a machine to work efficiently and to its maximum capacity without being tuned up and having the latest updates. Coppers are no different. If you are a chief or commander of a training unit, my question to you: have you offered real training recently?
Teaching about active shooter strategies and responses can’t be done in the classroom without physical interaction. That is like building a great engine on the drawing board but never turning the key to fire it up. Cops want interactive and real training. Let me say this even better: real cops crave realistic training. In training circles I have heard the following saying a million times:Top notch equipment with poor training will end in poor results but fair equipment with great training will end in good results. My question is have you trained your staff or lectured them to death?
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