NFPA 1410 Drills

Great job by everyone again this week on NFPA 1410 Evolution 4. As usual the times improved each day and as a department our times are getting better with each drill. Shift 3 set the bar with a time of 2:40 and Shift 2 barely edged them out with a time of 2:36. Shift 2 had the fastest average time with 3:26 with all three shifts being well below the NFPA standard of four minutes. Keep up the good work.

Region 5 Course Update

This is a brief update on some of the upcoming catalog courses in Region 5:

·        2153-12-504, I-300, scheduled to start 1/21 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        1153-12-507, FFI, scheduled to start 1/23 at Summerville Fire Dept will go

·        2113-12-503, FSS: Personal, scheduled to start 1/23 at Beaufort Fire Dept has been cancelled

·        2727-12-502, Haz Mat Awareness, scheduled to start 1/23 at Colleton Co Fire/Rescue has been cancelled

·        2118-02-506, PICO, scheduled to start 1/27 at Hilton Head Fire/Rescue will go

·        8118-12-504, PPV, scheduled to start 1/28 at Hampton Co Fire Dept will go

·        1205-12-504, POV, scheduled to start 1/30 at Jasper Co Fire Dept will go

·        1210-12-509, EVDT, scheduled to start 1/30 at Isle of Palms Fire Dept has been cancelled

·        2150-12-505, I-300, scheduled to start 1/30 at MCAS Beaufort  will go

·        2171-12-503, Leadership I, scheduled to start 2/2 at Hilton Head Fire/Rescue will go

·        3224-12-505, Arson Detection, scheduled to start 2/7 at St. Andrew’s Fire Dept will go----this class is full, and is free through grant funding

·        1160-12-505, Truck Co, scheduled to start 2/14 at St. John’s Fire Dept will go

·        2150-12-504, ISO, scheduled to start 2/18 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        2147-12-506, NIMS ICS, scheduled to start 2/20 at Beaufort Fire Dept will go

·        3310-12-505, Rope Rescue, scheduled to start 2/24 at MCAS Beaufort will go---this class is full

·        1250-12-505, Aerial Ops, scheduled to start 2/27 at Summerville Fire Dept will go

The following classes are in danger of cancelling (low enrollment):

·        1210-12-508, EVDT, scheduled to start 1/23 at Burton Fire Dept (need 2 more students)---we will hold this class until Tuesday, in the hopes that we can get a few more registrations.  If not, we will have to cancel it.

·        2144-12-502, IC: High Rise, scheduled to start 2/4 at Bluffton Fire Dept (need 3 more students)

·        2100-12-503, Fire Officer, scheduled to start 2/6 at Hardeeville Fire Dept (need 7 more students)

·        4171-12-504, Fire Instructor, scheduled to start 2/6 at Burton Fire Dept (need 1 more student)

·        2145-12-501, IC: Structural Collapse, scheduled to start 2/11 at Bluffton Fire Dept (need 5 more students)

·        3330-12-506, Auto Extrication, scheduled to start 2/11 at Jasper Co Fire Dept (need 7 more students)

·        1210-12-510, EVDT, scheduled to start 2/13 at Hampton Co Fire Dept (need 10 students)

·        2139-12-503, Fire Inspection, scheduled to start 2/16 at Hilton Head Fire/Rescue (need 4 more students)

·        2728-12-504, Haz Mat Ops, scheduled to start 2/20 at Jasper Co Fire Dept (need 11 more students)

·        1225-12-502, Pumper Testing, scheduled to start 2/21 at Berkeley Co ESTC (need 4 more students)

·        1136-12-502, FLAG, scheduled to start 2/23 at Summerville Fire Dept (need 12 more students)

Chicago Fire Department - Everyone Goes Home

We Did Our Best

As firefighters, the very nature of our business is dealing with difficult situations. We are often called into chaotic scenes rife with danger, difficult decisions, and impossible tasks. Most of us embrace the challenge and take pride in a job well done. Unfortunately however, sometimes things don’t turn out the way we would like despite our best efforts.  Most often it is because of circumstances beyond our control; after all, people don’t call us when things are going well. When faced with these difficult times we often attempt to rationalize by saying “we did our best”. But we have to take an honest look at ourselves and ask, is our best the best it could be? Consider the following questions. Would my best be better if I were more physically fit? Would my best be better if I took more classes? Would my best be better if I put more effort into training? Would my best be better if I studied more? At this point it should be clear that our best is never as good as it could be. With the dynamic nature of our job and the wide variety of services we provide, it is impossible to be perfect in every aspect of our job. But while we will never achieve perfection, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for it. Lives depend on our best being good enough-our lives and the lives of those we serve. We owe it to ourselves, each other, and the customers to try to make our best better every shift.  

Captain Earle

2012 SC Firefighter's Association Health & Safety Conference

Click here for the flyer:
http://www.scfirefighters.org/fileadmin/Storage/pdf/2012_Safety_and_Health_flyer.pdf

Click here for the registration form:
http://www.scfirefighters.org/fileadmin/Storage/forms/2012_Safety___health_Registion_form.doc

If you plan to attend just fill out the registration form and submit it to me.

1410 Drills

Good job everyone this week on NFPA 1410 Drill #2. Congrats to Shift 2 for having the fastest time and the fastest average time. The average times are as follows:

Shift 1- 3:51
Shift 2- 3:25
Shift 3- 4:41

Department Average- 3:59
NFPA recomended time- 4:00

Keep up the good work and remember the lessons learned and reinforced for the next evolution. The times improved each day as lessons learned from each shift were passed on. That is what these drills are all about, sharing knowledge and improving our department as a whole. While I encourage friendly competition to drive us to become better, remember that speed comes from proficiency, efficiency, and teamwork, not from taking unjustified risks. Stay safe and keep training hard.

Looking Beyond the First 5 Minutes

Mrs. Smith’s lasting impression of an incident is as important as the tactical approach we take at its beginning.

http://www.firefighternation.com/article/management-and-leadership/looking-beyond-first-5-minutes

Brooklyn NY Firefighter Mayday Audio 12/19/11

Click here for the video and article.

http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/news/fullstory/newsid/151914

Reminder: Slow Down and Think Before You Act

Coming Soon

The Multiforce forcible entry door prop has been ordered and should be delivered in about 8-10 weeks. I will be looking for one or two people from each shift to go through a train-the-trainer course so that after the initial training, the prop can be used for company training so long as a trainer is present. Let me know if you are interested.

NFPA 1410 Drill # 2

Good job to shift 3 today on the 1410 drills. So far the time to beat is 3:22.

Quote of the Week

Amateurs practice until they get it right; professionals practice until they can’t get it wrong. Train everyday.

UL Study Recommends Tactical Changes for Fires in Structures with Solar Panels

http://www.firefighternation.com/article/news-2/ul-study-recommends-tactical-changes-fires-structures-solar-panels

Safety Message From the Chicago Fire Department

The Argument for Safe Extinguishment

We can’t continue to look at “safety” and “extinguishment” as two different cultural approaches

http://www.firefighternation.com/article/management-and-leadership/argument-safe-extinguishment

Region 5 Course Update

This is a brief update on some of the upcoming catalog courses in Region 5:

·        2118-12-505, PICO, scheduled to start 1/7 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        3330-12-505, Auto Extrication, scheduled to start 1/7 at Goose Creek Rural Fire Dept will go

·        8118-12-503, PPV, scheduled to start 1/7 at Berkeley Co ESTC will go

·        1152-12-505, Fund of FF, scheduled to start 1/10 at Berkeley Co ESTC will go

·        1152-12-506, Fund of FF, scheduled to start 1/10 at Hampton Co Fire Dept will go

·        2153-12-504, I-300, scheduled to start 1/21 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        1153-12-507, FFI, scheduled to start 1/23 at Summerville Fire Dept will go

·        1205-12-504, POV, scheduled to start 1/30 at Jasper Co Fire Dept will go

·        2153-12-505, I-300, scheduled to start 1/30 at MCAS Beaufort will go

·        2171-12-503, Leadership I, scheduled to start 2/2 at Hilton Head Island Fire/Rescue will go

·        1160-12-505, Truck Co, scheduled to start 2/14 at St. John’s Fire Dept will go

·        2150-12-504, ISO, scheduled to start 2/18 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        2147-12-506, NIMS ICS, scheduled to start 2/20 at Beaufort Fire Dept will go

·        3310-12-505, Rope Rescue, scheduled to start 2/24 at MCA Beaufort will go

·        1250-12-505, Aerial Ops, scheduled to start 2/27 at Summerville Fire Dept will go

The following classes are in danger of cancelling (low enrollment):

·        1210-12-508, EVDT, scheduled to start 1/23 at Burton Fire Dept

·        2113-12-503, FSS: Personal, scheduled to start 1/23 at Beaufort Fire Dept

·        2727-12-502, Haz Mat Awareness, scheduled to start 1/23 at Colleton Co Fire/Rescue

·        2118-12-506, PICO, scheduled to start 1/27 at Hilton Head Island Fire/Rescue

·        8118-12-504, PPV, scheduled to start 1/28 at Hampton Co Fire Dept

·        1210-12-509, EVDT, scheduled to start 1/30 at Isle of Palms Fire Dept

Quote of the Week

Better a thousand times careful than once dead.  ~Proverb

Worcester, Mass. Suffers LODD 5 Days After 12 Year Aniversary Of the Worcester 6

Here is the link to an article and video of the fire.

http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-headlines/massachusetts-firefighter-killed-three-alarm-blaze

New UL Study Reinforces the Need For Back-to-Basics Training

Check out the link below for a great summary on the UL study about how ventilation affects fire growth and spread in both old and new construction. The study reiterates the importance of much of the training we have been doing recently.

http://www.fireengineering.com/blogs/blognetwork/nick-martin/2011/11/new-ul-study-reinforces-sound-old-fire-tactics.html

Region 5 Course Update

This is a brief update on some of the upcoming catalog courses in Region 5:

·        2118-12-505, PICO, scheduled to start 1/7 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        1152-12-505, Fund of FF, scheduled to start 1/10 at Berkeley CO ESTC will go

·        1152-12-506, Fund of FF, scheduled to start 1/10 at Hampton Co Fire Dept will go

·        2153-12-504, I-300, scheduled to start 1/21 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        1153-12-507, FFI, scheduled to start 1/23 at Summerville Fire Dept will go

·        1205-12-504, POV, scheduled to start 1/30 at Jasper Co Fire Dept will go

·        2150-12-504, ISO, scheduled to start 2/18 at City of Charleston Fire Dept will go

·        3310-12-505, Rope Rescue, scheduled to start 2/24 at MCAS Beaufort will go---this class is full

The following classes are in danger of cancelling (low enrollment):

·        3330-12-505, Auto Extrication, scheduled to start 1/7 at Goose Creek Rural Fire Dept (need 10 more students)---this class cuts off tomorrow morning!

·        8118-12-503, PPV, scheduled to start 1/7 at Berkeley Co ESTC (need 9 more students)---this class cuts off tomorrow morning!

·        1210-12-508, EVDT, scheduled to start 1/23 at Burton Fire Dept (need 10 students)

·        2113-12-503, FSS: Personal, scheduled to start 1/23 at Beaufort Fire Dept (need 9 more students)

·        2727-12-502, Haz Mat Awareness, scheduled to start 1/23 at Colleton Co Fire/Rescue (need 9 more students)

·        2118-12-506, PICO, scheduled to start 1/27 at Hilton Head Island Fire/Rescue (need 7 more students)

·        8118-12-504, PPV, scheduled to start 1/28 at Hampton Co Fire Dept (need 13 more students)

The Lost Art of the Nozzle Team

Quote of the Week

"If you put the fire out, most of your other problems go away."

While many different tactics are critical to fireground success and safety, the most basic and important element of our job is still to put water on the fire. This month we will focus on engine company operations with an emphasis on selecting, deploying, and advancing hoselines.

Firefighter of the Year

Congrats to Keith Kelley for being named Firefighter of the Year. Also congrats to Jon Bekemeyer for being a very close runner-up. It was well deserved by both of you. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. Keep up the good work Brothers.