Focusing on Basic-Level Training

By Brian Meroney
from www.firefighternation.com
Published Tuesday, April 2, 2013

During a basic-level training drill a few weeks ago, I was approached by both a junior firefighter and a senior firefighter and asked why we’re doing so many basic drills instead of focusing on more advanced drills. I told them that I want them to be proficient with their basic skills—not just adequate. This answer seemed to puzzle them, and I knew I would have to give them more of an explanation after the drill. So back at the station, after I explained my answer to the firefighters, I thought about how many firefighters on the job have let their skills become rusty.

Practice Makes Perfect
How many of you have heard the saying “complacency kills?” I’m betting most of you have, but have you thought about what it means and how it applies to you and the fire service? If not, let me lay it out for you.
First and foremost, just because you have completed rookie school or have been on the job for several years doesn’t mean you remember everything you were taught and how to use every tool. Even if you’ve made hundreds, if not thousands, of runs, if you’ve never had to use the skills you were taught, then you can’t be sure you’ll remember how to do them correctly. And just because you haven’t gotten hurt or gotten someone else hurt doesn’t mean it won’t happen next time.
Professional baseball players spend countless hours practicing fielding and batting to hone their skills so they can deftly perform them without hesitation every time. Why is it we don’t do this as firefighters? “Back to Basics” training should occur on a regular basis to reinforce those skills we use every day, as well as those we don’t. There’s no reason or excuse not to drill on the basics until every person is proficient. At that point, and only at that point, should we add more advanced skills to the tool box and drill on those until everyone is, again, proficient.

Working the Fundamentals
As firefighters, we have an obligation to the communities we serve to be the best we can be. Someone who calls the fire department because their house is on fire expects that every rig that shows up has the best-trained firefighters on it. You would expect the same if your own house was on fire.
Now think about the crew you are currently working with. Do you as a group practice the basics on a regular basis? How about when you are working with people you don’t normally work with? Are they as prepared as you?
When I was first approached about doing the “Back to Basics” training drills, I thought that the people I worked with every day were well past the basics. I was wrong. In fact, I was surprised by how much they had forgotten, as well as how much I had forgotten or had been doing unsafely for the last 20 years when it came to the basics.
The “Back to Basics” training drills started off as something that I didn’t take too seriously but, in the end, the drills made some of the best firefighters I have ever worked with even better. The drills have pushed them to keep up with the everyday changes that come with the job.

Final Thoughts
I challenge each and every firefighter, new and old, probie or chief, to practice, drill and train on the basic skills time and time again.
Today, there aren’t as many fires as there were 30 years ago, which makes fundamental training even more necessary. Firefighters today are Jacks/Jills-of-all-trades [do we cap this?] and are expected to fix any and every emergency that pops up. We’re tasked with EMS calls, hazmat response, high angle rescue, confined space rescue, swiftwater rescue, and any other off-the-wall response. With all the extra tasks that firefighters perform and are required to train on, it’s easy to see why basic training is often overlooked.
The saying “use it or lose it” is true, and if you’re a firefighter, losing your skills is unacceptable and should never happen. Not only are those basic skills required to do the job, but they may be the only thing that keeps you and your crew alive. Plus, you just might find yourself having fun training.