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Ventilation and Fire BehaviorThis training was centered around ventilation and fire behavior. Your firefighters were able to practice reading smoke conditions, study how a fire behaves when adding positive pressure ventilation in different openings, the effects of vertical ventilation, and study backdraft situations and signs.
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Extrication Tool DemoDuring last night's training, your firefighters demoed Holmatro Rescue World extrication tools for the Jefferson Memorial Foundation grant. Thank you to Haberberger Towing for donating the car and letting us use your facility!
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Air ManagmentIt is vitally important for firefighters to know how much air they have in their SCBA tank, as it is their lifeline in a fire. In this drill your firefighters were able to see how long a full tank of air would last them in working conditions (while having a little fun). Once their low air alarm started sounding, they laid down and practiced conserving their remaining air by skip breathing as we train for in mayday situations.
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Ice Rescue TrainingYour firefighters brushed up on their ice rescue skills at Lake Wauwanoka. As you can see, there was a bit of ice on the lake. With our temperatures dropping, our community lakes are likely to freeze over. Please stay safe by staying away from frozen water. There are grave dangers when walking on frozen lakes and waterways when temperatures stay around freezing.
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Mutual Aid TrainingWe had a wonderful training at Valle Ambulance District Station 1 with DeSoto Rural Fire Protection District and De Soto Fire Department. It is essential that we train with our mutual aid departments so that everyone is on the same page on the fire grounds. In this training we became familiar with each department's SCBA packs and their Rescue Intervention Team packs, which are used for firefighter mayday situations. Thank you again for a great training and we will see you out there soon!
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Gear and SCBA ProficiencyDid you know your firefighters are out the door in under 2 minutes for every call? They must be able to don their gear in under 60 seconds. This Monday night, your firefighters did their annual gear and SCBA competency testing.
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Ice Rescue Technician ClassYour Hillsboro firefighters are taking the opportunity to train today with DeSoto Rural Fire Protection District and Mapaville Fire Protection District in an Ice Rescue class by Trident Rescue LLC. Also a big thank you to the community of Lake Wauwanoka for allowing us to use their lake. Strong work out there gentlemen!
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Forcible EnteryWhen arriving on the scene of a fire there are several significant tasks that must be completed within the first few minutes. One of these tasks is forcible entry. Forcible entry allows access for crews to perform rescue and suppression operations. Therefore, you can see how important it is that we are proficient in quickly gaining access to the structure. In this training, your firefighters practiced their forcible entry skills. Thank you to Antonia Fire Protection District for allowing us to use your forcible entry door prop.
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CommunicationsIn this training the topics were teamwork and communication. In this training, one member of each team wore a SCBA and had the instructions to build an object from Legos. They had to relay the instructions clearly, via radio, to their team members who had the Legos and were building the object. Check out the pictures to see how they turned out!
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Patient Packaging in WaterBeing able to package a patient for safe removal from water in a timely and efficient manner may impact on the survival of the patient. In this training we practiced the best techniques for packaging patients in the water.
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Drafting OperationsMuch of our fire district is not hydranted. It is crucial that our driver/operators are competent with drafting from a local static water source or from a port-a-tank.
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Hose AppliancesSome times on fire grounds we need to attach hose of different diameters, or males to males, or female to female ends. We must adapt and overcome these situations. In this training we practiced those skills by using the correct hose appliances needed to get the job done.
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NFPA 1410 DrillsIn this training, our crews trained on NFPA 1410 drills. NFPA 1410 drills are designed to give the department a training reference to improve our ability to complete initial fire attack operations. This includes advancing the attack line and setting up water supply. These drills are timed and we strive to improve our time with each evolution.
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Jenga With the JawsOur crews practiced their precision skills with the extrication spreaders while having a little friendly competition playing Jenga. Fun fact, did you know our spreaders weigh 42 lbs?
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SCBA FamiliarizationIt's extremely important that we know and understand every component of our SCBA packs, so well that we are able to assemble them blindfolded. That is exactly what we did in this training. We partnered up, disassembled the packs, tangled up the hose and straps, and had the other partner disentangle and reassemble the pack to be used while blindfolded.
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LUNARSIn a mayday situation, the downed firefighter would give their LUNARS. LUNARS is an acronym for location, unit, name, air supply, resources needed, and situation. In this training, our firefighters practiced their LUNARS and how to help each other out of entanglement. It is also important for a downed firefighter to be able to control their breathing while waiting for help. To simulate this, we played dodge ball to increase our heart rate and then tried to conserve our breathing by skip breathing.
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SCBA Air ManagementIt is important to know how much air you have in your SCBA before you go in, and manage that amount so that you leave the hazardous environment before your SCBA low-air alarm activates. In this training our crews utilized a maze to do a search while going through a restricted opening, and played dodge ball to get their heart rate up to simulate working on a fire. They were able to see exactly how long a full tank will last while working.
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Advancing Attack LinesDeploying an attack line quickly and efficiently is critical in the fire service. The faster we can put water on the fire, the less possible damage there is to the property. In this training, our crews drilled on advancing our cross-lays and locating the fire to extinguish within a structure.
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Wall BreechingIn emergency situations, it may be necessary for a firefighter to escape a room by creating their own exit through a wall to save their life and others. Our firefighters train hard to be better prepared for these types of situations.
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Live Fire TrainingMonday night, a few of our new recruits had the opportunity to train in real fire situations. Our crews were able to utilize the burn trailer to practice fire ground communications, deploying hose, and putting the wet stuff on the red stuff. Thank you to Rock Community Fire and Chief Vargo for dedicating his time.
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Search and RescueIn this training our firefighters practiced search and rescue techniques in dark, smokey conditions; similar to what it would be like in a real fire situation. Using a theatrical fog machine we smoked our bays and hid a victim to be rescued by a two firefighter search team.
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ExtricationThis Monday night, our recruits had the opportunity to apply their knowledge of vehicle extrication and the different techniques that can be used. In this training we used our spreaders (Jaws of Life), cutters, break cutters, ram, Crib-it, and many other hand tools used to quickly and effectively extricate a trapped victim. Great job guys! Also, a big THANK YOU to Haberberger Towing for letting us use your facility.
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Swift Water RescueIn this swift water rescue training, our team suited up in dry suits and life vests to practice the "go" aspect of "reach, throw, go", where a rescuer goes out to the victim. You can see that the rescuer will have a life safety rope attached to them, which they attach to the victim once they have reached them. The team members on shore then pull the victim and rescuer to safety.
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Static Water Rescue"Reach, throw, go" is what we say when it comes to a water rescue. In this static water rescue training we practiced using tools to reach out to victims, throwing rope, and backboarding a victim in the water to bring them to safety.
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Ropes and KnotsRopes and knots are an important component of the fire service. We use ropes and knots for rope rescues, stabilizing objects, hoisting tools, and for a mechanical advantage for pulling heavy objects up embankments. There are many different types of knots we can use, each with its own purpose. In this training we reviewed the various types of knots and their uses.
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LaddersIn the fire service we have many applications for ladders. Our trucks carry three different types of ladders: attic, roof, and extension. In this training we practiced the skills needed to carry and extend our ladders.
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Big Fire, Big Water"Big fire, big water." is what we say in the fire service. Water puts out the fire by cooling it. The more fire and hotter the fire it is, the more water you will need to cool and extinguish it. In this training we advanced our pre-connected blitz line and set up the portable monitor.
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Back to the BasicsBack to the basics! You can never stress the importance of the fundamentals enough. In this training we practiced pulling our hand lines, hooking up to the hydrant, pumping water with the trucks, and flowing water with different nozzles to produce different types streams.
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Vehicle Extrication TechniquesMonday night, our team trained on the various techniques and applications for vehicle extrication tools. In extrication the goal is to remove the vehicle from around the victim instead of the victim from around the vehicle. This is to avoid further injury to the victim. In this training we used cutters, spreaders (Jaws of Life), break cutters, the ram, auto cribbing, an axe, and halligan.
Another big thank you to Haberberger for letting us use your facility for training. |
Air Bags and StrutsAir bags can be used to lift vehicles, trains, planes, to lift odd-shaped objects, to bend steel-reinforced bars on windows or fences, to free trapped victims of natural weather occurrences/collapse, and to open inoperable elevator doors. In this training our team worked together to free a victim of an overturned vehicle by using struts for stabilization, air bags to lift the vehicle, and cribbing to support the air bags.
A big thank you to Haberberger Towing for letting us use your facility. |
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Pulling Cross Lays"Practice makes perfect." Our firefighters practice techniques that are most efficient and effective in stretching hose line to get the wet stuff on the red stuff.
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Bailout TrainingBailouts are used when there is no other option to escape from the building and an emergency exit is necessary. This training will put firefighters in a position in which they have no other option but to bail from a window to save their lives. Each of our crew members have been equipped with personal rope and Rocket Repel devices for potential egress in emergency situations. They trained on ladder bailouts and personal rope bailouts.
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Pump TrainingPutting the wet stuff on the red stuff is the old saying in the Fire Service! The quicker we can put water on the fire the sooner it goes out! Crews Monday trained on several timed drills to ensure we are up to par in quickly getting water on the fire.
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Struts TrainingOur firefighters must be in a constant state of readiness for any situation. Vehicle accidents with people trapped are situations that we deal with often. Recently crews trained hard on how to stabilize a vehicle that has landed on its side using what we refer to as "Struts". These are used to keep a vehicle from tipping over on to emergency works or a trapped patient. Once the vehicle is stabilized, we can then start removing the patient from the vehicle. During this training we actually had vehicles up on it's side to make the training as real as possible.
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Vertical Ventilation Vertical ventilation involves the expulsion of heat and smoke from a fire building vertically (through the roof), permitting the firefighters to more easily see and safely find trapped individuals and attack the fire.
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VEIS TrainingVent-Enter-Isolate-Search (VEIS) stresses the importance of isolating the area from smoke by closing the door to the room, that is being searched. This tactic provides quicker access to potential victims.
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Ice RescueOur team trained for those freezing cold days out on the lake. This ice rescue class demonstrated the proper techniques for rescuing victims from icy water with the use of ropes and other equipment carried on our trucks.
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