HomeMy WebLinkAboutFireman Training Lesson One NNIggsf
NORTH ORLANDO VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT
NORTH ORLANDO , FLORIDA
FIRE'iAN TRAINING
LEz 3ON I
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A fire is our best friend and also our worst enemy . A fire
under control furnishes the heat that makes our life comfortable
in winter weather, furnishes us with the means of cooking our
food, making it more tasty and digestable, furnishes the heat
that makes the steam that turns the wheels of industry and has
many other uses that make our life more comfortable and pleasant.
Uncontrolled fire is one of man' s worst enemies in that in
the space of a very few minutes it can erase the work of a life-
time . It causes millions of dollars of damage each year and would
cause many more millions if it were not for the preventive work
of firemen, safety councils both local and statewide and insurance
companies .
A fire department is a very important organization in any
town or vi lliage. They play an important part in many ways not
only fighting the fires but helping out with many civic organizat-
ions . A article from a notional magazine sumed it up very well .
"What is the duty of the Volunteer Fireman? He is dedicated to
protect life and property ." You will note that we do not say that
his dutyis to fight fire alone . Fax too many think of the fireman
as one whose sole duty is to fight fires that occur. The truth is
that whenever a person is in trouble , he or she looks to the fire
department for help. Many and varied arc the requests made of the
fireman. His duty ranges from taking Mrs. Jo es cat out of a tree
or pulling Mrs . Brown's horse out of the mud to emergency ambulance
calls and actual fire calls . Summed up, the fireman is the town' s
handy man, helping his neighbors and friends wherever he can and
whenever he is called. Much of his work is done where no one sees
him laboring over simulated problems which he may save his own or
some one elses life . He spends many more hours training for an
emergency or fire. He does anything requested of him within the
limits of the law and all of his actions are controlled by law and
he is protected by law in :is work. y
To get at this subject properly , it will ee best that fireman
r) know what the public should know a bout them. Then fireman should
know their own responsibility to the public , their immediate spon-
soring institution and their own organization.
To the ,average person the fire depr rtment of a town or village
is a group of men who pledge themselves to help each other and their
neighbors . They know little of the responsibilities of a department
or of the loyalty of this dedicated group of men who stand watch
over their lives and property. They seldom bother to look further
and find the real facts .
As a body of men and woi::en, and many departments have an
efficient and well trained auxiliary who are of greet v• luc to the
department , -- they are strong -- as strong as any volunteer body
to day . There is a bond of friendship that does not exist in other
organifiations , due in all probability to the fact that at some time
each man has been saved from possible injury or death by a brother
fireman. Because of tnie bond. of mutual aid, they are a very loyal
body , one to each other . These hazardous conditions and perils are
the most effective way of bonding men and women together.
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Finally , few realize that every part of firemanic activity
is controlled by law, that every move made by a fire department
is dictated by law and that fire departments and their sponsoring
institutions have their responsibilities out lined and must comply
with constitutional authority.
The chief purpose of these drills is to present the latest
developments in fire fighting equipment and techique, giving a
comprehensive over - all picture of fire protection as it stands
today. Obviously , one can act more intelligently and efficiently
if it is understood how fire is brought about and methods for ex-
tinguishing with maximum speed and minimum damage. As i3 necessary
in acquiring any skill , a fire fighter must become thoroughly fam-
iliar with the special tools and equipment he must use. To men
new at the service , a few hints on now to perform may not be a miss ,
and a little knowledge on fire fighting and general behavior in the
presence of fire will be helpful .
We will break our training into about eleven different phases .
Each phase is very important, ou may not Mink so but when the
real thing comes along you will see how important these things are.
1. Size up 7. Handling of ropes
2 . Forcible entry b . Salvaging
3 . Rescue 9. Overhauling
4. Handling ladders 10 . Fire extinguishers
5 . Handling and using hose 11. First Aid
b . Ventilating
:SIZE UP
How ever the call is recieved either by phone or by word of
mouth, understand the correct location, also if you can, find out
what it is that 13 burning. It will be helpful to the officer in
charge . If he can find out what is burning, the officer in charge .
can build up a situation in responding to tie lire . For an officer
to be able to visualize a situation, he must know all the facts ,
such ass Type of building, Occupancy , Exposures and how to cover
them, Possibilities of the fire, Water supply , Life hazards ,
Equipment and manpower, Time of day , Wind direction.
The "size up" is made by the orricer in charge . His success
in handling the hire depends uron how well he "sizes up" the sit-
uation before he starts to extinguish the fire . To be able to
"size up" a situation you must remember to tie in all the lessons
you will nave. If you do this you will be able to make a quick
"size up" . The first thing to know is what is burning, so we have
classified fires into classes "A" , "B" and "C" .
You are going to be instructed as to the triangle of fire.
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It is a firemans job to take one or more of these sides out
of this triangle . Wnen tnis is done the fire will go out .
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Class "A" fires
The agent used to extinguish this type of fire is water.
The method is called cooling or quenching.
Class "B" fires
We must take oxygen out of tne triangle and the method th;t
is used is ealled smothering or blanketing, for which foam, CO ,
fog or sanomay be used.
Class "C" fires
These ae electrical fires , and we must use a non-conductor
agent . A CO or a broken stream such as fog is best suited for
this type . Now there is another thing that has to be remembered
is that there are four stages to a fire and they rre as follows :
1 . Free burning fire , is thekind of a fire which calls for
water quick and plenty of it .
2 . Fire confined to one or two rooms - in most cases a boos-
ter line of 1 " line is sufficient.
3. The building is filled witn smoke, neat and gases . The
fire i.Z visible at only a distance of six or seven feet.
The metnod used for extinguishing is ventilation followed
by water at the seat of tie fire. The first thing to do
is ventilate and always ventil to at tne highest point
and hit you in the face. Have a charged line ready:
4. This type is exactly the same as stage three excipt to
fire is not visible . Drown tne actual fire as it becomes
visible form ventilation.
Every fireman should know the location of the fire hydrants ,
and where the equipment is on the truck, as every minute counts .
Another thing to be remembered is the time of day as there will
be very few men and sometimes you may have to do two or three jobs .
These are the things to remember:
1. Determine if the fire is type "A" , "B" or "C" , then you
will mow which agent to use.
2. Have charged lines ready before entering any building.
3 . Perform rescue and first aid where needed.
4. Ventilation if needed.
5 . Forcible entry .
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4.
6. Placing and using ladders
7. Proper fire streams
8. Salvage
9. Overhauling
10 . Fires out - pick up and return to quarters .
11 . Check and replace all equipment on appartus to it's place
so as to be where it can be found.
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