First structure fire where I got to do anything...

[baileydonk]

After about nine months responding as a volunteer with a small combination department, mostly MVAs and the occasional mutual aid to structure fires where we did not even get off our engine... last night I finally got to help out.

I have mixed feelings about it. I helped a bit. I made a couple of mistakes. We were there for 3 hours, and I feel I only worked about one hour and the rest I was standing around feeling fairly useless.

The first thing our company was responsible for was roof ventilation. Since the other 3 had the tools and went up the ladder, I stayed on the ground heeling the ladder and being the "gopher". I passed them up a pike pole and when that one broke I fetched them another. I helped pull hose for the crew that went in the front door. Later one of our guys asked me why I didn't come up on the roof. No one had been giving me any orders at the point when the other 3 went up the ladder, and I figured that as the roof is an inherently dangerous place to be, and it was a very small roof, I would serve no purpose as the 4th person up there other than causing more of a crowd - and could be more helpful staying down. Was I wrong?

Then we were doing salvage/overhaul of debris in the detatched garage. That's where I felt really useful. I could have done that all night - it was like a really wet, dirty, stinky treasure hunt.

After a rest, we were helping pull the siding on the main house. Here I use "we" loosely, as I was just one of the observers/gophers again at that point.

Big mistake #1: walking into the house to grab our pike pole at the end without my helmet on. We'd been rehabbing and lidless, and I simply forgot to put it back on. Won't forget that again, as two officers accosted me in the doorway.

Big mistake #2 - grabbing the *wrong* pike pole... sliding it in the back of our engine and hearing a voice behind me say "Umm... hey, I believe that's OURS".

Sorry my story isn't an exciting one - didn't even see any flames myself. I do wish our department saw more structure fire action, as at this rate I feel that my experience will grow at a dreadfully slow rate. It's a start, though.

[FFTide]

After about nine months responding as a volunteer with a small combination department, mostly MVAs and the occasional mutual aid to structure fires where we did not even get off our engine... last night I finally got to help out.

I have mixed feelings about it. I helped a bit. I made a couple of mistakes. We were there for 3 hours, and I feel I only worked about one hour and the rest I was standing around feeling fairly useless.

Making mistakes is sometimes the best way to learn, and often you will never repeat those same mistakes. Just don't make careless ones.

The first thing our company was responsible for was roof ventilation. Since the other 3 had the tools and went up the ladder, I stayed on the ground heeling the ladder and being the "gopher". I passed them up a pike pole and when that one broke I fetched them another. I helped pull hose for the crew that went in the front door. Later one of our guys asked me why I didn't come up on the roof. No one had been giving me any orders at the point when the other 3 went up the ladder, and I figured that as the roof is an inherently dangerous place to be, and it was a very small roof, I would serve no purpose as the 4th person up there other than causing more of a crowd - and could be more helpful staying down. Was I wrong?

I'd say you did the right thing, was anyone else on the ground with you? Supporting the ladder is underrated, and you are right saying that a 4th person on that roof was too many (3 probably was too)

Then we were doing salvage/overhaul of debris in the detatched garage. That's where I felt really useful. I could have done that all night - it was like a really wet, dirty, stinky treasure hunt.

After a rest, we were helping pull the siding on the main house. Here I use "we" loosely, as I was just one of the observers/gophers again at that point.

Big mistake #1: walking into the house to grab our pike pole at the end without my helmet on. We'd been rehabbing and lidless, and I simply forgot to put it back on. Won't forget that again, as two officers accosted me in the doorway.

Big mistake #2 - grabbing the *wrong* pike pole... sliding it in the back of our engine and hearing a voice behind me say "Umm... hey, I believe that's OURS".

Sorry my story isn't an exciting one - didn't even see any flames myself. I do wish our department saw more structure fire action, as at this rate I feel that my experience will grow at a dreadfully slow rate. It's a start, though.

#1 That's the kind of mistake you can't recover from if it goes wrong, remember your lid always.

#2 I did this at the last mutual aid structure, had to contact the company we switched poles with and swap them later that week, no harm no foul.

Most of the time after the fire is out and the walls have been pulled many guys find themselves standing around. Always be looking around, keep your tools organized, in the winter spread some sand on the icy spots, swap out bottles etc etc etc always something to do, and if you can't do something learn something, talk to the pump operator is he's just manning the panel or a veteran FF who can tell you what it was like inside. Good luck in the future and good job.

~Tide

[FFTrainer]

Was the Pike pole in better condition than yours?? If not that was an even worse mistake! :D If it was in better condition... than your mistake was giving it back!!! :p

You might have felt useless, but I guaranty you were not. Footing a ladder is far from useless as is being a gopher. We all have a role on the fireground and it changes pretty much every fire.

[baileydonk]

Was the Pike pole in better condition than yours?? If not that was an even worse mistake! :D If it was in better condition... than your mistake was giving it back!!! :p

Very funny! The guys on the roof did the right thing, I guess - the pike pole they broke was NOT ours.

I am sure I will often be the ladder heeler and the gopher - as a newbie and someone less brawny than a lot of our other FFs. I'm working out hard, and trying to get as much training as I can, so that when the time comes that I have to be right in the thick of it I'll be ready - but the fact is that when the others on the engine are stronger and more experienced than me, the most effective and safest thing for all concerned is for the big guys to do the big stuff. An incident isn't a training drill where they should let me "give it a try".

Since this was my first time on a structure fire scene I do wish I had been given a bit more direction. I tried to be helpful where I could see what needed to be done - fetching tools, putting them back, checking my partners' PPE, helping drag hose, gassing the chainsaw, restoring the SCBAs, bringing my crew water... and providing witty banter on the drive back to our station.

I didn't get home until about 1 AM, and had to shower and then it took me quite a while to get to sleep. I think I finally fell asleep around 2:30, and my alarm goes off at 5:15, so I'm pretty tired today!

So last night I worked basically 4 hours for $8.00... kind of makes up for all the times I got paid $8.00 for just driving to the station, writing my name down, and driving back home! :)

So anyway, now I have this one tiny little nick of experience on my belt... it's miniscule... you can only see it if you know just where to look... a little to the left... There! Oh, no, wait, that's a flea. I think one of the flea's tiny legs is actually covering up the nick of experience.

[doughesson]

I haven't had a response where I didn't make some mistake.I just try not to repeat them as I go along and hopefully learn.
Like others have said,do not forget your helmet.It might be the only thing between you and the Almighty sometime.
Your PPE is uncomfortable in hot weather but it is better than lying in a hospital being treated for burns.
You'll go on other calls and learn from your mistakes.Just keep having fun with it because it's a good job.I think any job that isn't fun goes downhill really quickly.

[thomas15]

baileydonk,

My Fire Co is like yours. To date in 2005, we have had one structure fire in our town and maybe 5 or 6 mutual aid fires. I'm a newb like you and believe me, you did much more at the fire you just had than I did at my first structure fire.

This is the reason why I do as much state fire school training as possible. I just took a live fire class and this has given my the confidence that i need to take a little more initiative at a fire scene.

One of my mutual aid calls was a few weeks ago and I did quite a bit of work. Most of the fire was out when we arrrived but I stayed busy most of the time we were there and I didn't have to to told what to do, there was so much abvious work to be done that I had no problem getting dirty.

Tom

[dmleblanc]

Then we were doing salvage/overhaul of debris in the detatched garage. That's where I felt really useful. I could have done that all night - it was like a really wet, dirty, stinky treasure hunt.

A rookie who loves to do overhaul? You will quickly gain the admiration and respect of your fellow firefighters..."Hey, newbie, come over here....I got a job for ya...." :D

Seriously though, sometimes even structure fires are like that....depending on your usual turnout, you might have more people than work to go around (once you've been doing this for a while, you'll start to realize that's a good thing) ;) Hopefully the more experienced folks will recognize this and make sure you get some hands-on time in all positions, just so you can get some experience.

No one had been giving me any orders at the point when the other 3 went up the ladder, and I figured that as the roof is an inherently dangerous place to be, and it was a very small roof, I would serve no purpose as the 4th person up there other than causing more of a crowd - and could be more helpful staying down. Was I wrong?

As far as not going on the roof, I think you did the right thing. You were not ordered onto the roof, there were already enough people up there to do the job, and it's a good idea to have someone heeling the ladder. One way we minimize the danger to ourselves is to limit the number of people sent into a risky spot to just the number needed to do the job.

Sounds like you did fine. Did the fire go out? Did everyone on your crew go home safely afterwards? Then you did a good job. :cool:

[baileydonk]

Sounds like you did fine. Did the fire go out? Did everyone on your crew go home safely afterwards? Then you did a good job. :cool:

I'm pretty proud of myself for not stabbing anyone with a pike pole... I only see out of one eye, and I think the woman with no depth perception walking around with the 12-foot-long pointy pole was probably the most dangerous thing at the incident!

And no, I didn't poke the other eye out running with scissors or anything - it's there, just too lazy to do its job.

;) -------;- :eek: "Aaaaa!!"

^
In case you didn't get it, that's me and my lazy eye poking my Captain with my pike pole. These icons should wear helmets!

[firefiftyfive]

I personally think you did a fine job. Making mistakes is part of being a proby/rookie. I make them all the time. Like many have pointed out mistakes is how you learn and the most important part of mistakes is to only make them once. Because after that you are just looking stupid.

[Rodeo1]

I agree it sounds like you did a good job. now with the standing back, well I have been doing this for eight years and the department that I run on is vol. now when I am at the fire ground I like to take a rookie and put himher/ on a line and take him in. I wound rather have him/her infront so I can help/teach him/her and so I can watch him/her.we(the department) don't always get a lot of people to show up for calls so we take a very aggressive approach towards training. and most of the people on are department are young.(20-30 years old) so when we get a new person we take them and try to get them in. you can only learn so much from the out side and in the classroom. now we do not let probys on first out. by the time they get their we have an idea what'z going on and then we take them in. "you cann't fight every fire from the outside"
The best thing I can say is be paticent and try to learn as much as you can. and we all make misstakes.
to get back to you. what is the average age of the guy/gals on your department? now how many of them are gun ho?if the guys/gals that are gun ho are safe(you trust) then try to talk to them and see if they will take you in.
I like to go in and grab the bull by the nu>$ and fight the fire from the inside.

[baileydonk]

Rodeo1,

I'm 37. Most of our guys are my age and up, a lot of them quite a bit older. We just have a couple of youngsters in their 20's.

This was a fire where we were providing mutual aid to a neighboring town, so by the time we got on scene there was really no question of us going inside. I would have actually felt more comfortable going inside - because I have had more training (both book learnin' and physical training) on fire attack than on roof work.

I recently lost my department mentor - our training officer who I trusted with my life has left the department. I feel that I should trust the officers and other firefighters with my life... but I was thinking about this last night and I just don't. There are a couple guys who come awfully close, but that confidence I had for the training officer is just not quite there. If he had said "walk through that fire" I would have walked through it - I trusted him that much, that if he was telling me to go there must be something even worse than that fire coming at me (I don't know what that would be, but I'd believe him). Of course, I'm talking about a fire incident scene here, not at a beach bonfire where he'd just drank eight beers ;) . Anyway, his leaving has really affected me. Maybe the only way for me to come to trust the others like that is to get into situations where they show me what they're made of, but that's scary when I *don't* trust them like that yet. I keep telling myself that some of them have been doing this for ten or twenty or even thirty years, and they still have all their fingers and toes and skin.

[Rodeo1]

I understand what you are saying. the only thing I can say is just give it time. you will find out with time who to trust. with the department I am on now their is only one person that I Don't trust. and the rest I trust with my life.but for the most part you will find that 99% are great and trust worthy.

[doughesson]

Wasn't a structure fire yesterday but I finally got to use the Pumper Operations I and II training that I took a year ago on an out of control yard fire.
Me and two other guys who are not on the driver's list on my volunteer department got told to bring the reserve pumper to the scene.When we got there,the guy driving admitted that he had no clue about what to do with the rig now,so I jumped up and reminded the IC that I had taken the course and was looking for a chance to show my stuff.
The only problem I had was not know with that particular rig,to have the panel lights on,the rotator lights must be on as well.
Other than that,all the booster line guys had to do was ask for more or less water.
Now,if only they'd start me up on driver training but as long as I show up riding a bicycle,there's going to be officers that think I don't know how to drive a family car much less a pumper or rescue unit.