Do you save the Firefighter or the baby?

[Firedawg42]

I would like to know the best answer to this tough oral board scenario.

You enter a burning structure alone (which shouldn't happen) and you find firefighter and a two year old. Both are not breathing. You can only rescue one and the one left behind will die.

sort of a lose lose if you ask me. Any Ideas?

[gobears75]

it all has to deal with a hazardous environment, if you know for a fact that you can hear the baby you knows its alive. Your captain who just went down will be able to last longer in at type of environment longer than the baby, so save the baby first. If the baby is not breathing, save your captian, very big possibility that the child will not last as long in that idlh, but either way its a tough question

[mcaldwell]

Self

Team

Public

.

[FDNY73]

Gotta save your fellow brothers first.

[FFKomo]

Save yourself, fellow FFs then public....

[Kane04]

^^^This is the number one lesson in EMT, FIRE, PARAMEDIC SCHOOL. The easiest things are the ones most forgotten.

[plugugly3]

These type of scenarios come in a variety of questions and there is no right or wrong answer.
The interview board is looking at how you react are you going to jump right away and say Im saving the firefighter because we are all brothers - Im saving the baby because we are there to protect and save the public, or are you going to be indescive and go back and forth saying uhhh alot. The above will lower your interview score.
Ive been through many interviews and it is not a good thing when you have canned answers because you jump right to answering the question like a robot.
Ive saved both the firefighter and the baby in interviews that Ive taken and either been offered the job or took the job. This was my technique - after the question was asked I take a breath act like Im thinking about the question very breifly like 3-5 seconds. Then Im going to say " This is a difficult situation but Im going to save the baby first........but while I'm saving the baby I'm going to do something like throw my axe or tool out of a window while Im egressing to try and get some attention from other firefighters that something has gone wrong, because I want to give that firefighter the absolute best chance of surviving in this situation and hopefuly they will rescue the downed firefighter".
Now if this was a real situation we all would set the baby on the firefighter or under our arm and drag them both out, the board will just ask the question again and again (interviews Ive failed at).

Heres another one i forget exactly how it goes. You witness your driver taking a drink out of a flask in the locker room. Do the 3-5 ask do I know for sure he has alcohol in the flask? could it be mouthwash? this shows you have actualy thought about the question they will say yes you definately know its alcohol. Your answer always is to report it to your superior.