Truck Company Drills

[FORTff]

What are some good training ideas for a truck company? Stuff that doesn't require a lot of setting up. Something where we can just take the truck out and go and do some training?

[FFFRED]

For Truck work...nothing is better than hands-on! In my current and past dept we always liked to find buildings under demolition or that were vacant and use them for drills. Such as cutting roofs, forcing doors, buidling construction, FF removal.

This also applies to buildings under construction...they offer a large amount of good truck drills.

I've seen a number of older taxpayers torn down and replaced with a newer one or one that has a drugsore in it. Keep an eye on what's new in your first due.

Also build up a rapore with your local junk yard...so as to tear apart junked cars for extrication drills.

FTM-PTB

[FORTff]

Any ideas for existing buildings? We have a lot of building going on around us but not a lot of tearing down. We're hurting for some good hands on truck work too.

[FFFRED]

FORTff,

I don't know what kind of buildings you have...however, we've used them mainly for reviewing new buidling contruction and also they are usually full of open shafts between floors and such that we can use for FF removal drills.

FTM-PTB

[LaFireEducator]

Some ideas .. simple and keep the basic skills....

Throwing ground ladders.
Moving equipment to the roof (either on the ladders on w/ropes).
Discuss forcible entry.
Visit buildings under construction and review building construction.
Pt roof removal.
RIT training.

[jerrygarcia]

Originally posted by FFFRED

Also build up a rapore with your local junk yard...so as to tear apart junked cars for extrication drills.

FTM-PTB

Have them flip a couple of them upside down, good stabilization and extrication drill.

[nymilfire]

To expand on LaFireEducator's list, throwing ground ladders on different buildings will give you crew knowledge of what ladders would be needed for different buildings and helps in reading the size of a building to help choose a proper ladder size.

[Dave1983]

Originally posted by LaFireEducator
Some ideas .. simple and keep the basic skills....

Throwing ground ladders.
Moving equipment to the roof (either on the ladders on w/ropes).
Discuss forcible entry.
Visit buildings under construction and review building construction.
Pt roof removal.
RIT training.

Thats a good start If you have a stokes basket, practice lowering a patient from a roof or upper floors. We do that with our truck at least once every couple months.

[Station2Capt]

One thing that a Captain on one of our truck companies does is while out in district when they go by a business the Captain will get the driver to pull into a ramdom business and properly set up the ladder. This helps in learning positioning skills, judging distance where the Truck should be placed from business to access a specific location on the business. To often we practice this very important skill at a drill field or other location where real life obsticals such as parked cars, power lines, overhangs, etc are not present. This Truck Company almost has a running bet on who can position the Truck the best and get the ladder closet to the intended "target" on the first attempt. I would say that before they do this the Captain will take a minute to talk to the occupant or someone in charge at the business to let them know what they are doing and it will only take 15 minutes or so. He has never been told that he could not set up in there parking lot.

[sponge]

For existing buildings, it's always nice to do some walk-arounds/walk-throughs/walk-on-top-ofs. Back in the good ol' days when I was a truckie, we'd throw a few ladders on the local taxpayers, go up on the roof, ID ventilation opportunities, hazards, etc. On the ground level, we'd talk about horizontal ventilation points, forcible entry techniques, and utilities.
This makes for a good question and answer session, especially with the new guys, helps you keep up on training, and also serves as a basic level of preplanning.