Sleeping through the tones

[jamesbw]

Of all the things that I thought were going to be a challange my first year. This was the farthest from my mind. Twice now I've slept through the tones and missed a call. If your new like me and wondering if this is good or bad. It's bad! Not sure how to fix this. Has anyone had this problem or is it just me? Any advise would be very welcome.

[somchfn03]

Hey,

Im a probie myself and cant say that i have sleep through the tones, but god i hope that doesent happen. you might try switching beds to be closer to the speaker or the bell, witch ever your department has. or maybe even closer to the door so someone might see you on the way if your still asleep. speaking of that you might ask a guy next to you if he could make sure your awake when the tones go off.

i hope one of those ideas helped

[callaway75]

Sleep in the rig! Seriously, ask on of the guys on your crew to give you a kick on the way out. Nothing wrong with asking for help, they can only help if you ask. I still ask guys to check on me before hitting the pole, especially when I've been working alot of OT, or my side job. As a probie, this can be very bad for you, so do whatever you need to, stay up, or yes, sleep in the rig, whatever works. Good luck..

[st42stephenAFT]

I'm on a volunteer department, and have slept through the tones numerous times unfortunately. Sometimes it's a good thing, like when I have school in 2 hours, but sometimes it's bad, like when I slept through a FAST call into Brick for a fully involved wood-frame structure. I was POed.

Sad part is, in my room I have my pager, my base scanner that was given to me when I joined explorers, and my personally bought Portable scanner. They all went off for our call, and 2 (not my pager) would have went off when Brick got hit out for the fire. I didn't wake up until about 30 minutes into the call either. ARRRRR.....

[jerry4184]

No one makes everything.

Do you have an amplified charger for your pager? If you do, is it turned up all the way?

I'd assume you aren't in a paid department, as that is pretty much entirely frowned upon, and I'm sure your captain would have reemed you a new one by now for sleeping through calls. It's bad enough to do it with time in, but as a probie, i'd imagine you'd have been gone if you did it repeatedly.

Best thing I've found, sleep with the amplifier or pager right next to your head. Haven't slept through the tones since then.

[DeputyMarshal]

Twice now I've slept through the tones and missed a call. If your new like me and wondering if this is good or bad.

It depends.

If you're a volunteer and you slept through the tones then you needed your sleep more than you needed to be chasing calls.

If you're on the job, shame on the rest of your crew for not waking you. If they can't be trusted to watch your back before you even leave the bunk how the heck can you trust them at a fire? (Sleeping through tones on the job will get you a lot of ribbing but there's no excuse for ever allowing a crew member to miss a call.)

[jamesbw]

Thanks for the advice. Belive it or not I'm on a paid department. Yes my Captain was alll over me and yes there was paperwork involved. It will not be pretty next time. My crew will not wake me up they say that is my responsability. Not sure if that is the norm but that is the way it is. The tone are pretty loud in this station. Not so at some of the others. I'm very afraid. Thanks for all the help!! Stay safe!

[BCLepore]

Sleeping through a call once is funny. Doing it a second time is bad. You need to do exactly what the previous poster said and do what it takes to make certain it NEVER happens again.
Firefighters make mistakes every day. We pride ourselves on not repeating them. Sleeping through a run for the second time sends a really bad message to your crew.
Sleep on the engine if you have to. Put your bed on the app floor. Make a pact with another firefighter to wake each other up. Do what it takes.

I guarantee your crew is no longer laughing. You are becomming a hindrance to the operational readiness of the engine.

Paul Lepore
Battalion Chief
www.aspiringfirefighters.com

[fireslayer1237]

Sleep on what ever rig your on can't miss a call if your already in it. I used to have a Lt that I constantly had to wake up almost every call it gets to be very annoying if you constantly have to wake them up.

[FFJOBRIEN]

LOL...When I was an explorer before I became a firefighter I slept through the fire tones twice. I slept once for a man vs. train call and another for a brush fire. But the best thing I can say is to get a handheld scanner at radio shack and keep it next to when your sleeping. I would recommend using the scanner as apposed to your portable to save battery incase you do get a call. But overtime your mind will train to listen and wake up for the tones, I guess in some ways when your at the station you become a light sleeper.

[ndvfdff33]

As a Vollie I've slept through the first set of tones before. Never the second though. It happens. Hopefully it won't be a common thing though.

[trailboss2]

I sleep in the bunk closest to the door and everyone wakes me up on the way out.

[jbrescue]

Sleep on what ever rig your on can't miss a call if your already in it. I used to have a Lt that I constantly had to wake up almost every call it gets to be very annoying if you constantly have to wake them up.

Leave him behind once and it won't happen again.

[fireslayer1237]

Leave him behind once and it won't happen again.

that's away to get the ***** chewing of a lifetime.

It's a little hard to explain to a chief with you Lt. sitting next to you why you went on a call all by yourself since we run 2 person stations.

[HorseHauler]

I am a VERY sound sleeper, I will keep a glass of water next to my head and get another member to dump it on me if I don't wake up. Shaking me, pulling my covers off, or throwing me on the floor won't do it... but ice cold water is the trick... It's something that I have to live with and hopefully get over it, but It hasn't changed for 9 years now in the fire service, and I've been this way my whole life...

Oh yea, and when your the only medic, they will wake you up...

[UFDFF15]

We recently got new beds at the house and they are pretty damn comfortable. I started to find myself waking up 1/2 way through the announcment. So I now sleep on the couch between the bunk room and the pole/stair. I also keep my pager cranked up and I turn the house speaker up a little bit just incase.

[BKDRAFT]

Sounds like you need to get a better nights sleep prior to coming on the job.

Make sure the volume of the tones in your particular room are up all the way.

[dday05]

Thanks for the advice. Belive it or not I'm on a paid department. Yes my Captain was alll over me and yes there was paperwork involved. It will not be pretty next time. My crew will not wake me up they say that is my responsability. Not sure if that is the norm but that is the way it is. The tone are pretty loud in this station. Not so at some of the others. I'm very afraid. Thanks for all the help!! Stay safe!

wheres the teamwork here? Your shift should be making sure everyone is up and ready. It doesn't take much to wake some one up.I enjoy kicking someones bed to wake them up. We had a guy on my shift who would sleep through our phone calls. Mind you our phone rings bells all throughout the station. He usually sleeps in the tv room as he doesn't like the beds we have. We would have to kick the chair just to get him up.

[jrfireemt]

i wouldnt be kicking the chair, i'd be kicking him!

[phoenixmaximus]

Some people are just deep sleepers. If you are part of a cohesive group of firefighters and you are a doing a great job as a probie then I would have to believe someone on the team would wake you up if you are not already up when the tones go off. If no one wakes you and this has happened twice there maybe you need to read between the lines as it would seem that someone or the entire group is giving you extra slack so to "let you hang," figuratively speaking that is. If your team isn't helping you out then maybe you are not doing something right, outside of sleeping through tones. Step back and take a look at the big picture.. Good luck.