Firefighters Support Foundation

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Firefighters Support Foundation

• Downed Firefighter Assessment Rescue
• --------
• Tricks of the Trade
• v1.0

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About FSF

• The Firefighters Support Foundation is a 501c3
  non-profit organization whose primary mission is
  to develop, produce and distribute training
  programs to firefighters and first responders.
  All of our programs are distributed free of
  charge.

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Permission

• Permission is granted to reproduce or distribute
  this material so long as the Firefighters Support
  Foundation is credited as the source

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Accompanying Video

• This PowerPoint presentation accompanies the
  video presentation of the same title.

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Abraham Madrigal

• Hillsboro, OR Fire Engineer, Acting Lieutenant
• UNIFIRE A.C. of Special Operations
• Firetown Adjunct Instructor
• Fire Innovations Instructor, Product Specialist
• Spec Rescue Adjunct Instructor

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Why we do what we do

• It is no secret that what we do is dangerous. We
  take risks and those risks sometimes come at a
  significant cost. Fires do not discriminate
  between paid or volunteer firefighters when it
  decides to take one of our brothers or sisters.
  It is up to us to be able to recognize situations
  before they arise and to be trained and ready to
  act to save our own or the lives of the citizens
  we are sworn to protect.

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History

• Major incidents have shaped the fire service
• 9-11-01
• Worcester Fire 1999
• Charleston Super Sofa Store Fire 2007
• Bret Tarver Incident 2001
• FDNY Black Sunday 2005
• To name but a few!

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LODD

• On average 100 firefighters a year are killed
  with countless injuries to boot. At any given
  time you can search the internet and find LODDs
  filling the stream. It is our duty to understand,
  learn and train on these occurrences to prevent
  future occurrences costing more lives of our
  fellow brothers and sisters.

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Saving Our Own - Comms

• It is well documented that a factor in just about
  every incident involving a LOST or TRAPPED
  firefighter is a breakdown in communications in
  one form or another.
• Clear communication on both sides from command
  and internal operations is must.
• Radio traffic should be clear and to the point
  (there is no need to tell a story).

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Saving Our Own Comms (cont.)

• The use of Acronyms during fire operations and
  the understanding of those acronyms such as
  CAR(A), CAN(A), PPPN(A) and PAR will greatly
  improve communication on the fire ground.
• During an emergency event involving a DOWN, LOST
  or TRAPPED Firefighter the acronym LUNAR is most
  commonly used.

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The MAYDAY

• When a MAYDAY is transmitted and the LUNAR
  acronym is utilized, key information is received
  by command which needs to be relayed to the
  activated RIT or RIC team.
• That information may include the duty the FF was
  doing, last location, apparatus off of, number of
  individuals affected, and possibly names of the
  individuals.
• This information can be priceless!

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Downed Firefighter Assessment

• When assessing a downed firefighter there are
  some key factors that need to be addressed.
• Is this the original firefighter from the MAYDAY
  (or do we have an additional situation)?
• What's his/her AIR status?
• Whats the extent of their injuries if any?

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Downed Firefighter Assessment (2)

• A systematic approach.
• Start at the head. Identify name on helmet,
  apparatus on front, and mask integrity (are they
  breathing?)
• Move down left/right shoulder and locate PASS
  device to silence and to determine air remaining
  (trans fill if necessary). Assess for injuries.
• Remove chest strap if attached assess for
  injuries

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Downed Firefighter Assessment (3)

• Undo waist belt and extend assess for injuries.
• Move to lower extremities and assess for
  injuries. Pass waist belt through crotch to make
  hasty harness.
• Relay findings to rescue group firefighter is
  ready to extricate.

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Packaging Tricks of the Trade

• You can find hundreds of devices tools for online
  for firefighter extrication.
• One thing that is cheap and every Firefighter
  should carry is webbing, from a standard 8 loop
  to a 22 loop.
• Can be utilized to package both downed
  firefighters and victims found in a fire.

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Closing

• This is just one way to accomplish a Rescue, it
  is up to you to take this knowledge apply it,
  mold it and train on it to benefit you and your
  fellow firefighters, if the need (God forbid)
  should ever arise.

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Acknowledgement

• Thanks to Life Safety Corporation for the loan of
  PPE and gear in making this video.