FDNY battalion chief outlines survival tips at FDIC

By Jamie Thompson
FireRescue1 Senior Editor

Photo Jamie Thompson Chief Salka speaks at the session.

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INDIANAPOLIS — FDNY Battalion Chief John Salka outlined a range of survival tips that can help keep firefighters alive during a session at FDIC in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

Chief Salka told the audience that "survival is a mentality" and that the best survivors share a positive outlook and approach to everything.

"We must understand that crisis is inevitable and we must anticipate adversity on the fireground," he said.

When faced with a life-threatening situation, Chief Salka said, firefighters should:

• Observe and analyze the situation
• Devise a plan to handle the situation
• Move decisively to survive

"A lot of it is tactical but a lot of is mental, too," Chief Salka said. "A lot of it is going on between your ears."

When it comes to observing the situation, the session was told firefighters need to be aware of a range of factors. Radio transmissions can serve as an early warning sign of potential problems that may lie ahead and progress reports that indicate a lack of success mean firefighters should be on their guard, Chief Salka said.

He said comprehensive survival training is vital and outlined the concept and importance of "muscle memory" to the audience; survival skills that are being regularly practiced and imprinted into the unconscious part of the brain should be performed in exactly the same way every time.

Firefighters need to have the understanding that every fire they go to carries the potential of injury or death, Chief Salka said.

When conditions deteriorate rapidly, firefighters need to act quickly, even if they are unaware of the fact.

"There's no time for doubt or discussion when somebody says get out of here — you should not even have a question," Chief Salka said. "You might not even have detected what has happened.

"If he says 'get out,' then get out. Don't let anybody slow you down."

During the session, Chief Salka also addressed the issue of modern-day firefighters being so insulated from the fire by their PPE that they often aren't aware of when conditions deteriorate rapidly.

"It can seem that technological advances in equipment have insulated us so much that some times we don't know how bad it's getting," he said.