This feature is intended to spark the sharing of ideas, information and techniques to make firefighters safer and more effective. The following video and discussion points must not be used to berate, belittle or criticize those firefighters. Rather, in the spirit of near-miss reporting, please use this feature as another teaching tool to help you better do your job. Please leave your comments below and use this material in your own department. I hope you find this Reality Training valuable; stay safe and keep learning.
Truckies could be considered in many circles to be the “independent contractors” of the fire service — I mean that in a good way and am not advocating freelancing.
All personnel operating on the emergency scene should have good leadership and guidance from the incident commander who’s working from an incident action plan. It is particularly important that the commander defines the “terms of the contract” when giving tactical assignments to truck company personnel, their “independent contractor.”
Why? Because those truck company tactics often need to be carried out in multiple areas on the fireground, in close coordination with other tactical leaders and with limited supervision. Vague and ambiguous assignments from the commander can lead to disorganization and disruption of the plan’s implementation.
Discussion questions:
- What tactical objectives did the incident commander assign the truckies in the video?
- Assessing the vertical ventilation carried out by these truckies, what worked well and what could be improved upon?
- What is your assessment of the safety practices employed by the truckies before, during and after the rooftop vent?
- What was the purpose for the truckies to enter the structure after the completed their vertical ventilation assignment?