By Travis Jackson
Firefighters don’t rise to the occasion — they fall back on their training.
On a calm day in the station, that sounds like a slogan. On a real fireground, especially when something goes wrong, you learn quickly whether your training was built for comfort or survival. Roof failures, floor collapses and basement fires are the moments that test this truth.
| MORE: Mayday prevention through simple ‘engineering controls’
Data meets reality
Structural collapse continues to be one of the leading causes of firefighter fatalities during interior operations. From 1998 to 2022, there were 291 on-duty firefighter deaths in 223 interior structure incidents, and roughly one-third of those fatalities were caused by structural collapse (NFPA, 2025).
Longer-term data paints a similar picture. Between 1994 and 2013, building collapses during fires resulted in 112 firefighter fatalities, with nearly half involving roof or floor failures (Firefighter Craftsmanship, 2019).
Basement fires have also been identified as high-risk environments due to rapid heat buildup, limited access, and unpredictable structural integrity (CDC/NIOSH, 1999).
I experienced those risks firsthand. While advancing a line through the front door of a single-family home, I noticed the floor beginning to feel spongy. After advising incident command of the conditions, the floor gave way, and my partner and I dropped into a fully involved basement. The transition was immediate — extreme heat, zero visibility and complete disorientation. My mask was torn off during the fall, and for a moment I was overwhelmed by the confusion of what had just occurred.
What made the difference was not just training, but the firefighters around me. Repetition allowed me to regain my air and reorient on the hoseline, but my partner’s discipline in maintaining that line for defense and life safety was critical. Once I transmitted a mayday, the incident commander recognized it immediately and deployed RIT without hesitation. Exterior crews began working the problem, communicating clearly and developing a rescue plan. Listening to radio traffic helped me understand what they were seeing and how they were moving, which allowed me to position us as best I could. Because of the actions of those crews, we were able to push toward a basement window well and were pulled out with only minor injuries. We walked away because of solid fundamentals, but more importantly because well-trained firefighters did exactly what they were supposed to do under pressure.
Training starts with culture
Realistic mayday training doesn’t start with props or scenarios — it starts with culture. The fire service talks a lot about courage and toughness, but real toughness is the willingness to admit that things can go wrong, even for experienced firefighters, and that survival depends on preparation. Too often, mayday training is treated as a formality or something aimed at younger firefighters. The reality is that every firefighter, regardless of rank or experience, is vulnerable during a collapse event. A basement fire does not care how long you’ve been on the job.
Departments that normalize and prioritize mayday training see better outcomes when real emergencies occur. That culture begins with company officers. When officers openly ask themselves, “If this happened today, would I survive it?”, they set the tone for their entire crew. They influence whether drills are meaningful or simply “checked off.” Officers who embrace discomfort and demand realism help create firefighters who are mentally and physically prepared for the unexpected.
Practice, practice, practice
Repetition is another essential part of survival. A single mayday class once a year is not enough. SCBA emergencies, entanglement drills, wall breeches, floor-drop simulations and zero-visibility searches must happen frequently enough that these skills become instinct. When my collapse occurred, I didn’t have time to analyze my options. I reacted because the fundamentals had been drilled repeatedly, even when the training was uncomfortable. Repetition builds reflex, and reflex buys the seconds that matter.
Technology can supplement realism — thermal imaging scenarios, audio cues, disorientation effects, and controlled heat can make training more lifelike. But technology cannot replace the basics. The ability to find a hoseline under stress, control breathing, maintain orientation and transmit a clear mayday is what saves firefighters, not fancy simulation tools.
Leadership at every level
Leadership at every level shares responsibility for supporting this kind of training:
- Administrators must allocate time, staffing and resources.
- Training divisions must design collapse scenarios that reflect modern construction and fire behavior — lightweight trusses, engineered lumber and open-concept layouts that fail quickly.
- Company officers must uphold training standards despite busy schedules, call volume and staffing challenges.
- Firefighters themselves must approach mayday practice without ego or hesitation.
Realism matters
Calling a mayday is not weakness; it is a survival skill. This is why realism matters. Roof operations and basement fires demand more than predictable burn-building evolutions. A roof collapse can drop crews into fire rooms or void spaces instantly. A floor collapse can plunge a firefighter into a furnace with little warning. If training never replicates the shock, imbalance, noise, confusion and sensory overload of a true collapse, then we are not preparing firefighters for the conditions that kill them.
The fireground will always deliver chaos. The building doesn’t care about experience or confidence. What gives firefighters a fighting chance is training that mirrors the hazards we know are coming. Roof collapses, floor failures and basement fire conditions are predictable risks in our profession. When we train honestly, with realism, repetition and purpose, we give ourselves and our crews the best chance of going home after the mayday none of us ever plan to make.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Travis Jackson is a Denver, Colorado, firefighter and Marine Corps veteran with experience in both structural firefighting and leadership development. He holds a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Fire & Emergency Services, and a bachelor’s degree in Fire and Emergency Safety Administration.
