Mayday
Mayday events can stop an incident in its tracks, as the team refocuses efforts on locating a downed, trapped or disoriented firefighter. Firefighters are encouraged to call a mayday whenever they feel they need help from fellow crewmembers and not wait until it is too late to be reached. The FireRescue1 Mayday resource page provides essential information on how to train for mayday events, video on how to prevent mayday events, details of the rapid-intervention team, plus news of mayday events and Rapid Response analysis of mayday incidents.
A consultant’s review of the fatal fire criticized Sedgwick County’s 911 operations and the Wichita Fire Department’s lack of “self-reflection and accountability”
With the right training and direction, rapid intervention should never be a dull assignment
Firefighter Marcelo Garcia succumbed to injuries from a wall collapse during a warehouse fire
About 100 firefighters battled a stubborn blaze at General Motors’ 150,000-square-foot Pasadena facility
A brief water loss triggered a flashover and mayday during a house fire in Hillsdale
Two fell through third-floor holes during a fire in a building under construction on Chestnut Street
Four Sauk Valley departments completed a two-day workshop to standardize incident command, strengthen mutual-aid fireground leadership and reinforce NIOSH safety practices
New mandatory training simulates the 2011 ventilation incident that killed Lieutenant Todd Krodle, sharpening rapid rescue tactics
Crews should train on implementing IRICs and placing rescue tools, all while following key standards
How to implement mayday-focused policies in an actionable and relatable way that builds muscle memory for these events
The same day a firefighter from an adjacent city died in a house fire, I found myself falling through a floor, trapped
No matter which your department uses, it’s essential to keep messages clear when seconds count
Repeated training and breathing techniques to help lower your heart rate will help you make the mental shift
Your crewmembers are your lifeline to survival, so communicate as much as possible
It’s important to underscore the danger of the situation while not instilling an unproductive level of fear
Training proved critical when a Castle Rock firefighter fell through the floor at a house fire
From prevention to data-driven decision-making, department leaders must set the tone for mayday-minded training
Officers must take personal responsibility for member readiness and plan single-company and multi-company drills to hone their own command skills
This unique mayday drill is highly realistic and physically demanding
Battalion Chief Steve Conn and Lt. Bassel Ibrahim detail mayday lessons from real-world events and progressive training
Done right, safety briefings are a critical window to teach fire behavior, strategy and lessons from the field — not just rehearse risks
The Campton-Thornton Fire Rescue firefighter fell waist-deep through a second-floor collapse, was freed by nearby crews
Deputy Chief John Russell likened the reason to “a salmon swimming upstream” as dozens of firefighters were moving in, and the injured firefighter was trying to get out
A Fort Worth firefighter sustained multiple injuries and was flown to Parkland Health in Dallas
Nine McKinney firefighters were hospitalized with injuries from smoke inhalation and overexertion
Two Columbia firefighters were hospitalized when a roof section collapsed during a predawn blaze
A driver struck gas lines at the Eastern Carolina Veterinary Medical Center, leading to an explosion as Wilmington firefighters searched for occupants
State and Buffalo Fire Department reports cite accountability lapses, interior ops failures, an untrained acting officer and delays in defensive ops in death of Firefighter Jason Arno
We must create an environment that preserves the incident commander’s cognitive bandwidth
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