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putting air mask on while on the truck
I want to know how many people put their air mask on before you get off the truck. Because at my station we wait until we are at the front door about to enter the fire.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on
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If you steal another company's line/nozzle, that shows your company made at least two critical mistakes.
1) You were not ready with your own line
2) Your entire company was freelancing - not taking care of your assignment.
That should be grounds for shame and disciplinary action, not pride.
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Absolutely correct.
There's another problem with masking up then not immediately going on air. This makes you re-breathe your own exhaled carbon dioxide. That makes the firefighters that do it prone to premature lactic acidosis and can degrade strength and stamina.
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Correct again, John.
Then there are the problems that come from intentionally limiting your peripheral vision before it's necessary by the early masking up.
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Good points.
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Permalink Reply by capcityff on
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Mark this day in the history books! Ben Waller and capcityff agreed on something! : )
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Permalink Reply by Robert Owens on
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I put my mask on in the rig....I never did until I got hired on my current career department.
Our brang of SCBA have the MMR with a slide that allows us to operate with the mask on while breathing ambient air. When tank air is needed we simply click in and we are on air. Putting the mask on in the rig IMO is faster, and ensures that I will not breath any of the bad stuff.
it is not for everyone but It works awesome for me, have never had any issues with it and will never go back to operating different. Seen alot of guys miss out on some good fires while they were masking up in the yard while me and my crew just go right by them cause we are ready to work.
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I've never missed a fire because of the 10-15 seconds it takes to mask up at the door.(yes that's all it takes if you know how to do it with your gloves on)
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Permalink Reply by Don Catenacci on
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Robert,
When does your officer mask up? Certainly not while en route...If they do I don't want them leading me. I want my officer to have a clear field of vision when we arrive on scene to allow them to be able to make good tactical decisions based on what they see. Just as I want a clear field of vision myself as I approach the structure to allow myself a chance to see anything that may help me do my job.
Honestly, I am amazed at the number of people that believe stopping to don your mask at the point of entry is a huge detriment. If you are not capable of donning your mask, and putting your hood and helmet on in between 15 and 30 seconds then I recommend more practice because in reality it is as basic a skill as there is.
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Some officers mask up while enroute (Special Service companies and any other than the first due engine) and some mask up after or during the 360....
Please do not take this as being confrontational, but this is the only way I knoe how to say this. I have no problem seeing anything with my mask on cause it is clear. The anti fog stuff we have works awesome, and I have never had any issue seeing anything, or sizing up anything through my mask.
I say that it is a matter of training, just as you say you have trained to put your mask on with gloves on ( I practice this as well in case it is needed) I have trained to operate in my mask. I even do workouts in my mask in order to be comfortable...run two miles with your mask and 50lb weightvest and you will not have any problem working on the fireground with your mask.
I guess the biggest thing is why do there have to be absolutes, I like to maks up in the rig, so I do and it works for me. If it does not work for you thats fine, but if there is one thing I have learned in the 15 years I have been doing this job is that there are alot of ways to skin every cat and when you start getting into absolutes you shut your mind out to other ideas. Sure some things are absolutely wrong but thsi is not one of them.
@Capcity Thats good but I have personally taken the first line form many a firefighter while they were kneeling on the ground out front putting there maks on and my crew walked up masked up, the chief saw who was ready and we got put to work while those guys masking up got stuck on RIT.....it may not have ever happend to you but nothing saying it never will.
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I can guarantee it never will happen to me. First, why wouldn't you already have your own hose line? If you're on the engine, you wouldn't walk up to the house just hoping someone is masking up and you can take their line. Second, if you did take it, it would do you no good. You wouldn't have any water to put the fire out. Do you honestly think MY driver would give another company water instead of his own? Of course not. Third, it wouldn't happen because other companies mask up at the door too. That's the only way guys do it here. We don't run with other departments so it doesn't matter what the surrounding departments do. It's VERY VERY rare that another department runs with us. 9/11 was the last big one where that did happen which is a whole different story.
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Permalink Reply by 3us8225bsp2fp on
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Just as with most things there is no real right or wrong way. Each way has its benefits and its draw backs, it all depends on the situation and the way your department works.
And capcity my department is of course more rural than your city but in the last three years I know of only one fire where we went into defensive operations and did not go in.
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I guarantee you that if you masked up while on the rig on my career FD you would take such a ration of shit that you wouldn't believe it. It simply is not done here.
I believe I said in one of my first posts that I couldn't care less how you, or anyone else that dons there mask in the rig, does their job. BUT you will not convince those of us that run fires on a regular basis tht it is a better way to work. Hell Dude, I may not out my mask on until I reach the fire foor in a multi-story building, or until I advance a couple hundred feet through a big box store or warehouse. There is no need to have the face piece on in a clear, smoke free environment.
I can tell you with 100% certainty that you would NEVER, let me repeat that for you, NEVER, get the line I stretched away from me while I masked up. I kneel on it and so does the rest of the crew. Frankly, I think walking up to the fire scene without a task, without your own hoseline, or tools is pretty unprofessional. We get our initial assignment upon arrival and head up to the fireground with that mission in mind. If we are supposed to have a hoseline WE BRING OUR OWN, we don't look for one to steal from another crew.
Rit is not something we get STUCK with it is an integral assignment on the fireground. Our RIT takes many proactive steps. Things like throwing ladders for upper story egress, placing our RIT airpacks at different strategic locations so they are ready to go, forcing additional doors for egress of interior crews. We look at it as a VERY important part of the fire ground and RIT is something we train on alot.
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