Desensitized To PASS Alarms

Good morning, I guess I'm the new kid on the block. I was hoping to get some feed back regarding PASS alarms. In particular what seems to be an increasing safety concern on the fireground. How do you guys deal with the PASS during practice scenarios - most departments we've visited end up yelling "wiggle" each time a PASS goes off. The unfortunate thing about that is that the Alarm does not grab our attention the way it should in a real fire situation.

Could it be that we have become desensitized to the PASS alarm? If so how do we correct that?

I would appreciate your input. If you listen to the Charleston Sofa Factory fire audio tapes there are at least 52 times you hear a PASS in full alarm mode in the background of the transmission. Yet there is no indication of concern.... that in its self is a major concern.

Thanks in advance for your help with this.

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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on February 12, 2009 at 1:56pm

There have been plenty of ducumented cases where people have had PASS devices in alarm mode and been walked by. I think some has to do with tunnel vision. I think some has to do with the constant "wiggle syndrome" which we all experience. Through proper training (and repeated training) it should automatically trigger a red flag to cause an investigation of the source. The time it takes you to investigate may be the little time that saves a life. Good and important post.

This should also go hand in hand with ROAM (Rules Of Air Management) and Mayday training.

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Permalink Reply by Ed Brouwer on February 12, 2009 at 3:50pm

You bet it should go hand in hand with rules of air management and Mayday training. Sad to say what should be a no brainer is often overlooked. ROAM and Mayday have there own areas of being compromised.

I wonder how many firefighters actually understand that they shouldn't be using their low air alarm as a signal to leave IDLH enviroments? I wonder how RIT's record of saves would increase if they were given a larger window for rescue if firefighters would monitor their air and exit the hostile enviroments prior to the activation of the low air alarm. I think our mind set has to change - sometimes - when we least expect it we the rescuers become the victim. Perhaps as a friend of mine put it, we should see the first 20 minutes of air as our own and the last 7-10 as belonging to our loved ones, or our brothers and sisters in the fire service that will have to put their lives at risk to rescue us.....

Thanks for the reply - Ed (Preacher)

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Permalink Reply by Oldman on February 12, 2009 at 3:53pm

Ya see, even a "new kid on the block" can make one ponder. I have not really thought about it, but looking back on recent training, it does appear that way. We even had a recent dumpster fire where once it was finally extinguished, one guy took his pack off and put it in the cab but forgot to turn it off. It could be heard 200 ft away, and nobody really paid much attention. I was pumping the truck and finally shut it off, but I never really thought much about it as I knew where everybody was, but maybe that is the wrong attitude to have as well.

As far as the Charleston fire, I remember PASS devices going off although I didn't count the number of times. I would have to go back and listen again to figure out where these individuals were, inside or outside.

How do we correct it? I wish I had an answer. My cadets are taught to never let the PASS sound while they are standing around waiting to participate or they do push ups. Somehow that gets lost after the school is over with.

But I wonder if it is desensitization or complacency.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on February 12, 2009 at 3:54pm

If we are training and your PASS goes off...we don't say "wiggle"....You will get your ass chewed...and rightfully so...We try and train as we fight...so everything is as real as we can make it...if an alarm goes off it means someone is in trouble and that's how we view it....You can thank the Chief for this one and I agree....it's not something to take lightly.....Paul

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Permalink Reply by Tiger Schmittendorf on February 12, 2009 at 3:58pm

I give it about 5 seconds to correct itself whenever I hear a PASS alarm activation and then I yell "Man Down" in a loud and annoying way to get everyone's attention.

This normally has almost immediate results in correcting the chronic PASS abusers and those who have tuned it out like a car alarm on a hot summer night.

Stay safe. Train often.

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Permalink Reply by Smoke Eater on February 12, 2009 at 4:12pm

Very good question. Unfortunately alot of us do tune it out (myself included). I think alot of the training scenario is the fact that it is training and we tend to forget that there are still alot of deaths that happen during training. I like the idea of yelling man down after 5 seconds. That would be a great habit to get into. These devices are for our safety and if we don't use them properly then we will have serious consequences.
Stay safe out there!!!

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Permalink Reply by Ed Brouwer on February 12, 2009 at 4:21pm

Thanks for your reply... I have this nightmare where I'm a downed firefighter and my PASS does what it is suppossed to do, only to hear my IC shouting, "wiggle".

Push-ups may work - it's too bad there wasn't a "Practice" mode tone on the PASS.
Hey Oldman (No disrespect intended) rather than listen to it over again (that can give you nightmares) download the PDF transcript. You can read the comments in the side bar.... pretty enlightening.

Thanks again.... Ed (Preacher)
"What man is a man that doesn't change for the better the world he lives in"

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Permalink Reply by Ed Brouwer on February 12, 2009 at 4:25pm

Good points for sure - sounds like you have a pro-active Chief. You are right I'd rather have the members mad at me in practice than have their ghost haunt me for the rest of my life.

Thanks - Tip of the hat to your chief.

Preacher

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Permalink Reply by John on February 12, 2009 at 4:27pm

Very true, although at our trainings we are usuall not on air and hence we do not hear our PASS go off that much, and fortunatly we have not had any big fires(knock on wood) that we have had guys where thier PASS went off.

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Permalink Reply by Ed Brouwer on February 12, 2009 at 4:30pm

Gotta admit I've thought about doing that - but chickened out. Good idea it may work until that too just becomes white noise in the background. Do you remember when car alarms first came out.... people would stop and look around - they get up out of their seats at a resturant and look out the window.... now they don't even slow down.

The older I get the less answers I have, but like "Oldman" I just get better questions.
Thanks Preacher

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Permalink Reply by Ed Brouwer on February 12, 2009 at 4:46pm

You bet Capt.

Have you heard the term "Recognition-Primed Decision-Making" (RPD)?

People compare their situation with pictures in their memory bank. These pictures come from their past experiences. When a match is found, they choose what worked in a similar situation in the past and use that experience to drive their strategy and tactics for the present situation.

This is a very rapid decision-making process. The first option chosen and followed is also most likely the only option considered. RPD is effective most of the time but not all of the time. This memory bank of pictures and actions we have to choose from has been developed over years of experience and training. It has been referred to as a "photographic slide tray." These pictures have audio inputs.

Using this analogy as we talk about not responding to PASS alarms properly during our practice scenarios may account for the "tuned out" responses on the fire ground. We in fact may be missing some slides. Very important slides.

Thanks for your input.... you have all helped - I may call on some of you to help me put a safety article together for the Firefighting magizine I write for. I'd appreciate your help, thanks again.
Preacher