Run!

Hey all I have a question! Do you think it's safe to run on the fire ground? The reason I asked is because I've seen and even read about a few injuries occurring.. If we're training as if it's a real call then why are we starting up bad habits "from what I was told and learned, we dont run on the fire ground" yeah we move with hast!! But running is not safe.. So what are y'all thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Moose on August 17, 2012 at 9:35am

Id be just as pissed if my dumbass pump operator tripped while running and hurt himself and I ran out of water because there was no one else to run the pumps for a few minutes. It can go both ways here. I have always finished my work on the scene without running and have finished it quickly enough.

Im just thinking of safety.

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Permalink Reply by Moose on August 17, 2012 at 9:42am

No one hates you Jack, your just the devils advocate and love to argue whatever point is being made. Personally, I think it keeps us on our toes by reading what you have to say on every point. Its your opinion and you are allowed, just like me saying running is dangerous is my personal opinion and I am not forcing it down anyones throats. BUT, if I am on a scene and I see someone running for whatever the reason, and they fall flat on their faces...first I will check to see if they are OK...but then you better have thick skin cause I am going to heckle them to no ends. :)

I have run, yes, back when I was an adrenaline crazed rookie that just had to make every call and see everything going on. I have seen others run, some successfully, and some end up in the back of the bus with splints and ice packs...

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Permalink Reply by Moose on August 17, 2012 at 11:50am

Have you seen most volunteers lately?? (And by the way, I dont eat cheeseburgers any more, they are bad for you, I eat pizza now.)

I am heavy, yes, and I do excercise a lot lately, and I used to play baseball in Highschool and weighed only 195 pounds (now I am....much heavier) But I honestly do not see where weight or food preference weighs in here. Running on the fireground (weather you are fit or not) at 2 AM with heavy smoke banking across the yards and a spaghetti mess of hose lying all over, EMS with their cots and bags, chiefs walking around, debris, and add in weather like snow, ice, even just rain on a newly coated blacktop driveway can be slippery. I just feel its a needless danger to us. As firefighters we take training classes and the one major area we hammer home to all trainees is safety...so why then do we go and say something like "running wont cause you to die..." when it could possibly hurt you bad. I understand; venting a roof is dangerous yes and we still do it; we have to do it in order to put the fire out...Do we HAVE to run??? If someones life is in danger than yes I will sprint to warn them or help them, but going from the engine to the front door to stretch the initial attack line...is it necessary? You should be looking at the building, doing a sizeup and finding egress points you can use, where the fire is and how much...you shouldnt be running into the situation.

Thats my point, and everyone is making good points, but this is just another one of those "No one is right and no one is wrong" debates that we have all too often on the nation, which keeps us thinking.

Stay Safe.

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Permalink Reply by Ron King (Fire Chief) on August 17, 2012 at 8:36pm

Running is not safe. But I still do it.

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Permalink Reply by capcityff on August 18, 2012 at 8:31am

I wouldn't say it's hammered into everyone not to run though. In probie school out here we were taught to run and punished if we did not. If another company steals your fire then you don't look so good. When companies out here are as little as 5-6 blocks apart, a few seconds matter.

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Permalink Reply by capcityff on August 18, 2012 at 8:35am

That's not true at all. Running does not make you a rookie. I'm not saying walking makes you one either but to blatantly say that anyone who runs is a rookie or young buck is wrong.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on August 18, 2012 at 12:39pm

Use the search function, please. This toopic has previously been discussed ad nauseum.

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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on August 18, 2012 at 5:16pm

Hey Gregory

No, you didn't come off as negative to me. I suppose it depends on your definition of "young buck". I'm 41 with only 7 years under my belt. Started late, yes, but still started.

Really, it's fine that your department operates that way in regards to failing someone for running during training. But that's not the case in many others. And don't get me wrong, yes, I run on scene and will continue to do so if I feel it is necessary and safe to do so, as I had posted earlier. Seems to be that folks only read half of what we say, or get offended about one point and lose focus on the rest of the post.

No, I wont run in the scenario you painted, and nobody should. That's just silly and unsafe. And I'm not sprinting over the whole scene. You will only see that in a cartoon. I will jog when I feel it's safe to do so. I will run when I think it's safe to do so. I will walk, crawl, hop, skip and jump when I feel it may be necessary and at the same time, safe to do so.

Like I said, I only have 7 years in. And that's on a volly dept., so we don't see near as much calls as the busier departments. But I have been to quite a few calls, and I haven't personally seen any injuries due to running or jogging on scene. I suppose the more calls you have would make the chances of injury higher, and therefor policies might be written so as to reduce or eliminate running or jogging. I can see that. But as we are not all programmed the same, some will feel it's ok to elevate the pace some, and others won't.

Just as an added note, I was not disciplined for jogging/running while at the fire academy, or during trainings.

Take care and play safe.