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NATHAN POCOCK
CHERPIN
By Laura Aiken
We made it. The year 2020, and all its unprecedented upheaval and misery, silver linings and sacrifices, has ended. Our New Year is off to an encouraging start with the continued roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine has brought hope, however uncertain the timelines to fully exiting this pandemic may be.
Life is still unusual, a new normal with some aspects we may want to keep and others we can’t wait to shake. Acute anxiety is still a concern for many. Mindset, purpose and patience will continue to be bedrocks on which to lay a pandemic weary soul. If you are into making New Year’s resolutions, this seems to be an especially poignant year to consider how you will carry forth with the renewed sense of purpose, health and wellness that accompany this annual goal-setting tradition. Annual affirmation has held a special place in the human consciousness for several millennia.
New Year’s resolutions have a long history of renewing humanity’s commitment to improvement. The ancient Babylonians practiced annual renewal through the 12-day festival of Akitu more than 4,000 years ago. The Babylonians coincided their vows of loyalty to the new or sitting King with the spring harvest in March rather than January,
marking the beginning of the agrarian year. Special rituals were carried out to keep them in good standing with their gods. The early Romans also initially rang in their New Year in March with the swearing in of new city magistrates, but around 300 B.C. the celebration date moved to Jan. 1, though there is debate that it was instead Julius Caesar who said Jan. 1 would be the start of a new year in 46 B.C. The move to January was thought to avoid what had become a prime-time for the battlefield in the spring. New Year’s thus became associated with the
Annual affirmation has held a special place in the human consciousness for several millennia.
god Janus (January), who was god of home and hearth. Romans took oaths and temple sacrifices and brought gifts to loved ones to honour the New Year.
The desire to start anew — to renew — is anything but new. There is a long and storied past that traces through Western civilization. It’s unclear when the basis for the annual tradition of renewal became secular instead of religious, but its impact on society remains large. YouGov reported that nearly three in 10 Canadians planned to make New Year’s resolutions in 2020. Exercise, saving money, losing weight and eating healthier remain perennial favourites. Reducing
stress followed as number five on the list, but efforts to address the preceding four aspects of life as resolutions certainly address stress. There is a caveat to this broad sweep of life’s general aspects in that in that it is desirable to make concrete, measurable goals. One step at a time, or as Fire Chief Arjuna George brought to our attention in a Between Alarms column last year: one per cent better every day. That is a worthy goal in itself.
Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or not, I hope you find the information in this edition’s pages of Canadian Firefighter inspire you to take care and be well, to renew for 2021, because 2020 had its share of being downright exhuasting. Onwards and upwards for the betterment of us all. Happy New Year!
January 2021 Vol. 44, No. 1 cdnfirefighter.com
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www.firehall.com
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) expanded its Resilient Minds program from British Columbia and Prince Edward Island into the Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. This program brings formal psychoeducation to firehalls to mitigate occupational stress and trauma responses while building healthier teams.
Thunder Bay, Ont., firefighter Stephanie Drost earned a position on the Canadian bobsleigh team and is preparing for the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Drost has been a career firefighter with Thunder Bay Fire Rescue for more than four years. She said fire fighting training has greatly helped her with her bobsleigh success. “They both took a lot of grit and determination to complete. Fire fighting helped me develop the mental toughness needed to be successful in bobsleigh because it’s a sport that requires a lot of mental toughness as well as physical strength.”
Ed Kennedy, former president of the Toronto Professional Fire Fighters’ Association (TPFFA), passed away on Sept. 3 at the age of 61. Kennedy, a third-generation firefighter, began his career in 1981 with the Scarborough department. He was elected an executive officer with SPFFA in 1988, becoming vice president in 1995. In 2002, he was appointed vice president of the TPFFA, a position he held for eight years before becoming president in May 2010, where he served for over four years.
The CMHA/ UBC December suicide report found that
10% of Canadians are experiencing suicidal thoughts during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic; an increase of six per cent since spring 2020.
In 2016, the Journal of Community Safety and Well-Being estimated
70,000 Canadian firefighters, police officers and paramedics suffered from PTSD and other mental health issues.
Firewell recently published a study analyzing online resources about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for firefighters. Using Google, researchers Shannon Killip, Joy MacDermid, Amber Fletcher, Nicholas Carleton and Natalie Kwong, examined the quality, readability, completeness and accuracy of 75 websites offering PTSD information. The study, The Quality, Readability, Completeness and Accuracy of PTSD Websites for Firefighters, focused on the search terms firefighter PTSD, firefighter operational stress, PTSD symptoms and PTSD treatment to mimic what a firefighter looking for resources online may look for. The study did not include or evaluate social media or firefighter association websites. Researchers found that while
online PTSD resources exist for firefighters, the information is challenging to read and lacks evidence-based treatment recommendations.
“Because of the wide span of health literacy in Canada, some firefighters may have difficulty understanding a lot of the content,” Killip said. “We also found that some of the suggested treatments weren’t based on evidence or had inconclusive support to confirm whether the treatment was effective.”
From their findings, she said firefighters should exercise caution when seeking PTSD information online, as much of the available content and resources found online are not actually based on the best research. To learn more and to read the full study, visit firewell.ca.
Find the latest fire-related news, stories, blogs and analysis from across Canada, and access to our forum . . . cdnfirefighter.com
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How do we heal hurts of the heart and soul?
By Dr. Manuela Joannou
As a physician who has worked in many settings ranging from large city teaching hospitals to rural and remote emergency departments over the last few decades, I have nothing but respect for our first responders. I can speak for my medical colleagues when I say that we regard our police officers, paramedics and firefighters, whose paths we cross in the emergency department, as colleagues and comrades.
I have had many firefighters as patients, and it is a privilege to have had them share with me some of the salient issues that challenge their working lives and minds. In our work with Project Trauma Support, our medical team has gained insight into the types of situations that can cause significant psychological and moral distress for firefighters working in various settings.
Years ago, working in a rural setting where many of our community members had stepped up to work on our volunteer fire fighting service, I started sensing that many of these brave and selfless men and women were feeling the impact of some of the calls that they had attended. They had performed impeccably, following the protocols they had so carefully learned, yet they were left with sadness and stress. They often felt grief from tragic, untimely loss of life. In a small, close knit community, those lives lost often belonged to their neighbors or friends, or the loved ones of people known to them. Sometimes, tragically, it was the loss of a colleague. Often a difficult call would leave them second guessing their performance and questioning whether they could have done more. They might have done or said things they wished they hadn’t, or maybe did not do things they wish they had. Or, maybe, they hadn’t done them soon enough. Or, maybe, in following the prescribed protocols or orders given at a scene, they felt that they contributed to sealing an unfortunate fate of one or more individuals. It is always worse
if they had to bear witness to this fate.
After we had a few tragic occurrences in our community, I could see that there was a significant heaviness in the hearts of our firefighters. I offered to go to speak at one of their training meetings one night. We reviewed airway management, but my real agenda was to see how they were doing emotionally and psychologically following these calls. We got on the topic of post traumatic stress and moral injury. We created a forum where the team felt it was safe to speak about their experiences and the true impact it was having on them. I felt like I was bringing water to people who were parched in the desert. The meeting was only supposed to last for an hour. We were still at the station three hours later.
Working in the emergency services challenges one to do some deep soul searching and to develop a personal resilience philosophy. The nature of emergency
work is that the extra-ordinary will become the ordinary. Firefighters are the ones who must run into a fire when everyone else is running away. There is no doubt that learning protocols and best practices in fire fighting and in managing medical calls is crucial. When the chaos of a critical incident threatens to challenge the wits of those in attendance, training becomes the authority. However, it is rare to find emergency services where as much emphasis is placed on readying their members to withstand the human challenges of working in life and death situations.
The average citizen will face one or two critical incidents in a lifetime. The average emergency service worker will have hundreds over the course of a career. Each critical incident has the potential to cost some peace of mind, cause some loss of faith, or take a piece of the heart and soul of each person who attends the call. Unless the first responders are supported to effectively process each critical event, they run the risk of accumulating negative effects that could threaten the course of their career and affect many aspects of their life.
Unfortunately, there continues to be a significant
Moral injury means an injury to the heart and soul of a person. The symptoms are distinct from PTSD, and include guilt, shame and overwhelming sadness.
amount of stigma that prevents a first responder from putting their hand up stating they need some help dealing with the fallout of difficult calls. There seems to be the belief that if someone is not coping well with the physical, emotional and psychological demands of the job, they must somehow be weak or inadequate. The truth is, with the critical nature of the demands of emergency service, there would be something wrong with a person if they did not feel the impact of salient calls. This work challenges the very humanity of a person.
There is increasing awareness of moral injury as a significant contributor to operational stress injuries in addition to the better-known post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Moral injury is just now coming on the radar of mainstream psychiatry. Our work with Project Trauma Support focuses on moral injury, and we have learned much about the nature of this injury, its symptomatology and impact, and it has also allowed us to formulate and research an approach to addressing it.
Moral injury is an injury to the heart and soul of a person. It can be caused by witnessing things that feel just plain wrong, for example when bad things happen to good, unsuspecting people. These situations are a reminder that these things can happen to us or to our loved ones and there may be little we can do to prevent them. They challenge the notion that we can control our lives and keep our loved ones safe.
Moral injury can occur when a person is involved in a situation where they later question their performance. As previously mentioned, maybe they didn’t do something they wish they had, or they didn’t do it fast enough and there were dire consequences. Or maybe they did something they wish they hadn’t, and this then weighs heavily on their conscience. The symptoms of moral injury are very different from those of PTSD. They include guilt and shame, and overwhelming sadness.
Many individuals who attend our program also suffer from what is known as sanctuary trauma. Sanctuary trauma occurs when the people or institutions that one would expect would provide support in times of difficulty seem to instead tromp on a person and make everything worse. This can happen when colleagues stigmatize a person who requests help for psychological strain, when leaders seem to scapegoat an individual or unfairly target them, or when insurance companies deny assistance or cause grief. The symptoms of sanctuary trauma are anger, a sense of disillusionment, and a sense of injustice or betrayal. We regard sanctuary trauma as another type of moral injury.
Because moral injury is an injury to the very hu-
Each critical incident has the potential to cost some peace of mind, cause some loss of faith, or take a piece of the heart and soul of each person who attends the call.
manity of a person, it requires a novel treatment approach. We have found that group therapy with an experiential component works well. We have also found that medication does not help with moral injury. Many people have come to our program on multiple psychiatric medications, and they do not touch the site of the injury.
Throughout human history, tribes, civilizations and communities have come together to share the burdens, trials and tribulations of the human experience. Ceremonies, rituals, traditions, celebrations and storytelling have been used to try to make sense of unexpected and sometimes terrifying happenings that sometimes make no sense. It is our inheritance as human beings coming into the world that there will be hardship and struggle. What helps to mitigate this is the fact that we are hardwired for connection.
It has become apparent to me that there are three levels of connection, and if these are hampered, each can lead to its own unique stigma.
The first level of connection is connection to oneself and one’s own story. How much self compassion do you possess? How do you tell yourself the story of the difficulties you’ve had? Are you stigmatizing yourself by beating yourself up when you are feeling the natural consequences of a difficult, traumatic call? Are you telling yourself that you should have known better, done better, or been braver or more resilient? Are you questioning whether you are really cut out for this work? Are you feeling inadequate and do you worry that it is just a matter of time before others see your shortfalls? Or are you able to realize that you are human after all? In fact, it does not matter how brave, well intentioned, well trained or
experienced a person is, they can be just one call away from a significant moral or psychological injury. Help is available, and you owe it to yourself, your family and your career to reach out for help when the going gets rough.
The second level of connection is with others. How are you as colleagues, leaders and management responding to the psychological needs of your members? Are you addressing those facing difficulties with compassion and understanding and providing the help they need and deserve? Or are you punishing them by making them feel like they are weak, not pulling their weight, or causing inconvenience to their colleagues and their service? In spite of the recent attempts to lessen stigma of those facing mental health challenges, there is still much room for improvement. This type of stigma coming from the individuals and institutions who should be providing necessary support is a very real deterrent to asking for help. Effective help is possible, and the sooner it can be accessed, the better the outcome and greater chance that a member will be able to successfully remain at work and be able to enjoy a long and rewarding career and life.
The third level of connection that is apparent to me, is a connection to some greater calling. How do you come to find meaning and purpose in serving your community and your fellow firefighters? When you think of your last bad call, why was it that it was you who was there? What did you uniquely bring to the situation? Was there something that you could offer that no one else could? Or was there something you needed to learn? Was this call bringing you face to face with the fact that you could benefit from doing some soul searching to find some more perspectives that could allow
you to make peace with this challenging occurrence?
The stigma that comes from lack of connection to a higher purpose is demoralization, loss of faith in humanity, feelings of futility, and lack of motivation. Pushing forward with these feelings causes exhaustion, joylessness, burnout and even depression.
How do we address moral injury? By the true time-tested power of connection. By being in the presence of others that can validate our experience and acknowledge the difficulties inherent in our careers, hear our confessions and commiserate with our pain. That is why the group experience is so important. Ironically, when it comes to guilt and shame, which provide some of the greatest burdens of moral injury, there is one undeniable difference between the two. One can feel guilty quite easily sitting all alone, but to feel shame, you need the presence of other people whose judgment you feel reflected onto you. We cannot heal from moral injury alone.
Sadly, unrealistic expectations that emergency service workers must act as superhuman heroes in society has led to harsh judgement, sometimes unnecessarily harsh punitive measures and much destructive stigma. These are myths that need to be dispelled. The truth is that our heroes are human, they can get injured in human ways, and they can heal with attention to their humanity. We have seen many instances where the proper support can allow a person to bounce back higher and stronger than ever.
By Mark van der Feyst
In every residential structure you are going to find entanglement hazards of every type. These include curtains, curtain rods, curtain rod strings, window shades/strings, window blinds/strings, suspended ceilings, electrical wires, television cable, internet wires, HVAC ductwork, dryer vent hose and electrical cords. No matter what kind or type of entanglement hazard it is, it is a hazard and a deadly one at that. How many wires does it take to entangle a firefighter? It only takes one! (see Photo 1). Only one wire is needed to entangle a firefighter to the point of death. With such a low number needed to create disaster, it is vitally important that firefighters train to deal with entanglements.
There are four possible techniques that can be used for self-rescue from an entanglement:
1. The Swim technique
2. Partial removal of SCBA
3. Complete removal of SCBA
4. Wire cutters
The Swim technique: This method of removing wires or entanglement hazards from off the firefighter’s body employs two types of “strokes”, the front stroke and the back stroke. Just like with swimming in the water, the front and back stroke are used to remove the obstruction. The front stroke is where one arm of the firefighter is slid up along their body to pick up or capture the entanglement and then push it forward in front of them. For the back stroke, it is the opposite. The one arm is extended out in front of the firefighter so that they can capture the entanglement and lift it up and over their body as they move forward. See Photo 2 for an illustration.
No matter what kind or type of entanglement hazard it is, it is a hazard and a deadly one at that
Mark van der Feyst has been in the fire service since 1999 and is currently a firefighter with the FGFD. Mark is an international instructor and he can be contacted at Mark@FireStarTraining.com.
Number of possible techniques that can be used for self-rescue from an entanglement.
The one trick to capturing the entanglement hazard is to put tension on the object, such as a wire, to be able to feel the wire. Once the wire is tensioned, the firefighter will have an easier time to grab it and remove it. The one thing that the firefighter does not want to do is to fight the entanglement by trying to force their way out. The firefighter will quickly fatigue
themselves to the point of exhaustion. This is when the firefighter will start to give up.
SCBA removal: In this technique, there are two options to exercise or choose from, partial or complete removal. This may be required by the firefighter due to the cause of the entanglement or the fact that the firefighter cannot use the Swim
technique to free themselves. Taking the SCBA off the back of the firefighter is a risky option because now the firefighter can lose control of the SCBA and no longer have that piece of PPE. Keeping the SCBA on is the safest and lowest risk to be taken for the firefighter. When it comes time to remove the SCBA, there are a few key points to keep in mind. Make sure to fully extend all the straps before removing the SCBA. This will allow the firefighter to easily put the SCBA back on as opposed to the straps being retracted and making the donning portion much more difficult to perform. The other key point is to always, always maintain a firm grip on the regulator side of the shoulder strap. This is the firefighter’s lifeline and it they lose this firm grip they will lose the SCBA and the ability to breathe.
A partial removal of the SCBA only requires one shoulder strap to be removed while keeping the other shoulder strap on. This allows the firefighter to position the SCBA to the one side of the firefighter making them a little more streamlined and concealed. The waist strap can be left on the entire time as the SCBA will rotate around the waist easily as long as the strap is fully extended.
For the complete removal of the SCBA, both shoulder straps are coming off the firefighter along with the waist strap. This is where the firefighter has to maintain a firm grip on the regulator shoulder strap of the SCBA. The SCBA will then be pushed in front of the firefighter as they make
their way through the entanglement or away from it. Make sure to push the cylinder vale end first as it will provide for more length of low-pressure regulator hose to the face piece. If the top of the cylinder is pushed ahead first, the length of the low-pressure hose will be shortened and will most certainly tug on the firefighter’s mask.
cutters: The last option to look at is to use a pair of wire cutters. This will allow a firefighter to cut their way free from the entanglement. The bigger the wire cutter the better it will be for the firefighter. The firefighter needs to verify what they are cutting before they cut, because it is very easy to grab the low-pressure hose and cut it with a pair of structural fire gloves on. As mentioned in the previous sections, put tension on the entanglement so that you know what to cut. Once confirmed, grab it with your hand, put the wire cutter around the object and cut. Once cut, there should be no more entanglement.
Always keep your wire cutters in a place that can be retrieved easily with a gloved hand. Some firefighters will have two pairs of wire cutters in their gear kept in two various spots for easy access. Make sure to lubricate the cutters every so often to keep them well maintained. Wire cutters do rust and will seize up if not looked after.
The best way to become familiar with all three options is to practice them and vet each one. This will help the firefighter to know which method is best suited for them.
By Jason Clark
When you think of the branches within fire departments, you usually think of your suppression division, public education and inspections, training division and, if the organization is large enough to support one, apparatus maintenance. You don’t often find a beach rescue division within the fire service, but for several weekends this summer, I found myself working alongside the men and women of our beach rescue team who fall within our fire service organizational structure.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our municipality stationed a team of firefighters on the beaches of Port Stanley, Ont., every weekend during the summer to assist with safety education. Other beaches in the province were forced to shut down as proper distancing could not be maintained We wanted to avoid this fate.
Rest assured, I was not pulling a David Hasselhoff impression and throwing the signature red lifeguard rescue buoy over my shoulder. Our role as firefighters assigned to the beach was to educate patrons on staying in their family or social bubble, maintaining their group numbers to less than 10 people and assisting with anything major that arose while we were on duty.
The town of Port Stanley usually has a population of 2,200 people. However, during a long weekend, it is not unheard of to see an influx of
Jason Clark has been a volunteer firefighter in southwestern Ontario since 2007. Having made the transition from firefighter to captain, Jason has a new perspective on roles in the fire service and riding in the front seat. Contact Jason at jaceclark71@gmail.com or @jacejclark.
5,000 to 10,000 beachgoers looking for some relaxing time on our blue flag status beach. I was impressed after getting an up-close, behind-the-scenes look at what this crew actually does in an eight-hour day.
After checking in at the beach office, we headed to the main tower to park the Rescue vehicle and meet the beach supervisor. After touching base on what would they need from us and operational functions, I then switched my radio over to their assigned channel. It wasn’t more than 20 minutes into our beach patrol that we heard the central tower call one of the four district towers to keep an eye on a pair of swimmers who looked to be in trouble. The lifeguards on that
tower called back to the central supervisor and informed them they were aware and had eyes on those swimmers.
I wanted to get a closer look so we made our way to see if we could observe what was going on. With one simple command of ‘Tower 2 go’ from the central tower, the next several events looked like what I could describe as a lifeguard version of a response. Within seconds, two lifeguards had dismounted their tower and sprinted into the water going after a swimmer in distress, several other guards immediately showed up to provide support and staffing in case the second swimmer got into trouble.
As the lifeguards brought the
young swimmer to the beach safely, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. As quickly as the guards arrived, they radioed back to the central tower that the situation was under control and ran back to their original assignments to relieved the crew who had ‘bumped-up’ to support them during the rescue.
Keep in mind these are college and university students. The average age group of the beach rescue was 19 to 25 years old. My summer jobs in college involved working on an auto assembly line or working in a warehouse. Both important jobs, but I wasn’t exactly saving lives of total strangers like these young men and women were.
Over the course of my shifts on the beach, I got to witness the lifeguards enter the water several more times with successful outcomes bringing swimmers to shore. Lake Erie can be a beautiful lake, but it has been known to have strong waves on the north shore. I was extremely proud to work with that group over the course of the summer and, on a personal side, my family often visited that beach—my five-year-old loves the water. Knowing that this crew had such a vigilant and attention to detail approach to their positions as lifeguards, I honestly felt that my children’s safety was in great hands. It was certainly a pleasure to work with such a dedicated and professional staff and to see a behind-the-scenes look at the pressures and the skill of our beach rescue team.
By Arjuna George
There is no better time than between alarms to improve yourself and those around you. This month’s column focuses on leadership with a twist. As I write this, my new puppy Murphy, turns one.
Over the past year I have reflected on raising a puppy and how it relates to working in teams, coaching and leading firefighters. Please join me on this journey of raising a puppy and how the many skills cross over into the fire service.
Starting on day one —with a new dog or a new firefighter— one must be ready to put in the time to coach, train and help them reach their maximum potential. Our role as a leader or a mentor is just that: to make others around us better. We must be ready and committed to show others the behaviours expected. This can take time, patience and continued practice. Reinforcing our expectations sometimes requires redirection. Positive reinforcement is more effective than discipline and aggression.
When coaching your fellow firefighters, keep it positive but always honest and constructive. Remember, our aim is to make them better! There is a time and a place for discipline (a very much needed part of growth) but ensure you are doing it with tact and being respectful while providing clear direction for improvement. Your job is to stay emotionally composed and help adjust behaviours. Praise them for good work at every oppor-
tunity. Be specific and be timely. This will help build their confidence and reaffirm their progress.
The ultimate motivation killer comes from those that feel they must micromanage. Micromanaging easily takes away enthusiasm, makes the individual feel inferior and halts growth and development. Give your trainee space. Provide the tools and resources to allow them to make decisions, make mistakes and learn from them. Provide clear direction, but leave them free to work their magic. When mistakes happen—and they inevitably will— provide support, encouragement and help them correct their performance.
Body language is the most important and influential nonverbal communication tool you have. Create a positive experience by maintaining an open, approachable and engaged composure. Also use consistent verbal language. If one week we call a fire ground tactic or tool by one term and
then next time we mention it, we use a completely different one, this is extremely confusing for anyone.
Anyone who has raised a puppy knows that repetition and small nugget-sized learning opportunities are the secret formula to success. Sounds awfully familiar to training a firefighter, doesn’t it? Our core fundamental competences are all based on small skills, built on one another and repeated until we reach mastery. When you are instructing or coaching, consider breaking it down into little bite-size pieces and see how proficiencies dramatically improve. Once skills become proficient, ensure continual growth by applying new challenges. No one wants to be bored with the same old thing. Challenge your trainees daily. Fire fighting is serious business. We put our lives on the line every day, but we are also human and like to work in an environment that is fun, exciting and safe. Of course, there
is a time to be serious but we must also build a culture of play. This can be a simple kitchen table chat, team sports for health and fitness, or going for hikes as a crew. These elements bring a deeper sense of team and joy to your life which spills over into your job.
The mental and physical well-being of our team falls on each and everyone of us. We must be healthy in body, mind and spirit to be able to help others and be our best self. One thing that really impresses me, is how most animals, including dogs, live in the moment and do not hang on to stress like humans. Even if you are not a dog person, petting a dog helps you calm down. There is a reason why therapy dogs are in such demand and are so effective in supporting people suffering from traumatic stress injuries. They love unconditionally, relieve stress, are always happy and always have your back.
The last point is one of the most important factors to note: food motivates. When food is offered at fire training nights, or when you sit down for a crew meal, a bond is built, barriers are removed and connection is supported. If you are ever faced with a difficult conversation scenario, ensure there is a snack, some light food to help set the stage for a more civil discussion. This helps in a psychological way that often helps defuse the tension slightly.
Next time you are between alarms, consider the leadership lessons learnt from those we lead.
By Sherry Dean
Sherry Dean is a career firefighter/engineer with Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency Service. She has more than 20 years of experience in fitness and training. Contact Sherry at deansherry@bellaliant.net.
Mixing or meshing various types of fitness regimes and approaches can be very beneficial to overall health and wellness. Rules are made to be broken ‘if’ it makes good sense. There are direct benefits in change, but there should also be some consideration for overall progress. Knowing what to choose from and how to mesh everything can be a bit confusing. These are some general guidelines to consider.
Bodies are incredibly smart and inherently efficient. Our bodies will adapt to familiar movements and attempt to find ways to be more economical. Energy output will attempt to conserve unless there is conscious effort put into maintaining work load. Changing things up in your workout forces your body to work harder. It’s like playing a sport for the first time in a season or coming back to work out after injury. Your body is sore. You find body parts you forgot you had. Over the next while you get less sore as your body gets used to the work load. You are getting more fit and more efficient in your movements. Although that is a good thing, progress is made when we are pushing ourselves further rather than simply coasting along.
Having a balance is good for everyone, but it is especially true for firefighters. We all know someone who lifts weights and is a monster as far as muscularity and overall strength, but their cardiovascular ability is not great. The inverse is also true, someone who can run like the wind but lacks good overall strength. Firefighting requires a balance of both strength and cardio. Injury prevention requires us to have good mobility.
With good balance in mind, your overall goals should dictate how you move through various disciplines. Strength, cardio and mobility should all be present in some capacity for a good overall fitness approach.
• Good cardio, poor strength: You are active playing a sport two or three times per week and your cardio is already very good. Focus your workouts on strength training adding some yoga or mobility once a week.
• Good strength, poor cardio: You have good strength because you work doing physical labour, but your cardio is not great. HIIT training or a focused cardio regime with yoga or mobility once a week will provide better balance.
• Good cardio, good strength, poor mobility: Mobility is one of the areas a lot of people don’t focus on. It often happens mobility is the first thing we drop when we are crunched for time. No warm up, no cool down and touching your toes is a memory of the past. Two or three days of yoga or mobility and adding five minutes of warm up/ cool down time to each workout will improve your fitness. Yoga is an excellent workout and there are multiple disciplines in this field for you to choose from.
The thing to remember is that all three aspects of fitness are present in each of these examples. Your job, your sport for fun and your official work out time all work together to provide your current fitness level.
The time frame you use to centre any fitness approach can be short or long. If you are simply bored and need a change it’s okay to jump back and forth between disciplines. When jumping between disciplines don’t expect any specific area of fitness to improve (although it may very well) but do expect better overall health and fitness. Expecting to make good gains takes a commitment of time. Six weeks to three months of targeted, specific workouts are needed to make significant gains in any of the strength, cardio or mobility areas. A better bench press, a quicker mile and even touching you toes again are all possible with the right training program.
The best possible reason for mixing up your training methods may be to simply
5 minute warm-up
• 10 Y, T, W shoulder movement – 5 lbs or no weight
• 10 inch worms
• 10 each leg walking lunge with right and left twist
• 10 swings each leg
• 10 face down scorpions Strength – chest and triceps
• 2 warm up sets bench
• 4 sets flat bench increasing weight (DB or Barbell) – Reps 12, 10, 8, 6
• 4 sets incline bench increasing weight (DB or Barbell, opposite of bench) – Reps 12, 10, 8, 6
• 4 sets flies – Reps 12 to 15
• 3 sets triceps push downs increasing weight –Reps 12, 10, 8
• 3 sets Lying triceps extension increasing weight – Reps 12, 10, 8
• 3 sets triceps kickbacks – Reps 12 to 15
Cardio — 12 to 15 minutes, treadmill, rower or bike
• 2 minute warm up
• 30 to 40 second sprint
• 20 to 30 second recovery speed
• Repeat each minute for 10 to 13 minutes
Cool Down — Mobility 7 to 10 mins
• High reach forward lean and slight inward twist each arm against a wall or doorway – 30 sec to 1 minute
• Left hand to right ear, right hand behind back pull head toward shoulder – 30 sec to 1 min repeat other side
• Arm overhead triceps stretch – 30 sec to 1 minute each arm
• Behind the back forearm/elbow hold – 30 sec to 1 min once only.
• Standing or lying figure 4 – 30 sec to 1 minute each leg
keep yourself interested and challenged. What works for one person may not work as well for another. We all have different genetics and lifestyles. But keep doing something. If you feel like its not working, change it up. You don’t lose out in the end. Stay fit, well and safe.
By Nathan Pocock
In many districts we find buildings in our first due with basements not fully underground. Not having the basement fully underground allows for builders to install windows for natural light in this space which can interpret to small windows with sill heights inside the basements anywhere from five to six feet and higher.
Likewise, these basement walls now sticking several feet up above grade on the outside means windows to our ground floor level of the house will be elevated a similar height up above grade. One thing I have always enjoyed about most RIT training and self-rescue training is that a lot of the skills are skills we can use in everyday fire fighting as well. I’ve never had to use these skills for my own self rescue from a basement, but I have used several of these techniques for smells and bells along with some first aid calls. The techniques were used to gain access through open windows rather than need to do any damage to the resident’s property. I was able to get in
quickly to then go around and unlock the front door from the inside to allow the rest of the crew in.
Before we can exit any basement window we must first clear the window of all glass and frame to increase the space for us to exit. Make sure to clear all glass to prevent injury and remove any sash to give you maximum space. If using for access and not egress, such as mentioned above for non fire calls, there is no need to break the window if the opening is large enough.
We will show several step-by-step methods for these techniques in this article.
The techniques were used to gain access through open windows rather than the need to do any damage to the resident’s property
One of the quickest and easiest techniques is the Halligan Step. Here we use the halligan to give us a step up out the window.
1. Use the forks of the halligan and strike hard down into the floor to chip and/or indent into the floor eight to 12 inches off the base of the wall. This indent will allow the forks to sit into this notch and not slide out from under you once you put weight onto the halligan.
2. Now that the forks are secured, lean the adz of the halligan against the wall, firmly allowing the pike and adz of the halligan to bit into the wall and helping prevent side-to-side movement. Make sure that the pike and adz are both resting against the wall. This makes the adz end most stable so that it does not roll along the wall.
3. Step onto the adz and push yourself up and out the window. If you are doing this for access, you can girth a piece of webbing or rope to the bar and bring
the loose end out of the window so you can retrieve your tool once on the other side. For self rescue purposes, there is no need for us to tie this retrieval rope/ webbing to the halligan tool as we can replace a tool if you need to get out.
For this technique we use a piece of cordage or webbing to get our needed step up for the exit from the structure. In the pictures below we are using a 12 foot length tied in a loop which I carry as part of my personal kit in my turnouts along with my 25 feet of webbing.
1. Take your cordage out and place it across the back of both your hands holding it out in a loop. Make sure the rope sits across the back of your hands to let that take the bulk of the weight
while your thumbs prevent the rope and/or webbing rolling back onto your forearms.
2. Place your foot into the rope having the rope sit on your toe back enough so as not to slip off while not allowing the rope to slip into the instep of your boot.
3. Place both your hands up onto the sill moving your hands further apart to bring your foot higher or together as needed to allow your foot to stay in the rope.
Remember you want to aim to keep your knee uncomfortably high, higher than where you could simply just place your foot up into the rope. It is important to pull your foot higher than the point you could just place it. Each inch counts in this drill.
4. In an explosive movement kick up on
the rope allowing your hands to take the weight on the back of your hands and transition out of the window.
If your rope or webbing is too long and you cannot spread your hands wide enough to bring your knee high enough, you can tie a knot into the line to shorten the loop, which you can then place your hands into and step up accordingly out the window.
Here we use a piece of webbing or cordage along with a pike pole. Students usually find this technique a fair bit easier that just plain cordage as discussed above as both your hands are still free to continue to pull up.
1. Measure out the length of webbing needed. Place both hands at the top of
the sill and pull up the rope until it gets to the top side of how high you can get your foot on the wall and then tie the knot to make the rope slightly shorter than that. Remember we want that knee uncomfortably high.
2. Make sure the rope is placed over the front of the hook. Do NOT put the rope over the hook from the back side or when you step onto the rope it will twist the head of the pole and rotate it off the sill. (See pictures in bottom left for both examples).
3. Grab the rope and pike pole together in one hand, place your foot into the loop and then push the pike pole up onto the sill, on an outside edge.
4. Once the pike pole is in place drive straight up in the rope making sure not to kick outwards as you go up. This technique will work with any length pike pole even a two foot one, it is the downward force of the hook pulling down into the windowsill that keeps it in place as you step up. If you kick outwards with your foot it will pull the pole off the sill.
In this technique, you use your 25 feet of webbing or any other webbing long enough along with another firefighter.
1. The first firefighter positions themselves one knee down one knee up at the wall under the windowsill. It is important that the knee up is the knee against the wall for two reasons.
One, this puts the knee in a more stable position so that it is not kicked out when the second firefighter pushes off to get up and out the window. Two, it gives the second firefighter the greatest height advantage out the window. Putting the outside knee up places it farther away from the wall, thus furthering the distance from the knee to the window.
As the second firefighter pushes up off the knee, the first firefighter can now start to stand and pivot around to assist lifting the second firefighter up and out the window
2. Once outside, the firefighter then deploys their webbing and lowers it through the window. The outside firefighter positions themselves in a seated position facing towards the window, knees bent, so that the firefighter on the lift can drive out with their legs to lift the inside firefighter.
3. The inside firefighter steps a foot into the webbing loop and grabs up onto the windowsill. Using the commands UP and DOWN the inside firefighter will instruct the outside firefighter to either raise up or lower down more webbing.
4. Once webbing is in place, the commands ‘Ready, Ready, GO’ will be used. On ‘GO’ the outside firefighter drives with the legs and pulls back with the arms bringing the inside firefighter up and out the window.
In all of these techniques, when you are pushing up out the window make sure to do it in a strong explosive movement. Always ensure to get your foot as high as possible when going to exit. You want it to be uncomfortably high to get your maximum height advantage when exiting.
As you exit the window, once you have the right height, it’s important to make sure you focus on staying low to the sill, pushing yourself out and not continuing to push yourself up into the top of the window. You want your body to keep contact with the bottom sill for the entire ride out. In larger basement windows you can make the exit with your SCBA still on. Keeping the SCBA on magnifies the importance of keeping low to the bottom sill. The bottle can contact the top sill and stop your momentum as you attempt to exit before you have your centre of gravity out the window.
If you have enough space to still
make it out with your SCBA on but are just barely making it, a lot of these techniques are truly a game of inches; wherever we can get some the easier this is. It is always good practice to loosen our SCBA shoulder straps. This will allow your SCBA to slide down your back possibly giving you the extra inch or inches need to get your centre of gravity out the window.
If the window is too small for you to get out with your pack on you will prepare your exit technique (ex. place halligan, tie webbing to right length) then remove your SCBA while keeping your face piece on and attached. Pass the SCBA up and out the window stem of the bottle first to allow the maximum amount of hose to still come back into the window and not pull off your face piece. Once your pack is out the window use your prepared exit technique and exit in the same fashion as you would with your SCBA on. It is important to have attempted to exit with your SCBA still on before taking it off to commit to this technique so that in your first attempt you can have a look to see how far down the ground is on the outside of the window making sure that your SCBA isn’t pulled from your face as it drops to the ground on the far side of the window.
Knowing your gear is imperative. Centre mounted chest lights seem like a good idea at the time, but once you do these techniques or have a mayday patient that you are removing out a window, centre mounted chest lights take away valuable space. Look to keep the chest light high and to one side so that shoulders can be easily rolled one way or the other to get them past the sill, or consider removing them before attempting the exit.
By Chad Roberts
Chad Roberts is a firefighter in Oakville, Ont. He is a member of the Oakville extrication team and competes and trains across North America. Contact Chad at chadroberts12@gmail.com.
In my 2019 two-part series on exposing vehicle weakness, I touched on ultra-high strength steels and some of the ways we can manipulate our way around them altogether. But, like anything in life, we can’t always avoid the hard road. Sometimes you just have to meet something head on. So, what is our plan when we deal with the newer model vehicles that are quickly becoming regulars on our accident scenes? Sooner or later we have to go through the wall and not always around it. Ultra-high strength steel is becoming more prevalent all over new vehicles and we can’t simply turn a blind eye or revert to plan B. While trying many different approaches I found some success, but never consistent enough to truly make a solid conclusion on what worked best. It was until I met up and trained with one of our industry experts, Jason Defosse from Code4 Fire & Rescue, who showed me a tried and proven method for moving, cutting and manipulating these super metals.
My past articles were about exposing a vehicle’s weaknesses. After meeting up with Defosse, my perspective changed from exposing weaknesses to creating them. Enter the method of “pre-loading”. What is this magical and wonderful addition to our current array of extrication knowledge? Let’s look at it from a fire service related example. Think about rope and its extreme level of strength. Every few years our rope rescue in -
dustry is coming out with new ways to make rope smaller, yet stronger and more efficient than previous options. The same theory lies true with the automotive industry and its constant advancement in new steel technology. Every year governing bodies are demanding more fuel efficiency and emission reduction from the manufacturers. While on the other hand the same bodies and consumers alike are demanding more safety. So where do these demands get met. Enter synthetic ultra high strength steel materials that deliver massive strength all the while becoming lighter
and more efficient, therefore reducing emissions.
So, how do we keep up? Let’s go back to the rope theory. When inspecting rope, we are always looking for every little deformity, abrasion or deficiency that will affect the overall collective strength of the rope. This same theory is what Defosse introduced me to with the theory of pre-loading high strength steels. Defosse has always taught that a great way to approach new age extrication is by creating inches, angles and egress instead of the large gaping holes we have done in the past. Pre-loading not only creates
these initial openings and spaces for our patients, but it also does something just as important when facing high strength steels. While vehicles of the past were cut by our cutters, newer vehicles of today and future are so strong they need to be compressed and fractured. By using our spreaders and rams we can create the pre-loading of these high strength steels which will ultimately enable our cutters to compress and fracture more efficiently and safely. To better explain these industry leading theories, let’s take a look at a couple great options in regards to pre loading.
Our first option is a technique that a lot of us already do but may not fully understand the advantages that it creates for us. By placing the spreader in the open window of the front or rear door and spreading the window open we are not only gaining a positive purchase point. We are also creating initial space and relief for our patients while providing a pre load to the steel located in the top of our B pillar and potentially the top of the A or C pillar depending on which window you are spreading. Now that this steel has been weakened by our spread, we can leave the spreader in place while we bring in our cutter to eliminate the weakened pillar attachment. From there we can move into a rear door pop with our original purchase point created for a quick side out. Or if we need to create more space for our patient we can use our spreader and ram in the cut at the top of the A pillar to perform a side out maneuver by driving the B pillar towards the ground and
away from our patients.
Another quick example of how this pre-loading can be beneficial for us on scene is by starting with our rams this time. After removing our front door fully and we are able to do a quick assessment of our patient we may find a dash lift or push maneuver is needed to create the space needed for a safe removal. By using our ram and placing one head at the base of the B pillar and pushing off the mid A pillar with our other end before any relief cuts are made we are pre-loading the lower and higher A post cuts needed in our dash displacement all while providing initial space and patient
relief. With the steel now under tension and weakened, we can now make much easier cuts with our cutters. From
here we can continue on with our ram and spreaders in conjunction to relieve our dash from our patients, re -
move the ram and have a great opening for removal.
Pre-loading is nothing new to the auto extrication world. It’s something that we’ve been doing since the introduction of hydraulic tools. However, with the introduction of ultra and advanced high strength steels, Defosse opened our eyes to better understand and use this technique. Not only are we making these cuts easier on our tools, we are also enhancing patient and rescuer safety as we are reducing the chance of violently shattering blades and influencing tool travel by taking advantage of the pre loading our tools can create.
By Patrick Mathieu
It’s hard to imagine a more versatile, simple and undeniably delicious dish than pasta. No matter the occasion, number of eaters, age of those eaters, time available to prepare, day of the week or budget, pasta always seems to come through in the crunch. Cooking for the family in the time pinch after school before sports? Pasta has a dish for you. Cooking a romantic dinner for two? Pasta has a dish for that too. Cooking a low and slow weekend family comfort dinner? That’s right, pasta is right there for you! After spending most of last year in some form of a pandemic lockdown, it really brought a light to how important a stocked pantry can be, and pasta is a champion of the pantry. Relatively inexpensive and requiring only a handful of fresh ingredients to bring to life, pasta has long been a staple in firehouses across the country as well. Here is a look into my favorite pasta noodles, when to use them and which sauces pair best with them.
Spaghetti, angel hair, capellini and spaghettini: These long, thin noodles are quick and easy staples. Their delicate strands cook up quick and are best paired with light sauces, like a simple tomato and garlic with olive oil, that will coat the strands evenly and won’t get weighed down when wound up with a fork. Fresh, light additions like basil, chopped olives or crumbled crisp pancetta can add layers to the dish without overwhelming the simple pairing.
Fettuccine, linguine, tagliatelle and pappardelle: These wide, flat ribbon-like long noodles are the big guys for ultimate comfort food. These noodles are best paired with hearty or creamy sauces, as the surface area of the pasta’s flat shape
Cooking a romantic dinner for two? Pasta has a dish for that too.
Patrick Mathieu is an acting captain at Waterloo Fire Rescue in Ontario. He was featured on Food Network’s Chopped Canada. You can reach Patrick at stationhousecateringco@yahoo.ca or @StationHouseCCo.
with Three Meat Jumbo
For the sauce
3 tbsp olive oil
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Pinch crushed chili pepper flakes
1Let your pasta sauce for this tasty pappardelle recipe simmer for one hour.
For the meatballs
2 lbs ground sirloin, pork, veal (in equal portion)
2 eggs
1 ½ cups grated Romano cheese
¾ cup chopped parsley
¼ cup grated onion
1 cup Italian bread crumbs, seasoned
1 tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper
For the pasta
1 lb pappardelle pasta
1 cup ricotta
1 – 2 cups fresh basil, chopped and divided
Parmigiano-Reggiano, shaved
For the sauce, place the olive oil and onion in a large sauce pot and sauté lightly. Once the onions become translucent, add the garlic and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and their juice and stir in the oregano, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil then lower to a simmer, stirring regularly. Let simmer gently for about 1 hour.
For the meatballs, combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, mix the ingredients together and shape the mixture into large meatballs Gently place in sauce and continue simmering for at least another 30 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
In the meantime, combine the ricotta with 3 – 4 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil. Set aside.
When sauce is ready, prepare the pasta. In a large pot of salted, boiling water add the pasta and cook until al dente based on the package directions. Drain, reserving a cupful of pasta water and add the noodles to the sauce. Toss the noodles to coat but gently as to not break up the meatballs.
Portion the pasta on plates and top with three meatballs, a few dollops of herbed ricotta, shaved Parm, and more chopped basil. Bon appetit!
enables it to stand up against the heft of a rich sauce. These noodles pull me towards a slow simmered giant meatball, a mushroom ragu, or creamy seafood alfredo.
Penne, rigatoni, ziti, cavatappi and campanelle: These short tubes of pasta are versatile noodles for whatever you’re craving, working well in soups, salads, casseroles and pasta dishes with sauces ranging from creamy to hearty. The larger tubes (for example, rigatoni) have the potential to catch creamy sauces studded with bits of meats or vegetables. If the pasta name includes “rigate”, then the pasta shape will include ridges, which is ideal for something like a pesto sauce that will cling to the pasta.
Macaroni and ditalini: Often thought of as kid’s noodles, these small, narrow tube pastas are ideal for baked pasta dishes where they can be flooded with creamy cheese sauces. The slight bite behind these thin, small tube pastas also makes them perfect in soups and pasta salads, though their small stature makes them less compatible with hearty meat sauces.
Farfalle/bow tie, conchiglie, fusilli, gemelli, orecchiette, rotelle/wagon wheels, rotini, cavatelli and campanelle: These are all short structural shaped pasta in fun shapes that include ruffles, ridges, curls and cones, which gives them a sturdier bite or mouthfeel. This trait makes them ideal for catching or holding rich, heartier sauces with textures brought in from different proteins and vegetables.
Now that we have an idea on which noodle to select there are just a few more little tips to consider to maximize one of life’s greatest pleasures.
Heat your pasta in a skillet with your warm sauce. No matter how great a sauce you can make, if you don’t sauce your pasta correctly, you’re really missing out! Even a so-so, store-bought jarred marinara sauce can be improved upon by finishing it off the right way.
Cook your pasta in well salted water. Trust me on this one, this is the first step in a really great tasting pasta dish and cannot be overlooked! In general, add about one and a half tablespoons of salt for every pound of pasta (you should use three or four quarts of water to boil a full pound).
Cook your pasta al dente - there was a time when the default for pasta was cooked-to-mush. Pasta should be cooked al dente—”to the tooth”—which means just until it’s cooked through. I personally prefer to undercook the pasta by a few minutes before adding it to the sauce to let it finish.
Do NOT toss cooked pasta with oil—it makes it much more difficult to get sauce to cling to it. Remember the starch in pasta is our friend here.
And finally serve your pasta immediately. Once the pasta is in the sauce there’s a countdown timer that’s automatically started and cannot be paused. Pasta will continue to cook and soften as it sits. The sauce will start to cool down and thicken whether you want it to or not.
My cookbook, The FireHouse Chef (Whitecap Publishing, 2017), has numerous noodle slurping recipes for all tastes if you are ever in need of some inspiration. Stay safe and eat well.
By Sean Kingswell
When we look at overall health and more specifically holistic wellness, there is a myriad of factors or modalities that need to come together for optimal success. The benefits of exercise are well documented with adherence and compliance being a significant variable across society and the fire fighting industry. An equally important element is mental health, which has gained significant momentum in the modern fire fighting world. We now know that stress and mental health need to be actively managed with positive and often individualized strategies. When we look at exercise, we think of its benefits on the body but it is a top, if not strategy for managing mental health. A good fire department requires quality prevention and suppression techniques working in tandem in its fight against fire. Mental health needs both strategies as well and the beauty of exercise is that fulfills both roles. It helps us to prevent stress but also suppress it when it rears its ugly head.
One reason that it is such a powerful suppression tool is based on history. Our nervous systems, which were designed to keep us alive, have not evolved as ef fectively as our society or species. In the past, when a significant threat to life existed, our body and mind would work together to initiate a fight or flight re sponse to help keep us alive. The problem in today’s society is the risk or stressor may be far less intense, yet the physio logical response is still the same to varying degrees. When this reaction is triggered, we marinate in numerous chemicals, hormones and neurotrans mitters produced to help us fight or flight. The historical survival process of running or fighting used up these sub stances as that was there sole purpose. So, if fighting and running get rid of stress hormones it is very important to
Sean has been a professional firefighter and personal trainer/ wellness coach for 22 years. With many areas of specialty, he has had the privilege of helping countless individuals meet their goals. www.peakconditioning.ca
lowing them to have a moment to face and vent their concerns.
For others it may be running, which has the associated high so many runners enjoy. It could be biking, it could be swimming. All three of these can be done at varying intensities. These can be solitary activities which don’t require a gym and may benefit those who prefer these modalities. Find what works for you. Similar to any exercise plan, goal number one is to make sure we are getting it done to reap the physical and mental health benefits. Homeowners don’t wait until their house is burnt down to call us for help. They call as soon as they see the
Research shows that firefighters are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than the general public, a trend that two fire service organizations hope to reduce. The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) partnered to deliver targeted education about best practices and resources to reduce the impact of cancer on firefighters this January through Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness Month.
The month-long campaign will include Safety Stand Downs, training briefs meant to highlight the effects of
of these briefs include: the scope of the cancer problem, best practices on prevention, leadership tactics to help prevention and skills to help survivors of occupational cancer.
The topics will be reinforced with online resources such as daily training information and infographics that promote the program and underline the importance of the issue on social media and podcasts addressing the important issues of prevention and documentation of exposures to carcinogens.
“The health and well-being of firefighters is our top priority. There needs to be further education, more assistance, and resources for firefighters when it comes to navigating the
overwhelming gravity of a cancer diagnoses,” said FCSN CEO Bryan Frieders in a news release.
“Our members are being diagnosed with cancers as a result of on-the-job exposures. We have had the sad duty of adding far too many of their names to the walls of our Fallen Fire Fighter Memorial,” said IAFF general president Harold Schaitberger in a press statement. “That is why we have partnered with the FCSN to create the Fire Fighter Cancer Awareness month – to give our hard-working members the most up-to-date guidance and data that will allow them the opportunity to enjoy a long, safe career and a healthy retirement.”
By Joey Cherpin
Ihad the misfortune of running my first fatal structure fire about a year and a half before writing this. The fatalities that day were not a direct result of action or inaction of the department, but it gave me a sick feeling that even if we were closer, the outcome may not have been different. Since that call, I have done tremendous amounts of research and implemented a large number of small operational and equipment changes in my department in rural Saskatchewan. I would like to share the information I learned to help educate others who may also feel ‘stuck’. I know that I am not the only one who has had a bad call, nor will I be the last.
Many departments accept the reality of not being able to save every house that burns in rural settings. Sometimes that is the outcome even when we truly do the best we possibly can. Many organizations, and even the one I come from, struggle to avoid the ‘doing the best we can’ mantra, and in doing so do not look to create much
change. The largest reason for this inaction that I have observed is an educational division between outdated tactics and updated research. Fire service members may preach about modern synthetic combustibles, lightweight construction, open concepts, and the apparent dangers of such, but don’t adjust accordingly. With respect to prevention, education, and code writers, fire fighting is largely a reactive organization. It’s time to react!
It can be difficult to keep up with the frequent updates in the fire service and change may feel overwhelming. Perhaps some small, simple changes may have more impact than you might think.
Water supply and application is the foremost critical issue with fires in areas lacking hydrants or other pressurized sources. It is imperative to know that water flow requirements correlate to fire heat release rate (HRR), square footage, occupancy type, content loading and percentage of involvement. In the rural setting, with an often naturally delayed
response (on call personnel and/or long responses), fires are able to grow to a larger level of involvement, requiring increased water supply and rates of flow. Gallons per minute (GPM) as a measurement of water flow is the critical measurement relating to combatting and defeating the HHR. Insufficient flow rates provide no support in extinguishing a fire. It is critical to find a balance point of adequate water flow and sustained water flow. If we restrict the GPM because we only have so much water, then all of the water may be wasted. On the flip side, if we choose to use a 1250 GPM deck gun with 1000 gallons on board and no water on route, we may make a significant knock on the fire, but lack the ability to complete the extinguishment.
It is important to know the difference between heat release rate and temperature. Ten candles burning side by side all burn at the same temperature as a single candle, however the 10 candles will have 10 times the heat release rate
of a single candle. Synthetic materials such as plastics release more energy per pound of solid fuel than natural combustibles like paper, and wood. When we look at the increased heat release rates, we must also consider a correlating increase in flow requirements to absorb the heat. (A Quantitative Approach to Selecting Nozzle Flow Rate and Stream, Part 1 in Fire Engineering,).
With regard to the fact that departments vary in size, structure, and equipment, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards 1410 and 1710 both call for the first two handlines on a fire (residential) to flow a combined 300 GPM. Although the standard 1710 was created for career departments, fire behaves the same regardless of boundaries, so we must consider similar tactics. Based on the standard mentioned, the commonly accepted practice in the fire service is to flow no less than 150 GPM on any handline. These flows are designated because modern furnishings have a far higher HRR, which is conducive to a need for higher flow rates. Paper has a HRR of around 7,000 British thermal units/ pound (BTU/lb). Wood has a slightly higher HRR at 10,000 BTU/lb, and plastics can be as high as 22,000 BTU/ lb, which is comparable to gasoline, as reported on risklogic.com/plastics/ in 2020. Simply put, if we cannot produce enough water to both control HRR and reduce temperatures in the room, then we are not accomplishing what we need to.
Around my home in Saskatchewan especially, residential structure fires in a rural setting are at a point of heavily involved or partially involved upon our arrival. Generally an exterior attack that is defen-
sive in nature is the common approach. This approach has become instinctual, pushing members away from making an interior attack when it is permitted. Directly applying water to the seat of the fire through either form of attack is the most efficient way to use water. It minimizes total water consumption, increases occupant survivability, and increases firefighter safety., as noted in the text Impact of Fire Attack Utilizing Interior and Exterior Streams on Firefighter Safety and Occupant Survival: Full Scale Experiments.
Fire fighter safety is increased by minimizing total work time on a fire scene and removing heat output. Close to 50 per cent of firefighter fatalities are cardiac related from exertion (apps.usfa.fema. gov/firefighter-fatalities/fatalityData/incidentDataReport). Statistically, firefighters are more likely to be killed on the exterior or following a long fire event than working inside a structure fire. Faster fire suppression means shorter working time, less exertion, and in turn decreases the likelihood of a cardiac event.
The number one job of the fire service is to save lives. It is our duty, and responsibility to verify occupancy of buildings.
Even when the resources available cannot completely extinguish a fire, we should be capable of holding the fire back long enough to search as much as possible. Appropriate flow rates allow for the search to take place. A heavily involved house may look like a loss, but perhaps a heavy exterior application of water streams, for a short time, can allow members to perform a vent-enter-search in one or two rooms that are not yet involved in fire. That application rate may not be sustainable, but if it permits us to search any searchable
space, then we are truly doing the best we can.
Whether your department is in a position of being able to put out very large fires with a large chain of tenders on route, or the best you can hope for is to hold the fire at bay to perform some searches, you have to be efficient. Synthetic furnishings and combustibles are releasing tremendous amounts of energy. The only way we can combat it is through adequate flows. Even when adequate flows cannot be sustained, the short time we have to flow may just be enough to permit a search and possibly save a life.
Not every structure that burns is going to stay standing. That is the unfortunate reality of fire fighting with delayed responses, and lack of pressurized water supply. However, it
is my hope that the departments who may have operated with more of a water conservation approach begin to understand why effective water usage is not a matter of how long to make it last, but rather efficiency of HRR absorption, and its ability to in turn make the job safer for us, and those we protect.
Special thanks to Deputy Fire Chief of Prevention Pete L’Heureux with the City of Swift Current Fire Department for editorial assistance and mentorship.
Joey Cherpin has been a paid on call firefighter for eight years, currently making a transition to the career service with a highly reputable department in southern Saskatchewan. Joey strives to provide the best possible customer service at all times, and through endlessly questioning the status quo, he tries to find ways to improve the way we deliver our services.
By Jennifer Grigg
Jennifer Grigg has been a dispatcher, volunteer firefighter, FPO inspector and instructor. She is now a resilience and empowerment coach and certified body language trainer. Contact Jennifer at jennygrigg312@gmail.com or jennifergriggcoaching.com.
If you’re interacting with people on a regular basis, knowing how to leverage the power of your body language, even during Zoom calls, can make a huge difference in your interactions.
You’ve likely heard the saying “actions speak louder than words”, but did you know that your body language is 12 to 13 times more powerful than what you say. You likely know how it feels when you get a weird vibe from someone and it’s often before they’ve even spoken. If they’ve said something that didn’t jive, you’ve likely picked up on something incongruent about what they’ve said and what their body language conveys. You don’t have to be a skilled body language reader to know something’s up. You do it subconsciously because it’s hardwired as a survival mechanism.
Now, think about how much more insight you’ll have if you know what to look for.
Having an awareness of body language/nonverbal behaviour is a surefire way to improve your communication, presence, confidence and charisma. It’s backed by reliable science (research, studies and experiments show body movement are controlled by your limbic brain and bypass the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for thought processing), is universal across cultures (though there are some gestures that mean different things in various cultures, many are consistent across different cultures), genders (i.e. when someone
presses their lips together, it means the same thing regardless of gender) and even sighted and non-sighted individuals alike (a study of sighted and non-sighted Olympic athletes showed that both display universal signs of pride and defeat). Let’s take a look at three tips for upping your connection factor.
Our arms are protectors of our torsos and our head. For example, when someone startles you, your arms automatically come in tight to your torso or if someone yells, “heads up”, you’ll put your hands over your head because, designed to assist with our survival, these responses reveal true sentiments or intentions. Someone who is uncomfortable or insecure will hold their arms close to their body while someone who is comfortable and confident will sit with their arms away from their body, draped over the back of a chair or resting on a table. What to do: When approaching a stranger for the first time, demonstrate warmth by leaving your arms relaxed and open. Why: Conveys a relaxed and approachable demeanour.
Your hands are directed—consciously or subconsciously— by your brain. Our brains are hardwired to engage our hands in accurately communicating our thoughts and emotions. Learning to use your hands to enhance your communication can make you more charismatic and your presentations
Your body language is 12 to13 times more powerful than what you say.
more engaging.
What to do: Keep your palms open and up when speaking with someone in a natural and comfortable way.
Why: This sends a message to the other person’s limbic system saying, “I mean no harm” and “there is nothing hidden here”. This can be especially helpful in cases where people seem reluctant to approach or engage with someone in uniform.
It’s no secret that a thumbs up signals high confidence and thumbs down signals low confidence. The same is true for other thumb related behaviours. Watching people’s thumbs, the direction they’re in and whether they’re visible or not gives you a lot of insight into how confident they are feeling. Hands ideally should be kept visible but if they’re in a coat pocket with thumbs sticking out, this is actually a high confidence behaviour. Grasping bunker straps with thumbs pointed up or clasping fingers with thumbs pointed
up also portray confidence. What to do: Remember to give a thumbs up and don’t stand around with your thumbs (or hands) in your pockets while doing public education events.
Why: Thumbs in pockets with fingers hanging out signals low confidence and conveys the message, “I am unsure of myself”. Hidden hands create doubt in the minds of others.
Bonus Tip: Here’s one that combines all three: arms akimbo. (Remember the Kim Mitchell album Akimbo Alogo? I’m showing my age, aren’t I?). I don’t know what akimbo alogo means, but arms akimbo is when you place your hands on your hips and your elbows out to the sides. It’s a behaviour used to convey authority or assert dominance. It’s also an effective way for someone to show that you’re standing your ground and unwilling to be bullied. The interesting thing about arms akimbo is that it makes a huge difference which direction your thumbs are facing in. Thumbs forward (and down) is far different from the dominant position mentioned above and signifies a more inquisitive, subdued authority position. Try it for yourself and see how it feels.
In fact, try all of these tips and pay attention to the way it changes the way you feel and/ or how it influences people around you. Experiment with it in meetings and see what kind of results you get. These tips will work for anyone interested in improving their interpersonal skills.
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