I was going to be ready for today's class. Friday's class. Arrive early enough to speak with either Firefighter Warren or Captain Larson about what exactly needed to happen with the class before we started and at the end of day clean-up activities. The list of class leader responsibilities were helpful, but I needed some more specifics and some clarification on things. I was able to track down FF Warren and get what I needed to at least get started on the right foot for class. I found out who on the list of candidates was actually supposed to there. I was just trying to find out who on the list had dropped out, so I could get a good number for who was absent. I also found out that one person had come early in the day to complete their training and another was sick, which wasn't expected at all.
A few of us who were early worked on our knots and chit chatted getting to get to know each other a bit more. This last part was the better of the two.
Each class begins with turn-out and air pack drills. One time today, I was kicking it only to have it pointed out that my pants were still down around my ankles. Usually, when I'm "kickin' it," it's because I've forgotten some part of the ensemble--my helmet or my Nomex or I've put the regulator on before my helmet strap can get underneath it. If I'm fast, it's usually because I've done it wrong.
At Station 4, we broke up into three teams to do a rotation of evolutions (I think that this is what the captain is saying). My team's first evolution was hydrants. We reviewed the steps we had gone over before in the previous hydrant sessions and took it to the next step, where we going to drive to a hydrant. Finding the hydrant is the first task and we had some trouble finding the hydrant we were supposed to be at. This time instead of talking and walking it through, we were actually grabbing the hydrant tools--4-inch adapter, gate valve with 4-inch adapter and hydrant wrench--walking purposefully back to the rear of the engine to grab the flat webbing that is attached to the 4-inch supply line, and dragging it towards the hydrant. Wrap the supply line around the hydrant to form a "U" shape and step on the end to hold it making sure that you are out of the way if the hose somehow gets caught on something and give the GO signal to the engineer. If you can't see the engineer, use your radio. Once the first coupling at 50 feet hits the ground, you can turn your attention to getting the adapter and gate valve put onto the hydrant, and getting supply line connected. The gate valve goes onto the port facing away from the fire to allow another engine to attach and be able to feed the water that way.
The second station we rotated to, was to run 1 1/2" pre-connect to a building and entering the building. We reviewed how the planning is done on the engine in-route to the scene. The available crew is broken up into two teams: Team A and Team B. Our passports, small 3/8"x1 1/2" pieces of plastic with Velcro on the back and our names on the front are passed to the officer of the engine who places them on small placards for each team. This is an effective, low-tech method of keeping track of who is where at the scene. Replacing our passports, which are kept on the front of our helmets, are engine or truck emblems that are attached to our helmets to help command know which team each team member belongs.
Team A, in this case, was going into the building, while Team B was going to be pulling pre-connected hose and gathering tools. Both teams have their air packs on while exiting the engine. Each member checks for aerial obstructions and power lines above, dangerous conditions below, and traffic side to side as they exit. Team A heads directly for building and "masks up" to prepare for entering the building. Team B is pulling the pre-connect hose from each side of the engine in a way that allows all of the pre-connect to be pulled from the compartment and gives Team A plenty of working length to attack the fire within the building. One pre-connect is set up to attack and the other is set up for backup protection at the door. As Team A enters the building, one member of Team B assists in feeding the hose used in the attack and the other member of Team B is at the ready with the backup hose facing the door.
After the simulated attack, the engineer shut off the pump and we discharged the pressure on the hose to begin taking it all apart and loading it back onto the engine. Now, the engine was set for the next group in the rotation and we moved onto the smoke building.
The smoke building is a 40-foot shipping container set up as a typical residence. It has a living room in the front, a kitchen with island, a bathroom and a bedroom in the back. There are three possible victim dummies used in our training: Firefighter Steve, Scuba Steve and Baby Steve. These dummies are placed in various locations by the training staff to train us to look everywhere when we do our searches. Oh, there is a smoke machine in the back that puts out enough smoke to make visibility impossible. Due to time constraints, we were only able to get an overview tonight. Tomorrow, we get to do the searches.
Tuesday night's clean-up process was chaotic at best, so tonight I gather the team first and we decided on who was going to do what in the clean-up. Garbage, sweeping the bays, vacuuming all carpets, cleaning all air packs and masks, all engines and trucks have all their air packs and masks, and making sure that all radios are returned. I didn't realize that we needed to make sure that the radios were set to channel one, shut off and that the charge indicator light was either red or green. Do better next time.
"18-03!" "WHO YOU WANT TO BE!"
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
The Firefighter Academy--Day 4
I wake up at 3:30 (sorry, 0300 hours) this morning with the chief's voice in my head, "The next time I ask, I want to hear each of you." His question? "What are our priorities?" We found out from our captain after that uncomfortable silence of no one knowing that our priorities are: FLIP. Firefighter, Life, Incident control, and then Property. So, this is what I wake up to. This acronym on a loop.
The Tuesday night academy seemed like we were getting the hang of things. My first night as class lead went okay even though I never felt like I knew what I was supposed to be doing. I felt for the first person assigned the role, as it seemed like a glorified hall monitor role with being the contact person for bathroom needs and making sure that we always go in pairs--two in, two out. I dropped the ball a couple myself of times tonight by leaving my partner behind, as I hurried off to try and keep up. Lead by example and do better on Friday.
Regardless of my mind telling me to keep the dinner quantities under control, I didn't. It was all so good. Pam and I went to a Rhody Club pre-meeting dinner at Ichiban's Restaurant before the academy session. I had to leave early, but not before filling up with too much food. This made everything go really slow. My body felt as though it were swimming in mud as I tried to get my gear on at the beginning of drill. I went from slow to slower. Then in my frustration with my slowness, I began forgetting pieces of the process.
Next, we split the team into two groups. One went on the truck--oops, engine (I've been told, but I can't remember how to tell the two apart)--to work on hydrant hook-ups and the rest did ladder work. I started off in the ladder group.
My ladder partner from Sunday asked me to help her with getting the 24 foot extension ladder off of Engine 7, which was a nice vote of confidence that she would want to work with me on ladders again. Low shoulder carry is the preferred method for carrying longer distances. Working in teams of two, we went through setting up the extension ladder. Who'd a guessed that there would be more to it than the usual brute force struggle method I've been using for most of my life. Let me try and explain the new approach.
The first thing you notice right away is that there are two people doing this process. This makes it easier, safer and a lot more graceful. Communication is key though. The person at the head of the ladder has the control and calls out the directions, such as how it's going to be raised (flat or beam). Both people check for aerial obstructions, such as power lines. I think most of us went with the flat raise, where the ladder is raised parallel to the building face. The beam raise is with the ladder perpendicular. Either way, the fly portion of the ladder--the part that goes up--will be facing the building when it is raised. This seems weird, but makes sense when you see the whole process. The person at the spurs, which is the part that stays on the ground, now stands on the bottom rung of the ladder and holds onto the halyard (rope that goes to the pulley and is used to pull up the fly along the bed) as the person at the top of the ladder calls out that they are raising the ladder. "RAISING LADDER." Echoed by the person at the foot of the ladder. "RAISING LADDER." Using their weight as a counter-balance, the person at the foot makes it easier for the person at the top of the ladder to lift the ladder and slide their hands down the beams pushing the ladder up to a standing position. The foot person places their right foot firmly next to the beam and the top person quickly stands on the bottom rung with their left foot while running their right foot down the beam to hold it firm. We haven't even got the ladder to the wall yet.
Next, raise the fly. Untie the halyard. Check for aerial obstructions. Pull the halyard to raise the fly. "RAISING FLY." Echoed by foot person, "RAISING FLY," so that they know to make sure their fingers are out on the beam and not where they are going to be caught between the rungs. How far up depends on the situation--window rescue, roof access, etc--which is more detail for later. Catch the dogs on the desired rung. "ROTATING ON BEAM," the top person calls out as they point to the beam that will be the pivot point and holding onto the halyard. "ROTATING ON BEAM," echoed by the foot person. The ladder is flipped, so that the fly is now away from the building. The top person now stands on the bottom rung acting as a counter balance, while the bottom person gently lowers the ladder to the wall. The top person now ties off the halyard with a clove hitch and a safety half-hitch.
You think we're done here, but not so fast. We have to make sure that the ladder is safe to climb. The top person does a safety check and calls it out as they are doing it. "TIPS SQUARE." "DOGS SET." "HALYARD SECURED." "SPURS SOLID." "CLIMBING ANGLE GOOD." The climbing angle is checked by sanding on the bottom rung and extending the arms out level to the rung while the body is vertical. This way ensures that the ladder won't be too steep even when the firefighter is climbing wearing an air pack. Now, we are ready to climb. "FIREFIGHTER CLIMBING." Echo, "FIREFIGHTER CLIMBING." As the top person is climbing, the bottom person rotates around to the front of the ladder and places their feet firmly on the beams with their hands on the beam watching the other firefighter climb. "FIREFIGHTER COMING DOWN," is call in the opposite direction. You guessed it. Echoed by, "FIREFIGHTER COMING DOWN," from the bottom person.
We got to climb the ladder to the top of the second story wall of the firehouse, which was just at the edge of the 24 foot ladder's reach, without and with the air packs. Pretty exciting stuff even though I've climbed a lot of ladders in my life.
The fire truck--correction, engine--is here to pick us up to take us to the next drill, which is hydrants.
If you ever see those little blue reflectors on the roadway, they are there to indicate where there is a fire hydrant. This is still a mystery to me as to how you are supposed to see these things or just a hydrant while racing to fire situation and know where to stop the engine so that things can be hooked up in such as way as to actually try and put out the fire. I am holding some faith in the process that this will become clear in time. For now, we are just going to learn how to set up the hose on the hydrant. In theory, the engine will stop near an acceptable hydrant that is close enough to the structure that has a fire to be useful.
A firefighter on the driver's side will get out and open the first cabinet to get the hydrant tool and the bag of fittings. As the firefighter passes the rear of the engine, they will grab the line holding the 4-inch supply line and drag it towards and past the hydrant to enable the hose to be wrapped completely around the hydrant and cross the supply line at a 90 degree angle. A foot is placed firmly on the supply line at the point where the hose crosses itself. The firefighter then signals for the driver to advance towards the fire. Once the first connection at 50 feet hits the ground, the firefighter can safely begin connecting the fittings to the hydrant because there is now enough weight of the hose on the ground to pretty much ensure that the supply line will be pulled from the engine bed.
The hydrant wrench can never--NEVER--be left on the ground. The sand will devour it and it will never be seen again.
After making sure that the two side caps are on securely, the main cap is removed. The hydrant is then flushed to make sure any sentiment is washed out. The valve is then shut again. The adapter is screwed onto the main port and then the cap closest to the fire or in the direction of the fire is removed and a secondary gate valve and adapter for a three inch hose is attached. Make sure that the gate valve is shut. Unwind the supply line and straighten it out, because once it's full of water it won't be able to be moved. The main four inch hose is then attached to the adapter on the main port.
The signal is now given to the engineer that the water is available to be turn on. This is done by hand signal or radio. Once the engineer is ready, the water is turned on at the hydrant.
It was a warm night and I was soaked through with sweat at the end of our three-hour training session.
Being class lead this week, I was given instructions to make sure that the engine and truck had full air pack set-ups with masks, that all air bottles had been filled and that all radios returned to the charger and set to the proper channel. At first, I was failing this be doing instead of making sure that it was getting done. After making sure that my air pack was cared for, I got busy making sure that my team knew what was needed to be done before we were excused. Do better next time.
The Tuesday night academy seemed like we were getting the hang of things. My first night as class lead went okay even though I never felt like I knew what I was supposed to be doing. I felt for the first person assigned the role, as it seemed like a glorified hall monitor role with being the contact person for bathroom needs and making sure that we always go in pairs--two in, two out. I dropped the ball a couple myself of times tonight by leaving my partner behind, as I hurried off to try and keep up. Lead by example and do better on Friday.
Regardless of my mind telling me to keep the dinner quantities under control, I didn't. It was all so good. Pam and I went to a Rhody Club pre-meeting dinner at Ichiban's Restaurant before the academy session. I had to leave early, but not before filling up with too much food. This made everything go really slow. My body felt as though it were swimming in mud as I tried to get my gear on at the beginning of drill. I went from slow to slower. Then in my frustration with my slowness, I began forgetting pieces of the process.
Next, we split the team into two groups. One went on the truck--oops, engine (I've been told, but I can't remember how to tell the two apart)--to work on hydrant hook-ups and the rest did ladder work. I started off in the ladder group.
My ladder partner from Sunday asked me to help her with getting the 24 foot extension ladder off of Engine 7, which was a nice vote of confidence that she would want to work with me on ladders again. Low shoulder carry is the preferred method for carrying longer distances. Working in teams of two, we went through setting up the extension ladder. Who'd a guessed that there would be more to it than the usual brute force struggle method I've been using for most of my life. Let me try and explain the new approach.
The first thing you notice right away is that there are two people doing this process. This makes it easier, safer and a lot more graceful. Communication is key though. The person at the head of the ladder has the control and calls out the directions, such as how it's going to be raised (flat or beam). Both people check for aerial obstructions, such as power lines. I think most of us went with the flat raise, where the ladder is raised parallel to the building face. The beam raise is with the ladder perpendicular. Either way, the fly portion of the ladder--the part that goes up--will be facing the building when it is raised. This seems weird, but makes sense when you see the whole process. The person at the spurs, which is the part that stays on the ground, now stands on the bottom rung of the ladder and holds onto the halyard (rope that goes to the pulley and is used to pull up the fly along the bed) as the person at the top of the ladder calls out that they are raising the ladder. "RAISING LADDER." Echoed by the person at the foot of the ladder. "RAISING LADDER." Using their weight as a counter-balance, the person at the foot makes it easier for the person at the top of the ladder to lift the ladder and slide their hands down the beams pushing the ladder up to a standing position. The foot person places their right foot firmly next to the beam and the top person quickly stands on the bottom rung with their left foot while running their right foot down the beam to hold it firm. We haven't even got the ladder to the wall yet.
Next, raise the fly. Untie the halyard. Check for aerial obstructions. Pull the halyard to raise the fly. "RAISING FLY." Echoed by foot person, "RAISING FLY," so that they know to make sure their fingers are out on the beam and not where they are going to be caught between the rungs. How far up depends on the situation--window rescue, roof access, etc--which is more detail for later. Catch the dogs on the desired rung. "ROTATING ON BEAM," the top person calls out as they point to the beam that will be the pivot point and holding onto the halyard. "ROTATING ON BEAM," echoed by the foot person. The ladder is flipped, so that the fly is now away from the building. The top person now stands on the bottom rung acting as a counter balance, while the bottom person gently lowers the ladder to the wall. The top person now ties off the halyard with a clove hitch and a safety half-hitch.
You think we're done here, but not so fast. We have to make sure that the ladder is safe to climb. The top person does a safety check and calls it out as they are doing it. "TIPS SQUARE." "DOGS SET." "HALYARD SECURED." "SPURS SOLID." "CLIMBING ANGLE GOOD." The climbing angle is checked by sanding on the bottom rung and extending the arms out level to the rung while the body is vertical. This way ensures that the ladder won't be too steep even when the firefighter is climbing wearing an air pack. Now, we are ready to climb. "FIREFIGHTER CLIMBING." Echo, "FIREFIGHTER CLIMBING." As the top person is climbing, the bottom person rotates around to the front of the ladder and places their feet firmly on the beams with their hands on the beam watching the other firefighter climb. "FIREFIGHTER COMING DOWN," is call in the opposite direction. You guessed it. Echoed by, "FIREFIGHTER COMING DOWN," from the bottom person.
We got to climb the ladder to the top of the second story wall of the firehouse, which was just at the edge of the 24 foot ladder's reach, without and with the air packs. Pretty exciting stuff even though I've climbed a lot of ladders in my life.
The fire truck--correction, engine--is here to pick us up to take us to the next drill, which is hydrants.
If you ever see those little blue reflectors on the roadway, they are there to indicate where there is a fire hydrant. This is still a mystery to me as to how you are supposed to see these things or just a hydrant while racing to fire situation and know where to stop the engine so that things can be hooked up in such as way as to actually try and put out the fire. I am holding some faith in the process that this will become clear in time. For now, we are just going to learn how to set up the hose on the hydrant. In theory, the engine will stop near an acceptable hydrant that is close enough to the structure that has a fire to be useful.
A firefighter on the driver's side will get out and open the first cabinet to get the hydrant tool and the bag of fittings. As the firefighter passes the rear of the engine, they will grab the line holding the 4-inch supply line and drag it towards and past the hydrant to enable the hose to be wrapped completely around the hydrant and cross the supply line at a 90 degree angle. A foot is placed firmly on the supply line at the point where the hose crosses itself. The firefighter then signals for the driver to advance towards the fire. Once the first connection at 50 feet hits the ground, the firefighter can safely begin connecting the fittings to the hydrant because there is now enough weight of the hose on the ground to pretty much ensure that the supply line will be pulled from the engine bed.
The hydrant wrench can never--NEVER--be left on the ground. The sand will devour it and it will never be seen again.
After making sure that the two side caps are on securely, the main cap is removed. The hydrant is then flushed to make sure any sentiment is washed out. The valve is then shut again. The adapter is screwed onto the main port and then the cap closest to the fire or in the direction of the fire is removed and a secondary gate valve and adapter for a three inch hose is attached. Make sure that the gate valve is shut. Unwind the supply line and straighten it out, because once it's full of water it won't be able to be moved. The main four inch hose is then attached to the adapter on the main port.
The signal is now given to the engineer that the water is available to be turn on. This is done by hand signal or radio. Once the engineer is ready, the water is turned on at the hydrant.
It was a warm night and I was soaked through with sweat at the end of our three-hour training session.
Being class lead this week, I was given instructions to make sure that the engine and truck had full air pack set-ups with masks, that all air bottles had been filled and that all radios returned to the charger and set to the proper channel. At first, I was failing this be doing instead of making sure that it was getting done. After making sure that my air pack was cared for, I got busy making sure that my team knew what was needed to be done before we were excused. Do better next time.
Monday, October 15, 2018
The Firefighter Academy--Day 3
I hurt this morning. Really hurt. Not like I got hit by a car hurt, but just a good over-all ache that follows a solid day of work. You wouldn't think that just getting into and out of what amounts to heavy winter clothing over and over again would do that to a person. Yet, the body was doing it's share of whining this morning. I spent some time doing yoga stretches to work the kinks out before heading back over to the fire station for another full day of training.
I was able to beat the two-minute time required for donning full turn-outs and air pack. Just beat it. In subsequent timings I did better, but forgot pieces of equipment like the Nomex or my helmet. Sometimes I would get my gloves all the way on and realize that I forgot to put on my helmet, which means that I had to back out my regulator, put the helmet on, put the regulator back onto the mask--with heavy gloves on. In the end, I was getting faster at the process.
The Captain said something today that really struck me. That during an emergency a person doesn't rise to the occasion, but rather sinks to their level of training. Looking back on my life, I could see how this idea rings true.
Gladly, we moved on to other things today. We spent more time and detail in getting into and out of the truck. Even in the big ladder truck, where there is lots of room it's a choreographed process getting four people into the back with seat belts on. Add an air pack to each of them on the way back out and it gets fun. Using a smaller truck and it's like two families of kids fighting over the available seats in the back of a 1970s station wagon.
Ladder fun was next. How to carry them, stand them, lower them. With one person. With two people. Hint: communication is key.
More knots. It felt like a Boy Scout meeting.
The afternoon was spent learning how to load 200 foot of inch and a half hose into space that allowed for it to be pulled out in a usable fashion. Load the hose. Pull it out for deploying into a structure. Open the nozzle (the most fun). Shut it down. Tear it down. And, do it again. And again. And again.
Nozzle techniques. How to advance with a charged hose. How to control the hose easily over a long period of time. A charge hose has a lot of energy and can be really dangerous if not controlled.
After a tour of the burn building, where we will be spending a lot of time learning about the dynamics of fire and how to control it, we did a short overview of the fire hydrant and how to connect feeder hose to it.
An important lesson at the end of the day was the cleaning of the firehouse. Emptying the garbage, sweeping and vacuuming the floors, making sure everything was picked up and put away. The fire station was going to be ours too and we need to take pride in it.
I gave up my "Screwed on Straight" award to another candidate at the end and was given the assignment of class lead for the following week. This new role--I'm guessing I got because I'm the next oldest on the team, because the oldest person got it for the first week--puts me at the first station in the command chain. The candidates need to come to the class lead to get permission to do anything where they are not with the rest of the group, so that someone always knows where they are at. And, they need to go in pairs: two in, two out. This is an important safety aspect, as no one is go wandering off by themselves to do something without someone knowing about it and without someone making sure that they got out.
It was a good first week.
I was able to beat the two-minute time required for donning full turn-outs and air pack. Just beat it. In subsequent timings I did better, but forgot pieces of equipment like the Nomex or my helmet. Sometimes I would get my gloves all the way on and realize that I forgot to put on my helmet, which means that I had to back out my regulator, put the helmet on, put the regulator back onto the mask--with heavy gloves on. In the end, I was getting faster at the process.
The Captain said something today that really struck me. That during an emergency a person doesn't rise to the occasion, but rather sinks to their level of training. Looking back on my life, I could see how this idea rings true.
Gladly, we moved on to other things today. We spent more time and detail in getting into and out of the truck. Even in the big ladder truck, where there is lots of room it's a choreographed process getting four people into the back with seat belts on. Add an air pack to each of them on the way back out and it gets fun. Using a smaller truck and it's like two families of kids fighting over the available seats in the back of a 1970s station wagon.
Ladder fun was next. How to carry them, stand them, lower them. With one person. With two people. Hint: communication is key.
More knots. It felt like a Boy Scout meeting.
The afternoon was spent learning how to load 200 foot of inch and a half hose into space that allowed for it to be pulled out in a usable fashion. Load the hose. Pull it out for deploying into a structure. Open the nozzle (the most fun). Shut it down. Tear it down. And, do it again. And again. And again.
Nozzle techniques. How to advance with a charged hose. How to control the hose easily over a long period of time. A charge hose has a lot of energy and can be really dangerous if not controlled.
After a tour of the burn building, where we will be spending a lot of time learning about the dynamics of fire and how to control it, we did a short overview of the fire hydrant and how to connect feeder hose to it.
An important lesson at the end of the day was the cleaning of the firehouse. Emptying the garbage, sweeping and vacuuming the floors, making sure everything was picked up and put away. The fire station was going to be ours too and we need to take pride in it.
I gave up my "Screwed on Straight" award to another candidate at the end and was given the assignment of class lead for the following week. This new role--I'm guessing I got because I'm the next oldest on the team, because the oldest person got it for the first week--puts me at the first station in the command chain. The candidates need to come to the class lead to get permission to do anything where they are not with the rest of the group, so that someone always knows where they are at. And, they need to go in pairs: two in, two out. This is an important safety aspect, as no one is go wandering off by themselves to do something without someone knowing about it and without someone making sure that they got out.
It was a good first week.
Saturday, October 13, 2018
The Firefighter Academy--Day 2
Today was the first full day of the academy. 8:00am to 5:00pm or as we say this in the fire service, 0800 hours to 1700 hours. Whatever notation you want to use, it was a long day. By the end of the drills, I was cramping up in my hands and arms, as well as my calves. Oddly, the amount of energy put into just trying to get those infernal gloves on, especially when they were wet with sweat, was the toughest part of the drills. Yet, I get ahead of myself.
Yesterday, we began learning about how to put our "turn-outs" on and how to set them up so that they can go on quickly with the least amount of movements. Today, we built on that base by adding the SCBA unit. Before I get too far down the description here, let me describe these two pieces of equipment. "Turn-outs" are the outfit that is worn by a firefighter for going to structure fires and things like auto accidents. This outfit includes steel-toes and steel-shanked boots, heavy quilted pants with substantial suspenders, a heavy quilted coat similar to what you see on those police attack dogs shows, a Nomex hood, helmet and heavy gloves. The SCBA or Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus is an air tank on a back-pack frame and a mask that the air regulator fits onto to connect the air to the mask. These two pieces of equipment weigh about 50-60 pounds combined.
The process of donning this equipment goes something like this. You'd think after as many times we donned (put on) and doffed (took off) this stuff, that I could tell you exactly how to do it. That may be the case at the end of three weeks, but for now we're just going to go with "something like this." As I'm kicking off my shoes, I'm putting on the Nomex hood. Moving as efficiently as I can, I'm stepping into my boots. The pants are already pre-loaded over the boots. As soon as I get into my boots, I'm pulling up my pants, which are large enough to fit over my jeans without any issue. The suspenders hold up the pants until I can get them buckled with the big plastic buckle. My jacket is laid out to be easily thrown on. I'm still struggling to get the zipper zipped up without getting caught in the velcro flap, flashlight, neck cuff, etc. This cost me time in the donning process. Once the jacket is on and zipped with the neck cuff velcro'd with the sad, worn-out velcro, I roll down the Nomex hood off my head and over the collar of the jacket. This is the basic "turn-out" donning.
Next is getting the air pack or SCBA on and working. First, check to make sure that there is air in the tank. Makes sense. Then, turn the valve to make air available to the regulator. This causes all kinds of lights and sounds to go off. The regulator vibrates loudly. The secondary gauge should show the same pressure as on the tank. The lights on the heads-up display light up. The PASS--Personal Accountability Safety System??--beeps a couple of times. Once all that is checked, I can swing the pack onto my back and tighten the shoulder straps and waist strap. That done, I have to keep moving to keep the PASS thingy from making all kinds of racket and pissing everyone else off. Moving directly to the mask, I put it over my face and hold it there while tightening five separate straps to hold the thing to my face. Remember the Nomex hood? I now roll it back over my head and make sure that it's fitted around the mask. Now, my helmet and making sure to cinch down the strap. Finally, the regulator. Red up and rotate left one quarter turn. I'm now breathing from the air in the tank.
Now comes the most difficult part of the whole assembly--those infernal gloves. I have to pull so hard on these damn things that my forearms ached by the end of the day.
By the end of the academy, I will be able to do this whole process in under two minutes.
Interspersed in this donning and doffing routine was getting a feel for how breathing on bottled air works and what happens when you begin to run out of air and then what it feels like when there is no more air. Because this is a team activity, there are parts of the SCBA that facilitate getting really close to your team. In one exercise, we were all running out of air and linked together through our buddy-breathing dongles--all of us breathing on the last remaining good bottle of air. Then, it too ran out.
Towards the end of the day, we got into knot-tying and rescue drag techniques. That was a great way to end the day.
Before they let us go, I was called up to the front of the class and awarded the "Screwed on Right" award for trying hard all day and helping other members of the team. This twisted wrench below is my award for the night. I get to return it tomorrow so that someone else may have the honor.
Yesterday, we began learning about how to put our "turn-outs" on and how to set them up so that they can go on quickly with the least amount of movements. Today, we built on that base by adding the SCBA unit. Before I get too far down the description here, let me describe these two pieces of equipment. "Turn-outs" are the outfit that is worn by a firefighter for going to structure fires and things like auto accidents. This outfit includes steel-toes and steel-shanked boots, heavy quilted pants with substantial suspenders, a heavy quilted coat similar to what you see on those police attack dogs shows, a Nomex hood, helmet and heavy gloves. The SCBA or Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus is an air tank on a back-pack frame and a mask that the air regulator fits onto to connect the air to the mask. These two pieces of equipment weigh about 50-60 pounds combined.
The process of donning this equipment goes something like this. You'd think after as many times we donned (put on) and doffed (took off) this stuff, that I could tell you exactly how to do it. That may be the case at the end of three weeks, but for now we're just going to go with "something like this." As I'm kicking off my shoes, I'm putting on the Nomex hood. Moving as efficiently as I can, I'm stepping into my boots. The pants are already pre-loaded over the boots. As soon as I get into my boots, I'm pulling up my pants, which are large enough to fit over my jeans without any issue. The suspenders hold up the pants until I can get them buckled with the big plastic buckle. My jacket is laid out to be easily thrown on. I'm still struggling to get the zipper zipped up without getting caught in the velcro flap, flashlight, neck cuff, etc. This cost me time in the donning process. Once the jacket is on and zipped with the neck cuff velcro'd with the sad, worn-out velcro, I roll down the Nomex hood off my head and over the collar of the jacket. This is the basic "turn-out" donning.
Next is getting the air pack or SCBA on and working. First, check to make sure that there is air in the tank. Makes sense. Then, turn the valve to make air available to the regulator. This causes all kinds of lights and sounds to go off. The regulator vibrates loudly. The secondary gauge should show the same pressure as on the tank. The lights on the heads-up display light up. The PASS--Personal Accountability Safety System??--beeps a couple of times. Once all that is checked, I can swing the pack onto my back and tighten the shoulder straps and waist strap. That done, I have to keep moving to keep the PASS thingy from making all kinds of racket and pissing everyone else off. Moving directly to the mask, I put it over my face and hold it there while tightening five separate straps to hold the thing to my face. Remember the Nomex hood? I now roll it back over my head and make sure that it's fitted around the mask. Now, my helmet and making sure to cinch down the strap. Finally, the regulator. Red up and rotate left one quarter turn. I'm now breathing from the air in the tank.
Now comes the most difficult part of the whole assembly--those infernal gloves. I have to pull so hard on these damn things that my forearms ached by the end of the day.
By the end of the academy, I will be able to do this whole process in under two minutes.
Interspersed in this donning and doffing routine was getting a feel for how breathing on bottled air works and what happens when you begin to run out of air and then what it feels like when there is no more air. Because this is a team activity, there are parts of the SCBA that facilitate getting really close to your team. In one exercise, we were all running out of air and linked together through our buddy-breathing dongles--all of us breathing on the last remaining good bottle of air. Then, it too ran out.
Towards the end of the day, we got into knot-tying and rescue drag techniques. That was a great way to end the day.
Before they let us go, I was called up to the front of the class and awarded the "Screwed on Right" award for trying hard all day and helping other members of the team. This twisted wrench below is my award for the night. I get to return it tomorrow so that someone else may have the honor.
The Firefighter Academy--Day 1
Last night, the academy began in earnest with a version of the "scared straight" process that those in prison give to young people who think it wouldn't be so bad to go into prison. Our version, though, was to make us acutely aware that seeing the kinds of stuff that you are most probably going to see has the probability of taking a toll on your mind, body and soul. This toll can easily spill over onto your family and friends. And, that you need to be aware of this possibility and guard against it with disciplined daily actions, vigilant awareness, and consistent post-event evaluation. Then, when that isn't enough, there are several layers of peer support and professional counseling. Are you still sure you want to do this, Jay?
It was sobering to listen to the statistics that more in the fire services commit suicide than are taken in the line of duty. Those numbers are consistent across all first responder roles. The numbers for alcohol and drug abuse and abusive actions towards family and friends follows in the same vein. It's something to think about. I have endured more stress throughout my life than I cared to for sure. Not always adjusted for it in the best ways either. What makes me think I can do better here?
Yet like the moth to the flame (maybe not such a good metaphor), I seem to be drawn to help where I can while I can. I may only have a few years of this type of activity left in me until my body no longer cooperates, so why not give it my best shot. I know that I'll increase my physical toughness from soft to stale marshmallow hard at the very least. I'm hoping that I'll learn some new skills to build my mental toughness from "fragile flower" to a level where I don't cause any pain and suffering to those I love.
It was sobering to listen to the statistics that more in the fire services commit suicide than are taken in the line of duty. Those numbers are consistent across all first responder roles. The numbers for alcohol and drug abuse and abusive actions towards family and friends follows in the same vein. It's something to think about. I have endured more stress throughout my life than I cared to for sure. Not always adjusted for it in the best ways either. What makes me think I can do better here?
Yet like the moth to the flame (maybe not such a good metaphor), I seem to be drawn to help where I can while I can. I may only have a few years of this type of activity left in me until my body no longer cooperates, so why not give it my best shot. I know that I'll increase my physical toughness from soft to stale marshmallow hard at the very least. I'm hoping that I'll learn some new skills to build my mental toughness from "fragile flower" to a level where I don't cause any pain and suffering to those I love.
Friday, March 30, 2018
Building the Plan
I attended a "Pub Talk" last Wednesday put on by the Florence Chamber of Commerce, the Small Business Development Council of Oregon, Lane Community College, and something called RAIN (entrepreneur network of some sort with a convoluted name). This Pub Talk was the first in a series after the pilot last Fall and I found it most useful.
The RAIN dude, David, a young man with a lot of know-how on business models, walked through the Business Model Canvas with us using various examples and then challenged us to complete one for ourselves. I found a good template at https://strategyzer.com/ that matches the one that David used.
https://assets.strategyzer.com/assets/resources/the-business-model-canvas.pdf is the template and https://assets.strategyzer.com/assets/resources/designing-crystal-clear-business-model-canvases.pdf is a guide for completing it.
When asked if anyone would like to share their roughed out Canvas, I shared mine. While it seems like a fairly simple business--a vendor cart that sells custom ice cream sandwiches--all the elements are there as there would be for a larger business.
The Value Propositions or "what you do for each customer segment" would be:
The Customer Relationships or "how the customer interacts with you" varies with each customer segment:
https://lanesbdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SBDC-SPRING-SCHEDULE-2018-FOR-WEB-1.pdf
https://strategyzer.com/
I'd like to say that it was the realization that I was selling something to people that was not good for them that gave me a change of heart, but what it probably really was was the look on Keith's face when I tried to explain that I wasn't really interested in making money or working that hard. I guess it was an insult to the struggles of the small business person who is putting in the long hours to make her business a success that I really didn't want to put in those hours anymore. Like it would be easy for me. Either way, I'm going to put this dream away for right now and see if I get serious about working hard again.
The RAIN dude, David, a young man with a lot of know-how on business models, walked through the Business Model Canvas with us using various examples and then challenged us to complete one for ourselves. I found a good template at https://strategyzer.com/ that matches the one that David used.
https://assets.strategyzer.com/assets/resources/the-business-model-canvas.pdf is the template and https://assets.strategyzer.com/assets/resources/designing-crystal-clear-business-model-canvases.pdf is a guide for completing it.
When asked if anyone would like to share their roughed out Canvas, I shared mine. While it seems like a fairly simple business--a vendor cart that sells custom ice cream sandwiches--all the elements are there as there would be for a larger business.
The Value Propositions or "what you do for each customer segment" would be:
- Provide a small range of custom ice cream sandwiches that are made with local ice cream and cookies to the crowds at the local Florence farmer's market and street fairs, and for local delivery to neighborhoods.
The Customer Relationships or "how the customer interacts with you" varies with each customer segment:
- At the farmers' market or street fairs, customers would approach my bicycle/tricycle ice cream cart and make a choice from the 3-4 options laid out on a chalkboard and purchase that choice with cash. (credit/debit?)
- Though a website and/or Facebook schedule, allow delivery orders for specific ice cream sandwich types for specific neighborhoods on specific days of the week. Based on a production schedule, certain types of ice cream sandwiches would be created.
- For local scheduled events, such as meetings, parties, weddings, etc., a pre-arranged selection and amount of custom ice cream sandwiches would be provided for a set price.
- Street fairs and farmer's markets would be advertised on the Facebook page and local Facebook pages to announce where I planned to be and when. The sandwiches would be sold from the freezer on my tricycle.
- Deliveries to the various neighborhoods would be on a schedule. For example, Coast Village and Florentine Estates on Monday, Greentrees on Tuesday, etc. Individual orders would be packaged up and there would be some extras for those who stop me along the way. I would deliver on my tricycle.
- The tricycle would be used for local weddings and events, where it was possible to ride the tricycle there. If business improved, maybe a trailer to haul the tricycle around might be an idea to pursue.
https://lanesbdc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/SBDC-SPRING-SCHEDULE-2018-FOR-WEB-1.pdf
https://strategyzer.com/
I'd like to say that it was the realization that I was selling something to people that was not good for them that gave me a change of heart, but what it probably really was was the look on Keith's face when I tried to explain that I wasn't really interested in making money or working that hard. I guess it was an insult to the struggles of the small business person who is putting in the long hours to make her business a success that I really didn't want to put in those hours anymore. Like it would be easy for me. Either way, I'm going to put this dream away for right now and see if I get serious about working hard again.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Things Rarely Go Exactly As Planned
There is a term in the project management world that I think is one of those terms that are such good metaphors for life. The term is "progressive elaboration." My take on the definition as I taught to project management certification students was that every project needs a plan, whether that plan was just a rough outline or a detailed spreadsheet full of minute steps. But, just as important as the plan is the understanding that the plan will change. The reason that it will change, no matter the amount of detailed planning, is that our perspective changes as we move into the project. We begin to see things that weren't visible before. Opportunities that weren't on the table when we were planning are presented to us. Roadblocks that weren't even near the road during the planning are now front and center.
My plan to build and to run an ice cream bicycle/tricycle was more on the rough outline end of the planning spectrum. More, actually, into a just-an-idea realm. This was by design, as I wanted to see what the process was going to throw at me and just roll with it.
On Thursday, I began taking my first steps into the plan. As I was returning from taking the computer that Pam's mom left us to the repair shop to have reimaged, I stopped into the Florence Chamber of Commerce and began asking questions about how to start a business in Florence. This led me to the executive director's office--she had just walked in with her two little doggies--who gave me the name of a guy at the city who was in charge of getting new business owners through the process. I left him a message once I got home. I found out that the city offices are in the process of moving to a temporary building so it might be a few days before I get a return call.
The second stop on the way home from the computer tech was BJ's Ice Cream at 29th and Hwy 101. I had heard from the other store downtown that this location was where I should do my asking. The young gal didn't know when the owner, Keith, would be around, but I was welcome to write him a note. As I was taste-testing a scoop of Oregon something or other that had blackberry swirls in it, I wrote Keith a short note about my business idea to give him the opportunity to choose whether he wanted to talk to me or not. Just as I was about to pull into our driveway, which is about three blocks away, I got a call from Keith. We talked for a bit and he seemed excited about the idea, as it's one that he has had for awhile, but didn't have the peoplepower to make it work.
The change that I am wrestling with is that Keith has a 3-wheeled Cushman, such as the one pictured below, and a cold-plate freezer that goes with it that he mentioned could be part of the deal.
While I still want the bicycle/tricycle to be part of the plan, I don't have the capital to make that happen right at the moment. Leasing the Cushman from Keith might be a solid way to see if there is a market for custom ice cream sandwiches and enough of one to earn the capital needed for my bicycle/tricycle.
My plan to build and to run an ice cream bicycle/tricycle was more on the rough outline end of the planning spectrum. More, actually, into a just-an-idea realm. This was by design, as I wanted to see what the process was going to throw at me and just roll with it.
On Thursday, I began taking my first steps into the plan. As I was returning from taking the computer that Pam's mom left us to the repair shop to have reimaged, I stopped into the Florence Chamber of Commerce and began asking questions about how to start a business in Florence. This led me to the executive director's office--she had just walked in with her two little doggies--who gave me the name of a guy at the city who was in charge of getting new business owners through the process. I left him a message once I got home. I found out that the city offices are in the process of moving to a temporary building so it might be a few days before I get a return call.
The second stop on the way home from the computer tech was BJ's Ice Cream at 29th and Hwy 101. I had heard from the other store downtown that this location was where I should do my asking. The young gal didn't know when the owner, Keith, would be around, but I was welcome to write him a note. As I was taste-testing a scoop of Oregon something or other that had blackberry swirls in it, I wrote Keith a short note about my business idea to give him the opportunity to choose whether he wanted to talk to me or not. Just as I was about to pull into our driveway, which is about three blocks away, I got a call from Keith. We talked for a bit and he seemed excited about the idea, as it's one that he has had for awhile, but didn't have the peoplepower to make it work.
The change that I am wrestling with is that Keith has a 3-wheeled Cushman, such as the one pictured below, and a cold-plate freezer that goes with it that he mentioned could be part of the deal.
 | ||
| 1970 Cushman--not the actual vehicle |
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