Editor in Chief - John McMahon Ret. Deputy Chief

9 ˝ Weeks (firefighter edition) Week #7

by Capt. Mike Gentili

Monday, 10/2/2000:
A field instructor from the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy joins us today. He presents classes on firefighter safety and car fires.
This instructor is a member of the Quincy, MA Fire Department. Which is a department very similar in size and structure to our own. It is good for the recruits to hear someone from another city teaching the same principles and tactics as we do. This reinforces the universality and brotherhood of the fire service.
The turnout gear finally arrives today. The recruits anxiously dig through the pile like kids in a candy store. Upon finding theirs, they immediately put it on and prance around looking at each other like they were the only ones to ever wear this stuff. They gather up all the old gear they had been using and store it away for the next unlucky group that runs into a gear SNAFU.

Tuesday, October 3, 2000:
The PT program is a little different today.
After some stretching exercises, the recruits are told to suit up in their new fire gear and get ready to complete some fire related circuit training. This consists of running to different exercise stations while carrying bundles of 2 ˝” hose, carrying 10’ lengths of 6”

          

hard suction hose while working with a partner, climbing up and over ground and roof ladders, and dragging Hose “A” (the rescue mannequin) a prescribed distance.
They quickly come to realize how much more difficult it is to while wearing turnout gear. Some even jokingly say they wish the gear had not arrived. Yeah right, I’m sure they were all at home in the mirror last night checking themselves out! Oh to be a fly on the wall. Anyway, on with the program.
Today is the start of the Haz-Mat FRO training. The instructor is the captain of Rescue Co. #1 and is the city’s haz-mat coordinator as well as a regional haz-mat training officer for the statewide haz-mat team. He will present a 24-hour program over a three-day period, concluding on Friday of this week. Today is mostly awareness level training, dealing with hazard recognition, placards and labels, and cylinders and tanks.

Wednesday, October 4, 2000:
Emergency medical training concludes with all students passing their exam with little or no problem. They are glad this is over with but realize that close to 50% of their calls will be medical related. As much as we all like to fight fire, we must face reality and accept the inevitable.

Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6, 2000:
These two days are devoted solely to the haz-mat program. In addition to the classroom portion, the recruits are treated to a field trip to a couple of federally designated super fund sites in the city. These sites deal mainly with PCBs, which had been disposed of by industry in the past. They also get to practice setting up and using a decon area as well as trying level A and B suits.
They are anxious for next week to get here.
Monday is, finally, burn day down at the burn building. Even though they are anxious, there is still an atmosphere of apprehension when we talk about what we will be doing. They are all assured that they will survive. We will be leaving at 0630 Monday and returning home about 12 hours later so the recruits are told to rest up over the weekend. Hope they listen.

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