A day in the life . . . Beach firefighters have many daily jobs
A day in the life of a Fort Myers Beach Fire Department firefighter is busier day than many might expect. They answer EMS calls, fire calls, take part in ongoing educational classes and train every day.
“We want our guys at the top of their game, physically and mentally, even if that means covering the most basic of training topics until everyone knows it backwards,” Battalion Chief Jake Lamb said.
The biggest thing you notice is that Beach stations have no dedicated training house, which is where most stations would go to practice “on site” conditions. They make their best efforts in-station, often building obstacle courses from scratch and having firefighters run different configurations of blind trials until they’re sure everyone is working at their safest levels.
With a handful of new recruits on the Beach, it tends to be the perfect time to go over basics, including the “push/carry” techniques used to evacuate downed firefighters on an emergency site.
With upwards of 80 pounds of gear when fully equipped, this means full sets of hand tools, air tanks, harness, and whatever role tool is needed, – and getting your firefighting brethren out of danger, along with members of the public, can be a rapid decision making process.
“We can’t get rusty on the basics, these techniques save lives every day. We want our guys to have about two hours of training a day, depending on schedule, and we don’t pass up lessons because they’re too easy or it’s something we covered. Practice makes perfect, and it can mean the difference between life and death in the field,” said Vincent Dicristofalo, assistant chief in charge of Training, Education, and Safety.
During a routine training exercise, each group takes charge of different “stations” of training, with veteran lieutenants going over each of these techniques in a hands-on approach. One firefighter plays “victim’, in full gear, while the other two have a particular manner in which they are to evacuate this person. Push/Pull techniques are important for short distances where you can’t maneuver as well. Carabiner ties and easy release knots are taught so you can pull someone out while anchoring yourself. Team stair lifts are useful when they only way out is through a difficult incline. Hand tool pulls and carries are also incredibly useful, for either dragging a downed person safely, or putting them up in a makeshift stretcher and carrying them out in classic, improvised medic style.
“It’s so important these guys know how to save lives, both each other’s and the people we are sworn to save, so we practice it in full gear. A lot of these life-saving decisions have to be made in moments of possible panic and danger, so we want first instinct to be the safest, most effective way to do so,” Dicristofalo said.
Even the fresh-out-of-academy firefighters are quick studies, with the entire building working together in a cohesive unit for each task. At the end of station training, pairs of two are charged with, in full on-site gear, running “The gauntlet”, which is a combination of all of the techniques practiced while timed. This creates a little competition for the firefighters, but also conveys the importance of steady, quick, practiced movements.
“In the heat of the moment, it can get tough. Guys can become disoriented, structures change rapidly with smoke and fire damage, so we want the most effective training coming out of our station, regardless of simplicity,” Lamb said.