Recently on a frigid February day at SBM Fire Station number 3, crews were preparing for potential situations that might come up.
Inside the facility a team of four was practicing a search and rescue mission in a part of the building that replicates a structure similar to one they could actually go into.
“It’s designed to simulate a house with kitchens, dining rooms, living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms,” said Derek Authier, SBM’s Chief of Training. “To get them used to moving around freely through the different areas and again applying the techniques we’ve worked on through search and rescue for so many years.”
According to Authier these department drills are common and are critical in preparing for response situations.
“This is vital,” Authier said.
Authier has been with SBM for almost 10 years. On this day in the upper level of Fire Station 3, he looked on while a quartet of firefighters went through a mock situation they might someday encounter.
“We’re using our search and rescue maze to hone in our search techniques,” Authier said. “In his case we’re removing our victim today as well,”
In this specific session the firefighting crew worked in synch as they navigated their way through the structure trying to find and remove the victim as fast as possible.
“We all join this industry to save lives,” Authier said. “Give back to the community. When a fire occurs it’s the worst day for our community. When someone is trapped in a fire they don’t have a lot of options. Our crews coming in are risking their lives. They’re taking that risk for that high reward of coming in and getting somebody out.”
Focus and repetition
For firefighters focus and repetition is critical. Crews need to hone and refine their response efforts so they can be ready for the real thing. Every second counts.
“We keep doing this so that we can’t get it wrong…” Authier said. “We are constantly going through this. We are constantly training. We are constantly perfecting.”
The energy is apparent when you see the group practicing for these scenarios.
“Our crews have a lot of adrenaline as you can imagine, when they’re coming into a scene like this,” Authier said. “The intense training that we perform here allows them to train not til they get it right but until they can’t get it wrong. It just ingrains this into their muscle memories so that when that adrenaline dump happens they can still go through the motions and fall back on what we’ve worked on for so long.”
After the drill, Authier and the group decompress and critique their efforts. They go over the good and the not so good.
“We are a team,” Authier said. “When we start acting as individuals we begin to lose. Every member on this crew has a vital role. If any member drops their responsibility or fails to accomplish it, the crew as a whole is going to suffer.”
Firefighting is a risky profession and requires a certain mindset.
“The thought of fear and the thought of what you just did doesn’t come in until later,” Authier said. “It’s after the fact and it does hit you. As firefighters we have to process these things.”
Of course that isn’t easy, but it comes with the job.
