Members of the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department trained on Rescue, Carry & Drag Techniques and RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) Drills this past Tuesday. The evening began with some refresher & discussion on mayday calls, communications and emergency situations. Carry & drag techniques were demonstrated & discussed.

Firefighters were then broken up into teams of two and began at one of two areas for drill evolutions. At the first station firefighters were told they are a RIT Team and a report came in that a firefighter was down on either the floor above or floor below. They were to assume poor visibility & smoke/heat conditions so they would have to crawl. Full Personal Protective Gear (PPE), except for the hood due to heat/humidity, was worn and the firefighters were on air using the Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA).

Once the downed firefighter was located they were examined and prepared for drag or carry. Communication between the pairs was stressed and radio communications were simulated. The downed firefighter was dragged or carried back out to safety and a full critique was discussed by participants and observers.

The second station (no pictures due to darkness) was similar but more challenging. The pair of firefighters was again a RIT Team and the command had been given to rescue an immobile firefighter who was disoriented but still holding a hoseline. Visibility was zero. For the purpose of the drill the firefighters, still in full PPE & on-air, had their vision obscured with wax paper placed in the masks. They located the hoseline and then followed it to the downed firefighter, assessed the injured firefighter & prepared for drag/carry and then worked back out of the room, again following the hoseline. Nearly 150 feet of hose was stretched & wrapped around the room. If either or both firefighter had the low-air alarm sound on their SCBA, the drill was over. Again, a full critique was discussed.

The drills were physically demanding and challenging.

HPVFD Captain’s Tim Langan & Mark Borquist and Assistant Chief Marc Robinson created and delivered the drills. Thanks Chief Mike McMahon was on-hand to observe & offer critique. Captain Jeff Morris helped bring some newer members up-to-speed on SCBA usage and then jumped in himself to participate in the drill. Turnout from the Member Volunteers was fantastic and made for a long night of training but well worth it for all.

More pictures from the drill (thank you to Firefighters Tyler Morris & David Seiden for some of the photos):

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.297195540443685.1073741851.162883673874873&type=1

 

The weather has finally (finally!) made a change for the better in Central New Jersey. The snow is gone, the roads are clear and safer and Spring Training has arrived. Not the baseball variety but fire department training. Members of the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department have taken to training outdoors more vigorously now that spring has sprung.

In the Fire Service the driver of a piece of apparatus (Engine, Truck, etc.) is often called the Chauffeur. That term makes it sound like the driver just drives firefighters to an emergency. In reality the role is much more complex and the title Driver-Operator is closer to the role and responsibilities.

For the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department, individuals who drive a piece of apparatus to an emergency call must be qualified to do so and the process for driver qualification is extensive. For Engine Driver-Operators they must be proficient in driving the vehicle safely – keep in mind this is a large, heavy vehicle carrying not only equipment (ladders, hose, tools, etc.) but 500 gallons of water or more in the tank. Along with driving safely the Driver-Operator must know all the functions and capabilities of the piece of apparatus. That includes knowing where and how the tools operate, how to deploy hoselines, how to safely and efficiently remove the ladders and more. There is one more critical component for the Driver-Operator and that is operating the pump panel to flow water (to handlines, to the Truck, from the hydrant, etc.).

 

There are many inlets, where water comes in, and discharge valves (or pre-connected hoses), where water goes out. The Engine (or Pumper) sends that water out to one or more outlets. Water comes in from a hydrant or nearby water source. The whole process requires the Driver-Operator to watch pressure gauges for intake & discharge and to communicate with those receiving water.

To be qualified on HPVFD Truck 3 the Driver-Operator must drive safely, know the tools, usage and location of the tools and be proficient setting up the outriggers.  After understanding the outlay & safe setup of the Truck for operations the Driver-Operator must learn the functions of the turntable (area where the ladder moves) and the aerial ladder operation. That includes flowing water through the ladder pipe. HPVFD’s Truck 3 does not pump water (that is called Quint in the Fire Service), but it can receive water from an Engine and flow water through the ladder pipe, out the nozzles off the Bucket at a high volume.

 

Each piece of apparatus at Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department is unique. Even Engine 1 & Engine 2, both Seagrave Engines that look nearly identical differ greatly.

 

Now that the weather is nicer you may see the Engines & Truck 3 moving around town more as we work hard to learn, train, drill and be ready for any emergencies that happen within Highland Park. Thank you as always for reading & supporting us.

For the March, 2014 Departmental Drill, the Highland Park Volunteer Fire Department joined together with the River Road Fire Company (Piscataway, NJ) and visited the Francis Parker Memorial Home to discuss Fire Alarm & Sprinkler Systems.

Francis Parker is split between Highland Park and Piscataway and features some newer construction on its grounds, along with extensive alarm system and fire suppression systems. Being on-site and hands-on helped the firefighters learn the complexity of the building and potential safety systems & hazards in case of emergency.

HPVFD Engine 1 Captain Tim Langan gave a presentation on the overview of fire alarm and sprinkler systems before leading all the attendees through Francis Parker to look at and point out different systems in place and how they are used. Thanks also to Keith Thedinga & the Middlesex County Fire Marshal Office for being on-hand to answer additional questions and highlight similar buildings using equipment like Francis Parker.

And a huge thank you to the Staff at Francis Parker who graciously welcomed us, offered space and guided us through a tour of the building.