I have been viewing training videos on social media the last few days. I shocked at the lack of safety measures I see during the training. I will mention two short videos exemplifying what I see.
The first was some training cutting hood hinges on newer vehicles. It seemed to be a training conducted by someone selling the tools they were using. The instructor commented on the newer hood hinges having two parts, a thick part and a thin part. First, the instructor directs one firefighter to use a haligan create some space between the hood and fender to expose the hinge. He then directs another FF to use this cordless reciprocal saw to cut the thin part of the hinge. although they are wearing helmets, there is no eye protection. Two firefighter are in view, both with the small flip down shields (one for each eye) and neither had those flipped down. In addition, that type of eye protection is not acceptable. If you have a helmet like that you need goggles installed. I will say that in my career/lifetime, I have been to the ER three times for metal embedded in my eye. Two of these times were not on duty and one was while on duty. In the latter case I was using a K 650 with a metal blade to cut into the side of a tractor trailer to expose fire. I did have my full face shield in place but even so, a small shard of metal must have come through the gap between the top of the shield and the Helmet.
The second was just an image advertising a FF1 class. There is a woman operating the pumps with no helmet. I have seen a gated wye fly off its mount and hit a firefighter in the helmet with so much force it knocked him down. This was due to worn threads but something like a burst hose can happen at any time.
Our job is no joke. It is dangerous on many levels. Let us not neglect using the safety equipment we have EVEN DURING TRAINING!
If you have run across something like this, or any other safety issue, give me a note at info@csutest.com.
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