contents, explosions, flashover, and backdrafts. The second type is referred to as a fully involved or structure fire. These fires almost always have destroyed structural components, have minimal life expectancy and kill firefighters by collapsing on them. The next area covered was how to organize the incident and obtain a proper 360 on structures too large to walk around. His suggestions on incident organization were to use division and group assignments as soon as possible. Per his department, functional groups were used on confirmed rescues, special incidents, or incidents beyond the average residential fire. The RIT group supervisor was assigned to handle any MAYDAY calls to allow command to continue to run the incident and provide logistical support for rescue operations. He explained why using the term interior division was only acceptable for one story single family dwellings and suggested eliminating that term all together since it could accidentally be used in a building which deteriorates the ability for command to know where the people are. In regards to obtaining a 360 on large structures, he stated that they often rely on a Roof report. These reports should include: Type of roof (peaked/flat), conditions (stable/unstable), fire/smoke conditions, firewall presence and locations, any heavy roof loads, attic conditions (if known), blueprint considerations (if something weird is found such as remodeling work, etc.) and actions taken. Chief Problem Solver Chief Richard Marinucci: has been a chief for more than 27 years. He is a speaker at FDIC, a columnist for Fire Engineering and Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazines, and editor of the 7th edition of the Fire Chief's Handbook. He is a faculty member at Eastern Michigan University and the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute.
to judge you. Other methods for getting to know yourself, in terms of your instructing ability, includes: audio/video recording, test results, outside observer input, and trials with proper feedback. Once you know yourself it is necessary to know the audience. Knowing the audience will allow a good instructor to adapt the presentation methods or material to suit the audience. The differences in audiences include: instructors/students, old/new firefighters, firefighters/normal citizens, men/women, officers/firefighters, career/volunteer, generational gaps (baby boomer, X, Y, etc.), and many others. The main concern with understanding these differences boils down to how to avoid offending them and presenting the material in the best way possible. The example given was a video of a woman talking to the news about a fire. In the presence of most firefighters it would be a considered appropriate humor. In a room of citizens or chief officers it may not add to the lesson or convey a point that makes it needed. The final subject covered during this presentation covered motivation. Lt. Carrigan stated that motivation is often misrepresented as something you can give to someone else. The truth is that motivation is completely internal and the only thing good instructors can do is create an environment that fosters motivation. There are many motivators although the “external motivators” are more realistically satisfiers. Internal motivators include: self-respect, personal achievement, personal growth, and sense of responsibility. External satisfiers which only temporarily foster motivation include: money, benefits and bonuses. By creating an environment that fosters motivation, it is possible to make people want to retain the knowledge you as an instructor are offering. Poor instructors or indifferent instructors suffer from a lack of motivation exponentially since it is hard to pass on an
disability, such as a missing limb, if the person can perform all job related tasks as identified by the standards, the department cannot discriminate. No one is allowed to look at someone and make the decision that they cannot perform. The final consideration to this policy revolved around “Light Duty.” According to the law if the policy is implemented, then the agency has a light duty program. There cannot be subjective limitations placed on the program. The biggest violation of this comes from departments that only allow people injured on duty participate in the light duty program. If the program exists for one injury, it must exist for all injuries. The use of “qualifiers” will lead to the department losing a discrimination lawsuit. In addition, the work being done by someone on light duty must be standardized. Many use a “Chief’s Aid” position which is an identified job description. Without standardized tasks, someone may feel like they are being punished for their injury which will result in the department losing a discrimination lawsuit. These programs can be stopped at any time but cannot be stopped and started since it can give the perception of only being active for certain people. The next set of policies address OSHA mandates. The biggest of these includes the respiratory protection program. This program must be in line with OSHA CFR 1910.134 and ensure there are policies in place to provide adequate protection for members. The program must: have someone designated as the administrator, require medical determination of fitness to wear the SCBA, and specify when protection is required. The biggest problem in this section occurs when a department allows the members to remove SCBA during overhaul. Even with atmospheric monitoring, allowing someone to say it is ok to remove protective gear opens the department up to huge law suits and OSHA fines. The changes to materials found and hazards associated with those materials after they have burned have created extreme acute/chronic exposure problems. The next policy touched on the mandate for two-in, two-out. Federal law