WA Radio Scanner Users' Group

Not something to be proud of...

Agreed.
The instructor should have had his gear on incase he needed to do anything.

For those who have or have not done this type of training, there are usually several safety methods in place. The guy in the coveralls appears to be a safety operator, not instructor, and his job is to provide additional 'cover' with a line connected to a different pumping supply than the team training. This assistance can give a bit of additional cooling, but is there more in the event that the team's water supply fails or falters. The other main measure, is the control of the fire. Most of the intensity is controlled by flow of fuel, from a control 'tower', they often increase the intensity basically to make it hard, and give the guys experience in that situation. If needed, they can reduce the intensity. Of course there would still be alot of fuel floating on the pan.

People here can get a bit too critical at times, when they are not aware of the full details, especically when you are looking at a limited view on a photo.

well said kylep.

What good is a safety officer if he is not in full PPE? At the FESA academy, the safety officer also wears full PPE. The use of PPE is drummed into Fire Fighters.. training should be no different, particularly if you are going to use the phrase 'Safety Officer'. What happens if he needs to act quickly to pull someone out?

Also with regards to the fuel flow, yes, they can cut it, but it does not kill the fire instantly (this is all explained before doing Hot Fire @ Forrestfield).

Sorry kyle, as far as PPE is concerned whether in a training environment or not, there is NO excuse. We all know, fire can KILL.

Sorry fastlane, fire doesnt kill people - people kill people.

Toottoot wrote:Sorry fastlane, fire doesnt kill people - people kill people.

So very, very wrong. Are ALL fires started by people? No.

Using that statement outside of man made objects doesn't have the same effect bud.

If you read all of my reply, you'll notice a key comment. You don't know what the whole set-up was. The guy that you can see, could be one of several safety options in place. He is wearing PPE - I know I can see overalls and boots. Yes, it would be more ideal if he was wearing additional PPE. For similar, albeit smaller drills, some services wear Bushfire PPE. It's what they do.

I didn't say safety officer, I said safety operator. The safety officer should be standing back, observing the whole picture (which we can't see), and taking appropriate action. The safety operator is not there to 'pull people out'. He is there operating a line. If something goes wrong, he 'covers' (for a simple term) the firefighters, while they work as a team to get out. In that situation, he should have enough capacity to stop the FF's from being seriously injured. Remember, firefighting is a very risky activity. We try to mitigate the risk, not completely remove it.

Make whatever comments you like, because it's this behaviour that limits the contributions on the site. If people post photos, and others just pick at all everything in it, why would they bother sharing more? Photos make it possible for you to be critical of a very small part of time. I'll hang around some of you, and see how your driving, behaviour at training and incidents is, maybe take a photo or two and post them. I'm sure I could find something wrong with them. I'm sure you'd spot me doing the wrong thing as well, especially if you see a photo, missing a large amount of context. We're not perfect!

Kyle, if you notice the original poster made comment himself regards to the PPE that *wasnt* being worn.

I quote:

talking of no ppe check this out
We all most got surrounded, but one off the best instructors in the industry, got us out.
by the way we didnt have hoods at this stage.

If that is not inviting comment or discussion on the post/photo, I don't know what is? Regardless, it does not change the fact, he should've been wearing full PPE. You'd have buckleys of filing an insurance claim if you were wearing a cap and got burnt..

Wearing full PPE is part of mitigating risk. Particularly in a training environment - you want to instill good habits and set a good example.

...

I'd never take risks on the fireground. I'd do what's safe and nothing more. Especially so if I was an OIC/crew leader.