Fire Fighting And Safety Measures

Copyright (c) 2012 Pete Mitash

I am a Firefighter and am part of the volunteer brigade. As you must be aware there have been a lot of bushfires around Canberra and to counter this menace we have formed volunteer firefighter brigades. The team members are not full time paid firefighters but are volunteers who are called upon in times of emergencies.

We are a motley group of individuals who have signed up for this program and we come from as varied backgrounds as possible. Some of us are farmhands, while some are counter staff from the local store with no idea or skills on firefighting at the time of volunteering for the brigade. The fact that we are the most skilled and respected firefighting force in the region is testimony to the training that we received from our trainers at the state fire academy. This also highlights the highly successful training program chalked out by the fire academy and is similar to the success story of so many other well managed training institutes in Australia.

The main aspect of our training revolved around the following: 1) Prevention 2) Self preservation (personal safety) 3) Rescuing victims 4) Saving property 5) Protecting the environment

As stated earlier, since our unit was commissioned specifically keep the bushfires in mind, additional aspects were added to our training which included sizing up the situation, extinguishing the wild fire, containment of fire to prevent spread, extinguishing the fire and assist in Search and Rescue. Additionally a selected batch was taken through a certification course in providing emergency medical assistance and technical rescue.

One of the most important points highlighted by our trainers was to focus on self preservation (personal safety) at all times. A full face mask is worn under protective helmets to protect against smoke inhalation, toxic fumes, and super heated gasses & a breathing apparatus delivers air to the firefighter through the mask. A special device is also commonly used to sound an alarm alert others when a firefighter stops moving for a specified period as an indicator of distress to the firefighter.

Work clothing used by a firefighter has a significant role in ensuring their personal safety. Specially designed suits, which can withstand intense fires of extreme temperature thus protecting the firefighter, is the core component of the safety wear. These suits deployed as safety clothing are manufactured from a range of fire resistant materials. To go with the suits, specialized boots are slipped inside the legs of the suits to maintain a layer of protection from the fire.

Ever since I have joined this brigade, I have felt the satisfaction of having contributed towards my community and Australia.

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