Donning PPE Training
For EVFC's monthly drill for the month of July, we practiced our ability to don our gear. Not only is it critical for a firefighter to don their gear properly ,but it must be done in a timely manner. Our guidelines state that a firefighter should be able to don their gear and SCBA in under two minutes. We put that to the test during our drill not only by timing our members' donning time , but also included an exercise where they must don while blindfolded.
For the first half of the drill. We timed all our members on donning their gear. It is important to have your gear setup and ready to be donned at all times. Make it the way you prefer so that you are geared and ready to get to the scene as fast as possible.
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For our second half of the drill, we decided to try a new exercise that not only focuses on a member's donning abilities ,but also their ability to communicate and work as a team.
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For this drill we laid out four sets of firefighter PPE and four disassembled SCBA packs. We then assigned a team of four to enter the room, assemble the SCBA packs, and don their PPE gear not only while timed, but also blindfolded.
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We want our members to know their gear and that donning is critical not only to their safety, but also to their ability to perform in an emergency situation.
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It is crucial for our firefighters to be able to work in low visibility situations as such emergency situations require and to still perform as a unit.
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From this drill we learned that it is important to keep in mind that even before you arrive at a scene, that you must work as a team and communicate. The teams that got the best time also had the best communication. Check your gear regularly and check to make sure that other members have donned properly. Know your gear and be considerate of others when removing your gear. Not everyone is the same size as you so always fully loosen the straps when removing the SCBA pack so that when the next call comes, the next guy won't have to fight with the straps while donning.