Fireground Survival Training Doesn't Stop When You're The Chief

[x635 4,066]

And this is one of the many reasons LA City FD is my favorite fire department.

 

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Los Angeles FD added 2 new photos.
Los Angeles, CA ·

 

Fire Ground Survival Training can saving firefighter's lives and the training doesn't stop...not when you've got 10 years on...20 years...or even if you're THE Fire Chief.

 

‪#‎LAFD‬ Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas leads by example as he makes his way through the obstacles today.

This training puts firefighters in scenarios where they must be able to 'self-rescue' - save themselves. Performing these tasks in a safe, controlled environment builds confidence and greatly improves cha...nces for survival if faced with these deadly situations when the flame and heat are real.

Train like your life depends on it, because it does. ^MS

 

[Oaks 18]

It does stop with some Chiefs in this county! See the other article you posted about toxic leadership!

[somebuffyguy 190]

While I can see this is certainly well meaning, I have to disagree. There's no reason the Chief of one of the largest FDs in the nation will ever have to pack up, much less escape a building. While it's great that he "trains just like us" there's a dozen things I'd rather have the chief of my city driving his time doing. Pushing city hall to hire enough personnel to fix our rigs, giving them money and equipment to fix them, updating our out of date equipment, better code enforcement of illegal apartments and abandoned houses and factories, and fighting attempts to close companies and reopening previously closed companies all come to mind. Yeah it's great that he took the time to suit up but a Chief has more important issues at hand that only he can do. There's plenty of Indians, be the Chief. 

[dwcfireman 656]

4 hours ago, somebuffyguy said:

While I can see this is certainly well meaning, I have to disagree. There's no reason the Chief of one of the largest FDs in the nation will ever have to pack up, much less escape a building. While it's great that he "trains just like us" there's a dozen things I'd rather have the chief of my city driving his time doing. Pushing city hall to hire enough personnel to fix our rigs, giving them money and equipment to fix them, updating our out of date equipment, better code enforcement of illegal apartments and abandoned houses and factories, and fighting attempts to close companies and reopening previously closed companies all come to mind. Yeah it's great that he took the time to suit up but a Chief has more important issues at hand that only he can do. There's plenty of Indians, be the Chief. 

 

While I agree with you on this, there's no better leader than the one that gets out there and does the same training as everyone else.  Yes, the chief needs to worry about those meetings, the safety issues, the rig maintenance, etc.  But, every once in a while, a great leader needs to get out there and show that he/she still has the skills and can still do the job.  This is partly because the chief still needs to know how to do the ob, especially in a day and age where science is proving different fireground conditions, equipment is becoming more integrated and innovative, and just to keep the skills up in general.  A great leader needs to be just as reliable on the fireground as followers.

The other thing that is great about this is the chief is showing that he hasn't left the workers in the dust.  He hasn't forgotten about them and the work that they do.  A lot of career chiefs just settle into their offices and never go back into the line of duty.  But, if you go out there and show the front line personnel that you can still do the job, you earn their respect 1,000 times over.  The firefighters know that you can still do what they do, and that you haven't become just a political desk jockey.

 

The fire service needs leaders, not bosses with bright white coats and helmets.  Lead by example, lead with courage!

[AFS1970 504]

I think this is a good idea, for no other reason that a chief officer needs to be aware of this type of situation in order to effectively manage this type of incident. Granted LAFD is large enough, that the chief of department will probably not be the IC at all but the most major of incidents, but it is good to have an understanding of Mayday / RIT issues that comes from somewhere other than a textbook or a classroom.

 

I know chief's that were chiefs already when RIT became a regular thing. They have never done any training like this in a live setting. These are also the chiefs that most often reassign "those guys just standing around" to other duties. I have to think it is because they lack the basic concept. It seems like LAFD is taking a step in the right direction to accomplish this.

[x635 4,066]

11 hours ago, somebuffyguy said:

While I can see this is certainly well meaning, I have to disagree. There's no reason the Chief of one of the largest FDs in the nation will ever have to pack up, much less escape a building. While it's great that he "trains just like us" there's a dozen things I'd rather have the chief of my city driving his time doing..........................

 

And Chief Terrazas has and does all that and more. He's cleaned up A LOT of crap in the department already. The guy likes to keep his skills up and he is still a firefighter no matter what his title. He's done the same throughout his administrative career before taking the role of Chief as well. How can you stay in touch and be respected if you don't understand or interface with what's actually going on day-to-day in your department? Locking yourself up inside City Hall is not the answer.
 

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Ralph M. Terrazas is the Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). 

 

Prior to his appointment, he was an Assistant Fire Chief assigned to the South Division “A” Platoon. As a Division Commander, Terrazas was responsible for leading, managing, and training the approximately 500 members on duty at 54 fire stations throughout seven battalion commands.  The South Division Command covers half of the City and includes the complex institutions of the Port of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles International Airport.

 

Terrazas is a 31-year veteran of the LAFD and is the 18th Fire Chief of the LAFD. During his tenure, he has served as a chief officer for 14 years in a variety of field and administrative commands. He established the Department’s Professional Standards Division (PSD), which upgraded and professionalized the LAFD’s disciplinary system; applied metric-based management at the Division and Battalion level to achieve continual improvement and data tracking of specific objectives; led the development and passage of the Proposition “F” Fire Station Bond, which enabled the construction of 19 new LAFD stations; served as the Community Liaison Officer, and is the holder of a U.S. Patent for a “Brush Fire Rate of Spread” tool and an Emmy Award of Excellence for production of a public service announcement program.

 

Terrazas was born in Long Beach, Calif., and was raised in nearby Wilmington. He is a graduate of Banning High School, where he played on two City Championship football teams. He retains strong ties to the Wilmington community through his founding and support of the Banning High School/LAFD Fire Academy, which has mentored high school students towards successful professional careers for the past 14 years.

 

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration and a Certificate in Fire Protection Administration from San Diego State University. In 1995, he received Master’s Degree in Public Administration with an emphasis on Human Resource Management from California State University, Los Angeles. He was appointed to the LAFD in December 1983, fulfilling a lifelong goal of a professional career in the fire and EMS service.

 

Terrazas and his wife Dayna, a registered nurse, have three children and are long-time residents of San Pedro.

 

 

 

[AFS1970 504]

I still believe that RIT should be part of FF1. Few if any departments have the luxury of a dedicated RIT that is always available. Everyone needs to be able to be basically competent at Firefighter Safety & Firefighter Removal. 

 

A few years ago when I left the Fire Service, the CT state fire academy was offering a 2 day Basic & a 2 day advanced RIT course, as well as a 1 day Mayday / Self rescue class. I took all of three and they were great classes. While you could put those together into a 40 hour class, I think that is probably not going to fly as part of a recruit class. However if you did maybe 8 on RIT, 8 on Self Rescue, and then incorporated those into other evolutions as you trained, then I think we could get everyone on the same page.

 

Existing members need to be refreshed on these skills and that includes Chief's. Yes the chances of a Chief being on a RIT are rare except in the smallest of departments, but how many places in our area will roll a mutual aid FAST with a chief officers as wither the driver or officer? Look at the IA's on this site, almost everyone sends a car as part of the RIT/FAST assignment. That tells me there is a need for that officer to have a clear understanding of what will be involved, how long it will take and what other resources may be needed just to remove one firefighter. Reminding a chief of his roots is never a bad thing.