Beyond the Flame – Firefighter Challenge Held at Dennis Night Out

At last week’s National Night Out in Dennis Township, I had the opportunity to partake in an event put on by our township’s fire departments known as the “firefighter’s challenge.” The unique event showcased different skills that are required in the fire service, allowing the community we serve to get just a small taste of what we might be faced with.
The event was spearheaded by a grant the Ocean View Volunteer Fire Company received from the United States Fire Administration’s SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response) program. The grant allocated approximately $15,000 to the department for the “recruitment & retention” of potential volunteers.
The department utilized this grant to begin a number of varying events and community outreaches in an attempt to get more volunteer firefighters in their area.
“We use the money to reach out to the community in a number of different ways, whether it be through advertisements, information booths at events like National Night Out, or activities like the Firefighter Challenge,” said Ocean View Captain Mike DeLuca, who was one of the organizers for the challenge.
The department had set up an information booth for the township’s three fire departments at last year’s National Night Out with information on the departments, what they do, and how to join, and had received several potential members through the efforts. But firefighters felt that something more needed to be done this year.
“Our firefighters have participated in several area 5K runs, and decided they wanted to put an emphasis on the importance physical fitness and training in the fire service,” DeLuca said. “One of our guys had been involved in a similar event at a different fire department, and thought that a Firefighter Challenge would be a good opportunity to recruit.”
Volunteers helped construct the props needed for the event, and firefighters utilized their own equipment and apparatus that are normally at National Night Out to complete the task. In addition, Stafford’s High & Dry Storage in Ocean View generously donated their assistance towards the event, including providing each participant with a specially-designed t-shirt.
The challenge was essentially a team relay race, consisting of six separate individual events as well as one team event at the end of the relay. Firefighters from throughout the township were mixed into two teams, showing the community that the township’s departments functioned strongly with each other.
The first event consisted of a rapid gear test, wear firefighters raced to put their gear on properly. Event referees inspected them before being cleared to approach the next station. After tagging off with their teammates at the next event, firefighters then had to breach a door with an axe and proceed through the hole they had made to tag off at the next station.
In the next event, firefighters climbed a set of scaffolding with a ladder, hoisted a tool which was attached to a rope, then proceeded down the opposite side of the ladder. They then jogged the short distance to the next obstacle, where they tagged off with their awaiting teammates.
The next set of firefighters ran distances down the course, grabbed charged attack hoses, and advanced the line approximately 20 yards before opening their nozzles and aiming at a target. Once the bucket within the target was filled, the referees signaled to the individual that they could advance to the next obstacle. Then, firefighters demonstrated their rescue skills by dragging a weighted dummy approximately 40 yards, where they then tagged off with their final teammate.
The last obstacle was arguably the most challenging, but certainly the most fun to watch for the crowd. In the final stage, an attack hose, with the nozzle end of the hose cut off, was charged, sending it flapping violently into the air and spraying water across the course. Firefighters were charged with the task of gaining control of the loose hose.
Once the firefighters gained control of the open end of the hoseline, the final team event began. Firefighters that competed in the previous event were all tasked with performing a “bucket brigade” event, a tribute to the origins of firefighting. Firefighters filled five-gallon buckets with water from the now-controlled hose, and raced to see which team could fill a 55-gallon barrel to the top first.
While the event did have a competitive edge, and Team B triumphed over Team A, the event was about more than just winning and losing. DeLuca mentioned how the event was really all about showing the community what types of demands the fire service presents as well as displaying “functional fitness,” or exercise pertaining to the tasks your job requires.
“The event was a non-conventional approach to recruitment for our departments, and we showed the township something they haven’t seen at our National Night Out before,” DeLuca said. “I think the event was a huge success.”
If you’re interested in getting involved in your community, contact our local volunteer fire department today and find out more about volunteering. Training is provided at no cost to you, and the feeling of making a difference is more than any salary could give. Get involved today.
Responders
As America continues its efforts to become a more environmentally friendly nation, there has been a massive increase in the amount of new technology in the automobile industry. Whether it’s hybrid cars, electric-run engines, flex fuels, or various new safety and emissions features, most of the moves are aimed at making American cars more friendly to our global future.
But many of these new innovations aren’t so friendly to the emergency first responders who deal with them. In fact, many of the changes make dealing with a motor vehicle accident much more challenging than one involving a “traditional” vehicle.
For example, many hybrid cars have at least some form of battery system that stores energy and assists a part of the car’s main functions. Traditionally, the battery of a vehicle is located somewhere under the front hood. This, however, is not always the case with hybrid vehicles, which have batteries located in a wide variety of places: In the trunk, under the rear seat, and under the back floor panel, to name a few.
Not only do some of these vehicles have batteries located in various spots, but many of them have numerous batteries, whether they be smaller, backup batteries or larger dual batteries. Often times vehicles with various batteries have them located in several different locations, making it extremely difficult to locate the power source.
It is important for responded to locate the battery in vehicles because disabling the power to a vehicle is one of the first steps on scene that are taken to ensure the safety of the responders and victims involved. The electric system within vehicles can cause problems if not disabled, such as premature airbag deployment, electrical shocking, and sparking that could ignite automotive fluids.
New safety innovations in regards to airbags have added increased worries for responders. Many newer model vehicles have compressed-air cylinders built directly into the door posts of vehicles, and are not visible to the naked eye in their normal positioning. The canisters can cause the airbag deployment to be delayed, putting a responder who is reaching in at risk.
Not only could it cause faulty airbag deployment, but since the canisters aren’t visible without the removal of the interior trim of the vehicle, the danger of cutting one of these cylinders arises. In addition, many of the newer vehicles are being built on frames made of high strength boron steel, which some traditional saws cannot cut through. Firefighters must be able to locate the steel’s built-in cutting positions. These newer vehicles also typically have electrical system wiring running through or near the frame, which can cause problems if cut by crews.
While many new challenges arise from the innovations, there are several options for first responders to minimize the effects of the changing automobile industry available to them. Each manufacturer of hybrid vehicles typically releases information specifically geared towards fire responders, known as emergency response guides, or ERGs.
This information is available for free online from most manufacturers, and typically includes important information such battery, wiring, compressed air, and airbag locations.
While all of this is available for study and download, recalling everything on the scene of an accident isn’t a simple task. So, several technology manufacturers have developed programs that display diagrams of the vehicles and include exact cutting locations, as well as other important information pertaining to the particular vehicle. Many departments now have laptops with some form of this system installed in their rescue apparatus.
The technology of vehicle information has even come handheld. I have two different applications for my iPod Touch that identify the basic information needed to get started when arriving on the scene of a hybrid vehicle crash. These apps certainly aren’t an in-depth guide, but they can be very helpful to glance at when trying to locate the battery of a vehicle or any other obvious hazards. For those of you interested in a free download of the app, search “hybrid vehicle extrication guide” in the iTunes store.
New innovations in automobile technology to make us more environmentally polite and safer might come as a nice welcome to you, but they pose impeding hazards on first responders. But, through endless training sessions and technology available, first responders will be able to continue providing quality response to your emergencies.
Knoll, 19, of Eldora, can be contacted by email at bknolljr4cmcherald @yahoo.com. He is a stu-dent at Rowan University.