"Train Like You Fight"

Confidence doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have competence.

As the saying goes: “Amateurs train until they get it right; professionals train until they can’t get it wrong.”

The theme of this year’s International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week (June 15-21) is “Train Like You Fight,” with a focus on safety on the training ground and making sure personnel have proper training for fireground operations. Organizers want crews to focus on safety on the training ground as well as the importance of drills to prepare for safe operations.

“Training safely can mean the difference between life and death,” said Haddam Volunteer Fire Company Chief Sam Baber.

The key word is “safely.” Each year, first responders are injured or killed not only on at emergency scenes, but during training exercises as well. According to the National Fire Protection Association, from 2001 through 2010, 11.3 percent of all on-duty firefighter deaths were training-related.

“We need to make sure that personnel are using proper PPE and following all safety and health procedures and precautions at all times during training activities,” National Volunteer Fire Council Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg said in a statement. “Training is vital to firefighters and EMS personnel, and our job is dangerous enough without adding to it by being lax or unprepared during the very same activities designed to make us ready for the next call.” 

Rather than the characteristic decrease, 2013 saw a total of 97 on-duty firefighter deaths in the U.S., a sharp increase over recent years due primarily to two disastrous incidents — the Yarnell Hill Fire that claimed the lives of 19 wildland firefighters and the explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. Plant that killed nine firefighters. For the past four years, the annual total ranged between 61 and 82 deaths.

Fifty-six fatalities, the largest share of deaths last year, occurred while firefighters were operating on the fireground. This is the highest number of fireground deaths since 1999 — aside from the deaths at the World Trade Center in 2001. Half of them occurred among 10 wildland fires.

Because the number of house fires continues to decline, so does first-hand experience in hostile fire environments. The good news is that with dedicated training, firefighters can hone their skills and learn to put their lives in their hands.

There’s no way to magically make a dangerous situation safe, but preparation helps firefighters avoid becoming just another statistic.

Stay tuned for a story about firefighters and the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. While traumatic deaths are decreasing, deaths due to medical causes -- notably cardiac incidents -- are on the rise.

Do You Have What It Takes? Find more information on the activities of the Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. and ways you can get involved at our website www.haddamfire.com, or connect with us on Facebook.