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Daniel Whitmire
Professor Arnold
UWRT 1101-051
1 September 2014
Literacy Essay
As I was out mountain biking with my friends, I had finished and was waiting at
the trailhead for the rest of my group to finish. When I realized too much time had passed
by for them to still be on the trail, I rode back up to see what had happened. Finding my
friend, Taylor, on the ground holding his arm with the bone protruding out. He looked up
at me completely white faced and said, Help me. That was the moment at which I knew
I wanted to become literate in helping others that need medical attention. Fire fighting is
one of the most important jobs on the face of this Earth because not only do we have to
know how to save victims trapped in their inflamed homes, but much of the time we
respond to car accidents where the fire engines are the first to arrive at the scene, even
before the EMS, which is why it is important for firefighters to stabilize victims and get
them ready for transport. These reasons, especially because of what happened to my
friend, Taylor, are why I chose to become literate in firefighting.
Much of the time becoming literate was spent learning about how the fire
department functions. As the department receives a call from the dispatcher, I use to
wonder how good the information was; but based upon the questions the dispatcher
receives from the caller the fire department is able to get a good visualization of what is
going on. If there is need for more information, then there is a program that all the fire
engines have called, MCT. This program collects all previous notes about the residence,
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such as if they have responded to a call there prior to this incident, or even is a police
officer has responded to the residence before. All this information is stored on this single
program, and there is no shortage of need to know answers. With learning about of any
officer of the law has been sent to a residence or not, its good to have a close relationship
with law enforcement. At our fire department, we do have that close relationship, where
we have cookouts with state troopers, or the police department. This keeps us a close-knit
community, and able to rely on one another when need be. This very effective
relationship does come at a price. Much of the time when a firefighter doesnt have his
turn out gear on he can resemble law enforcement with the black shoes, black pants, and
the blue shirt. The radio on the hip can also be mistaken for a gun in its holster, especially
is the person is intoxicated. This misunderstanding leads to citizens wanting to fight us
because they dont want to go to jail for public intoxication; but often all we want to do is
help the person get to where they need to be without contacting the police. A major
aspect of how we function as a fire department are the restrictions we have when helping
where there is a gunshot, stabbing, or assault report. We stage away from the scene and
wait for the police to arrive, and defuse the situation. But no matter how dangerous,
hazardous, or menial the call might be, we always respond to every call and the only time
we cancel a call is when the dispatcher says to. So with the basic information of how we
function, a lot of people wonder, what are the requirements for the job? For the
department I work at, I was required to take, and pass firefighter 1403 classes, pass a
physical agilities test, pass different medical scenarios, become at least a basic EMT, and
then finish it all of with an interview with the fire chief at the department where you want
the job. Once accepted, the week starts off with vehicle maintenance, ladder and hoses
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testing, and through the day, issue burn permits; do car seat checks; and service fire
hydrants every spring, in addition to going around to local schools to help spread and
promote fire safety, all while responding to calls through the day and night. Though this
seems like a lot, perks of the job is that we only work nine to ten times a month, which
allows extra time to be with family, and a second job for extra income. Something ironic
when I joined the station is that if you live in the area of which the department responds
to calls, the taxes you pay goes towards your own salary, so you basically pay yourself.
But all of this is just a preview of how I became literate in firefighting.
Like the name entitles, firefighting, a lot is required to learn about fighting fires of
all different natures; the dangers that fire pose to the fire men, and how the fire
department approaches the scene of a fire, along with determining the cause of the fire.
Most homes that do go up in flames are singlewide, one-story homes. This is due to the
fact that most are older models and have few fire retardants built into the structure itself.
When responding, a tanker and a rescue truck are taken. All the tanker does primarily is
carry water; around 2,000 gallons of it. The rescue truck holds around 1,500 gallons,
along with all of the equipment needed. But when departing for a scene, there is a chance
that there will be another call somewhere else, so in that case there is a system called,
mutual aid. Mutual aid will come from the nearest fire district if that district is on a call.
This is why it isnt unusual to find a fire truck from a different county in your county. But
once the fire department leaves to a call, a TAC truck will go as well. The TAC truck we
have is a Chevrolet Suburban that the fire chief will drive to get to the scene first since it
is a lot smaller and easier to navigate through traffic and scope out the whole situation.
The main goals when responding to a fire are: personal safety, saving victims lives,
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protecting property, and lastly, protecting the environment surrounding the fire.
Backdrafts and flashovers are two big things that we have to look out for when
approaching a fire. When a building has been set on fire and smoke rises up, the smoke
has nowhere to go, and it is a mixture of all kinds of unburned fuels. When the smoke has
nowhere to escape, and the whole room, or building is full top to bottom with smoke and
a fire source ignites all of it, a bomb goes off. If a firefighter is in the building at this
time, there is no survival rate due to shrapnel and internal bleeding. There is only one
way to tell if a backdraft is going to happen, and that is to look at the windows. If there is
smoke seeping out of the cracks, and is being sucked back in, there will a backdraft. The
second, less threatening situation is a flashover. In a flashover, the smoke has a place to
go, but unburned chemicals from the smoke are on the walls and ceiling, so that when
those are ignited, the room or building becomes an instant 900-degree oven. This has
higher survival rate since a firemans gear can protect him for a very short time. Though
the facemask will more than likely melt, he or she might be able to run for safety. Whilst
becoming literate in firefighting through my 1403 classes, these two problems were
always addressed no matter what other topic we were learning about. There are three
stages to a fire. The first of which is the incipient burn, which is when the fire department
is contacted; and could still be put out by the homeowners. The second is the free burn,
which is when the engines arrive, then the decay, where it is still smoldering and
salvaging can take place. Typically dispatch can tell how the fire began based upon the
questions they ask, but usually a fireman can tell for insurance purposes. Usually you can
tell where the origin of the fire started and smell gas if it was intentionally set in order to
collect money or it was vandalism.
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Much of the work that us, as firefighters do, couldnt be done without all of the
equipment that we have access to. As I leave the fire station, I have to be able to don my
gear quickly. The first of many steps is to hop into my boots, and around the boots are my
trousers, which I then pull up, then pull on my coat. As I am in route to the scene, I put
on my fire hood making sure my gloves are in an easily accessible location. While in the
seat, there is an oxygen tank fitted into the seat, where I can put my arms through the
straps and pull a lever to pull it out of the seat and get out of the fire engine. Once Im
out, I can then check my gauges, regulator, and turn on the PASS system. From there, all
thats left to do is put on my mask, gloves, and grab a piece of equipment. The self
contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA that we use on our face has a regulator for air
flow, and a small hood that tells me how much air I have left in the tank. The air masks
that we use are positive pressure sensor masks. This means that as you take in a breath,
the mask realizes there is a difference in pressure inside the mask, and will send in more
air until the pressure is back where it was. This allows us to conserve the oxygen in the
tank, further allowing us to be inside the building longer without coming out for another
tank. Another great technological advance is the PASS system, or the Personal Alert
Safety System. If a firefighter doesnt move within thirty second, there is an alarm that
goes off, which is louder than any fire alarm made. So this is why if there is a group of
firefighters in a huddle, and they are all shacking their pack, its to keep the alarm from
going off. Once the alarm goes off, it is the duty of the RIT, or Rapid Intervention Team
to go in, and pull out the down firefighter. This team was created here in North Carolina
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after the death of firefighter, Captain Jeff Bowen, and I am a member of my hometown
RIT for our fire department
Out of the estimated thirty million calls that fire departments respond to each year
in the United States, twenty million are medical related situations. While learning to be a
firefighter, I had to pass various medical scenarios, and become a basic EMT. While I
took these classes, there were two operations in which I was highly curious of. The first
of which is how to run an intravenous line (IV) for medical scenarios. Step one of many
steps is to get a rubber band to go around the arm if the vein isnt clearly visible. Next, is
to find the vein and use alcohol to clean the area. As this is done, there needs to be a flush
and a hub nearby to flush out the vein. Inserting the needle at approximately a 45-degree
angle insures that the needle goes up the vein, rather than through it. Once entering the
vein I can feel a pop, indicating entry to the vein. Next, I will slowly pull out the needle
and slowly slide up the catheter simultaneously. When complete, I can screw the flush
and hub that I had nearby to the catheter and flush the vein out with saline. Finally, I am
able to unscrew, remove the rubber band, and tape what is left to the patients arm to
insure it doesnt move around during transport. This is a very important skill to learn so
that as soon as the ambulance arrives, they are able to immediately administer drugs to
the patient. The second most important trade I learned was intubation. Intubation is
essential if the victim isnt breathing. To begin, it is up to the person who is performing
the procedure to choose whether they want to use a Mac, or a Mil. A Mac and a Mil are
essentially metal instruments used for lifting up the throat to find the victims vocal cords.
The difference is that a Mac has a curved head, while the Mil is shaped at a ninety-degree
angle. I personally find the Mac to be more useful since it more closely resembles the
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shape of a throat. When I was first learning how to do this, I continually hit the teeth of
the dummy, which is a big no, no. As the trainer seemed to be getting upset, the fire chief
came in, and told him that if he is so good at it, why doesnt he show us on himself? In
response, he did try it, and ended up throwing up. This wasnt only a good show, but a
good point. If someone is faking not breathing, they will throw up, and magically start
breathing again. But anyways, after grasping the Mac in my right hand, and tilting the
dummys head back, I scoop down, and lift up the tongue to find the vocal cords. Once
the vocal cords are found, I can then insert the stylus into the vocal cords, pull out the
stylus, and pump up the cuff with 10cc of air so that if the patient wakes up and throws
up, it wont go into their lungs. After this is all done, I can attach whatever breathing
apparatus I want to in order to push and pull air in the lungs. I myself have never had to
perform either of these tasks, but I know that if I ever have to, I will be able to perform
the tasks; which, overall, was the main goal after my friend, Taylor broke his arm.
So in the end, these firefighters are the most important to us. People may never
realize how special firemen and women can be to us, whether it is rescuing us from out of
home engulfed in flames, or out of a car that was involved in an accident. Fire fighters
must be able to use their equipment efficiently to save victims in medical scenarios and
or burning homes. Knowing what to use in certain locations and having the medical
background to stabilize patients is also very important since often we are the first to
arrive at a scene. So all men are created equal, but I chose to walk through the fire and
flames to become one of the people that some call heroes, but at the end of the day, we
just call ourselves firefighters.