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Post by fireman1190 on Jan 13, 2009 14:08:52 GMT -5
In the spirit of livening up this board with relevent information. Heres a topic.
Do you carry a bail out kit or bag? If so what does it consist of?
If you don't carry one, tell us why.
Some things to consider here are the fact that a bailout kit will probably never be used, and if it is used then a few things probably went wrong. I feel that we should not use a bailout bag as an excuse to go places we shouldnt be. That, along with the added size of the bag, can be a downside.
What do you guys think?
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Post by thelurker on Jan 13, 2009 15:20:52 GMT -5
great topic!!
I do not carry one simply because of the cost associated with it.. I would like to get one of those kits with the descender and the FESH hook, but I cant afford it. Also, i have nothing to hook it to that I could bail out on. I do carry about 40 or 45 feet of tubular webbing with carabiners on each end in my leg pocket. It will be the best that I can do for something to bail out on...in the absence of a ladder.
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Post by cmcollier on Jan 13, 2009 17:48:30 GMT -5
I carry the Petzel system that is issued to us by the job. To be completely honest it is very annoying. It weighs about 8 pounds and hangs from the right side of your harness. It also makes it hard to use your right coat pocket since the pocket sits over top of the bag. We do not have pants pockets but I imagine if you do the bag would make it hard to get to. The bag also makes sitting in the rig very tight. I hear we are supposed to get lumbar bags eventualy which I hope make the system more comfortable to wear.
That being said... I hope I never have to go to a fire without one of these systems. The uncomfortability (is that a word?) is far outweighed by the benefit of having the system. Unfortunatly the only reason we have these systems is because 6 guys jumped and 2 died in '05.
These systems take quite a bit of practice to be proficient with, as does anything else. Another important part of the training is learning how not to get into a position that would necessitate the need to bail out.
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Post by thelurker on Jan 14, 2009 0:21:26 GMT -5
Chris,
After the initial training on the bags, how often do you guys re-train with the system?
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Post by cmcollier on Jan 14, 2009 9:38:29 GMT -5
We did pretty extensive training with the PSS in proby school. We did it for several days using the wooden mock up windows, I'd say probably 30 bail outs per guy. After that they integrated it into other drills. We'd be doing a search blacked out and they would start screaming that our interior egress was cut off and we'd have to find a window and bail out. I can personaly say that I left proby school comfortable that if I god forbid had to use the PSS that I could do it in the dark.
After proby school your company gets sent to the academy periodicly to do refresher training. It depends on how the shifts fall but you usualy get to do it once or twice a year. I got to do it 3 times this year since I was detailed to another company one day and they got called to the academy to do it.
The refresher training is definitly an important component. Just make sure if you plan to do it at your firehouse that you have the proper safety measures in place, a landing mat and belay line if you are doing it from any height.
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[My5:]