Emergency Services Officers and Firefighters
Respond to fire alarms and emergency calls, control and extinguish fires and attend the scene of emergencies in order to minimise risk to community safety and security.
A shift at Ashgrove Station
You are a firefighter on a station crew, responding to alarms and emergency calls and looking after the truck, the gear and your team. It is just after nine in the morning. The truck check is done, a school visit is planned for ten and the crew is having a cuppa when the station tones go off.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Alarm at the units on Dunmore Street, smoke reported on level two. Gear on, in the truck. Danil is driving, you are on the crew. Radio check on the way, and listen for updates.
Get ready as fast as you can and sort your gloves and radio out once the truck is moving
On the way you find your radio is not on the right channel and your gloves are still on the seat. Checks before leaving take seconds and prevent problems that cost far more later.
Check your own gear and your partner's quickly, then climb aboard and tune your radio
Everything works when you arrive. The captain does not say a word, because nothing went wrong. Doing the checks every time is what makes the fast part possible.
Wait for the captain to check everyone's gear before you leave
The captain checks and nods, but the truck leaves a minute later than it could. A crew trusts each member to check their own gear.
My cat is still in there! Please, my cat is in the unit on level two, I only left for a moment. You have to let me go back up, I know where she is!
Tell her firmly that she cannot go in, and that you will let the captain know about the cat
Mrs Castellano is upset but stays behind the tape. The captain passes on the cat's details and a crew member finds her under a bed later. Staying calm and clear kept everyone safe.
Let her walk upstairs with you since she knows the unit and it would be quick
On the stairs the smoke is thicker than expected and you have to bring her out. A resident in a building that is not yet safe becomes another person you have to look after.
Say you will see what you can do, and carry on with the job
Mrs Castellano thinks you are going to rescue the cat and stands at the door. When she learns no one has gone, she is angrier. Being clear about what will and will not happen matters.
It's another false alarm, isn't it? It's always the same detector. You've all wasted your time again. Can you just reset the panel and write it down as nothing so we can get on?
Agree and reset the panel, because he knows the building better than you
The alarm is cleared, but the cause is not found. A week later the same call comes in again and this time it is not nothing. A false alarm is a signal to check, not a reason to relax.
Check every floor and the cause of the alarm before the panel is reset, and tell him what you find
You find the cause and Mr Alvarez grudgingly agrees to fix it. He is cross about the time, and a quick word about why the check matters would have helped.
Say you will check first, explain why, then go through the building with him
He comes along, and you find a failing detector and a blocked fire door. He thanks you at the end. Taking the time with him turned a false alarm into a safer building.
How it went
The truck is back at the station, the hoses are drying and the school visit starts in twenty minutes. Firefighting is mostly checking, preparing, talking and training, with short bursts of fast, serious work. Would a job with long stretches of readiness suit you?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The alarm that rang again
A fictional case set in a fictional suburban fire station and its crew, covering homes, shops and a school.
The situation
The crew at Ashgrove Station was called to an apartment block for the third fire alarm in a week. Each time it had turned out to be burnt toast or a faulty detector. The crew was tired, a meal was going cold and one firefighter, Danil, suggested they take their time getting there. A tenant on the fourth floor had a young baby, and the building manager was insisting it was nothing.
What they did
Danil's captain treated it as a real call. The crew went in properly, checked the plan and the panel, and walked every floor. On the third floor a faulty detector had been wired to a unit with an old heater left on. Nothing was burning yet, but it was close. They switched it off, told the manager what they found and spoke with the tenants about the signs to watch for.
How it turned out
The heater was removed and the detector replaced that week. The building manager apologised for dismissing the earlier calls. At the station debrief, the captain asked the crew to remember how often a false alarm is a warning in disguise.
What would you do?
- Why do you think the captain treated the third call the same as a real fire?
- How would you stay alert for a call that is probably nothing?
- What do you think a firefighter learns from a false alarm?