Complete the start of shift appliance and breathing apparatus check

You are a Recruit Firefighter on Geelong Central Pumper 1.

Simulated workplaceEntry missionCAQA Guardian Emergency Services

What is going on

It is 8 am on your first day shift with the platoon at Geelong Central. The station officer has asked you to complete the start of shift check on Pumper 1 with an experienced firefighter, recording the results yourself in the Appliance and Equipment Register. Breathing apparatus set BA-217 was withdrawn after its low pressure warning sounded early at last week's dwelling fire, and a replacement set has been placed on the appliance without a recorded check. The organisation is under pressure to meet the pre-season readiness deadlines, and the station officer has made it clear that any critical defect must be reported before the appliance goes on the run. A turnout could come at any time during the check.

Jordan Whitlock, Station Officer, Geelong Central
Subject: Your first shift checks on Pumper 1 tomorrow

Welcome to the platoon. Tomorrow at 8 am you will do the start of shift appliance check on Geelong Central Pumper 1 with Nikau, and I want you to do the recording yourself in the Appliance and Equipment Register. Read the Appliance Readiness and Turnout Procedure tonight. Set BA-217 is at the workshops after the whistle problem at the Belmont fire, so we have a replacement set on the truck that needs a full check and its number recorded. If you find anything that looks like a critical defect, you tell me before the truck goes on the run, not after.

Your brief

Complete the appliance check and the breathing apparatus checks to the procedure, record every result and the replacement set's number in the register, identify and correctly classify any defect, and report the appliance status to the station officer so the communications centre has the right resource status.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the Appliance Readiness and Turnout Procedure and the Appliance and Equipment Test and Inspection Register Standard, and list the items in the shift check and what makes a defect critical.
Check fuel, water, foam, pump operation, hose and branches, ladders, rescue tools, radios, lighting, first aid kit and defibrillator on Pumper 1 with your partner, noting the result of each item.
Check every breathing apparatus set on the appliance: cylinder pressure, face mask and seal, demand valve, low pressure warning and telemetry, and record each set number and result in the Appliance and Equipment Register.
Identify the replacement set that has no recorded monthly check, complete a full check on it, and record it against its set number.
Classify any defect you find as critical or non-critical using the procedure, and tag out any item that fails a check.
Report the appliance status to the station officer, including any item that would take the appliance off the run, and record the shift check entry for the appliance in the register.
Check your own protective clothing and record any damage or contamination on the Injury, Near Miss and Hazard Report Form if required.
Explain to your partner what you would do if an alert came in halfway through the check, referring to the turnout section of the procedure.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Register entries for the appliance shift check and each breathing apparatus set
A defect list with critical or non-critical classification and tag out actions
A written status report to the station officer
A short note explaining the turnout actions if alerted mid-check

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.