Saving lives. It’s what firefighters do. But what happens to firefighters who need help in the line of duty?
The Orange County Fire Authority in Irvine is having all 1,200 or so of their firefighting personnel focus on helping firefighters make it out of life-threatening situations alive.
Five things you need to know about the Ground Survival Training:
- Data compiled by the United States Fire Administration shows firefighters that become trapped and disoriented represent the largest portion of structural fire ground fatalities.
- Firefighters are being trained to perform potentially life-saving actions if they become lost, disoriented, injured, low on air or trapped.
- This 24-hour hands-on course develops the firefighters muscle memory to improve situational awareness, reinforce self-survival procedures and develop the skills to survive a MAYDAY (an emergency call).
- OCFA says all 1,200 firefighting personnel will go through this training.
- The department says this will be the first time it is using the Ground Survival Training.