I'm a Firefighter... Ama

[VioletPickles]

Have been a fire Fighter for 7 years now. Any questions, feel free to ask.. 🔥

Just wanted to say you guys do an amazing job before asking anything!

My cousin lives in London not far from where the Grenfell Tower was and volunteered to help survivors. She spoke to fire fighters and ambulance personnel working on this incident and saw how truly upset everyone was.

Do you receive much in the way of dealing with the aftermath training and coping in such severe situations and get many practice training activities for major incidents like this?

Hi Bella, thank you! incidents like this (and far far less) get categorised as critical incidents, this triggers all sorts of responses from occupational health, counselling services and the like. It's our choice to take them up on it. A lot of the working through incidents happens in house. We talk alot together.

Having said that Grenfell is on another scale. How those firefighters felt on arrival to that, and what followed is indescribable.

After incidents like that there's a huge amount of training, briefings, policy change to ensure we learn from our mistakes or to be able to help people better in future. Much of it can be so frustrating, as the will is there, to help people to the detriment of myself but often the equipment let's us down. Particularly comms and radio. Sorry this sounds a bit boring!

I am in awe of firefighters. Aren't you scared?

How do you feel when you get a shout? Excited, nervous, or does the training just kick in?

Huge amount of adrenaline firstly, then we read the turnout sheet which tells us very briefly what we are going to..

So as soon as we see, dwelling fire, persons reported, or rtc, persons trapped, everything starts to get heightened and the atmosphere changes. We literally never know what sort of scene we will be greeted with. I wouldn't say scared, as this is what I'm trained for, but it does certainly go against some natural instincts when Im masking up to walk into a burning building. If there's someone in there, I wouldn't give a second thought to my own safety. If you are in there, unprotected, I'm coming in to find you.

It's unbelievably hot and visibility is zero. Just have to rely on training.

Thank you so, so much for all that you and your colleagues do.

What's the scariest situation you've been in? If it's not something you want to talk about, feel free to skip.

Are you female? If so, what proportion of the fire service is female?

Yes I'm female, and I'd say operationally maybe 5%? Very few considering the size of the service.

Hmm the scariest situation? Probably turning up to a big fire in a basement, hearing another firefighters distress unit signal sounding, knowing he was running out of air, and being told, with my partner to go find him. Access was through a ground level window, jumped in and basically into hell.

How much of your time on shift is spent as downtime and do you ever have a shift where there are no fires or incidents?

Also how much time either at work or off duty do you have to dedicate to keeping fit?

Hope the first question doesn't sound rude, like I think your lazy or something! I am totally in awe of what you guys do, it's incredibly brave. Just wondering because it seems like medical emergencies and crimes are constant, but fires are a little more rare.

You're a
I'd never be brave enough to do such an amazing yet petrifying job. Well its not a job, is it. It's a calling.
You must see some horrific things.
How do you cope with that
Was it something you have always wanted to do.

How did you train for it. How long did it take you.

What can we do to keep safe in the event of a fire?
And how can we avoid them in the first place?

Firstly, a big big thank-you for doing what you do. You are a far braver woman than I.

In the light of Genfell, and also going back to 9/11, if you were in a tower block that caught fire would you stay put, if instructed to do so? Or would you try to get yourself out asap?

Thursday, I'm at a busy station, so never a shift with nothing, but often just bin fires, false alarms, burnt toast etc.. These days we do an awful lot of breaking in for the ambulance and police. Body recovery, suicides, drowning all sorts, Fires are rare, although probably not as rare as you think. They are usually dealt with pretty quickly.
There's a gym on station and we can go anytime really. I try to go nearly every day.

We are now expected to do the first on scene role for casualties as there is so much pressure on ambulance services. We are often quicker..

Awelook I definitely wanted to work in the emergency services. Have a desire to help people I think. We do talk about what we see in station, helps process things. Your watch can be a pretty tight bunch.

Takes 3 years to be a competent firefighter. But there's ongoing training all the time. New quipment, policies etc

Glitter and shoving, the first advice is 'if it's safe to do so, Get out and stay out' every time. How ever if access is blocked, or for any reason you can't get out, we would advice you to go to the furthest away room from the fire, get everyone together Inc mobile, close doors behind you. Open the window in the room you are in, put towels, bedding, clothes, anything round the door to stop smoke getting in. Most internal doors these days are designed to withhold fire for at least 25 mins. Stay on the line to the operators and tell them whether you are at the front or back of building, which floor, type of property. Stay low as you can by the window. Hang a sheet or something at the window you are at. We wouldn't advice to jump unless you are imminent danger.

We had one not long back where the dad dropped his baby out the window, which we caught. Your heart races thats for sure.

However! Grenfell was unprecedented and on a scale we are not trained for routinely. Obviously we train in high rise buildings, but in them, each flat is supposed to be a 'survivable chamber' hence the stay put advice. The way that Grenfell went up was criminal.

I think the tvs should have been. On in the control room that night, so the operators had a visual on what was happens. I imagine the stay put policy may have been changed sooner. Having said that the operational firefighters and those in control did their very best. I'm rambling now! But to answer your question if it were me and my family in a high rise, I'd try to get out first. But toxic smoke can incapacitate after 5 breaths so it would have to be clear of smoke. I wouldn't risk going through smoke and hoping for the best. It's such a difficult question.

In terms of prevention, get smoke alarms and test them! Don't overload extention cables or plugs, and don't smoke if possible or start to cook food late at night if you've been drinking!

And thank you for the thank yous. I don't know why but I firmly believe that I would risk my life to save yours.

Following with interest as considering being a retained firefighter.

Last night in our block of flats, the communal fire alarm went off. We evacuated as a family and so did our neighbours.

We noticed the other flats were empty for the night and thought it could be one of them.

We found the fire service as the alarm had gone off, but were told to just go back inside to turn it off.

I'm a bit concerned as anything could have happened in the empty flats (faulty electric, oven left on) and no one was able to check.

Why was the advice just turn it off given to us?

Well done to all you guys & gals. 👏🏼👏🏼

In our house, we refer to the Fire Service as the “HEROES” - my partner is a retired fire fighter.

Thanks Violet, that makes sense. I didn't realise you could be incapacitated with only 5 breaths of toxic smoke. That is no time at all. Really scary.

Mrs snooty, hmm Im not sure, they had maybe checked the fire panel, and seen fault in system or similar? Then reset it. Did the fire service do a 360 check? Difficult to know really.

Go for it fatbellied! It's quite the commitment though.. Any questions or help you need just ask.

Thanks let'sdolunch much appreciated.

Shoving, no problem. I don't want to go into much detail, but it's not uncomman to find casualties in their hall way or behind the front door. Nearly out, but looking for keys and the like. Overcome by fumes.

Sorry if it's inappropriately trivial, but after watching Topsy and Tim today, DD would like to know whether you really rescue cats from trees?