West Douglas County Fire Protection District

1. West Douglas County Fire Protection District Recruit Orientation course

2. Introduction • This course is an introduction to the department, and a set of classes to teach the bare minimum of subject matter for a new firefighter to be safe. • Also included are basic skill training to help you get started on the department. • The grand purpose of this course is to help you fit into your part of our team

3. Things you need to remember • Keep in mind that this is now your department too! • Nobody is automatically a “good firefighter”. It has to be learned. • Don’t be afraid to ask questions (easier said than done, but ask!) • Safety is job #1!

4. About West Douglas County • WDCFPD was formed in 1980 from three departments in our current district. • We have four stations spanning the district. • Cover 54 square miles of teritory, with 1200 residents to protect.

5. The bottom line • Our responsibility is to protect lives, property and enviorment, in that order of priority. • In terms of lives, always remember that our lives come first! • Keep in mind that we didn’t cause the emergency, we’ve come to help.

6. “Rules of Engagement” • We may take significant risk to save lives. • We will take only small risks in saving property. • We will risk nothing for what has already been lost.

7. What all members must do • The following are requirements for all members of the department; • Must attend 36 hours of training per year • Must attend 20% of the total emergency calls for the year

8. What all volunteers should try to do • Become interested and dedicated to the fire service. • Guard your speech on and off duty. • Be honest, and try to inspire confidence. • DON’T EVER BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS! • Remember you are part of our team.

9. Things that probationary members are not yet allowed to do • Drive department vehicles (except in some training situations) • Drive personal vehicles to emergency scenes (this practice discouraged for all members) • Perform front line fire attack

10. Traditional Firefighting Wildland firefighting Techincal rescue Emergency medicine Hazardous materials response Across the world, the fire service has become the problem solvers for the public that we protect. We have had to take on several other different roles in addition to firefighting. What the fire service does

11. Firefighting • Nuissance fires (trash, truck cargo, even compost) • Vehicle fires • Structure fires • Train/locomotive fires • Electrical equipment fires

12. Wildland firefighting • These range from small grass fires all the way up to major campaign fires that we can only try to protect what is in the fire’s way • The 130/190 course will teach wildland firefighting

13. Technical Rescue • Vehicle extrication; • Low angle rope rescue • Search and rescue support

14. Emergency Medicine • This task has become more than half of our responses. It could consist of just a broken finger all the way to a heart attack or major trauma

15. Hazardous Materials Response • This is potentially the most dangerous of the responses we could be called on. Most “hazmat” calls do not come in as hazmats, and we are 6 times as likely to be seriously injured at a hazmat scene than we are at a structure fire.

16. Your Station • Everyone will be assigned to a station that will be your “home station”. This will be the closest station to where you live. • Each station has a Captain and a Lieutennant. They will be your superior officers and will help teach you about the department. • Learn the vehicles at your station, and where the equipment on them is located.

17. The pager and you • The pager that you have been issued has three controls on the top; • Volume / on-off • Channel selector • Clear button

18. Pager channels • The bell symbol is the “alarm only” setting. This allows the pager to activate only when we have an emergency call. You will be able to hear the radio traffic for the call after the initial tones go out clear button.

19. Pager channels • The “1” setting allows you to listen in on the Douglas County fire dispatch radio traffic • The “2” setting recieves our own department’s VHF radio channel

20. Pager notes • When an alarm goes out, the dispatcher will call for units by name and number out of specific stations. No matter what units are called, remember we are volunteers, and the people from that station may not be home. Assume that all pages are for all of West Douglas Fire, and respond if you can.

21. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) • Bunker or Turnout gear is used for fires, tech rescue, and most hazmat calls. It includes; • Jacket and pants • Helmet w/ shield • Gloves and hood • Bunker boots

22. Wildland PPE • Bunkers are too heavy to use on wildland fires, so we have special wildland gear. It includes; • Helmet w/ goggles & shroud • Shirt and pants • Wildland boots • Web gear with fire shelter

23. PPE for medical calls Parts of your bunker gear can be used depending on the weather, but always remember gloves if you will have patient contact.

24. Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) • Also commonly called an air pack, it protects us from; • Extreme heat • Smoke • Toxic gases • Lack of oxygen • Wear SCBA for fires and Hazmat calls like CO alarms or anytime the atmosphere is questionable

25. PPE/SCBA notes • Bring all your PPE to every call • If you’re not sure if you should have your PPE on, wear it for safety’s sake, no matter what anyone says. • If you get hot and tired, let someone know. You need a break and a chance to take PPE off for a few minutes. • If there is smoke (and its not a wildland call), wear SCBA. • Get used to wearing your PPE every chance you get; you will become more comfortable with having it on.

26. End Part One Radio use next!

27. Radio communications • West Douglas uses two sets of radio networks • 800mHz radios • VHF radios • The 800mHz is the county wide radio system, and uses new technology to repeat the messages over long distances

28. 800 mHz system Longer range Better comm with dispatch (sometimes) Common system to all DC fire units More communications channels VHF radios Easier to use West Douglas usually only department on the network Better comm in mountain areas System is more simple and user friendly West Douglas Radio Systems

29. (unit) responding On scene In service/returning Fireground/ops channels Command Modes of operation Investigating Fast attack Defensive Codes 2, 3, 4 Common radio terminology

30. Littleton fire; 10-19 South Metro, 30-43 Parker; 70-79 West Douglas 130-139 Castle Rock; 150-159 Jackson 105; 140-149 Larkspur; 161-169 Franktown; 181-189 Mtn Communities; 190-199 DC fire numbering system

31. Station 131 Chief 133 Captain 131 Lieutennant 131 SCAT 131 Tender 131 Station 132 Captain 132 Lieutennant 132 Engine 132 Tender 132 Rescue 132 West Douglas Call Signs

32. Station 133 Captain 133 Lieutennant 133 Engine 133 Rescue 133 SCAT 133 Station 134 Chief 131 Chief 132 Captain 134 Lieutennant 134 Engine 134 Rescue 134 Tender 134 SCAT 134 West Douglas Call Signs

33. Talking on the radio • …is harder than it seems, everyone in the county is listening on the 800 system. • Think about what you will say before you transmit • Hold the mike about 1-2 inches away from your mouth and talk normally, even when theres lots of background noise • Use the VHF radio for West Douglas communications, especially questions you may have.

34. Talking on the radio • When calling another unit, remember to use their call sign first, then yours; Example; “Rescue 133, this is rescue 134” • When using the VHF, follow this transmission with “on VHF 2” so the other unit knows which radio to answer on; Example; “Engine 134, SCAT 131 on VHF 2”

35. 800mHz Radios • The 800 system works by using repeaters placed at high points across the county to receive your messgaes, then re-transmit them to everyone else. This is called a repeated channel. • When you hit the PTT button, you have to wait for a set of beeps before talking (anything before the beeps the repeater didn’t pick up).

36. At times, the radio will emit a low long beep when you try to transmit, this signal means “all circuits busy”, even if nobody may be heard talking. The 800 system has 36 channels we can use, placed in 3 banks of 12 channels, A, B, and C. For most of DC Fire, we operate off of the A bank, with A-1 being the dispatch channel 800mHz radio use

37. 800mHz system notes • There are at least 8 agencies sharing one dispatch channel, dispatch wants us to minimize any unnecessary communications • Some 800mHz channels are not repeated, these are called “simplex” channels, and can only be used with a line of sight distance. • Don’t use the emergency button unless you’re in trouble

38. VHF Radios • There are areas of the district and county that the 800mhz radios cannot transmit out of, or sometimes even receive. • The VHF is the old radio system that is still in use because of the shortcomings of the 800 system. • The VHF system has better communication capabilities in our mountainous areas

39. There are three main channels we use on the VHF system; VHF 2 (West Douglas repeated chennel) VHF 6 (FERN 1, usually used to land medical helicopters) VHF 13 (West Douglas non-repeated) VHF channels

40. VHF radio notes • When talking on the VHF radio, remember to say “…on VHF 2” when calling so that all units know what radio to use to reply. • The VHF is the best radio to use when communicating with other West Douglas units, especially when you need to ask questions about instructions or directions to the scene.

41. Radio exercise 1 • Using the 800mHz radio, tell the dispatcher you have found the car accident you were dispatched to, and ask for a fireground channel.

42. Radio exercise 2 • On the 800Mhz radio, tell the dispatcher that the call is finished and you’re going home.

43. Radio exercise 3 • On the VHF radio, tell Captain 134 that you have arrived at the incident and are in need of instructions.

44. End part two West Douglas maps next!

45. Map books • Each rig has a binder with maps of the entire district, including all addresses. • The district is split up into blocks, each one assigned a pair of letters and numbers. • It is essential for you to understand how to use them, and to become more familiar with the district.

46. “Master” page for map books

47. Everyone should learn to recognize the following roads and highways on the master page; Hwy 85 Hwy 67 Hwy 105 Hier north and south Indian creek Oak valley Madge Gulch Elephant rock Rampart range road Sugar creek road Learning the master page

48. The map pages

49. Map page details

50. Map book notes • The residences in Hier North and South, Oak Valley, Madge Gulch, and Elephant Rock all have “Hwy 67” addresses. • Some map books will have “cheat sheets” on the cover. • All map books should also have a sheet with out helicopter landing zones and Lat/longs to them.