Hey everyone. As some of you may know, I am a Captain for the FDNY. I am also a part of the Mentor Program. This is a fairly new program in which you get a "Mentee" and you coach/mentor him or her along their journey on becoming a firefighter for the FDNY. I was a given my Mentee right after he took the written exam and received his grade. At that point I started mentoring him to prep for the physical exam, mental exam, and psychological interview. He passed all with flying colors and was accepted into the FDNY academy in December of 2017. These photos are from his Probationary Firefighter Family Day that was held on 4/14/2018. The location is Randall's Island AKA "The Rock." This is where all of the probationary firefighters train before receiving their assignments to their firehouses. I hope you enjoy...
This first photo shows how the FDNY trains to extinguish car fires. We usually have the Engine Company stretch a hose line while the Ladder Company will force open the trunk, search for bodies, and help remove any victims.
FDNY protocol for car fires is to have the firefighters start out from a safe distance using a straight stream, and as they get closer to the car fire, they then use the fog spray to extinguish the fire. The first Firefighter on the hoseline is called the Nozzle FF, behind him is the Back Up FF, and then the Control FF. The Control FF is the one who hooks up the hose to the hydrant. The Engine Chauffeur is the driver and also the FF who puts the rig from driving mode, into pumping mode so we can operate the handline.
This is part of the Functional Strength Training (FST) Course. Here FF's are expected to drag a 150 lb dummy around a barrel and back. Looks like this Probationary FF had a little help...
This part of the FST Course is used to represent "Overhauling." Overhauling is done after the main body of fire has been extinguished. At that point, we need to "open up" ceilings and walls to make sure that no fire is hidden and that no fire is extending up any voids. The tool of choice is the 6 foot halligan hook.
One of everyone's favorites...In this scenario, the Probationary FFs climb up an Aerial Ladder on one side of the building and then they are lowered via a Life Saving Rope on the other side of the building. This is a last resort technique that is used to save someone from a window if the FFs inside cannot get to the victim first.
This Probationary Firefighter class has a little over 300 Probationary FFs. They are broken down into "Squads" of roughly 25 members. Each Squad is issued one Squad Leader to help keep everyone in order and to speak for the group when they arrive at each evolution. The Squad Leader can be seen holding their Squad's Flag. Each Squad has a unique flag and they march in formation chanting cadence as they march.
Family Day was concluded with a Fire Scenario that incorporated a few different scenarios into one. This drill is called the "Mother Of ALL Drills" or "MOAD." It is called that because this drill has a little bit of everything..."hay fire" for some smoke, heat, and limited visibility, multiple floors of fire, trapped occupant reports, unconscious FF that needs removal, life saving rope rescue, and an evacuate the building to end the drill with a roll call.
The Probies did a great job and the weather was beautiful. I'm very proud of my "Mentee." He put in an enormous amount of work, both physically and mentally and you can see that his very was very proud of him as well. He graduates on Wednesday and then he is off to his firehouse to begin his career.
Well that is all for now. I hope you enjoyed. Thanks for stopping by and I will see you soon...