Additional Post 9: Mentorship

Although senior year is coming to an end, I have still continued to attend my mentorship at fire station 166 in the beautiful city of El Monte. Today the other explorers and I got the opportunity to climb up the 100 foot ladder that is located on the quint. Originally the firefighters were only conducting a routine equipment check, but as they noticed that us explorers had just finished the daily house work and were just waiting for our post adviser to finish they decided to let us have a go at walking up the huge ladder. As I started to walk up the massive ladder I was surprised to find that it was very stable and only began to shake the higher I got. Once at the top I had to get off the ladder and step onto the tower which was right next to the ladder. The firefighters reminded us to always have at least 3 point in contact with the ladder as we stepped onto the tower. We also learned how we would sound for the roof of a building in order to check for any weak points within a structure. All in all today was a very exciting day at station 166.

Blog 22: Senior Project Reflection

(1) Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Block Presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I am most proud of the information that I gave to my classmates. Although I know that I could have presented it much smoother, without saying as many "umms", I still feel that I was able to get most of the information that I wanted to give across to my colleagues. As for the entire senior project, I'm most proud of learning more than I had originally expected about the fire service. 

(2) Questions to Consider

a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Block Presentation (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

b.     What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE       P          AP       CR       NC

(3) What worked for you in your senior project?

What worked best for me in my senior project was being able to study a topic of my choice. If not for this option I probably would have dreaded my entire senior year. Because I had the opportunity to study a career path of my choice conducting research and making contacts was actually a pleasant experience because I knew that in the long run that hard work and dedication would pay off.

(4) (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would have you done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

If I could go back in time and changed anything in order to improve my senior project I would focus on preparing more for all of my assigned projects. Procrastination did play a factor in some parts of my senior project and it also contributed to unnecessary stress. For the future I plan on writing out a schedule and sticking to it in order to avoid this from happening again. 

(5) Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors?   Be specific and use examples.

Senior project has helped me so much in the career path that I have chosen to pursue. For started it helped meet tons of new people who have an interest in the fire service, as I do. Aside from meeting my mentor, Firefighter Cunningham, I've also met several explorers, many of which are like brothers to me. From being constantly exposed to people who have already achieved my goals, I've also been able to plan out my path to follow after high school. I want to becoming a certified EMT and after having some job experience become a paramedic, while still continuing to apply to different fire departments. From being able to learn about the fire service, I've been able to shape my personal goals in order to help me obtain my dream job. 

Blog 21: Mentorship

Literal

• Mentorship Log
• Justin Cunningham (Firefighter) - Station 166 in the City of El Monte

Interpretive

• The most important thing that I gained from doing my mentorship at station 166 in the City of El Monte was being able to learn about the fire service from doing hands on activities with other firefighters and explorers.  From attending an explorers meeting every weekend I was able to learn about the positive and negative aspects of the job. The job is stressful, but at the same time rewarding. From being constantly exposed to the fire service I've found that this is a career that would truly enjoy.

Applied

• This experience has helped me finalize my best answer by learning about its importance from the other firefighters. I also learned about my second answer from constantly having to check my equipment prior to the other explorers and I partaking in any activities. My mentorship as an explorer even effected my final answer because I got it from my 3rd interview with firefighter Abadie, who I came in contact with because of the explorers program. Everyhing that I've done and all the people that I've met have all helped me answer my essential question. 

Additional Post 8: Station 166 Quint

During the month of April I was fortunate enough to get an in depth tour of the station's quint. A quint is a combination of a fire truck and a fire engine. It has the capability of pumping water, while still having an aerial ladder. The ladder itself is an astonishing 100 feet long. This fire apparatus was practically built to respond to multiple story structural fires. It comes equipped with a number of tools, one being the jaws of life, which is used to extract people who are trapped within cars. It also has a generator, blower, and rotary saw within its several compartments. The image below shows our stations quint parked inside the apparatus floor.

Blog 20: Exit Interview

Content:

(1)
 EQ: What is the best way for a team of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities while fighting structural fires.
Answer 1: Equipment Checks
Answer 2:  Scene Size-ups
Answer 3: After Action Reviews

The best answer to my essential question is by conducting proper scene size ups. I feel like this is the best way for firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities, especially while fighting structural fires, because it allows them to make safe and effective decisions while on the fire ground.

(2)
I first learned about this answer while conducting research online. Soon after learning about my answer, I got to learn more about it while at the explorers program. The firefighters on duty would constantly mention scene size ups to us explorers and explain how they were a good way to learn about the call they were sent to.

(3)
One of the biggest problems with my answer was that all the information that I was originally obtaining was very general. I knew what my answer was but I didn't have much about it aside from the general stuff. I resolved this problem by learning about the different types of scene size ups, such as the 5 and 13 point methods.

(4)
1. My first and most significant source is called Five-Point Size-Up. It is an article that was posted on fireengineering.com. This source was crucial because it gave me more information that many prior articles had given me at the time and also because it mention the 13 point method. From that point on I was able to find my second most significant source, which was a fire protection handbook that went over the 13 point method.

The link below shows my first source:

http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-154/issue-2/features/five-point-size-up.html

The link below shows an overview of my second source:

https://www.inkling.com/store/book/fire-protection-handbook-2008-edition-volume-ii/?chapterId=4e29606b4a46439c996a593dd1cfef85

Blog 19: Independent Component 2

Content:

LITERAL
(a) I, Steven Robles, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
(b) My mentor, firefighter Cunningham, was the main source that allowed me to complete my independent component.
(c) Done.
(d) For my second independent component I continued to attend my explorers program. While continuing my attendance I was able to learn about new things about the fire service while still reviewing older knowledge in order to stay up to date. Specifically, some newer things I learned about were the different types of fire hydrants, knots, tools, the quint (vehicle that can pump water and has a ladder), and the importance of RIC crews (Rapid Intervention Crews).

INTERPRETIVE
For the majority of my second independent component I was at fire station 166 learning about different aspects of the fire service. Aside from being taught new knowledge, I also spent a little bit of time preparing for an explorer graduations and got the opportunity to attend a yearly banquet for all other county explorers. Overall, this second independent component allowed me to continue to learn about the fire service and understand the importance of being an active participant of events.

Throughout my independent component the other explorers and I were stress on the importance of looking presentable and always keeping our boots shined, we even spent part of one of our meeting learning how to shine boots.

From completing my independent component I also got the opportunity to learn a little about the different types of fire hydrant and how some are better than others depending on the surrounding environment. 

At the annual banquet the attendants received a little booklet with all of the explorer post and pictures of them.

The image above shows a part of the graduation were the audience got to see demonstrations put on by the certified explorer graduates.


More about my project could be learned from looking at my Independent Component 2 log by clicking here.

APPLIED
Everything that I did throughout my second independent component helped me understand different aspects of the fire service. For example, I got to learn about the different tools on the fire truck and the firefighters also did a good job explaining to my and the other explorers why it is vital to be aware of all the equipment and continuously checking and cleaning them for optimum results while on the fire ground. All that information provided me with a solid foundation for my second answer. Another more important part of this independent component was learning about rapid intervention crews. I learned that these crews are present at every structure fire and are there just in case any firefighter goes down. Their job is to rapidly extract the trapped firefighter. This information presented me with another possible answer to my essential question, due to the importance that ric crews have on structure fire operations. All in all, this component was
a vital source in helping me continue to learn about my topic.

Additional Post 7: 55th Class Graduation

Two weeks into the month of March post ten and I attended L.A. County's 55th Explorer Graduate Academy. It was a great ceremony that was packed with several other explorers throughout the county. Four people from my post graduated that day. The ceremony itself lasted about two hours and afterwards there was a demonstration. During the demonstration a car was blown up and a helicopter swarmed the area. It was quite a scene! All in all that day was great and I left leaving proud to be an explorer. The picture below was taken during the demonstration.

Blog 18: Answer 3

EQ Answer #3:
 After Action Reviews

1st Detail:
After Action Reviews are used as debriefing methods after an incident. An example could be a team of firefighter coming together to talk about a structure fire that they just came back from.

2nd Detail:
In after action reviews a set of questions are asked. An example of a question is "What went well or what didn't during the incident."

3rd Detail:
After action reviews are used to improve on mistakes make at previous incidents. An example is a firefighter who once failed to communicate well with a team but after conducting AARs, he talked with the team more.

Concluding Sentence:

By conducting after action reviews, firefighters can improve their skills and avoid future injuries and fatalities. 

Blog 17: Fourth Interview

1. What is the best way for a team of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities while fighting structural fire? 
2. How can a fireman help protect themselves, as well as their partners, while on duty? 
3. What would you recommend a lesser experienced firefighter to in order to cope with high stress situations? 
4. Can you explain to me the importance of conducting a proper scene size up?
5. What are some steps to take when conducting a scene size up? 
6. What do you do to prepare your equipment each day? Is there anything specific that you check and make sure is working?
7. In your opinion, what equipment is more useful to you and your safety? 
8. Can you explain to me how an After Action Report(AAR) is usually done? 
9. How important are AARs to you and your station? What are some pros? 
10. What do you do in order to stay physically and mentally sharp?
11. How can being in optimum shape help you in the fire service? 
12. How do you stay mentally sharp and constantly train your skills? 
13. What are some major precautions that you and everyone else in your station take while working?
14. What are some other common injuries that tend to happen in the fire service? 
15. How can this seemingly normal injury be prevented? 
16. Can you tell me about some uncommon injuries that you find in the fire service? 
17. How can these types of injuries been avoided? 
18. Can you tell me about an injury that you, or someone you know, has gotten while on the job?
19. What is the most important factor that could be used to prevent injuries and even fatalities? 
20. Is there any aspect of the fire service that you would change in order to increase the safety of you and your fellow brothers? 

Additional Post 6: Search and Rescue

Two weeks into the month of February I got the chance to be part of a search and rescue stimulation with the other fire explorers in my post. The firefighters on hand split all the explorers into groups of four and proceeded by putting towels inside our masks in order to insure we couldn't see anything. Aside from that, they had a smog machine running in order to represent smoke and make the stimulation feel more realistic.

The objective of the stimulation was for my group and I to stay as low as we possibly could to the ground  and follow the water hose up the stairs in order to find a life size dummy and work together as a group to pull it out. The hardest part was communicating, while still trying to extract the dummy from the building. We were all tired from dragging it across the stairs and in order to talk to one another we had to scream as loud as we could due to the masks that we were wearing. Through out the entire exercise we where using breathing apparatuses to take in air, but towards the end the instructors took us off that air supply, which ultimately made the task much harder for us. In the end it was rewarding to see that our communication skills and teamwork allowed us to successfully take the dummy out of the building. 

The video above shows the other explorer and I dragging the dummy out of the building. (Please excuse the bad quality)

Blog 16: Advisory Meeting #2

EQ: What is the best way for a team of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities while fighting structural fires? 

Answer #2: The best way for a team of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities when fighting structural fires is by conducting routine equipment checks. A firefighter's equipment is their first line of defense and is also critical for being able to fight structure fires. Their personal protective equipment, ladders, ropes, and trucks should be constantly being checked in order to insure a safe day at work.

Support 1: Personal protective equipment (PPE) consists of a firefighters coat, pants, hood, helmet, boots, gloves, breathing apparatus, and personal alert safety system (PASS). As explained in "The History of Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment" by Paul Hasenmids, PPEs are a firefighters first line of defense against heat and exposures. I was also told, while conducting my 3rd interview, that most firefighters start off their day by checking their personal equipment and later learned how a little act can make such a big difference. 

Support 2:  A self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) is a device that all firefighters use in order to receive breathable air when put in dangerous atmospheres. As I learned from being part of an explorers program, there a nine different components that make up an SCBA. I was also told that this piece of equipment needed to be cleaned and inspected daily and after each use.

Support 3: In the article "8 Ways to Protect Against Cancer with PPE" by Grace Stull I learned that personal protective equipment does not only protect a fireman from heat, but it also helps reduce the risk of obtaining any disease. This article specifically focuses on cancer, but I've also heard about the effect that other chemicals can have on the health of firefighters, such as carbon monoxide. From conducting research checks I've learned the importance that PPEs can have on a firefighter's health and why it's crucial to make sure they are always in working condition. 

Research Sources: 

Jeffrey O. and Grace G. Stull. "8 Ways to Protect Against Cancer with PPE." Firerescue1.com. Firerescue1.com, 28 January 2014. Web. 6 February 2014.

Hasenmeier, Paul. "The History of Firefighter Personal Protective Equipment." Fireengineering.com. Pennwell, 16 June 2008. Web. 6 February 2014.

McCromack, Jim. "A Guide to the Daily Equipment Check." Firefighter Nation. Firefighter Nation, 1 Mar. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

Concluding Sentence:

The best way for a team of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities when fighting structural fires is by conducting routine equipment checks.

Blog 15: Independent Component 2 Approval

Content:

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

Much like my first independent component, for my second independent component I plan on continuing to attend my fire explorer meetings, which are held at least once a week. The meetings usually last approximately 4-5 hours. I will accomplish any tasks that I will be given by the firefighters to the best of my ability and learn all the material they present to us. At Post 10, were I do my mentorship, my adviser tends to focus most of his attention on a new topic each month. During each meeting he usually goes over a different part of the month's topic. All in all, for my independent component I really want to master all of the new fire related techniques or skills which I will be taught in the future.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

To show evidence of work, I pan on continuously filling out my second independent component log. Aside from that I will take pictures, when I can. I don't plan on photographing every moment of my explorer meetings, because that would interfere with my actual learning, but I will capture images of what I feel are the most important parts of my experience. Lastly, I will show evidence of completing my work by keeping track of any paperwork which I receive and eventually share it on my blog.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

By continuing to attend my explorer meetings at station 166, located in the City of El Monty, I will be able to learn more about my topic by simply being exposed to the fire service. When ever I attend any meeting, I always come home with some different form of knowledge that I wasn't aware of before. From being exposed to the work life of firefighters, I have already learned about the benefits and hardships about the career, alongside the importance of knowing all of your information and going out of your way to help another person. Attending my explorer meetings will help me learn more about different aspects of the fire service, which I am eager to explore.

4.  Post a log on the right hand side of your blog near your other logs and call it the independent component 2 log.

Done.

Blog 14: Independent Component 1

Content:  

• LITERAL
  (a) “I, Steven Robles, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.”
  (b) Firefighter Cunningham played a huge role in helping me complete my First Independent Component because he is the person who actually taught me new things when ever I attended my  fire explorers meetings.
  (c) I have completed my digital spread sheet. It can be located in the right hand side of my blog or by clicking here.
• (d) For my independent component I continued to attend my normal explorer meetings. The interesting part about my logged hours was that I got to write about a yearly  explorer event, know as the mustar, which the other explorers and I had to prepare for. I also got the opportunity to volunteer at a number of different locations and learn more about the career of firefighting like things such as yearly inspections that they have. 
• INTERPRETIVE: My independent component consisted of learning about different aspects of the fire service by conducting hands on activities. I sent a majority of my mandatory 30 hours preparing for a mustar with the help of my other explorers and post leader. By preparing for the mustar I was also able to learn about the different types of equipment that firemen use. I also spent a large part volunteering, which helped me understand the huge importance that being open and willing to help others has on the job.

The image above is the cover of the mustar packet which goes over each event in the mustar. Some of the explorers in my post received a copy in order to help them prepare for and get a general ideal of what to expect. 

The image above is a picture Post 10 at the mustar event. I am located in the far left.

The image above shows myself and another fellow explorer, Tagle, posing by the bed section of the fire truck after learning about the different sections of hose that can be found of the truck. 

In the picture above I was separating toys when volunteering at the Spark of Love Toy Drive. 

• APPLIED: As I mentioned before, everything that I did through out my independent component helped me understand a different aspect of the fire service. For example, the mustar showed me that firefighting doesn't always have to be pure work and no fun. I got to learn about the different equipment while conducting hands on activities when preparing for the mustar. I also learned the importance of volunteering and how rewarding it feels to actually be directly involved in helping make a difference in someones life. Lastly, simply by spending so much time at station 166 with the other explorers I got the chance to appreciate the power of creating new friendships with others who have similar interest, which is important in the fire service because I've found that firefighters tend to spend large amounts of time with a set group of people. 

Grading Criteria 

• Log on a digital spreadsheet ✓
• Evidence of 30 hours of work ✓
• LIA submitted to blog ✓

Blog 13: Lesson 2 Reflection

Content:

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

• After completing my 30 minute presentation, I would have to say that I'm most proud of being able to control my nervousness better than in my 10 minute presentation. I know that I still need to work more and spend more time practicing my presentation, but for the most part I'm content with how I did. 

2. Questions to Consider
       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

• The reason why I feel that i deserve a "P" grade on my my Lesson 2 project is because I met all of the requirements, while still trying to incorporate a fun and interesting presentation. Both my hook and lesson activity required each student too think about a possible answer or write down their thoughts. Aside from that, I feel that my first answer was a very specific response to my essential question. I also sited my research and reference my mentor a little. While meeting all the requirements, I even tried to focus on asking the class lots of questions in order to keep them engaged. 

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• I believe that I excelled in being able to give the class a specific answer to my essential question. Even though I may have bored some, I  feel that those who did listen and were actively engaged in my presentation were able to learn something new. 

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• If I could go back in time and redo my Lesson 2 I would choose to practice presenting my power point more than I did the first time. Aside from that, I would also want to try to focus more on making my presentation fun and engaging for the entire class. Maybe next time I'll give little rewards in order to grab the students attention. 

5. Finding Value
What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?  

• I'm thinking about revolving my second answer around the firefighter's equipment. I could possibly say that another way for a group of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities when fighting structural fires is by making sure that their personal protective equipment (PPEs) is in working condition at all times. I would have to do more research on this, but for now I'm thinking about focusing on the importance that fire equipment may have on a firefighter's life. 

Additional Post Five: Size Up

During the month of January I was able to find lots of informative and interesting articles on firefighting. Although each and every source was useful in some way, none have been as beneficial as the most recent one that I came across while on  the website Fireengeneering.com. "Critical Components of Size Up," by Bill Gustin in an amazing 12 page article packed with an overwhelming amount of information related to my first essential question answer. This piece goes into depth about what a size up is, and it describes various components which make it up. Aside from being descriptive, this article also came with several different examples and scenarios of firemen conducting size ups. One of my favorite aspects of this piece was that it also included several different images which really helped me visualize what a firefighter might expect in the real life. All in all, I found Gustin's article to be extremely easy to understand and useful.

If you would be interested in taking a look at  "Critical Components of Size Up," by Bill Gustin click the link below: 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jekC36jUAY4YMaRMwNGmXSNt916cnlThYzigUokH_r4/edit

Blog 12: Third Interview Questions

1. What is the best way for a group of firefighters to limit injuries and fatalities while fighting structural fires?
2. What is an important ability that can be found to be most useful when fighting fires?
3. How can someone help protect themselves as well as their partners while on duty?
4. How do you usually handle high stress situations?
5. Can you tell me about some common injuries that firefighters tend to get?
6. How can firefighters avoid seemingly normal injuries? 
7. Have you ever been hurt while on the job? If so,what would you recommend others do in order to avoid your injury?
8. Can you explain to me some of the major safety precautions that you and everyone else in your station take when fighting fires?
9. What aspect of the fire service would you change in order to help make you feel safer while in dangerous situations? 
10. In your opinion, what's the most important skill to have, which could be used to save a life?

Blog 11: Mentorship 10 Hours

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

 I am currently doing my mentorship at fire station 166 in the City of El Monte. The address is:

3615 Santa Anita Avenue
El Monte, CA 91731

2.   Who is your contact?

 My contact is the explorer post adviser. His name is FireFighter Cunningham and also works at station 166 were I'm doing my mentorship.

3.   How many total hours have you done (total hours should be reflected in your mentorship log located on the right hand side of your blog like your WB)?   

 So far I have completed 58 hours of service learning at my stations. These hours reflect my time spent at the station since the begging of the summer when I first started attending the explore program.

4.   Summarize the 10 hours of service you did.

The first 10 hours that I have logged onto my mentorship log were spent basically getting introduced into the explorer programs and getting debriefed on what's expected of me as an L.A. County Explorer. I also partook in physical training the days I completed the hours and learned about the different types of fire trucks that the station has.


5.   Email your house teacher the name of your contact and their phone number confirming who they should call to verify it.  

DONE.

Blog 10: The Holiday

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you over the break with your senior project?

This break I continued to work on my senior project by continuing to attend my fire explorer program. Although I did not continue to write my hours into my independent component log 1 since I am done already, I did attend my weekly meetings throughout the break and expanded my knowledge. In these past two meetings that I have attended my post advisory had choose to teach us about throwing ladders, which is basically how you would put a ladder onto a building. I also worked on my senior project by completing my months additional post, which I choose to write about ladders since that was the most recent subject that I had been taught about. 

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important thing that I probably learned during the break would have to be how to properly throw a ladder. I only learned one method of throwing a ladder onto a building, the method I learned is called the beam raise, but none the less, this method is still very important. The source of what I learned came from my post advisory and certified explorers at my post.

3.  If you were going to do a 10 question interview on questions related to answers of your EQ, who would you talk to and why?

I'm thinking about asking another fellow firefighter at my station who usually helps my post advisory when he's not able to make a meeting. His name is Firefighter Abadie, and is a very respectable and knowledgeable firefighter who was once an explore like me. He is very approachable and I would asking him for help because I know that he has lots of experience in the fire service.