Saturday, May 31, 2014
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.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
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.
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.
Monday, May 12, 2014
Blog 21: Mentorship
Literal
Applied
- Mentorship Log
- Justin Cunningham (Firefighter) - Station 166 in the City of El Monte
- 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.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
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.
Monday, April 28, 2014
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
(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
Thursday, April 24, 2014
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.
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.
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.
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. |
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.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)