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 ✓