Tag - Training

On parade: Recruit Class 1/2017

August 18, 2017

Class 1/2017 successfully completed their training programme at the end of May.

The passout parade is organised as a graduation ceremony for the recruits and their families and friends, and provides them with an opportunity to showcase the skills they have learned over the past 16 weeks to their loved ones. With the sun beating down on the OBI’s training yard at the end of May, a total of 50 recruits from Class 1/2017 received their scrolls and completed the passout ceremony, looking forward to the beginning of their new careers – 48 from Dublin Fire Brigade and two from Waterford Fire Service. The average age of Class 1/2017 is 25.5 years – the oldest is 48 while the youngest recruit is just 20. Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr addressed the recruits at the beginning of the parade, noting his pride and that of the city’s. “This is a highlight of your 17 weeks in training and we know that the city

“This is a highlight of your 17 weeks in training and we know that the city have taken you away from your normal and everyday life,” he said. “I want to thank your partners and families, your mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, for allowing us for the past 17 weeks… to be able to put you through this rigorous training session you went through. The people of Dublin, as you well know, are very proud and we have great respect [for] our emergency services, and with good reason.”

The demonstration of skills including a very impressive foot drill demonstration, consisting of 600 individual movements that were memorised and performed flawlessly. Following a community fire safety demonstration, the recruits then demonstrated their skills in a high rise rescue, hazmat incidents, an RTC with extrication and removal of patients to hospital, a response to a domestic fire incident including the use of breathing apparatus, and finally a highline rescue. At the end of the demonstrations the recruits lined up in front of the gathered crowd to receive their scrolls – the Silver Axe award was presented to recruit firefighter and former Defence Forces member Darren Murphy. “I was looking for a change and I felt that Dublin Fire Brigade could give that change to me. It’s different from the Defence Forces because you’re learning new skills,” he told TheJournal.ie. “I wouldn’t have done anything with the BA through the Defence Forces, or road traffic collisions, so it’s totally new skills that I’m learning while bringing the skills I had from the forces in with me to the fire brigade. It’s a great service to give to the city and I wanted to be a part of that service.”

Chief Fire Officer Fleming also spoke to the newest members of Dublin Fire Brigade, first paying tribute to the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, in which 22 people were killed and dozens more injured. “While this is a day of celebration, I think we should acknowledge the horrific attack in Manchester, and our thoughts and prayers are with the relatives and friends of the families involved, and indeed with our colleagues in the emergency services,” he said. “However, we have gathered here today to celebrate the passing out of Class 1/2017, which comprises 48 recruits from Dublin Fire Brigade and two recruits from Waterford Fire Service. This is a proud day for many people, primarily for the recruits of Class 1/2017, all of whom are reaping the rewards of their commitment over months of arduous training and hard work. For the instructors of Class 1/2017, under the guidance of course director A/D/O Stephen Wylie and assistant course directors A/D/Os Colm Egan and Mark Fay, all of whom have been instrumental in realising the potential of each recruit. And for you, the families, friends and loved ones, you have given the vital encouragement and support needed by each recruit in meeting the demands of their new job.”

In his speech, CFO Fleming highlighted the high standards at the DFB training centre, which are reflected in the quality and the professionalism of each of the graduating recruits. These standards have led to the OBI’s recognition as a national training centre for firefighting in Ireland. “This has also led to the provision of training for other full-time fire service recruits, and it is a very important step in the provision of harmonised national training standards,” CFO Fleming noted. “This is due in no small way to the dedication of all of the training staff here. I would also like to pay tribute to Assistant Chief Fire Officer Terry Kearney, the Brigade Training Officer Gerry Stanley, and to Breeda Melvin and the administrative staff here at the training centre.”

The recruits have completed a total of 29,120 hours of instruction from DFB instructors alongside training from Dublin Bus, An Garda Síochána, Renault and Luas, preparing them for the wide variety of incidents they are sure to encounter in the years ahead. Irish fire services, including Dublin Fire Brigade, have a proud tradition of serving communities across the country, well respected by the communities they serve. Going forward, the members of Class 1/2017 will have a duty to continue this tradition.

“The history of our service is interwoven with the history of the city itself. We are very proud of our long-standing service but it also imposes a duty on us, a duty to uphold the traditions and standards of our service. The training you have received here is to enable you to serve the people of Dublin in their hour of need, but it is also to keep you safe while you are doing that,” said CFO Fleming. “Every recruit here is following in the footsteps of a long line of firefighters who have carried their badge for their fire service with pride and honour. You are entrusted with that duty, and I am confident that you will carry it out faithfully. Finally, I wish each of you every success and fulfilment in your future career in the fire service. I have no doubt that you will continue to deliver a first-class service to the citizens of the city and county that you serve.”

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Expecting the unexpected: Chief Fire Officers’ conference

August 8, 2017

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Events, News, Training

The annual Chief Fire Officers’ Association conference was held in Croke Park in 2017, organised by Dublin Fire Brigade. Conor Forrest was there on the day.

Last May, Croke Park was the location for the Chief Fire Officers’ Association (CFOA) annual conference, an interesting and varied two-day event organised by Dublin Fire Brigade and which tackled the topic of expecting the unexpected. Drawing from fire services far and near, the comprehensive CFOA 2017 conference featured speakers on a broad range of topics from fire safety to media management. Washington DC Fire and EMS Chief Gregory Dean reflected on the systems in use in Seattle and Washington DC; Dublin City Council Senior Systems Officer John Lynch explained how business intelligence can be put to good use in the fire service; and Peter Holland, Chief Fire and Rescue advisor at the Home Officer provided an overview of the local and national structure of the UK’s fire services.

An opportunity to listen and learn from colleagues, not just in Ireland but around the world, and to discover best practice and innovation for the years ahead, the conference also looked to the future of fire services, with topics such as innovation, investment and funding on the agenda.

“As Minister with responsibility for policy oversight for fire safety and the provision of fire services by local authorities, my primary focus is on ensuring that local authority services are effective in achieving their objectives and meeting their statutory obligations in respect of the provision of fire services and fire safety. Key to that is to make sure that local authorities do all they can to do your great work and to give you the resources you need to be able to provide the service you provide,” said Minister for State Damien English, who opened the conference alongside Lord Mayor Cllr Brendan Carr, and reiterated his department’s commitment to fire services. “My job as your minister in this area is to work with my department and all local authorities to make sure that you get your fair share of resources to help you do what you do… If we can prove that you are spending the resources that you get in the best way, in the most effective way and stretching every Euro of that, that helps us with our business case to get more money for the service, to build on that.”

It was a theme that CFOA Chairperson and Dublin Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Pat Fleming picked up on later in the morning. “Funding is always an interesting one,” he said with a laugh. “In 2015, 20 new fire appliances for 16 counties were announced. Many of these are now only appearing in fire stations. Fire and rescue services are not discretionary items. Properly funded services are vital in defining a modern society and in supporting economic development and foreign direct investment.”

The issue of fire-based EMS has been in the public eye of late, with calls in some quarters to remove DFB’s ambulance call and dispatch function and to instead merge it with the National Ambulance Service (NAS). Alongside the importance of a collaborative approach to community fire safety, Minister for State Damien English touched on the topic of fire-based EMS services during his speech, noting the possibility of retained fire services assisting the National Ambulance Service in meeting the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) response targets, particularly in rural areas.

“I welcome the Minister’s comments on this today. It’s something that I’ve advocated on previous occasions, the positive benefits of providing life-saving medical intervention in support to hard-pressed colleagues in the NAS operating in rural Ireland,” said CFO Fleming. “I’m pleased that a comprehensive draft paper has been prepared under the aegis of the Keeping Communities Safe process, and I look forward to the further progressions and discussion of the feasibility of delivering this service in the interests of patient safety. Inter-agency cooperation in the public interest is not about individual agency status, but rather about delivering the best possible patient-centric service.”

CFO Pat Fleming, Brigadier General Philippe
Boutinaud, Commander of the Paris Fire Brigade and Dublin City Council Lord Mayor Brendan Carr.

Preparation

The main theme of the conference was ‘Expect the unexpected’, with a conference programme reflecting this particular topic. One of the most interesting and well-received talks was given by Brigadier General Philippe Boutinaud, Commander of the Paris Fire Brigade, the largest fire service in Europe. Brigadier General Boutinaud was in command on the night of Friday November 13th 2015, when a series of coordinated terrorist attacks killed 130 people and injured a further 368, the deadliest incident in France since World War II. Later claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the attacks began when three suicide bombers detonated outside the Stade de France during an international friendly between France and Germany, followed shortly after by shootings and bombings at several cafés and restaurants, and then a mass shooting at the Bataclan Theatre during an Eagles of Death Metal concert. Having taken hostages within the theatre, none of the attackers survived following a police raid on the building.

During a discussion on the planning, preparation and response of Paris Fire Brigade, alongside lessons learned from the events, a complete silence blanketed the room as a harrowing video shot on the night of the attacks was shown, depicting the panic-stricken calls received by the emergency service controllers, the firefighters who responded on the ground, and the confusion of the injured who wandered the scenes. “My ambition this morning is to share with you, I’m not here to deliver a speech or deliver a lesson to you,” said Brigadier General Philippe. It’s just a question of… sharing my experience with you in case the unexpected happens in your country. Obviously, I hope that will not be the case.”

Though a terrorist attack of similar proportions on Irish soil is unlikely, there’s no doubt that our emergency services need to be prepared for whatever may come. “Whatever Oscar Wilde thought about that theme, all of us who provide and manage frontline operational emergency response services are very clear as to its meaning. Our primary role is to have the necessary resources in place to protect public safety and render humanitarian aid, which sounds simple enough,” said CFO Fleming. “However, the preparation required for the expected, and the nature and complexity of the unexpected, poses major challenges for us all. The nature of the potential scenarios we now have to prepare for has moved far from a single agency response to a fire or medical incident. Indeed, the complexities of these potential scenarios test all emergency services to the limit both individually and collectively.”

Learning with leisure: The EMS Gathering

August 1, 2017

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Events, News, Training

The fourth annual Emergency Gathering took place in Kinsale in May. Conor Forrest spoke with organiser Kieran Henry to discover more about this engaging and diverse two-day event.

In early May, a large group of emergency services personnel from Ireland and around the world gathered in the picturesque town of Kinsale. They were there as part of the annual EMS Gathering, a two-day event organised by a team of people including National Ambulance Service advanced paramedic Kieran Henry. It was initially inspired by The Gathering 2013, a government umbrella tourism initiative that encouraged Ireland’s diaspora to return to their homeland that year.

“Around the same time, there was a group of us involved in emergency medical services – paramedics, doctors responders etc. – and we used to head up the mountains informally, take part in activities on our time off,” Kieran explains. “We would often chat to each other and share information with each other, talking about hypothermia, drowning or various different things, as well as talking about sport, current affairs and things like that. So we thought why don’t we merge the two?”

Thus the EMS Gathering was born, organised and run on a voluntary basis with something for everyone working in the field of pre-hospital emergency care, regardless of qualification or experience. The informal nature inspired by those mountain hikes has remained – though the event includes classroom lectures given by experts in their fields, ‘Learning with Leisure’ remains a key facet of the EMS Gathering. Over the years attendees have travelled to nearby farms to learn about responding to a farm-related emergency, attended talks on drowning at Torc Waterfall outside Killarney, and taken a bus tour while learning the intricacies of dealing with sepsis.

Loading an injured person into a helicopter was one element of the TEMS workshop. Photos courtesy EMS Gathering.

Clearly, the diverse programme has worked – people have flocked to the EMS Gathering each year from all corners of the globe, from New Zealand, Poland, Canada, the United States and further afield, sharing their experiences, supporting one another and exchanging ideas on best practice. It has also inspired other events, including the OBI CPC nights established by DFB’s Glenn Ellis and the team there. “It’s a different angle on the educational aspects of the event, I suppose, and people seem to like it. They keep coming back anyway!” says Kieran. “We’ve heard of individual cases where people learned something at the EMS Gathering and they’ve put it into practice. That’s really satisfying on a personal basis.”

Shared expertise

Collaboration is another factor that drives the EMS Gathering – without so many people from different backgrounds, each with their own individual learnings and experiences, the event would not be as broad in its scope. This year the Gathering moved from Killarney to the maritime town of Kinsale, with a programme covering subjects ranging from insights into mental health emergencies and dealing with drowning incidents to workshops on crew resource management and personal resilience. The Flotilla of Learning included a workshop on silver trauma and sepsis given on the Spirit of Kinsale vessel in the harbour, while attendees learned about behaviours of concern while on a walking tour of the Charlesfort. The Irish Naval Service also gave a highly insightful talk on Operation Pontus, which saw more than 15,000 migrants rescued in the Mediterranean over the course of six three-month rotations by Navy vessels.

Simulations are an important feature of the EMS Gathering.

“We had many agencies, both statutory and voluntary, involved. Within those agencies you have a complete multidisciplinary set of people from clinical to non-clinical,” says Kieran. “People from all different backgrounds be it the emergency medical services, military, fire service and rescue, hospitals, general practice, researchers. We had a range of national and international attendees, and they brought their own experiences.” With the dust having settled on the fourth EMS Gathering held since its foundation, Kieran is delighted with how the diverse programme for 2017 unfolded. There’s no doubt that the combination of social activities, with talks and workshops held both in the classroom and out in the locality, made for a memorable two days.

“We were delighted with the response. The feedback that we have got [for 2017] is phenomenal. Some of the nicest things that we heard [were from] the veterans, who have attended conferences for many years, and told us it’s the best one they’ve been at,” says Kieran. “Our aim was to inspire people to learn and enjoy themselves, and I think we have certainly achieved that.”

Flotilla of learning

A new concept for 2017 was the Flotilla of Learning – a range of workshops held on and around Kinsale Harbour. Those included:

■ Health & Well-being Workshop – Kayaks
■ Silver Trauma & Silver Sepsis – Spirit of Kinsale vessel
■ Deep Dive into Diving – Diving Rib
■ Ultrasound Workshop – Sea Vessel
■ Crew Resource Management – Sailboat
■ Behaviours of Concern/Great Wars & What We Have Learned – Walking Tour of Charlesfort

Training day

June 2, 2017

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Events, Members, News, Training

The OBI played host to a two-part mass casualty training exercise for Class 1/2016 last November, writes Conor Forrest.

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Last November, recruits from Class 1/2016 reported to the OBI as part of their paramedic training, having graduated earlier this year and spent the intervening time in their respective stations. They would be taking part in a mass casualty training exercise that day, a test of their skills in the field based on course objectives which have been set by PHECC (the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council) on gathering vital information, delivering a clear picture of the scene to control and command, and designating certain areas for casualty clearance, ambulance arrival, etc.

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a similar exercise held in the Phoenix Park, which featured the aftermath of a house party gone wrong. This one, however, was a little different in terms of scale. Though the recruits were told they would be taking part in a mass casualty exercise, they weren’t told what to expect. The brainchild of tutor Joe Brady, one of the first practitioners to reach the scene of the recent shooting in Whitehall, onlookers watched as two vehicles entered the yard at speed, screeching to a halt. A mass of armed gardaí tumbled from the vehicles and spread out, bearing down on the rear of the building where there were reports of shooters inside a nightclub. Following an explosion, several masked men emerged from the building and engaged in a shootout with gardaí. The armed unit then moved into the building, clearing it room by room, ensuring the scene was safe for first responders to enter.

Members of the ERU arrive on scene

Once they got the go ahead, DFB crews began to arrive – some began to assess the emerging casualties, while others entered the building to assess and remove the more critically wounded. With music pumping inside the club, the responders had to focus on the tasks at hand and ignore any distractions – their instructors were looking for mental strength in the face of disorientation and pressure. Outside on the quad a casualty clearance station area was set up, with patients brought in, assessed, and then transferred into the waiting ambulances. Though some might have been expecting a different scenario, a second exercise began with the shooting of the assembled crowd from the earlier incident.

“The exercise was designed to test their response to a mass casualty incident; we were looking at their role as first practitioners on the scene, their communication skills, their ability to do what is called a triage sieve – a first look at the patient and then allocate a triage card. If they’re really badly injured they get a red, if they’re not so badly injured they get a yellow, and then the walking wounded can be brought off to a separate area and then bussed off scene,” explains Paul Lambert, EMS training coordinator in the OBI. “It’s about getting into the practice of encountering something that they won’t come across that often, it’s not normal medicine, they don’t come and treat the first person they see – their job is to categorise all of the casualties and to find out which is the highest priority.”

Coordination

Understandably, organising this exercise was a complex process, liaising with An Garda Síochána and the Civil Defence. “Joe Brady decided that since it was in the news and something that there is a possibility of happening – an active shooter scenario – he decided on this format. He interfaced with a number of other agencies, the Civil Defence, An Garda Síochána and the Garda Emergency Response Unit,” Lambert explains. “Logistically it was a big ask, because there are a lot of factors to take into account to develop an exercise that will run well.”

Instructor Dan Fynes readies his crew to enter the building

The first thing to consider was health and safety – designing an exercise plan, conducting a risk assessment, mitigating any potential risks that arose during the planning stage and appointing a safety officer to oversee the process. Ensuring all of the necessary equipment was in place was another challenge – given the scale and scope of the exercise, the organisers needed additional trauma bags, spinal boards, field stretchers, scoop stretchers and defibrillators, and a casualty clearing station. A number of ambulances were also requisitioned from the workshop, placed on standby for use in the exercise.

As the scenario involved a shooting at a nightclub, casualties were also required, provided through the voluntary emergency response organisations. Their varied injuries were made more realistic by the work of makeup students from Dún Laoghaire. The talented students provided moulage [applying mock injuries for emergency services training purposes) – injuries such as eviscerations, penetrating injuries, everything from bruising to a major haemorrhage and eye avulsions, making for a more realistic scene and placing increased pressure on the responders.

“Our first practitioners on scene performed very well, and then our subsequent crews performed very well. It was quite arduous – we had 53 casualties and there were two separate exercises, so it was quite physically and mentally demanding on them. They had to make rapid decisions under pressure and then physically had to remove and treat the patients. It was a lot of pressure for them but we’re very happy with how they performed, and I think they found it to be a very valuable learning experience,” Lambert explains. Thanks are due to all who volunteered their time in coordinating the two exercises, totalling over 100 casualties.

Joe Brady deserves a special mention for his hard work in bringing his idea from concept to execution, liaising with outside agencies and with various elements within DFB, organising the moulage which provided a layer of added realism, and whose effort was vindicated at the end of the day. “I was also very impressed with the tutors in the OBI and the amount of hard work they have done,” says Lambert. “It was a very well thought out exercise, and very well executed.”

Tricky triage

Among the many skills being tested through the incident was the firefighters’ ability to perform a triage sort, a more in depth way of assessing a patient. “They assess the respiratory rate, their systolic blood pressure and their Glasgow coma score, and based on those three things they apportion them a score, and then those patients are moved to the hospital first – it’s like a filtering system,” Lambert explains. “We filter through the casualty clearing station, the people that need to get off scene quickest, and then we can designate those to the hospitals to make sure that the hospitals receive the most critical patients first.”

Firefighters were also tasked with relaying a methane message – declaring a major emergency, providing the exact location, the type of incident, hazards, access, the number and severity of the injured and any extra resources required.

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First on the scene

May 26, 2017

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News, Training

Firecall editor Conor Forrest recently took part in day one of the three-day Occupational First Aid (OFA) course at the O’Brien Training Institute, learning more than he had expected.

It’s not an entirely uncommon scenario. An ordinary member of the public is out walking through the city when they see a man collapsing to the ground, complaining of chest pain and discomfort along with shortness of breath. They might panic, unsure of what to do, apart from calling the emergency services. Or, if they have been instructed in how to give first aid, they could make the difference between life and death, stabilising the patient before the ambulance arrives.

Having been encouraged by a number of people over the past few months to undertake a first aid course, in the event anything might happen at Firecall HQ, I arrived bright and early at the OBI on a sunny morning last June alongside six other trainees, all of whom seemed to work in one of the city’s public libraries.

My first introduction to this new and nervousness-inducing world was courtesy of our instructor for the day, Hugh Keeley, who joined DFB in 1997 and currently serves on C watch in Donnybrook. Despite having studied biology to the Leaving Cert (not by choice), I wondered how I would manage to take in the amount of technical terms and medical information that I was sure would be fired my way throughout the day. I needn’t have worried.

Comprising a mix of practical and easily digestible information on the intricacies of patient assessment, respiratory emergencies and cardiac first response, the course was broken down in a manner that us ordinary folk on the street could understand without much difficulty. Hugh was full of interesting information and anecdotes throughout the day, including the possibility of using a crisp bag to stop air sucking in and to allow blood to drain out following a stab wound to the ribs or lungs, albeit in the absence of a more conventional medical solution.

First up was an introduction to the world of the first aider, from the responsibility of those practicing first aid to regulations and legislation, and we were warned about acting negligently and the need to secure a scene before you begin your work, a lesson which is undoubtedly part and parcel of everyday life in DFB, but may be less than second nature to us civilians. Next up was what we had all been waiting for, the practical demonstrations – checking for a response, carrying out primary and secondary surveys, hauling our makeshift patients into the recovery position, and best practice when dealing with a patient suffering from spinal injuries, among others.

Sobering lessons

Perhaps one of the more striking lessons learned that day was about fibrillation, and the actual use of the defibrillator. From the point of view of the general public, it’s probably fair to say that the defibrillator is seen as a tool to fix all manner of problems. One of the attendees (naming no names) was particularly shocked by the revelation that the heart itself is not restarted by the defibrillator; the defibrillator stops ventricular fibrillation which is a useless quivering of the heart that results in no output – blame Hollywood for that misconception.

The course includes both theoretical and practical aspects

Speaking to me afterwards, Hugh was very vocal on the need for people on the street with first aider skills, as they provide a vital stopgap while the emergency services are en route. “They are vital. They are the first three links in the chain of survival, and what we do adds to what they have done already. If they’ve got stuck in and they know first aid and they’re able to do as much as they can for the sick, ill or injured person before we arrive, it makes a massive difference to the outcome of the health and wellbeing of the patient. If nobody does anything for the patient or if they’re just left lying on the ground, when we arrive we have a hard job to make things right again,” he states. “The first aider is vital and it’s very important that [they are] in the workplace, in schools and community centres etc. And that they have the equipment – ideally, if the budget will run to it, if there’s a defibrillator in the centre or the school or the workplace, the first aider can start using that long before we even get there, and it might make the difference between life or death.”

As for the course itself, Hugh notes that anybody can do it, with just a few simple prerequisites. “You don’t need anything apart from an enthusiasm and a willingness to learn,” he adds. “So long as you come with the right attitude then we can show you all of the skills over the three days, and you’ll learn a lot.”

While the librarians continued their studies for another two days, my fi rst day was also unfortunately my last. However, it’s fair to say that in that day I learned more about first aid and life saving techniques than I have in my entire life, from the correct way to do CPR to the use of aspirin in cardiac cases. I hope to return some day in the not so distant future to complete the full three-day course and receive my certificate as a qualified first aider – from what I’ve seen and learned, it could be worth its weight in gold.

Revolutionary

The portable defibrillator was the brainchild of Professor James ‘Frank’ Pantridge, a doctor and cardiologist who was awarded the British Military Cross for his role in defending Singapore from the Japanese during World War II, and later became a prisoner-of-war. Appointed as a cardiac consultant to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast in 1950, Pantridge introduced cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) with his colleague Dr John Geddes by 1957. Recognising that thousands of deaths were occurring due to ventricular defibrillation, with many taking place in the first hour, Pantridge developed a portable defibrillator along with Geddes and a technician at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Alfred Mawhinney.