Training Notes: Don Abbott of ProjectMayday.net
These are my notes from attending this event, hosted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs Safety, Health, and Survival Section. Visit ProjectMayday.net for more information from the source.
Project Mayday
Get reports of, on average, 4.5 maydays/day
3 within the last 24-hours
They’re working on a whtiepaper
Website (projectmayday.net) will be updated February 1
Project Mayday has recorded 9,143 maydays since they began tracking (as of 01-22-2021)
First 3 years, #1 was falling off roof
This is now #4, marking change in training and behavior
When looking at maydays, Abbott says “all too often, incident commanders are out of the vehicle.”
“Using a 5-watt portable radios talking to other 5-watt radios…”
Why do we have problems hearing maydays? One reason, per Abbott: “I think because command is on a portable.”
Even if a chief officer arrives and takes command in the car or with a headset, the initial incident commander is running the scene on a portable.
6% if maydays inside avehicle are missed the first time. So, 94% of maydays called are heard by incident commanders inside a vehicle.
Solutions? Headset inside the car, using 50-watt portable radio. If IC must be outside, use headset.
Enunciation/yelling issues from crew calling mayday is a major factor
Told a story of a mayday where IC told mayday firefighter Engine 9 was coming in to get him. FF radioed back and asked for Engine 3 instead because Engine 9 was lazy with training and he didn’t trust them to get him out. Damn.
Abbott’s perspective:
Press the button and don’t let go until you’re done talking
“The more descriptive the firefighter is, the better we react to it.”
Not a fan of long acronyms — hard to remember effectively
Engine 1-6 instead of Engine 16 for clarity (think Air Traffic Control)
They use 1-6 instead of 16, Alpha instead of A. We should follow their lead for clarity.
Don’t copy/paste mayday SOGs. What works in Phoenix probably won’t work for your department.
Develop your own procedure, then train on it. “If it works in training, it’ll probably work in real life.”
Training Considerations
“Command needs to run the mayday drills… too sterile in training… we need to be playing background noise” [Note: these are standard parts of Fireground Training Bureau’s mayday training]
Radio considerations
With the 5W portable radio, the antenna needs to be upright to hit the tower most effectively
Training consideration: Incorporate attempts to keep radio vertical into mayday training
Instances where just turning the radio horizontal kept signal from getting out of basement/other parts of the building
5W becomes 4W as battery depletes
All this adds to preference to have IC in vehicle with 50W radio on continuous power
Who hears the mayday when IC misses it?
Other crews
Dispatchers “do a pretty good job”
4% of maydays are missed on the second call
Focus on HEARING
Project Mayday focuses a lot on hearing and listening
They actually work with an audiologist
There’s a difference between “hearing” and “listening” — hearing is also interpreting and processing information
“Blink Report” from 2005 (I believe this is it) — assesses effects on the human body during stressful situations
Difficulty hearing
Increased heart rate, trouble breathing
“Operational Hearing” means hearing regardless of background noise. Actually being able to hear, versus just listening
Our hearing tests do not include background noise, typically. So it’s hard to get a real assessment of our ability to hear.
One of the main things he hears in the recordings that is indicative of hearing issues is asking crews to repeat or asking dispatch if they copied.
Hearing Aids
Maydays may have been related to burns on/in the ears from hearing aids
Hearing aids are both transferring heat and melting on/in the ear
Carbon fiber hearing aids handle the heat better, but “I don’t think they’re the answer”
Project Mayday meeting with hearing aid manufacturers
Hypothesis: Ear flaps, coat collars are actually holding heat against the hood versus providing protection
NFPA 1582 says firefighters cannot have hearing aids, but many departments do not adopt this because of concerns related to the Americans with Disabilities Act
Not wearing hearing aids is not the solution, Abbott says. Firefighters need to be able to hear!
Air is also making it through between hood and mask because of stretching it out to wear it around your neck
Question from an attendee: Can headsets get you into a “tunnel hearing” situation?
Abbott: We’ve been using headsets for 25-30 years in Phoenix, and that’s not something we’ve encountered.
Question from an attendee: What about European helmets?
Abbott:
We work with 7 major European fire departments
There tends to be very little movement of the facepiece during emergencies
Fewer burns on the ears and neck
Fewer concussion issues (which has been increasing over the last 6 months or so)
They can wear hearing aids because helmet provides protection
