Essentials of Firefighting is provided by Professional Rescue Innovations to provide your new firefighters in your department the skills necessary to be successful in your department and on the fireground. This class focuses on giving you or your firefighters training to the highest standard in ventilation, search and rescue, fire behavior, salvage and overhaul, water supply, and many other basic fireground needs. This class is based on the NFPA 1001 and meets the Iowa minimum training standard. PRI strives not to just teach to the minimum standard though. PRI strives to bring you instructors that will take you above and set you up for success on the fireground. We do not want you to just pass a test, we want you to have a long and great career as a firefighter. With PRI offering “Essentials of Firefighting” we will help you and your members achieve that start to a great career in the fire service.

Positive pressure ventilation (PPV) was first used in the fire service to ventilate structures after

the fire was knocked down. Positive Pressure Attack (PPA) takes PPV a step further to achieve

effective ventilation during fire attack. It is another tactic that, properly used, can make life better

for firefighters and those we are sworn to protect. As with any fire ground operation, PPA requires training and education to be performed safely and effectively. This class is dedicated to providing information and resources about the use of positive pressure on the fire ground. It is a work in progress, and will evolve and grow.

Using PPA is a very quick and useful tool, but at times utilizing vertical ventilation can be more effective. The knowledge of building construction and efficiency of producing your vertical ventilation is key to a successful operation. To accomplish that efficiency, PRI will bring a vertical ventilation prop to your department for your firefighters to receive the practice needed. With the guidance of the PRI instructors and repetition of cutting on a pitched roof, vertical ventilation can be utilized by your department.

Objectives:

• The Mechanics of PPV and PPA: “How do you set it up?” and “How does it work?”

• Review of the latest NIST findings concerning PPV, wind driven fires and how PPV is used to “pressurize” stairways and corridors.

• Practice cutting working on a pitched roof and cutting ventilation hole

• Understanding of the components on a saw and how to correctly utilized the tool in vertical ventilation

• How to determine if you’re having a successful PPV operation

Forcible entry is a skill that is tough to practice unless your department has their own door, window, and cutting station prop. Unfortunately not every department has these. PRI is here to solve that issue. We have a mobile forcible entry trailer with props for your department to practice with. Not only are you able to get real practice with your forcible entry skills, but you are receiving an instructor with the knowledge to help your department discover new techniques and tricks to make you better effective at forcing entry. This course will provide your department the opportunity to practice with realistic props and high class instructors.

This class will cover the following aspects of fire ground forcible entry, search of private

dwellings, room orientation, vent enter search, commercial search, large area search, RIT

search, and thermal imaging camera techniques and tactics for search operations. Students

practice positions, duties on the line, using tools and selecting equipment. RIT responsibilities

are highlighted and various carries, drags and removal techniques are practiced. Rope Assisted

Search Procedures (RASP) may also be presented in.

Objectives:

• Recognize the hazards associated with various rescue operations.

• Describe the difference between primary and secondary searches.

• Demonstrate the proper procedures for victim drags and carries.

This course will teach the student to call a “Mayday” under various emergency situations they

may find themselves in, including being trapped or lost in a room, having something collapse on

them, being hung/snagged on wires and falling through a floor or roof. These conditions will be

simulated using various props with the firefighter in full PPE, SCBA, and portable radio in a

blacked out face mask. Students will spend most of the evolution actively sending or receiving

Mayday radio transmissions under simulated emergency situations.

Objectives:

• Define a mayday situation.

• Identify why firefighters fail to or delay calling a mayday.

• Identify mayday decision-making parameters and calling procedures.

• Perform mayday training under emergency situations

Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) is a term that we never have to use and activate on the fireground. RIT is a low probability action for most departments and even having a dedicated team is tough. We always hear that we need to train on the skills that we rarely use that way we are ready for when the real event happens. RIT is that low frequency event that we need to prepare for as the cost is the highest for members in your department. The class is designed to provide the student with some “street-smart” theories and techniques on rapid intervention and to prepare the students. Rapid intervention scenarios will challenge students’ mind, teamwork, and skills.

This course will challenge the student with advanced RIT scenarios requiring excellent

teamwork and ingenuity. We will review skills for “specific” scenarios such as:

• History of & Need for RIT

• RIT-Related Equipment

• Basic RIT deployment skills (locating the downed FF)

• Basic Skills for Moving the Downed Firefighter

• Basic SCBA problem resolution skills

• FF thru / stuck in the floor.

• Removing FF out an upper floor via windows.

• Limited space evolutions.

• Multiple downed FF’s.

This course gives firefighters a better perspective to fight vehicle fires. The course teaches how

to identify the causes, describes major hazard areas, and teaches firefighting techniques to

extinguish vehicle fires. The course will teach a variety of attack methods to fight fires in the

engine, passenger, and trunk compartments. Also involved are wheel fires, flammable liquid

fires, and bumper shock type explosions as well as new technologies such as air bags and

hybrid components.