Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Nature: May Day Procedures – Joint Training & Evolutions

City: Slaughter Beach, DE

On Tuesday, November 12^th, the Indian River (80) and Memorial (89) volunteer firefighters attended a joint training session where the topic was may day procedures and operations. 

The proper use of established mayday procedures is a vital skill that every member of a fire department needs to fully understand and master.  It is vital that not just firefighters and company officers understand the principles but also every chief officer who may find themselves at the command post during a such an operational issue.  

Illustrated herewith are some mayday procedures and mayday training items that were discussed:

• Procedures and training

Mayday procedures are probably the least utilized of all fire tactics and operations because they are so infrequently used, there is always a need for constant and realistic training. Mayday operations are not simply transmitting a mayday and deploying a rapid-intervention team (RIT). There is much more to a fully functional and effective mayday procedure, covered by a variety of questions:

1. How and when do you transmit a mayday?

2. Who answers or acknowledges a mayday?

3. What specific information is transmitted?

4. Does the incident commander (IC) ask additional questions of the mayday firefighter?

5. What RIT resources are assembled prior to a mayday?

6. When is the RIT deployed?

7. Can the RIT perform other fire scene tasks while standing by?

Mayday training should be required for all firefighters and officers and should not exclude anyone.

Mayday training is beyond valuable to each firefighter and needs to be constantly re-enforced every year. 

Additional information may be obtained by viewing the webpage of Memorial Fire Company as well:  http://www.memorialfire89.com/gallery/detail?id=37588