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Over the past five years, the fire service has placed a new emphasis on firefighter rescue, an emphasis never before considered to be necessary. Prior to the inception of NFPA 1500 (Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program) and training programs such as "Get Out Alive" and the ever-popular "Saving Our Own" program, few if any firefighters could ever fathom the possibility of needing to rescue one of their own. As we consider this newfound focus, ask yourself these subtle questions. Have we taken the time to properly prepare our fireground commanders? Have we, as fire instructors and trainers dedicated the necessary time and training to ensure the safe and effective management of a "Mayday!" incident? To most, the answers are unquestionably, NO! To consider such an event and the subsequent rescue in which a fellow firefighter or firefighters are trapped, lost or disoriented within a structure, to be routine, is to deny the truth. The mere phrase "Mayday!" has forever changed the careers and lives of many dedicated fire service professionals.

The initiation or transmission of a firefighter distress signal produces more stress and potential chaos then any other singular type of incident we may encounter throughout our careers. As firefighters, fire officers, and trainers we must develop a standard plan of action that permits our fireground strategist to properly manage and overcome these potentially chaotic and unquestionably stressful events. Our lives and the lives of our fellow firefighters depend on our preparatory efforts.

This article will provide three critical lessons for every fireground commander to consider as he/she prepares for what might ultimately be the most critical call of their career.

PRESENTATION:

Lessons learned from the recent and distant past continue to serve as our fateful reminders of operational failures and successes. The fire service abroad continues to provide us with detailed technical reports and investigative findings, which provide us with an unending, list of lessons learned. Although very few if any of these reports provide a detailed account of the Safety Engine/RIT deployment operations, one can quickly identify similarities that can be related to the proper management of a "Mayday!" incident.