Mayday to the forefront

By Mark vonAppen

In recent years Mayday procedures have been getting a lot of attention. The focus has shifted from Rapid Intervention Crew procedures (how we get them?) to Mayday procedures (how do we call for help?) to Overall Situation Awareness (how do we avoid Mayday situations?). This shift in priorities on the fire ground has been long overdue. Progress was made in 2009 when firefighter line of duty deaths (LODD’s) fell below 100 for the first time in more than 15 years. Last year’s total was 90, and the previous lowest death rate was 81 in 1993. In 2008 the total was 118.

History

Mayday procedures began gaining momentum most recently with the works of Dr. Burton Clark of the National Fire Academy (NFA). Dr. Clark’s work compares firefighters to fighter pilots, and is based on recognition prime decision training (RPD). Mayday training gives firefighters the knowledge of when to call for help and then specific information to relay in the event that a Mayday situation is encountered. The NFA training has provided the foundation for various Mayday programs across the nation.

Situation Awareness
 
Situation awareness (SA) involves being aware of what is happening around you to understand how information, events, and your actions will impact your objectives, both now and in the near future. Lacking SA or having inadequate SA has been identified as one of the primary factors common in many LODD’s. SA is especially important in firefighting, where the information flow can be rapid and unpredictable and poor decisions may lead to serious consequences. In a poorly functioning crew, one or more members may have different assessments on shared SA requirements and act in an uncoordinated or even counter-productive fashion. This can be dangerous or even deadly. In a smoothly functioning crew, each crewmember shares a common understanding of what the others’ actions are. The result of this common understanding is safer operations. All crewmembers must continually size up an incident as it evolves. Incidents change by the second, we must remain vigilant of factors that could cause us to become lost, trapped, or injured.

Situations that warrant an immediate Mayday transmission include, but are not limited to the following: Falling through a floor or roof, separation from partner or crew, low air activation, becoming entangled in wires, or becoming trapped, either by collapse or fire.  The FACT acronym can be used to maintain awareness of Mayday situations.

If you or a member of your crew:

F- Fall (Through something or something falls on you)
A- Air (Experience an SCBA malfunction or other air emergency)
C- Caught (Become entangled)
T- Trapped (By fire, collapse or you are lost)

Keeping the FACT guidelines in mind can improve SA throughout an incident. Crew members have an idea of what to watch out for and may also be more vigilant of other critical fire ground factors such as: building construction, smoke conditions, heat and fire spread.

Call the Mayday

Calling for help is not something that comes naturally to members of the fire service. Firefighters by nature are problem solvers and asking for assistance in any situation is viewed as a sign of weakness in some circles. For some who have been firefighters for many years Mayday training is at times viewed as unnecessary because, ‘It has never happened here’.  This false sense of security is dangerous and misleading. Tragedies can hit any department, any time, regardless of size. We are always one call away from our next tragedy. Mayday training ideally should occur early in a firefighter’s career so that firefighters do not hesitate to call for help when a critical situation arises. NFA training identifies pride, ego and denial as major reasons why both pilots and firefighters delay decisions to abandon an aircraft (pilots) or call the Mayday (firefighters). Those trained in Mayday procedures must know, based on their skills and abilities, what is possible and what is not. Firefighters must be able to recognize situations that are life threatening and impossible to escape from, and choose the appropriate response when met with these circumstances.

Make it a Daily Event

Mayday training should continue throughout a firefighter’s career. After receiving training in the recruit academy on Mayday procedures, both didactic and manipulative, annual refresher training should occur to maintain quick responses in entrapment situations. If skills are not practiced, our SA can be reduced and reaction time can become sluggish. The mind is structured in such a way that reaction time can be improved though training, repetition, practice, or through RPD training. This is why in athletics many simple skills are performed over and over again so that they become a reflex. In a similar manner, we train recruits on important fire ground skills repeatedly so that they also become habit. We must take complex thought processes that take 8-10 seconds and train ourselves through repetition, to make complex decisions in 1-2 seconds.  Daily training can be as simple as reviewing Mayday situations and calling the Mayday when performing the morning SCBA check. A quick visualization of an entrapment situation and then calling for help based on an imaginary scenario keeps procedures fresh in the firefighter’s mind. This drill is simple and can be accomplished in less than a minute.  Another option is to practice in pairs, or as a crew, by giving each other scenarios and calling the Mayday based on the partner’s circumstances. The acronym NUCAN can be used to report Mayday information.

N- Name (Who are you?)
U- Unit (Division or group assignment)
C- Conditions (Your condition as well as fire or entrapment level)
A- Actions/ Air (Your actions and air remaining)
N- Needs (What is needed for your rescue?)

Sample Mayday message:

Firefighter: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.”

IC: “Firefighter calling Mayday, give me your NUCAN report.”

Firefighter: “IC, this is firefighter Jones from Engine 3. (Name and Unit)
I was performing a search on the first floor Bravo side. (Assignment and Location) There was a collapse; I think I am in the basement. I am lost, pinned, and cannot move. (Condition)
I am turning on my PASS and light. I have half a tank. (Actions and Air)
I need immediate assistance.” (Needs)

Practicing Mayday transmissions is crucial so that the message becomes reflex. Some firefighters have little time to get their message out when trapped, only managing a single transmission. Clear, calm, concise, and comprehensible radio transmissions are a must when there is a possibility of only being able to broadcast once. In addition, manipulative training must be on-going so that firefighters can instantly locate important components of their personal equipment, radio, PASS, light, and tools among others. Stay sharp and practice calling the Mayday every time you report for duty. Practicing one minute a shift can make the difference when faced with these critical, perhaps life and death, situations.

*(e.g., Hartel, Smith, & Prince, 1991; Merket, Bergondy, & Cuevas-Mesa, 1997; Nullmeyer, Stella, Montijo, & Harden, 2005). Dr. Burton Clark- National Fire Academy

Mark vonAppen Bio:

Mark vonAppen has been a fire fighter for the City of Palo Alto for 12 years. He is currently assigned to the Palo Alto Fire Department Training Division and is a fire fighter on the Ladder Company. He is a committee member for California State Fire Training and has contributed to the development of Fire Fighter Survival and Rapid Intervention curriculums. Mark is an Academy instructor for the Santa Clara County Joint Fire Academy, Recruit Instructor for Palo Alto Fire, and a member of the ‘Nobody Gets Left Behind’ training group. Mark is also lead instructor for ‘Read and React: Calling the Mayday’ which was featured in the California State Training Officers Symposium Fresno in 2009 and is offered at the TAK Response Conference in September 2010.