Fire Ops 101
The United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County, Local 1230 hosted a Fire Ops 101 event several years ago. Fire Ops 101 events expose participants to the smoke, the adrenaline rush, and the physical stress and strain firefighters and emergency medical personnel face while protecting communities across the United States. Participants usually include local elected and appointed officials, decision-makers and the media with a hands-on opportunity to better understand the complexities of what our members do every day.
We had a series of five events that our participants went through, each one a taste of what we do as firefighters. The events included an interior live fire burn, a search and rescue evolution with live victims, an emergency medical scenario demonstrating the value of paramedic services and a demonstration from our fire investigators. We even had a car accident scenario in which our participants cut live victims out of a crashed car with our disentanglement tools.
“Ops 101 provides a great opportunity for public officials to gain a better understanding of the operational challenges inherent to firefighting. This program will enable policy makers to make more informed decisions concerning staffing levels, equipment replacement needs and other overall fire protection strategies.
”– Moraga-Orinda Fire District Fire Chief
Randy Bradley
We had a series of five events that our participants went through, each one a taste of what we do as firefighters. The events included an interior live fire burn, a search and rescue evolution with live victims, an emergency medical scenario demonstrating the value of paramedic services and a demonstration from our fire investigators. We even had a car accident scenario in which our participants cut live victims out of a crashed car with our disentanglement tools.
“Ops 101 provides a great opportunity for public officials to gain a better understanding of the operational challenges inherent to firefighting. This program will enable policy makers to make more informed decisions concerning staffing levels, equipment replacement needs and other overall fire protection strategies.
”– Moraga-Orinda Fire District Fire Chief
Randy Bradley