BY MIKE SALZANO
The basics are typically ignored when training at the firehouse. Firefighters love the fun activities like bailing out of windows and breaking things. Most company officers believe that their firefighters are, and expect them to be, capable enough to pull lines, conduct searches, and force entry. However, you can't be good if you don't train, and your goal should be to strive to be great, not just good.
So what's the problem? The problem is that our brothers and sisters are dying inside "routine" residential fires. I get upset when I hear that a firefighter died in a 1,500-square-foot home. I believe that many of these line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) stem from complacency, lack of training, fewer fires, younger or inexperienced officers, and faster and hotter burning fuel. Whatever the reasons, none justify firefighters dying in a fire.
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