Spring has sprung! We look forward to another year of outdoor drills held mostly at our training grounds. Due to winter temperatures and early evenings, we have adapted and designed indoor drills such as reports/ SOP- g refresh and my favorite, RTK and blood borne pathogens some pretty boring stuff. We all have to do these things however our newly appointed Captain, Mark Lauro and other members came up with some pretty cool drill ideas that broke up the mundane. These drills were based around supporting fire fighter skills such as preserving your air supply. One drill this past winter did just that. We broke up into 2 sides packed up and had a dodge ball game! This does 3 important things. First it’s Fun (but only if your the last member standing )lol. Second it teaches members how quickly they gulp air when their heart rates increase and third and most important they learn breathing discipline!!
The drill was held at a local indoor sports complex ( thanks to Tab Ramos)this also gave our members some public interface, the crowd was shell shocked to see all our members arrive and pack up for battle! This past week we planed a rock climbing event (thanks to Garden State Rocks) that I’m sure was not as fun as going over reports zzzzzz but was a break from the norm. Keep in mind that our jobs as firefighters is only made easier by team work and in my mind these drills become ways to sharpen skill sets as well as strengthening our members approach towards team work. Some members along with the Chief are participating in a fitness challenge (thanks to Ovox Gym & Training Center) to build and strengthen! This is also a overlooked thing amongst most firefighters as we tend to shy away from physical duties! Wait oh no that is police officers and EMS (could not resist )lol. Anyway we hope other first responders use some of these drill ideas with their members and we look forward to hearing about any fun or challenging drill ideas. Stay safe Your friend Lt. Ken
