We've all been there: the burn house. For recruit firefighters it's the ultimate, the moment for which they've trained. It's that first opportunity to crawl through thick smoke down a darkened hallway in search of the orange glow that says, “You're here. You've done it. You've reached the objective.” Now all that's left to do is to crack open the nozzle and let the water flow. That's exciting! But what was learned?

The success of any live-fire training drill should be measured against the learning outcomes. Fire training officers tend to overlook the development of objectives for the sake of getting the recruits into a fire situation just to see how they will react under adverse conditions. In many cases the scenario becomes so grandiose that the recruits are destined to failure. In essence, the rookie's first fire is more like a final exam — all-inclusive. There are simply too many objectives to be measured.

The solution to this problem is to break the job of fighting a fire into its major parts. First is hose deployment, followed by hose advancement, then locating the fire, confinement and extinguishment, all while maintaining company integrity. Each of these skills can be measured in a properly planned live-fire training exercise.

Live-fire basics

Fundamental tasks such as proper donning of PPE and use of SCBA shouldn't be included as a major component of live-fire training. Firefighters participating in a live-fire scenario should be proficient already in the use of their life-saving equipment.

NFPA 1403, Live-Fire Training Evolutions, lists several prerequisite skills for students involved in live-fire training exercises. Students should have received training at the Firefighter I level in safety; fire behavior; portable extinguishers; personal protective equipment; ladders; fire hose, appliances and streams; overhaul; water supply; ventilation; and forcible entry. Live-fire training isn't the time to discover a firefighter fumbling with the SCBA regulator and forgetting to wear a protective hood. If similar problems occur, forego any actual fire and establish new drill objectives based on students' needs.

Developing meaningful live-fire training evolutions can be a challenge. Training officers often find themselves in search of the perfect balance between realism and safety. Simply stated, the more realistic the fire, the greater the danger to the participants. After all, firefighting is a dangerous job.

Begin developing live-fire training evolutions by identifying the need. Are the drills needed to fulfill part of a basic firefighter training curriculum, improve the skills of veteran firefighters, or measure the effectiveness of interagency response to an incident? To simply say “we need live-fire training to perform better” isn't a training objective. If fireground performance isn't up to par, identify specifically where it's lacking. In many cases the issue isn't the actual extinguishment of flames, but the process by which firefighters position themselves for confinement and extinguishment.

Closely examine what behaviors are occurring on the fireground. Are hose lines deployed effectively, ladders raised quickly and safely, PPE and SCBA in place? Are firefighters carrying tools and observing building, fire and smoke conditions? These and many more are essential functions of fighting fires and therefore should be essential functions of live-fire training. It's really only “live-fire training” when you add smoke and heat — otherwise it's firefighter training.