Dublin Fire Brigade like many fire brigades, services and departments around the world has evolved greatly over the years not only in the updated technology and training but in the range of incidents they respond to.

 

Once purely a fire service (and from 1898 an ambulance service) the D.F.B. now respond to a wide variety of call types such as, road traffic collisions, chemical incdients, water rescues, general rescue, fires! ,flooding and a host of other types. In addition all Dublin Fire Brigade firefighters are also trained Paramedics with a smaller number being Advanced paramedics and since 1898 we have been providing an emergency medical service to most of Dublin. We provide a fire and EMS service with all firefighters rotating from fire to ambulance duties.

Our fire and rescue vehicles are automatically dispatched together primarily  for cardiac arrests, road traffic collisions,industrial accidents, lifting of heavy patients and in cases where there will be a delay in the ambulance the fire appliance can be sent to render medical care where the case is of a serious nature and they can arrive much more quickly e.g. child scalded or serious chest pain.
Each fire appliance carries a range of medical equipment including a defibrillator, standard trauma bag and a range of medications as well as airway management intervention. When Advanced Paramedics are rotated as part of their roster onto the fire appliance they also carry a large range of Advanced Paramedic medical equipment such as IVs and intubation kits.

 

Training as a Firefighter in Dublin Fire Brigade

Drills

Recruits train for about 21 weeks in firefighting and rescue techniques. The course in part will comprises of a batch recruits being divided into syndicates of about 5 or 6 firefighters each who will work together as a team to learn the practical side of using equipment in what is termed as a drill.

 

A drill is a method of teaching a crew (team) of firefighters to carry out a task in an quick efficient manner while learning to use the equipment for the task intended. e.g. on arrival at a house fire with a person trapped at a window the Officer in Charge (O.I.C.) may give the command 13.5M ladder make down to the second floor window.

With each firefighter having been pre-assigned a number and seating position at the start of duty the command means that each person has a particular job to do in making down the ladder and they know that job inside out. They will each go to their position on the ladder as per the drill and erect the ladder as they have learned to do. This means that 4 firefighters are not rushing to do the same job while another is left undone.

 

About 8 weeks are spent in such drills getting to know how to use the equipment and operate as a crew at a fire.

Other such drills include:

1. Making down small and large hose to a fire from the fire engine.

2. Making down hose from a hydrant to the fire engine and then to a fire or up a ladder and into a building.

3. Making down the two main ladders 10.5M (35') and 13.5M (45') to buildings of various heights and in confined spaces.

4. Making down suction hose to either a portable pump or to the fire appliance. (Suction hose allows water to be taken from a river, lake etc. using atmospheric pressure to push the water into the pump)

5. Road traffic collision drills whereby even before the fire appliance even stops work is being done such as donning high visibility clothing, putting the fire appliance in a fend -off position to protect the scene.

6. Using the turntable ladder as a watertower, rescue ladder, sling rescue and cage rescue.

The firefighters handbook published by the Department of the Environment details these drills. While there are standard drills they may be enhanced slightly by individual brigades for operational reasons.

 

Download the firefighters handbook PDF document 2.71 MB and 277 pages long.

 

Tactical and Compartment Firefighting Course (previously called Breathing Apparatus)

If there is one core area which is essential to modern firefighting it is the use of breathing apparatus. It enables firefighters to actually go into a burning gas (was formerly smoke) filled building to both rescue persons trapped and to extinguish the blaze before the building burns down.

The recruits in Dublin do a three week compentancy based course which as the days go by puts them into more and more stressful environments and situations to allow them to learn and get a better understanding of the equipment and procedures they need to know.

For example one golden rule or procedure is that if going into a fire wearing breathing apparatus (BA) there must be a minimum of 2 firefighters who must maintain physical contact at all times with each other and they must report to a Breathing Apparatus Entry Control Officer prior to going in and report to them on exit as well as being in radio communication.

The course takes place in a large multistory complex in the training centre which can simulate various different environments such as a hotels, houses, sewers, ship, flats and tunnels etc.

A part of the training for the past few years is the Fire Behaviour course which teaches valuable skills and information on how to recognize and deal with flashover and backdraughts, it teaches door entry techniques, under and over pressure cooling, branch techniques etc (For further information on backdraught , flashover, gas-phase cooling etc check out the fantastic Fire Tactics Website)

 

All the breathing apparatus training in Ireland is governed by a set of procedures laid down by the Department of the Environment. For more information on these, the training and the equipment visit our breathing apparatus pages.

Currently positive pressure ventilation training and equipment is being introduced in Dublin Fire Brigade.

Road Traffic Extrication Course

A growing part of every fire services work, this is an area where skills, equipment and techniques need to be kept up to date to keep in pace with new car technology. The initial course is one week in duration where recruits get to use the different types of equipment they will be handling at an accident.They will learn the techniques used in making safe cuts in vehicles and the technology of new vehicles. Particular care is needed in modern cars where the danger of cutting in the wrong place such as into an airbag canister exists and patient awareness which is the main reason for extrication and can sometimes be forgotten in the heat of the moment.

The training centre has a steady supply of vehicles to be used in training and officers delight in putting them in awkward scenarios for crews to practice their skills.

An excellent site for Road Traffic Extrication information is the Holmatro site.

 

Pump Operators Course

Each station in Dublin has one appliance which has two pumps on board which supply water or foam to fight a fire. One of these is a small portable pump (about 120kgs) which can be carried to a water source that the engine cannot reach and the other is the main pump which is an integral part of the fire engine.

All firefighters are trained in the operation of both these pumps and the principles behind them. While on operational duties the driver is the one who actually operates the main pump. With the introduction of C.A.F.S. (compressed air foam system) and gas phase cooling principles the knowledge needed to operate these new pumps continues to increase.The pump course usually lasts a week.

 

Hazardous Chemicals Course

While most people would think of chemicals as being in big tanks in shiny factories the truth is that they are everywhere. Consider all the products in your own home from bleaches to paint strippers. The fire service is trained to respond to emergencies involving these dangerous chemicals in situations such as spills and fires. Just look at all the trucks going past with labels showing their dangerous contents!

Firefighters must be trained and equipped to recognize and cope with Hazardous Chemical emergencies and the course does just that.

Even with the protective suits firefighters operation are limited e.g. You cannot do firefighting in a suit as they are made of plastic! Substances such as acids can eat through the suit in a matter of minutes.

An integral part of the course is decontamination procedures of both firefighter and any casualties they may rescue.

In Dublin we have a large Decontamination Vehicle which contains a range of equipment for dealing with hazardous material incidents and the decontamination of casualties and firefighters,

 

Other parts of the recruits firefighting course.

In addition to drills, breathing apparatus, hazardous chemicals and pumping operations the recruits are taught a variety of other information including. Building structure theory,

Electricity,

Physics in particular those areas dealing with measuring areas, volume etc.

Familiarization of all special appliances from the emergency rescue tender to the foam tender.

Ship firefighting,

Use of all equipment carried on a fire appliance,

Firefighting theory and practice,

Footdrill (marching) which instills discipline and teamwork,

 

 

Operational FireFighting in Dublin Fire Brigade

Firefighters learn that they have a number of different priorities in their role as a firefighter the top three being:

1 Save Life

2 Save Property

3 Render Humanitarian assistance.

 

Firefighters in Dublin Fire Brigade who are fulltime are assigned to one the the 12 fulltime stations with retained firefighters being assigned to one of the other 2 retained stations in North County Dublin (for more on stations see the stations page..)

 

We operate a 4 watch system A, B, C and D watch who work 9 hour days and 15 hour night based on a 3 on 3 off (almost) system.

At the start of duty firefighters will line up and their badge numbers will be called out by the station officer assigning them to a particular fire appliance and a particular position on that fire appliance. E.g. number one is the driver with number 2 and 4 being the first breathing apparatus crew.

The crew will then proceed to check off all the equipment on board the fire appliance and their own breathing apparatus set which is literally their life support unit in the event of entering a toxic atmosphere.

 

The firefighter will then carry out station routines from filling breathing apparatus cylinders to cleaning the station, preparing food for dinner, testing equipment etc. In addition inspections on premises and hydrants will be done from time to time and every day / night a drill or lecture will take place to keep crews up to speed on procedures or introduce them to new equipment and practices.

The fire awareness schools visits program is ongoing from all the station covering the schools and 3rd classes in their area.

Of course should the bells go off signaling a "turnout" to an emergency call then everything is dropped to respond as quickly as possible.

 

Responding to an emergency

Our staff in the Eastern Regional Control Centre take all fire calls for Dublin and 12 other counties as well all emergency calls for our ambulance service.

They dispatch all our fire appliances and ambulance and you can learn more about them on our control room page.

With the call taken and bell/s sounding a docket will print out in the individuals station control room giving incident details e.g.

House on fire,

Persons reported,

15 Jamestown Way,

Dublin 9,

 

Location Jnc, Blakestown way, Druids chair,

Further details: 2 persons trapped in upstairs bedroom at rear of house. Road

blocked at Jamestown end by bollards approach via Druids chair

 

Vehicles responding D21, D72, D74,D25 DO Bravo. (.ie. 2 fire appliances, an ambulance, an emergency tender and a district officer)

 

Any other information can be given via the radio as it is known.

 

Fire crews respond to a vast range of incidents some of which are listed here.

Fires: Buildings, skips, cars, rubbish, anything you can thing of!

Road Traffic Accidents: Involving a person only to persons trapped in cars, lorries on fire in a crash with chemicals,

General Rescue: People and animals fallen down cliffs, stuck in lifts, impaled on railings, crushed by falling objects,

Water Rescue: From people falling in, jumping in to rivers, rescuing would be rescuers, flood operations, surface body retrieval (The Gardai sub aqua unit does the underwater recovery),

Emergency Medical Service: Cardiac arrests, building site accidents, road traffic accidents, serious trauma or medical where the nearness and training / equipment of a fire crew will make a difference.

Hazardous Chemicals: Spills, fires in tanks etc.

These are the main categories but the list is endless.

 

Each station has it's own list of potential risk from chemical plants to Airports (3 in Dublin) and therefore while they all have at least one fire appliance some have specialized vehicles such as the emergency rescue tenders, turntable ladders and boat carriers. For more on this see the stations page.

 

Apart from firefighting.

While the recruits do receive a lot of training more specialized training is also given to those already operational.Some of the courses are listed below and a better outline is given on the Specialist Rescue page.

Swiftwater Rescue Technician

This is a one week course carried out on the Liffey river which teaches firefighters about the dynamics of water, hazards, rope techniques and of course methods of rescue from bank operations to actually getting into the river/ water source in a safe manner and rescuing the casualty. Equipment now used in Dublin includes, drysuits, lifejackets, inflatable walkways, inflatable hose, throwable floating lines, ropework equipment, boat, boat carrier and launcher in HQ.

At this stage (Dec 2008) over 300 firefighters are qualified Swiftwater Rescue Technicians with over all firefighters trained in water awareness.

Rope Rescue

Currently under development personnel are training to rescue persons trapped in cranes, down cliffs on pylons etc.

Fire Behaviour, Compartment Fire Training

A large number of the brigade have already been through the course which teaches valuable skills in dealing with flashover, backdraught etc. All the pumps and hose branches in Dublin are now capable of producing the required droplet size to carry out gas-phase cooling techniques. (Check out FireTactics.com for more information)

The principle behind it all is to cool down only the gas using just enough water. Too much and a jet will hit the walls producing steam which punishes the firefighter and increases the pressure mixing the gases with more oxygen. This is part of all recruit courses and firefighter refresher courses.

Marine Emergency Response

Dublin Fire Brigade is a named resource of the Irish Coastguard for ship firefighting and can therefore be called upon to respond to any ship fire in Irish waters up to 200 miles off the west coast and to the middle of the Irish sea. We have exercises with the Coastguard, the Welsh Fire Service and Irish shipping on a regular basis.

Tunnel Firefighting

Over 200 firefighters were trained in Switzerland in tunnel firefighting. Since the opening of Dublin 4.5km long dual tunnel primarily for the port firefighters now have the training and equipment to deal with most of the incidents which might occur in such a busy large good vehicle tunnel. They have a dedicated tunnel response vehicle which is detailed is stationed in North Strand.

Incident Command System.

A national incident command system is currently being implemented with Dublin having tailored theirs sightly due to to it being the single biggest brigade in the south.

It is based on dividing up an incident into sectors and tasks with clear lines of command to enable the job to be done more efficiently. No officer should have more than 5 lines of communication going to them to ensure they can concentrate on the task in hand. As the incident grows more command support personnel are assigned to assist in the lines of communication instead of everything going to one officer.