REHAB

This week before the summer season starts officially here in the northeast I am suggesting that you have a training session for your personnel on fireground rehab.

This might include a couple of different aspects and you can pursue it as you see the need in your own department.

The three pieces I am looking at are as follows: The enforcement, recognition and use of rehab sectors by chief officers and incident commanders. The effects benefits and reasons for using rehab and their need to recognize their own limitations and their need to participate in rehab. The third one is to show your personnel how to establish a rehab area if they were called into set up a Rehab area for others.

These are some random thoughts to help you build a drill for rehab for your department.

* Explain to your people the effects of dehydration and exertion on the body.

* Explain and teach your folks about target heart rates and resting heart rates and how the should be able to take their own.

* Explain to personnel the recovery time during which vital signs should be returning to normal.

* Explain the importance of prehydration and rehydration and make sure those resources are available at the fire scene. Coffee and soda are not the best options and in fact plain water and not necessarily sport drinks are the answer.

* Be sure that personnel doff their turnout gear to allow body heat to dissipate. Coats off, packs off, and unbuckle the turnout pants to allow heat to escape.

* Have a provision for misters on fans or misting used for decon purposes to be available to lightly wet personnel to help cool them by evaporation. Not drenching them but a light mist.

* Have chairs available, set up tarps to provide shade if need be.

* Set up a medical eval before allowing personnel to return. The minimum should be BP, heart rate respiration's, and I even recommend a thermoscan thermometer reading as a guide only. It will not give core temperatures but it could be a valuable indicator if taken several minutes apart.

These are just some preliminary tips to get you started. As always, if you need further training please contact me.