THE FIRE OFFICER

WHO IS A FIREFIGHTER?
• A firefighter (or fireman) is one who has been
trained and certified to effectively and efficiently
manage the prevention, control, spread and
extinction of fires.

• A firefighter is also trained to rescue people from

dangerous situations like burning structures,
collapsed buildings, auto crashes, etc and to
effectively handle situations involving hazardous
materials
 BASIC SKILLS OF FIREFIGHTING
• Prevention
• Self preservation/survival
• Rescue
• Fire control
• Preservation of property
• Basic first aid
Prevention
• This involves efforts to ensure that no place
simultaneously has sufficient heat, fuel and air
to allow ignition and combustion
Self Preservation
• The safety of a firefighter is of prime
importance. Firefighters carry tools and
equipment that will protect them and aid self-
rescue
Rescue
• This is a systematic method of searching for
and removing trapped victims from dangerous
conditions
Fire Control
• This involves methods used in containing a
fire, preventing further spread of the fire and
extinguishing it
Preservation of Property
• It is the duty of a firefighter to protect and
preserve property. This involves measures
taken to ensure a structure is fire safe and to
prevent further damage in the event of a fire
Basic First Aid
• The basic medical attention that a firefighter
gives a victim while awaiting the arrival of a
medical person
 BASIC SKILLS OF A FIREMAN
• Size up
• Extinguishing
• Search and rescue
• Ventilation
• Salvage and overhaul
• First aid
Size Up
• A systematic process of information gathering and
situation evaluation that begins when an alarm is
received. It continues during response and includes
the initial observation made upon arrival at the
incident scene. E.g number of occupants in the
building, degree of risk to lives, etc
Extinguishing
• The act of using adequate extinguishing media to
contain, control and extinguish a fire
Search and Rescue (S&R)
• A search is done to look for victims who need
assistance to leave a dangerous area
• Rescue is the physical removal of a person from
a hazardous condition or environment
Ventilation
• The removal of heated air, smoke and other
airborne contaminants and their replacement
with a supply of fresh air
Salvage and Overhaul
• Salvage includes methods employed in reducing
primary and secondary damages during
firefighting operations
• Overhaul involves the identification and
extinguishing of hidden and/or remaining fires
First Aid
• This is the first treatment given to an injured
person before the arrival of a doctor
 QUALITIES OF A FIREMAN
There are eight key qualities of a fireman:
• Courage
• Observation
• Enquiry mind
• Patience
• Physical fitness
• Discipline
• Initiative
• Tactfulness
Courage
• This is the ability of a fireman to do things which everyone
else finds frightening and extremely dangerous.
Observation
• A fireman must be overly conscious of his environment
Enquiry Mind
• A fireman must know how to elicit information about an
incident
Patience
• A fireman must be calmly diligent, physically able to suffer
and bear, composed and not easily provoked
Physical Fitness
• To be effective, a fireman must be physically fit and ready 24
hours a day and seven days a week
Discipline
• A fireman must be of good conduct and obey orders, rules or
codes of behaviour
Initiative
• A fireman must be able to think outside the box. He must devise a
new way of dealing with problems when the need arises
Tactfulness
• A fireman must be able to deal with people in a very sensitive
manner