down that memory lane....
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
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Saturday, February 17, 2007
Okay, so its been 5 weeks since FFC started. Next week is the sixth. Halfway there.
This week was probably the toughest i've experienced so far. Thursday, in particular, was a nightmare.
BA confidence 2. BA stands for breathing apparatus, meaning your oxygen tanks and stuff. Total weight? An estimated 16 - 18 kg. Our task was to don our full gear, meaning our jackets, leggings, helmets and gloves. Our jackets and leggings, FYI, are the exact same thickness as the jackets you wear in the UK during the winter. We don them and move around a training ground that is specially designed to simulate the exact temperature of a fireground. Sick.
So we donned our full gear, put on our BA sets and set off to complete four tasks. The first was to put on our face masks without plugging in our lung demand valve, and carry a stretcher with four flake hoses and one storz coupling hose on it. Storz coupling hoses are some heavy motherfuckers. Add four flake hoses and you find yourself carring an anaconda, all coiled up. We have to carry that stretcher with the hoses, and walk one round around CDA. What's so tough you ask. With our face masks on without plugging in our LDVs, it means that there is less air for us to inhale. Imagine an airtight mask covering your face. Then imagine that the only way for air to enter your nostrils is throught 20 tiny holes. Now imagine having that crap on your face and walking around with an anaconda on your shoulder. Yup, you got it.
Second task we had to perform was, still with full gear and BA set on, climb nine stories up a building called the "furnace", where actual fire fighting simulations take place. After climbing up 9 stories, we have to do a series of jumping jacks and push ups, still with full gear and BA set on. Then we have to go back down.
Third task was to roll up a 38mm by 20 metres hos, and then roll it back out without throwing or pulling it. Then repeat the whole process once more. This was the easiest of the four tasks, but by then, we were all ready to take off our gloves and say goodbye to FFC.
The final task was to enter an actual sauna. Still with full gear and BA set on. Temperature? 80 degress celsius. Bullshit? Believe it. The thermometer was right under my nose. Inside, we have to carry jerry cans filled with water and arrange them according to the sequence given by the enciks. Then we have to answer some questions and do some pushups. Total time inside? Around 25 minutes.
Lim is a chinese guy in my rota and he is 75kg of muscle. Pure muscle. He does pushups with his thumbs. Even the PTIs couldn't do it. But during this particular training, after the third station which is the hose rolling station, he blacked out. This is what exactly happened.
We put him under the shower right outside the BA maze.
LTA Mohksin : Lim, Lim, wake up! Open your eyes! Can you hear me??
Lim : (struggling to speak) I want to continue...
Mohksin : No need Lim. Just relax. You passed..
Lim : (starts jerking and pushing everyone out of the way) NO! YOU LIE!
Mohksin : YOU SAY I LIE??
Zhariff : Eh Lim. That one Sir eh.
Lim : (Looks at sir with a dreamy look in his eyes, then starts crying) no..
We manage to calm him down. Just when we thought he was gonna be alright the unthinkable happened. He gets up and tries to run away, despite us holding on to him. We scream at him to calm down but to no avail. He throws up everything he had for lunch. I saw rice, chicken and orange. Eew. The ambulance arrives and he was sent to NUH. The last we heard, he tried to run away again after getting off the ambulance. The doctor said it was heat exhaustion, and that he was seeing things, hallucinating if you will. He's still under observation.
Incredible huh. Many people think civil defence is for people not good enough for the army. Many think firefighter training is a joke. Many think going through this course is as easy as opening a packet of skittles. But what they don't realise, is that as soon as we pass out, everyday we're at our station is a day we might lose our lives. Mayb get burnt real bad. Mayb lose a limb or two. We fight wars everyday. Our enemy is one that cannot be detected in advance, and can strike with terrifying force. It's ability to destroy is not in question. Lives, property, and pride can all be lost in that one single moment. Our job is to make sure that doesn't happen. Wait ladies and gentlemen. Wait til the enemy infiltrates your fortress. Watch as it rips apart everything you ever had and knew. Then, remember us. Firefighers.
source: http://backspacenets.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html
I REALLY miss those times with you guys. huhu. Oh Allah, may they turn out to be useful people in the society.
Okay, so its been 5 weeks since FFC started. Next week is the sixth. Halfway there.
This week was probably the toughest i've experienced so far. Thursday, in particular, was a nightmare.
BA confidence 2. BA stands for breathing apparatus, meaning your oxygen tanks and stuff. Total weight? An estimated 16 - 18 kg. Our task was to don our full gear, meaning our jackets, leggings, helmets and gloves. Our jackets and leggings, FYI, are the exact same thickness as the jackets you wear in the UK during the winter. We don them and move around a training ground that is specially designed to simulate the exact temperature of a fireground. Sick.
So we donned our full gear, put on our BA sets and set off to complete four tasks. The first was to put on our face masks without plugging in our lung demand valve, and carry a stretcher with four flake hoses and one storz coupling hose on it. Storz coupling hoses are some heavy motherfuckers. Add four flake hoses and you find yourself carring an anaconda, all coiled up. We have to carry that stretcher with the hoses, and walk one round around CDA. What's so tough you ask. With our face masks on without plugging in our LDVs, it means that there is less air for us to inhale. Imagine an airtight mask covering your face. Then imagine that the only way for air to enter your nostrils is throught 20 tiny holes. Now imagine having that crap on your face and walking around with an anaconda on your shoulder. Yup, you got it.
Second task we had to perform was, still with full gear and BA set on, climb nine stories up a building called the "furnace", where actual fire fighting simulations take place. After climbing up 9 stories, we have to do a series of jumping jacks and push ups, still with full gear and BA set on. Then we have to go back down.
Third task was to roll up a 38mm by 20 metres hos, and then roll it back out without throwing or pulling it. Then repeat the whole process once more. This was the easiest of the four tasks, but by then, we were all ready to take off our gloves and say goodbye to FFC.
The final task was to enter an actual sauna. Still with full gear and BA set on. Temperature? 80 degress celsius. Bullshit? Believe it. The thermometer was right under my nose. Inside, we have to carry jerry cans filled with water and arrange them according to the sequence given by the enciks. Then we have to answer some questions and do some pushups. Total time inside? Around 25 minutes.
Lim is a chinese guy in my rota and he is 75kg of muscle. Pure muscle. He does pushups with his thumbs. Even the PTIs couldn't do it. But during this particular training, after the third station which is the hose rolling station, he blacked out. This is what exactly happened.
We put him under the shower right outside the BA maze.
LTA Mohksin : Lim, Lim, wake up! Open your eyes! Can you hear me??
Lim : (struggling to speak) I want to continue...
Mohksin : No need Lim. Just relax. You passed..
Lim : (starts jerking and pushing everyone out of the way) NO! YOU LIE!
Mohksin : YOU SAY I LIE??
Zhariff : Eh Lim. That one Sir eh.
Lim : (Looks at sir with a dreamy look in his eyes, then starts crying) no..
We manage to calm him down. Just when we thought he was gonna be alright the unthinkable happened. He gets up and tries to run away, despite us holding on to him. We scream at him to calm down but to no avail. He throws up everything he had for lunch. I saw rice, chicken and orange. Eew. The ambulance arrives and he was sent to NUH. The last we heard, he tried to run away again after getting off the ambulance. The doctor said it was heat exhaustion, and that he was seeing things, hallucinating if you will. He's still under observation.
Incredible huh. Many people think civil defence is for people not good enough for the army. Many think firefighter training is a joke. Many think going through this course is as easy as opening a packet of skittles. But what they don't realise, is that as soon as we pass out, everyday we're at our station is a day we might lose our lives. Mayb get burnt real bad. Mayb lose a limb or two. We fight wars everyday. Our enemy is one that cannot be detected in advance, and can strike with terrifying force. It's ability to destroy is not in question. Lives, property, and pride can all be lost in that one single moment. Our job is to make sure that doesn't happen. Wait ladies and gentlemen. Wait til the enemy infiltrates your fortress. Watch as it rips apart everything you ever had and knew. Then, remember us. Firefighers.
source: http://backspacenets.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html
I REALLY miss those times with you guys. huhu. Oh Allah, may they turn out to be useful people in the society.
posted by Mohksin Rashid @
9:10 pm
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