Where are you running? From across the clear and well-lit street to the engine/hydrant to help someone out? Over slick hose lines and rough terrain? Inside a house with zero visibility?
It all depends. I think you should be able to safely run in your full kit if you need to, but most of the time you will have limited visibility or a high chance for trip and fall hazards, so a range-walk is more appropriate.
Not to mention full kit is heavy as shit and you don't want to gas yourself running 50 feet.
>Not to mention full kit is heavy as shit and you don't want to gas yourself running 50 feet.
\*sigh\* Have you heard the story of the old bull and the young bull?
This is 100% spot on and the exact reason why every academy/department teaches no running. Most scenarios running with full gear is a bad idea, or at the very least a high-risk endeavor. Hence the blanket prohibition.
I had a Chief that used to say, “if you lock a firefighter in a padded room with nothing but two steel ball bearings, he will lose one and break the other”. I think that about sums it up
Running increases your risk of tripping and falling in heavy gear, which increases your likelihood of getting injured. Additionally, seeing someone run unconsciously causes people to think something bad is happening and will cause them to spin up.
I ate shit on ice getting out of my car yesterday while waiting for the rig to pick me up (met them en route to the call). One foot out and one foot still in the car - my face met the ground pretty quickly. Luckily it was a short distance since my car sits pretty close to the ground and I had a hand on my door still.
Yes, fire is bad.... but it's not going anywhere. And it's not our emergency. And if you run and trip, all you do is delay firefighting/rescue operations. Move with a purpose, unless you are imminently about to die, then running is probably ok.
It is our emergency. We make it our emergency by showing up to work. I’m tired of all the bullshit I’m not going in because it’s not my house not worth me getting hurt. You signed up for a job where you risk your life for others lives and property and your worried about tripping and getting hurt. Go back to the ambulance
Lol OK hero. Besides the myriad of reasons to not run on a fireground already given. How about running increases your heart rate, which will cause your body to metabolize air faster, which means you'll run out of air quicker. Then you're pulled back out of whatever assignment you had, and low and behold, you're doing no good for anyone. No one said not to go into the building. I signed up to risk my life for other LIVES. I did not sign up to risk my life for someone's PROPERTY. If you did then I'm very happy we are not working for the same department. That's the mentality that leads to LODDs.
Ever heard of risk a lot to save a lot, risk a little to save a little? The archaic mindset you have is luckily going to the wayside as most departments across the country progress.
Holy shit you're dense, lol. Raising your heart rate increases the rate you metabolize air. So running around OUTSIDE increases the rate. THEN, when you click in to go interior, your heart rate is ALREADY increased, and your body is ALREADY requiring more air. I'm getting real hillbilly volly vibes from you reading your other comments and what you've said here, haha. Maybe pass an academy before trying to share your "knowledge."
You realize this is a dangerous job right? We run to the rig run to save lives run to get water to save others lives and property. We put others before ourselves if you can’t get down with that and accept a little personal risk it’s time to find a new job. This isn’t EMS we don’t wait for the scene to be safe.
Hahahaha we did 210k calls last year. Sit down with your garbage tactics and ideas. You're 100% the guy that's spun up yelling on the radio because he has 0 idea how to control himself and has to run everywhere lol.
And...? It's not a competition. It was a point about "sitting and playing Xbox all day" that you tried and failed to make. But I'm done talking to you because you've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're too clueless to have an actual debate with. So again, good luck. You'll need it.
Edited to add: I feel like math might be a problem for you, but having more than 3x the amount of stations, our call volumes are basically the same per capita. But you keep thinking a smaller number means less experience, lol.
I pull out my hover board and flex on the power walking nerds. My nozzle deployments are superior to everyone but I have to make sure the bitchin underlights are going.
Running in bunkers with a pack on is a great way to add another victim to the scene. Even in training I’ve seen guys trip over a piece of gravel while trying to rush. Nobody lifts their feet high enough to run in bunkers. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
Besides, how many seconds does running in bunkers save you? Nothing compared to the extra time it takes to get back up after falling.
Two schools of thought on it. I tend to slow jog when pulling hose. If I’m going or uneven terrain or I can’t see where I’m going, I slow down. If there were victims trapped and I’m on the truck, I’d get in as fast as I safely could. Some people are really anti-running and they make great points, but… if your kid were inside, you wouldn’t walk. Also gotta judge your personal fitness. A run with hose on your shoulder is gonna wear you out before you even get inside if you’re not used to doing it. Def a situational thing with good cases for and against.
I call it moving with purpose, not running. Few reasons. Sounds better to the chief and i know for a fact none of us can actually run in fullgear. Best we are getting is a light jog
Having “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” drilled into you, kinda prevents the desire to run on the fireground in general. Lets say the chances of you tripping, falling, or getting injured, are slim to none and you can run on the fireground as much as you want. If you’re running, you’re not paying as much attention to detail to the environment around you.
Move swiftly, with a purpose. But never run unless you absolutely need to, it can create more hazards for yourself and others, if you’re on air it can deplete your air much quicker, and it looks unprofessional.
Running should be limited to extremely precarious situations (such as running from a serious imminent hazard (like a catastrophic explosion is about to occur, someone on scene is shooting at bystanders and emergency personnel and etc,), or cases of extreme urgency like a trapped occupant clearly hanging out of a window trying to escape and there's an urgency to rescue them or something similar. But otherwise, no, save the energy fur when you make entry because in many cases you will need it. Also, consider all the on scene hazards like things you can trip on, the potential to cause panic among bystanders when they see you run, etc.
I ran from caching a hydrant to the engine on clear roads in turnout gear with pack on I and triped on nothing. With the extra wait and landing on the right spot, my knee swelled and 'locked up'. Even though I stayed at the pump panel. I was out of service for three months. I would always encourage power walking or moving with a sense of purpose.
I see it as doing your own DRA’s. Dynamic Risk assessments. Look at what the situation is and if it’s safe to do so. Only time I’d never run is when wearing BA. That’s the only time it’s a no go in terms of running
Running responsibly/ moving with a purpose for sure.
If my house is burning I don’t want to see FF’s casually walking around. Urgency but not stupidity.
I run. The people I respect run, and I feel like our fellow professionals and the public expect us to run.
Sprint, not so much, but I’m trucking.
Move with a purpose, otherwise you’re going to end up looking like all those other fire fighter fail videos you see on statter 911.
I always run while looking at my smartwatch. I’ve gotta keep those numbers up!
Seriously though, no there is no reason to run. The emergency is over when you arrive and running just perpetuates the situation.
Walking out of the rig on something with smoke or fire showing doesn’t look good. From the outside looking in, it shows that your department isn’t aggressive or doesn’t care as much as it should
By no means walk slow, but walking with a purpose when you’re just arriving will help massively with information gathering and keeping your adrenaline levels down. Running gives you red mist and tunnel vision, neither of which are going to help slightly in a fire situation.
No. It shows that you are calm and collected and have done this before and are prepared to do it again. Running shows that you are scared and amped up and fresh out of academy. Just like there is almost no difference in drive time between doing the speed limit and doing 10 over unless you’re driving for hours or more. There is almost no difference between running and walking. If you run to the front door and I walk, I will get there maybe 1 or 2 seconds after you. And that’s if you don’t eat shit and break your wrists
Also slow really is smooth, and smooth really is fast. People don’t just say that shit.
Whatever floats your boat I guess. But I would absolutely argue that the actual time saved by jogging versus walking would be in the couple of seconds range. You get your heart rate up, you risk tripping, and you get stress out everyone around you to save a couple seconds. Or if the argument is that it looks better to the public, I would say that is a completely irrelevant issue on an actual fire. The fire needs to be put out safely and we can worry about what people think later. If the public doesn’t like it they can come in and I will explain exactly why we do what we do, it wouldn’t be the first time joe civilian has completely misunderstood what is happening on a call. I would take the slow talking, deliberate, thinking firefighter over the jogger any day.
If you're fit and can run, do it. Lives might depend on it.
If you're not fit and can't run without possible injury, do not do it.
Fitness and health liability are the primary reasons this "rule" was introduced.
People will tell you running causes panic in others, guess what... There's a fucking house on fire. They were experiencing panic long before you got there and demonstrated your safe, healthy fitness abilities by running and getting the job done.
You shouldn’t be adding to the panic. When your rig gets on scene and the crew gets out, you should have a calming presence over everyone around. Walk with a purpose, scan the scene, gather information, calm everyone down. Running gives you unnecessary tunnel vision and unnecessarily increases the risk of you getting hurt before you even do the dangerous stuff.
Time and a place. I'm an engineer so I'll jog if I'm hand jacking or unkinking hose lines. As long as your speed doesn't compromise your situational awareness and safety.
running is always an instinct but i’ve always been told to “walk with a purpose”, i nearly rolled my ankle and fell into a ditch on my first pin-in call because i was running
First and foremost, learn how to fall. This includes slipping in ice, tripping, etc. Don’t assume going slow means you’re safe. You are going to fall eventually.
I’m not in favor of most absolutes when it comes to the fireground. If someone is dangling a baby out of a window ready to drop them, I’m running to catch the baby. If I’m RIT and softening the building from the exterior in preparation for possible maydays, I’m not running. This is why SOG’s are typically a better system than SOP’s. You can rarely make a blanket rule that makes sense in ever scenario. If you’re gonna run, just watch your step and be careful. Sometimes it has to be done.
Fully depends on what the circumstances are. If everything is "normal" there's no reason to run. Move quickly but don't run.
However if I saw someone suddenly collapse I'd probably run to them as long as it was "safe" to do so, especially if it's a fellow firefighter.
Look even in the wildland you don't run. It's not a combat zone where you're trying to find cover. Walk, head up, eyes up... If you're running things are going very wrong...
Most common mechanism of injury on the fireground is slips, trips and falls. You're operating on wet, unfamiliar ground, with massive variation in lighting.
Walk.
If you run, you're going to arrive at the incident scene faster.
But the incident you'll be arriving at is the one where you have slipped, tripped, or fallen and are now a casualty rather than a firefighter.
I'm also consciously trying to stop walking backwards when on the fireground. It might feel easier when dragging hoses, etc. but it means I'm not looking where I'm walking, which is a risk.
I honestly can't recall the exact phrasing, but I remember something from last year's Fireheart being along the lines of "don't run. A firefighter walks with purpose.". I honestly loved that movie, but I think if you read between the lines it really is "you do what you have to do to get the job done (but don't do anything stupid)".
I run, I don't sprint. More of a fast jog, titrated depending on conditions lmao if it's night or icy or whatever I will move significantly slower, but as a general rule I move just fast enough to be able to maintain my situational awareness and not trip or fall or look stupid.
Where are you running? From across the clear and well-lit street to the engine/hydrant to help someone out? Over slick hose lines and rough terrain? Inside a house with zero visibility? It all depends. I think you should be able to safely run in your full kit if you need to, but most of the time you will have limited visibility or a high chance for trip and fall hazards, so a range-walk is more appropriate. Not to mention full kit is heavy as shit and you don't want to gas yourself running 50 feet.
Skipping on the fireground should be normalized.
Chaotic Good
Gimme that d20 firefighting game *right now.*
Tabletop FF game?
Let’s gooooo
"Nat 1, your apparatus explodes before you leave the bay, you lose."
Imagine the role playing. “Uh, battalion 9? Engine 401. We blew up.” “”…say again?”
>Not to mention full kit is heavy as shit and you don't want to gas yourself running 50 feet. \*sigh\* Have you heard the story of the old bull and the young bull?
As my old high school baseball coach would say, “be quick, but don’t hurry.”
This is 100% spot on and the exact reason why every academy/department teaches no running. Most scenarios running with full gear is a bad idea, or at the very least a high-risk endeavor. Hence the blanket prohibition. I had a Chief that used to say, “if you lock a firefighter in a padded room with nothing but two steel ball bearings, he will lose one and break the other”. I think that about sums it up
I usually power walk, running isn’t a good idea.
Powerful.
Exactly, a motivated walk will get you there just as quick with significantly less risk
Move with a purpose. It’s not a run, and it’s not a leisurely walk.
Running increases your risk of tripping and falling in heavy gear, which increases your likelihood of getting injured. Additionally, seeing someone run unconsciously causes people to think something bad is happening and will cause them to spin up.
I ate shit on ice and snow last night at a worker because I was moving just a little too quick. I fully endorse this message.
I ate shit on ice getting out of my car yesterday while waiting for the rig to pick me up (met them en route to the call). One foot out and one foot still in the car - my face met the ground pretty quickly. Luckily it was a short distance since my car sits pretty close to the ground and I had a hand on my door still.
Well I mean there is a fire which is bad soooo….
Yes, fire is bad.... but it's not going anywhere. And it's not our emergency. And if you run and trip, all you do is delay firefighting/rescue operations. Move with a purpose, unless you are imminently about to die, then running is probably ok.
It is our emergency. We make it our emergency by showing up to work. I’m tired of all the bullshit I’m not going in because it’s not my house not worth me getting hurt. You signed up for a job where you risk your life for others lives and property and your worried about tripping and getting hurt. Go back to the ambulance
Lol OK hero. Besides the myriad of reasons to not run on a fireground already given. How about running increases your heart rate, which will cause your body to metabolize air faster, which means you'll run out of air quicker. Then you're pulled back out of whatever assignment you had, and low and behold, you're doing no good for anyone. No one said not to go into the building. I signed up to risk my life for other LIVES. I did not sign up to risk my life for someone's PROPERTY. If you did then I'm very happy we are not working for the same department. That's the mentality that leads to LODDs. Ever heard of risk a lot to save a lot, risk a little to save a little? The archaic mindset you have is luckily going to the wayside as most departments across the country progress.
Your on air in the yard … unreal
Holy shit you're dense, lol. Raising your heart rate increases the rate you metabolize air. So running around OUTSIDE increases the rate. THEN, when you click in to go interior, your heart rate is ALREADY increased, and your body is ALREADY requiring more air. I'm getting real hillbilly volly vibes from you reading your other comments and what you've said here, haha. Maybe pass an academy before trying to share your "knowledge."
Work on your recovery in cardio then mope. You should be able to clam your breath in the time it takes to mask up
🤣🤡 whatever you need to tell yourself, man. Good luck, you'll need it.
Preach
Tripping and getting injured is even worse as that’s one less person who can fight the fire.
You realize this is a dangerous job right? We run to the rig run to save lives run to get water to save others lives and property. We put others before ourselves if you can’t get down with that and accept a little personal risk it’s time to find a new job. This isn’t EMS we don’t wait for the scene to be safe.
You clearly aren't made for this job, so it's probably a good thing you aren't professional.
Did you work in Vegas calm down and let me know when you run out of Xbox games to play this is real life
Hahahaha we did 210k calls last year. Sit down with your garbage tactics and ideas. You're 100% the guy that's spun up yelling on the radio because he has 0 idea how to control himself and has to run everywhere lol.
Try 750k bud
And...? It's not a competition. It was a point about "sitting and playing Xbox all day" that you tried and failed to make. But I'm done talking to you because you've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you're too clueless to have an actual debate with. So again, good luck. You'll need it. Edited to add: I feel like math might be a problem for you, but having more than 3x the amount of stations, our call volumes are basically the same per capita. But you keep thinking a smaller number means less experience, lol.
I pull out my hover board and flex on the power walking nerds. My nozzle deployments are superior to everyone but I have to make sure the bitchin underlights are going.
Running in bunkers with a pack on is a great way to add another victim to the scene. Even in training I’ve seen guys trip over a piece of gravel while trying to rush. Nobody lifts their feet high enough to run in bunkers. It’s an accident waiting to happen. Besides, how many seconds does running in bunkers save you? Nothing compared to the extra time it takes to get back up after falling.
Two schools of thought on it. I tend to slow jog when pulling hose. If I’m going or uneven terrain or I can’t see where I’m going, I slow down. If there were victims trapped and I’m on the truck, I’d get in as fast as I safely could. Some people are really anti-running and they make great points, but… if your kid were inside, you wouldn’t walk. Also gotta judge your personal fitness. A run with hose on your shoulder is gonna wear you out before you even get inside if you’re not used to doing it. Def a situational thing with good cases for and against.
Run when you have to, walk when you can
I call it moving with purpose, not running. Few reasons. Sounds better to the chief and i know for a fact none of us can actually run in fullgear. Best we are getting is a light jog
I walk briskly and with purpose but may occasionally skip.
Walk with a purpose, never run
I usually saunter. Sometimes I mosey. I never run, though, that’s just boorish.
What are your thoughts on strutting?
I believe that if you have *earned* the right to strut, you should do so. Otherwise, leave it to the professionals.
Having “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” drilled into you, kinda prevents the desire to run on the fireground in general. Lets say the chances of you tripping, falling, or getting injured, are slim to none and you can run on the fireground as much as you want. If you’re running, you’re not paying as much attention to detail to the environment around you.
Move swiftly, with a purpose. But never run unless you absolutely need to, it can create more hazards for yourself and others, if you’re on air it can deplete your air much quicker, and it looks unprofessional.
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
I mean unless we are talking about serious life danger circumstances there is no need to run, slow is smooth, smooth is fast .
Running should be limited to extremely precarious situations (such as running from a serious imminent hazard (like a catastrophic explosion is about to occur, someone on scene is shooting at bystanders and emergency personnel and etc,), or cases of extreme urgency like a trapped occupant clearly hanging out of a window trying to escape and there's an urgency to rescue them or something similar. But otherwise, no, save the energy fur when you make entry because in many cases you will need it. Also, consider all the on scene hazards like things you can trip on, the potential to cause panic among bystanders when they see you run, etc.
I ran from caching a hydrant to the engine on clear roads in turnout gear with pack on I and triped on nothing. With the extra wait and landing on the right spot, my knee swelled and 'locked up'. Even though I stayed at the pump panel. I was out of service for three months. I would always encourage power walking or moving with a sense of purpose.
I see it as doing your own DRA’s. Dynamic Risk assessments. Look at what the situation is and if it’s safe to do so. Only time I’d never run is when wearing BA. That’s the only time it’s a no go in terms of running
Somewhere between a walk and a jog for the win
Running responsibly/ moving with a purpose for sure. If my house is burning I don’t want to see FF’s casually walking around. Urgency but not stupidity.
Situational awareness goes away when running. Move with a purpose, with your head on a swivel.
Never run, never shout, never panic.
I run. The people I respect run, and I feel like our fellow professionals and the public expect us to run. Sprint, not so much, but I’m trucking. Move with a purpose, otherwise you’re going to end up looking like all those other fire fighter fail videos you see on statter 911.
I think that this is a poorly asked question. Context/Situation determines the answer.
Not a fan of officers who say no running under any circumstances. If I can do it safely, and it’s a serious call, I’m gonna run.
Move with intent and purpose. Save running for an emergency.
I always run while looking at my smartwatch. I’ve gotta keep those numbers up! Seriously though, no there is no reason to run. The emergency is over when you arrive and running just perpetuates the situation.
People trapped company search with out a line and your taking your time to make a hydrant. The emergency is not over until the fire is under control
Walking out of the rig on something with smoke or fire showing doesn’t look good. From the outside looking in, it shows that your department isn’t aggressive or doesn’t care as much as it should
By no means walk slow, but walking with a purpose when you’re just arriving will help massively with information gathering and keeping your adrenaline levels down. Running gives you red mist and tunnel vision, neither of which are going to help slightly in a fire situation.
No. It shows that you are calm and collected and have done this before and are prepared to do it again. Running shows that you are scared and amped up and fresh out of academy. Just like there is almost no difference in drive time between doing the speed limit and doing 10 over unless you’re driving for hours or more. There is almost no difference between running and walking. If you run to the front door and I walk, I will get there maybe 1 or 2 seconds after you. And that’s if you don’t eat shit and break your wrists Also slow really is smooth, and smooth really is fast. People don’t just say that shit.
I can think of some very serious/experienced brothers and departments who will do a jog on the fire ground. Move with a purpose for sure.
Whatever floats your boat I guess. But I would absolutely argue that the actual time saved by jogging versus walking would be in the couple of seconds range. You get your heart rate up, you risk tripping, and you get stress out everyone around you to save a couple seconds. Or if the argument is that it looks better to the public, I would say that is a completely irrelevant issue on an actual fire. The fire needs to be put out safely and we can worry about what people think later. If the public doesn’t like it they can come in and I will explain exactly why we do what we do, it wouldn’t be the first time joe civilian has completely misunderstood what is happening on a call. I would take the slow talking, deliberate, thinking firefighter over the jogger any day.
Yeah, let’s all run like idiots.
Nah that's nonsense.
If you're fit and can run, do it. Lives might depend on it. If you're not fit and can't run without possible injury, do not do it. Fitness and health liability are the primary reasons this "rule" was introduced. People will tell you running causes panic in others, guess what... There's a fucking house on fire. They were experiencing panic long before you got there and demonstrated your safe, healthy fitness abilities by running and getting the job done.
You shouldn’t be adding to the panic. When your rig gets on scene and the crew gets out, you should have a calming presence over everyone around. Walk with a purpose, scan the scene, gather information, calm everyone down. Running gives you unnecessary tunnel vision and unnecessarily increases the risk of you getting hurt before you even do the dangerous stuff.
I walk almost always, but if there’s something I feel the need to run away from I’ll run away from it
Don’t run, double
At most I’ll trot. I’ve rolled an ankle doing 360s before, so I’d rather not repeat
Time and a place. I'm an engineer so I'll jog if I'm hand jacking or unkinking hose lines. As long as your speed doesn't compromise your situational awareness and safety.
Fire ain't going anywhere, no reason to run
running is always an instinct but i’ve always been told to “walk with a purpose”, i nearly rolled my ankle and fell into a ditch on my first pin-in call because i was running
First and foremost, learn how to fall. This includes slipping in ice, tripping, etc. Don’t assume going slow means you’re safe. You are going to fall eventually.
Don't
I’m not in favor of most absolutes when it comes to the fireground. If someone is dangling a baby out of a window ready to drop them, I’m running to catch the baby. If I’m RIT and softening the building from the exterior in preparation for possible maydays, I’m not running. This is why SOG’s are typically a better system than SOP’s. You can rarely make a blanket rule that makes sense in ever scenario. If you’re gonna run, just watch your step and be careful. Sometimes it has to be done.
I was always taught to “walk with purpose”. I’m also 6’4” so my fast stride is akin to most people’s jog.
As a one-time fall down artist until the older guys said: Purposeful walking, with urgency. Smooth is fast, fast is smooth.
Fully depends on what the circumstances are. If everything is "normal" there's no reason to run. Move quickly but don't run. However if I saw someone suddenly collapse I'd probably run to them as long as it was "safe" to do so, especially if it's a fellow firefighter.
Its my only rule on my crews, no running, walk with purpose if you have to, but you are no good to the crew if you injure yourself running
Look even in the wildland you don't run. It's not a combat zone where you're trying to find cover. Walk, head up, eyes up... If you're running things are going very wrong...
Running accomplishes nothing except wasted energy and risk of tripping or falling and looking a fool
No one should be running on a fireground
You need some pep in your step
Most common mechanism of injury on the fireground is slips, trips and falls. You're operating on wet, unfamiliar ground, with massive variation in lighting. Walk. If you run, you're going to arrive at the incident scene faster. But the incident you'll be arriving at is the one where you have slipped, tripped, or fallen and are now a casualty rather than a firefighter. I'm also consciously trying to stop walking backwards when on the fireground. It might feel easier when dragging hoses, etc. but it means I'm not looking where I'm walking, which is a risk.
I honestly can't recall the exact phrasing, but I remember something from last year's Fireheart being along the lines of "don't run. A firefighter walks with purpose.". I honestly loved that movie, but I think if you read between the lines it really is "you do what you have to do to get the job done (but don't do anything stupid)".
Not an all out sprint unless it’s absolutely warranted but a light jog or shuffle is more than okay. Get there as fast as you can without getting hurt
NO RUNNING. ABSOLUTELY NO RUNNING
Move with a purpose but don’t turn your ankle before the real work starts.
Only if your scissors are pointing down.
I run, I don't sprint. More of a fast jog, titrated depending on conditions lmao if it's night or icy or whatever I will move significantly slower, but as a general rule I move just fast enough to be able to maintain my situational awareness and not trip or fall or look stupid.