This month we’re focusing our blog entries on injuries
occurring during Skills Training. As you
can see below, Skills Training activities were the fifth most common activities
leading to injuries between July 2011 and July 2012. Of those, there were 316 minor, 100 serious,
and one critical injury. Sprains &
Strains were the most common types of injuries incurred during Skills Training.
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| Injury by Activity - click to enlarge |
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| Severity of Injuries - click to enlarge |
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| Types of Injuries - click to enlarge |
Past Posts Dealing with the Top 3 Types of Injuries
Occurring During Skills Training
Check out some
examples of Skills Training injuries being reported to us:
“The fire fighter was waiting to
participate in a training event when another fire fighter handed him a
fiberglass pike pole. The fire fighter
grabbed the pike pole with his ungloved right hand. The pike pole was splintered and a splinter
penetrated the skin of the fire fighter's right ring finger.”
“The firefighter was
participating in a recruit training program. While engaging in a SCBA maze
drill, the firefighter experienced heat exhaustion. The firefighter was given
I.V. solution and transported to the hospital via ambulance. The firefighter
was observed and released after I.V. and blood work was taken.”
“While conducting live fire
training in fire blast simulator, FF experienced steam burns to Left ear.
Firefighter did have his complete ensemble of PPE in place including hood.”
“The student was in the burn
building, going upstairs. He was going
up the stairs, when his foot slipped between some fire hose. He fell to the side, straining his knee.”
“Firefighter while participating
in a Live Fire Training exercise moved a positive pressure ventilation fan and
experienced pain to back due to strain.”
“While doing ladder training at
the training field he was descending down a ladder and lost his grip. He fell
about five feet to the ground landing on his back.”
“While conducting a training
class on hose handling, the firefighter was releasing a hose clamp from 3 inch
supply hose. When the firefighter leaned in close to release the hose clamp it
hit the firefighter on the lower right side of his chin. Firefighter received 5
stitches.”
“Employee was doing extrication
training. Another employee swung an axe
& it made contact with the halligan that the first employee was holding
& it his left index finger.”
As you can see, many of these injuries could have been
avoided by taking a bit more care. Instilling
a culture of safety in your department can help avoid these types of injuries,
and planning safe training and using safe practices during training can
decrease injuries. Later this month
we’ll focus on how to do just that and how to avoid injuries during Skills
Training.
What types of injuries have you witnessed during Skills
Training?
What do you think can be done to avoid injuries during
Skills Training?
Does your department have a training staff that makes
avoiding injuries a priority?
