What's Happening in Lacey, WA…

An upcoming lecture in Lacey will address the difficulties facing firefighters as they perform their duties.

Captain Justin McWilliams will present his lecture “Mindset, Rescue and Search” at the Lacey Community Center. McWilliams will discuss some of the difficulties of working in the fire service including line of duty deaths (LODDs), the patterns that have been noticed, and the misinformation and myths that create fear, hesitation, and contribute to poor decision making.

McWilliams will discuss the importance of having a plan, especially about “audibles,” and why it’s important that the crew at the scene, and the entire department understand it. If the plan is well-thought-out, audibles at the scene of the fire are not chaotic, but smooth. In this case, “audibles” refers to the difficulty of hearing instructions over the noise of an active fireground.

He will also discuss the importance of communication, objectives, coordination, and decision-making in conducting a search. Understanding proper search techniques benefits everyone from the incident commander to the newest recruit by improving accountability, coordination, and lowering risk.

McWilliams’s final topic is Rescue, which he breaks down into the type of decisions that need to be made, when, and why. This section is aimed at line personnel. Events like this benefit when organizers work with brochure printing to create lesson materials.

The talk is scheduled for November 12, from 9.00 am until 5.00 pm. Lunch is included in the program, and the center is located at 6729 Pacific Avenue Southeast.