Mayday, Mayday, Mayday

Radio Familiarization and Calling a Mayday

Mayday, Mayday, Mayday......The three words that we all hope we never hear. Hopefully a mayday is something that we will never have to worry about during our career, but it is one of those things that in the heat of the moment, we have to prepare for and be able to do without hesitation. It is also a time where we must be intimately familiar with our method of communication, and how to use the portable radio to our advantage.

How often do you train with your radio, or more importantly, how often do you practice calling a mayday? We might take operating our portable radio for granted; it is something that most of us do many times during our shift. For the most part its simple, we turn on the radio, speak into the microphone and deliver the message. This mundane task however can be quite difficult in zero visibility, or when we add the difficulty of PPE in operating the various switches and buttons of the radio.

This drill allows us to practice using our radio, calling a mayday, and operating the various switches and buttons while wearing our PPE. By doing this in our PPE and without the ability to see, we are preparing ourselves for the event that we all hope never happens.

Drill Length:

30 Minutes

Required Equipment:

Portable radio, Firefighting Gloves, may also include Helmet, Turnout Coat, SCBA Mask, Voice Amplifier (if issued) and Protective Hood.

Steps:

1. Review portable radio equipment. Each member should be familiar with the various switches and buttons. Review the radio channels (i.e. Tactical Channels) that the member is expected to use.

2. Have member don their firefighting gloves. Obscure vision by some means (having the member don their protective hood, and turning it backwards works well).

3. While vision is obscured, have the member identify the following components: The "Emergency Button", Channel Selector or Switch, Volume Knob, Push To Talk button.

4. Give the member a scenario where changing the channel on the radio is required while their vision is obscured, and the gloves are being worn.

5. Have the member simulate depressing the "Emergency Button" and go through the steps of issuing a Mayday.

6. During the mayday, make sure the member delivers important information such as (Follow Department SOP):

• Name
• Assigned Company
• Last known location
• Their problem (lost, trapped, etc.)
• Actions taken (if any)

7. At the end of the drill highlight what was done correctly, what can be approved upon, and stress that these simple mundane tasks are something that should be practiced over and over.

Submitted by:
Lt. Ken Treffinger
Sarasota County Fire Department
Sarasota, FL

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Welcome to 30minutedrills.com! The purpose of this site is to provide a training platform where members of the Emergency Service's can come and find quick (30 Minute) drills to do during their shift. We will try and offer a large variety of different types of drills, from Hazmat and EMS to Hose and SCBA, our collection of drills is always growing. Please check back often to see new drill ideas.