MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY Having the confidence, knowledge, and courage to call for help when you need it!

Rule To Live By… The first and absolutely most important factor in calling for a MAYDAY is the decision to call for a MAYDAY… You should understand that the decision to call for a MAYDAY must be made by the firefighter in the truck prior to entering a dangerous environment.

How to avoid the need for calling a MAYDAY Recognize the potential for collapse Recognize the indicators of Flashover Stay orientated when in a structure Remain in contact with your crew TRAIN

Reasons why Firefighters don’t call for a MAYDAY Temporal Distortion (time seems to speed up or slow down) Not wanting to “loose control” of the situation Channeled attention to another task or mind set Loss of situational awareness Fear of the unknown Fear of retribution (for getting into the situation) Lack of procedural knowledge Attempting to fix the problem PRIDE/EGO Denial

When To Call For A MAYDAY… If an “if – then” event happens a MAYDAY should be called for immediately… Become tangled, pinned or stuck Fall through roof or floor Collapse that blocks your exit Become disoriented or separated Cannot find any exit (door or window) Low air alarm with no exit Fire conditions change to where you feel a flashover or back draft will occur If any of your PPE fails Injured or medial emergency while in IDLH If you have that gut feeling something is not right and you cannot remove yourself from that situation BASICALLY WHEN LOST – MISSING – TRAPPED - IN TROUBLE

Would you call for a MAYDAY… As a group ANSWER % said YES Possible Mayday Conditions Tangled, Pinned, or Stuck; low air alarm activation, Mayday Fall through roof, Mayday Tangled, Pinned, or Stuck and do not extricate self in 60 seconds, Mayday Caught in flashover, Mayday Fall through floor, Mayday Zero visibility, no contact with hose or lifeline, do not know direction to exit, Mayday Primary exit blocked by fire or collapse, not at secondary exit in 30 seconds, Mayday Low air alarm activation, not at exit (door or window) in 30 seconds, Mayday Cannot find exit (door or window) in 60 seconds, Mayday

Would you call for a MAYDAY… A firefighter must call a mayday for themselves under these conditions. % said YES Possible Mayday Conditions 98% Tangled, Pinned, or Stuck; low air alarm activation, Mayday 94% Fall through roof, Mayday 92% Tangled, Pinned, or Stuck and do not extricate self in 60 seconds, Mayday 89% Caught in flashover, Mayday 88% Fall through floor, Mayday 82% Zero visibility, no contact with hose or lifeline, do not know direction to exit, Mayday 69% Primary exit blocked by fire or collapse, not at secondary exit in 30 seconds, Mayday 69% Low air alarm activation, not at exit (door or window) in 30 seconds, Mayday 58% Cannot find exit (door or window) in 60 seconds, Mayday

Problems With The MAYDAY Transmission Volume – firefighter speaks too loudly or not loudly enough Speed – firefighter speaks to rapidly Quality – the voice is deep or soft and hard to understand Feedback – the firefighters radio is to close to another radio in the area Traffic – firefighter is trying to transmit amid all the other fire ground traffic Failure – firefighters radio does not work properly or battery is dead Inattention – Command is distracted or not paying proper attention and misses the message

MAYDAY Myths If your low-air alarm activates inside the hazard area, you have to call a MAYDAY You will receive charges (discipline) if you call for a MAYDAY

What to do if you call a MAYDAY Call MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY Give LUNAR Report Activate PASS Device Orient yourself Communicate with your crew, the RIT team or Command using – CAN Report Solve the problem!

What to do if you call a MAYDAY continued… Call MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY Do not use “emergency traffic”, firefighter in trouble or any other terminology

What to do if you call a MAYDAY Give LUNAR Report L – Location (where you are in building or what your assignment was) U – Unit – apparatus you were assigned to N – Name – give your name, take the guessing out of the game for Command A – Air – what your heads up display tells you R – Resources – what you need or think you need

What to do if you call a MAYDAY Activate PASS Device Firefighters are trained to hear PASS – use it! Turn off PASS when transmitting? Does it effect your voice when transmitting? Turning it off could effect those using its sound to find you? Consider transmitting PASS over radio if you don’t thing you have been heard

What to do if you call a MAYDAY Orient yourself Calm down, get your bearings Don’t Panic Be systematic in your actions Let Command/RIT know what you see, hear, feel

What to do if you call a MAYDAY Communicate with your crew, the RIT team or Command using – CAN Report C – Conditions – visibility, heat, structure A – Actions – what your are doing, where you are going N – Needs – what you need or think you may need, Air supply!!! You C-A-N get yourself out of the situation – NEVER give up!

What to do if you call a MAYDAY Solve the problem! Highest priority after giving your MAYDAY Go back on your training… Remain calm, orient yourself, use PASS

Command Actions Acknowledge MAYDAY Deploy RIT Confirm LUNAR report, and MAYDAY on radio Inform Dispatch of MAYDAY Announce name of missing firefighter Advise other units to only transmit essential information over radio Deploy RIT Also consider having RIT report to Command for quick face-to-face briefing/coordination Call for next greater alarm Assign additional RIT Include additional EMS

Command Actions continued.. Assign and aid to Command Conduct a PAR Rapid and quick Make a Rescue Division or RIT commander Reassess Risk vs. Benefit of all fire ground operations Consider fire spread, building integrity, risk of making more “victims”

When it comes time to call a MAYDAY, that is not the time to fail!