"Waynes World"
Another firefighter lost, while training.
By Chief Billy Goldfeder
WithTheCommand.Com
 

At this point, you should be up to date regarding the tragic death of Miami-Dade FF Wayne Mitchell, a trainee, which occurred during a training detail on Friday. As always, we respectfully discuss the details and comments to LEARN or to motivate learning---so this stuff can be prevented...not to be critical, MM quarterback or any of that kinda stuff.  The issue is that another death happened again on Friday. So now, what can be done so it doesn't happen again to ANOTHER FIREFIGHTER.

When we read about Wayne (see articles) and the effort he made to become a FIREFIGHTER...to become one of "us"...I thought of "his world" before...as a "civilian" (as we call people who ain't us) lifeguard, athlete, son, husband, brother and friend...in what were his PRE-firefighter days. I always like to talk with or think about rookie firefighters and their "before" and "after" world-once they become a FIREFIGHTER. When we heard his name on Friday morning, our normally odd thoughts came to think of the "Wayne's World" Movie. What was "Wayne's World" before and after becoming a firefighter.

I get the biggest kick out of talking to the family members of a probie-to get their perspective. Actually, meeting the families of our firefighters is one of the "joys" of the job. When we see them at some ceremony or celebration, they are always all big smiles, BEAMING with pride on the accomplishment of their Son, Husband, Daughter, Wife or whoever recently changed "their world" ...to become a part of "our world."  About a year ago, my boss and I were at the Ohio Fire Academy attending the graduation of one of our "newest family members" and, as usual, we spent some time with the family members of this probie. There were the smiles, the happiness and beaming pride of the family members, as they spoke about OUR (theirs and our) newest rookie, the newest member of OUR FD family. As we were leaving the Academy, I thought about that "picture" in my mind-one we (and you) have lived hundreds of times before and the real issue involving all this. The REAL issue of the fact that day, is that kid became our newest member and our only REAL priority is to make sure we send him home to those "happy, beaming and proud" family members, who we just met, in one piece after every shift. That is our only responsibility:

Where is he? What is he doing? Is he trained for the next run and all the other questions we have to ask about every one of these "kids" who we are responsible for. The family members smile, beam and proudly "give us" their kid with the unspoken words "take care of him for us" clearly creating a begging atmosphere of trust.

Just like the rookie at our FD, MDFR's Wayne became one of "us". He must have had some idea of what "our" world was like--and couldn't wait to become a part of it. Party On Wayne.

And he did finally become a part of it...a "new" gung-ho, enthuasistic "studying-his-butt-off-in probie school" member of THE FAMILY. He studied, got "the job" and all comments and reports are that he excelled in his rookie class. Now, he must have thought, this is very, VERY COOL. Life was great before, but now - "I'm a firefighter...I'm on THE JOB." 

Wayne's World changed, becomimg even better than it was before. Now he was one of us......Excellent.

The rest of the story? It's over. 
As quick as his NEW, exciting "fire service" life began-it came to an abrupt and tragic end. "Wayne's World"....with it's latest improvement---which was "him" becoming "one of us" ended almost before it even really started on Friday, when he lost his life while at a training evolution. There will be.......

• No getting up early for the first shift at the firehouse.
• No making sure the uniform was perfect.
• No extra duties such as cleaning ALL the dishes...twice.
• No short sheeted bed.
• No being told to go to headquarters to get four, left handed spanner wrenches.
• No attempts at cooking the firehouse meal-under the hungry eye of a 25 year Sr. FF.
• No using the bathroom-and finding saran wrap over the toilet.
• No participation in the FD softball team.
• No first working fire with lights and sirens, looking over and seeing smoke showing.
• No training at the company level.
• No driver/engineer training.
• No showing the next "generation" of clueless probies how do a primary search.
• No responses at 0330 for someone with a hangnail.
• No responses at 0345 for the house fire-with kids trapped.
• No feeling, ever, of what it is like when "you and your crew" get those kids out.
• No promotional tests.
• No retirement parties.

• Wayne was still inside while all others had exited. Apparently, it was not clear that he was in trouble until his four classmates emerged without him. 
• It is reported that Wayne suffered severe burns to his hands and knees during the drill. So did some of the other rookies being trained.

We'll see what the various investigations come out with as far as this incident. We hope, that in some manner, the end result of the investigation will make a difference in the future of fire training everywhere.

When it comes to training, WE DO have a standard...It's NFPA 1403 which is "LIVE FIRE TRAINING EVOLUTIONS IN STRUCTURES." 
To us, if it has walls, no matter WHAT "it" is made of---it is a STRUCTURE. And if it uses any kind of heat, it is live.

Reports are that they were inside of a structure, of some kind. Even for shipboard fire training, it is still a structure-sometimes an even more challenging structure than we may be used to. Ever try to "vent" a steel structure? Yeah-THAT kind of challenging....but IT is still a structure and we have standards for training evolutions and enough history to learn from.

When I took a brief "gander" at NFPA 1403 this morning, a few points "popped right out" at me such as:

• Training center burn buildings must be properly and legally procured and prepped….including a FULL inspection of WHAT is inside & what will burn.
• Adequate water supply and space for all equipment, personnel and apparatus.
• A pre-burn briefing session so everyone knows who is doing what, where, when, how and why.
• Full supervision, personnel tracking and accountability. Who is in command and who is responsible for the trainees-each one of them-from the moment they enter until the time they get out. Just like at a "regular" response, we are expected to be the first in-and the last out w/the trainees.
• Use of fuels that have known, controllable burning characteristics.
• Presence of seasoned, trained and qualified safety officers.
• Use of a fireground communications system.
• A realistic and usable accountability system.
• A building evacuation plan.
• Backup safety and replacement personnel. 
• EMS (on scene). 
• A pre-burn search.
• Use of full PPE.

Our hearts go out to the family of Wayne Mitchell, our Brothers and Sisters at Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, the Officers and Instructors involved in this detail and the responders as well. Most importantly, we offer our deepest sympathy to those friends and family who were an intimate part of "Wayne's World" before...and the short period of time after-while he served as a Firefighter. Seems that all indications where that Wayne would have been, as they said in the movie,  an "Excellent" long term member of the family.
 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Four agencies start inquiries into death of firefighting recruit
By Shannon O'Boye
Staff Writer-Sun Sentinal
August 10, 2003

Miami -- Wayne Mitchell's name sat on the Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue waiting list for years. Soon, it will be etched into the Wall of Honor for fallen firefighters, in Colorado Springs, for eternity.
Mitchell, 37, died Friday during a live-fire training exercise at Port Everglades before realizing his dream of becoming a firefighter.
"He waited so long," Albert Bordas, a longtime friend, said Saturday afternoon. "I think a lot of people would have given up, but he was determined.
"Finally, when he got the call, he was very, very excited," Bordas said. "It was what he'd worked for for so long."
Bordas wanted to throw a party for his friend when the county fire department hired him at the end of June, but Mitchell insisted on completing his months of training first.
"I've never seen Wayne so dedicated to anything," Bordas said. "This guy would wake up at the crack of dawn, work out, study."
He spent time at home tying a dozen different types of knots with gloves on -- a skill all the trainees would be tested on.
Mitchell was doing so well he had recently been named a group leader in his recruit class, his family said.
"He said he's good, that's why," one of his sisters, Chrissy Enriquez, said with a slight smile.
Mitchell, who graduated from Hialeah High School and was married to Nancy Mitchell, a school counselor, spent 11 years as a lifeguard, most recently at Haulover beach.
Last year, Mitchell saved a little girl from drowning when his sister was at the beach visiting him.
"She got pulled under ... and he just took off running," Enriquez said. "He didn't even have his buoy. I never even saw it. His focus was always where it had to be."
Mitchell told people that the fire-rescue training was intense, but they thought he'd make it through because he was in the best shape of his life.
"Every morning when he wasn't at the beach, he would call me at 5:30 and he'd be on his way to the gym," his mother, Jeanne Wilcox, said. "He'd spend an hour or an hour and a half there.
"He golfed, he played tennis, he surfed. He could do any of those things," she said.
Now Mitchell's family is starting to ask questions.

"I want to know what went wrong," Enriquez said. "Why was it so long before they knew he was gone?"
Mitchell went into a makeshift cargo ship at Port Everglades with four other recruits and three supervisors on Friday morning. They were dressed in full bunker gear. The purpose of the drill was to see a fire up close.
They experienced the brutal heat, the smoke and the darkness firsthand. They saw how quickly the fire spread and what happened when they sprayed water on the flames.
But at some point during the 15- to 20-minute drill, Mitchell collapsed. It is unclear when because no one knew he was in trouble until his four classmates emerged without him.
Supervisors rushed back into the building, found the hose line, and followed it in opposite directions in search of Mitchell. They went around once without finding him. They found him on a second pass, leading them to think that Mitchell got lost but made his way back to the hose before collapsing, said a public safety official on the scene Friday.
Mitchell was still wearing his mask, but he was in cardiac arrest, the official said. Broward County Fire-Rescue medics from the Port Everglades station -- which is a few hundred feet from the Resolve Fire and Hazard Response training center -- rushed Mitchell to Broward General Medical Center, where he died.
Joshua Perper, the Broward medical examiner, said Saturday night that the cause of Mitchell's death had not been determined.

Two fire officials from Broward County who did not want to be identified said Mitchell suffered severe burns to his hands and knees during the drill. Antonio Mesa, another trainee, received a serious burn to his right hand, but when he was reached at home Saturday, he said he could not talk.

The four classmates who went in with Mitchell were treated Friday for burns and heat exhaustion, said Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.

The fact all of them were burned raises questions about whether Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue supervisors had increased the temperature inside the burn box to a dangerous level.

The Sheriff's Office, the State Fire Marshal's Office, the Hollywood Fire-Rescue Department and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health are conducting investigations into Mitchell's death. They will look into several issues, including whether it was too hot outside to be conducting such a grueling exercise; whether Mitchell was wearing a safety device that should have set off a piercing alarm when he failed to move for more than 30 seconds; and whether the trainees were working in pairs, as they should have been. Two months ago, NIOSH released a report on the death of two firefighters killed while training in Kissimmee in July 2002 and recommended that departments use a thermal imaging camera during live-fire training. The cameras would help trainees see during the drill and help rescuers find a victim if there's a problem.

Miami Dade Fire-Rescue officials have not yet addressed any of these issues.

"Those are all important questions, if they apply," said Al Cruz, vice president of the department's union, who wanted to take a wait-and-see approach.