These must be the most frighting three words that can be heard over the fire ground radio. Everyone who hears the call knows that what was a public emergency, which we the fire department came to solve, has now become an emergency for us. Something has gone wrong and one of our own needs help.
You have probably participated in some type of rapid intervention team (RIT) or "Saving Our Own" training, and your SOPs may have some directions on a Mayday. The odds are, however, that you have not been given specific rules on when to call a Mayday. You are taught to be the rescuer, not the victim.
What does this mean for firefighters? First, it means that we've put the cart before the horse. It doesn't matter how well trained or well equipped your RIT is. Unless the incident is witnessed, RIT teams won't be activated unless you or your partner calls a Mayday. The training emphasis has been on saving our own, not on our own calling for help. We would hate to speculate, but firefighters might have survived had they recognized early enough that they needed help or that something was out of the norm and they had called a Mayday.
To ensure that firefighters will call for help as soon as they recognize that they may be in trouble, fire departments need to develop clear Mayday decision-making parameters (rules that specify when a Mayday must be called) and institute Mayday training programs firefighters must take and continue to pass throughout their fire service experience.
Remember, we are the ones who must change the fire service. We can do it by helping our people understand that we want them around for a very long time, and this change to tradition will help do that.
