My 2020: Resuming my morning duty with Delta State Fire Service, Sapele.

Before I progress further, let me use this opportunity to brief you guys on what a Fireman or Fire fighting means.

• Who is a Fireman or Fire fighting?

A firefighter or Fireman is a rescuer extensively trained in firefighting. His/her primarily aim is to extinguish hazardous fires that threatens life and properties. Fire fighting on the other hand is the action or process of extinguishing fires. This job is not always easy as it seems. People outside the scheme think is just to hold your hose and extinguish fire. Even with your proper care, a trained fire man can still lost his/her life in fire scene while trying to put of a fire incident.

• What are the duties of a Fireman?

To extinguish fire

To save lives and property

To generate fund for the government, interms of revenue.

To render humanitarian Service to the masses.

And

Prepare written reports on emergency incidents.

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• How we carry out our Fire fighting job

As a fireman working with Delta State fire service, we operate three (3) shift or Watches. We have the Morning (White), Afternoon (Blue) and Evening (Red) Watch. When you are on morning watch, you are to resume your duty from 7am to 2pm, then you close. Those on afternoon duty will resume from 2pm and close by 6pm. Night duty will resume 6pm and close in the morning by 7am. So this is how th Delta state Fire Service rotates their staff when it comes to work schedule.

• Delta State Fire service Leave Roster And Annual Leave Roster

Apart from coming to work from Monday to Sunday operating in different time shift, there is what we called time off roster.

• What is a time off Roster or Leave Roster?

A time off roster can be seen as a list or plan showing turns of duty or leave for individuals or groups in an company. Now, there is a way this time off Roster is prepared. Take for instance, if you are in morning duty (white watch), your first off period will fall on Monday and Tuesday next week. Mind you, if you are doing Morning work this week, have it in mind that as from on Sunday, you are to change to another shift, which is Night duty. You can't work from Morning duty and enter into Afternoon duty like that, you move from Morning duty to Night duty and Night duty to Afternoon duty, that is how is been done here in my work station.

Mind you, your off is always 2 days and once you got to Friday, your off will last for four (4) days. Preparing roster depends on a lot of criteria, so your time of roster can change from Monday and Tuesday to Wednesday and Thursday. That is why I said it falls on different criterias.

The leave roster is different from the timw of roster because is been applied for once in a year i.e from January to November, you are required to subject any month which you will like your leave to fall to. Assuming I choose March 2nd, 2020, it will last for 23 days excluding weekend. This 23 days is for Junior officer on my Cadre while Senior officer's leave is for a month excluding weekend too. As for me, if I apply March 2nd, 2020, it means that I will stay at home from that period to April 2nd 2020 and to resume on the 3rd of April, 2020. This is how is being done. Mind you, for you to embark on such leave, you first have to write for leave application to your headquarter, the director of Fire service is the one to get it approve for you.

• How Delta state Fire service operates in an off Station.

Off station are station located outside the state capital. Off station have the D.F.O (Divisional fire officer) as the head, The Operational office and the prevention and protection office.

The D.F.O (Divisional fire officer) is the overal head in that station, is main aim is to make sure that things are going well in his station.

The Operational office is to ensure that the day to day work of the office is being done. Like preparing of roster and other. Lastly, the Operational office and the prevention is to deal with anything relating to fire fighting, maintaining of Fire man truck, kit and brief people on how to use fire extinquishers.

• Fire man crew worker

The Fireman crew are made up of 4 members, the Driver, Branch Man, Assistant Branch man and Messenger. The Driver is to driver the truck to fire scene, engage the P.T.O and leave the rest work for the fire Men to do. The Branch man is the one that uses the Branch and Hose to Fight the fire, while the Assistant branch man assist him to hold the hose so that the Branch man can get firm balance. The work of the Messenger is to run around just to pass message from the Branch man to the driver. He also helps in laying hose.

• The crew and tools cabin

If there is a fire call, the crew are the once to embark to the fire scene with their complete kit. There is a space on the back of the fire truck where they are to occupy. While the Tools cabin is where tools like Fire man axe, Suction and delivery hose, branch, proximity kit, Safety boot, Ceiling hook, Stand pipe, key and bar, Divider are being kept.

• Watch room

The watch room is a room where informartion is being dispacthed to various unit. It is being headed by a duty writer. He/she is the one that will answer emergency call and take records of fire scene. After answering the call, she is to pass the information to the crew on duty. It is with her information that the crew on duty will use to locate the fire scene.

• Centering Man
  While on duty, there is allocation for one person to be place on centering. His duty is to make sure that he watches over the premises. If any lost, he is the one to be asked. As a team work, there is a way the work is being shared between those on duties.

Right now, am the one on centering duty, I will work from 7-11am, then the next man will mount the centering position from 11am - 2pm.

This has been how I carried out my duty. Thanks for reading, feel free to tell us about your today's activities. You can check out this post by @anomadsoul to join this campaign.

All photos were taken by me while carrying out my duty at my work station.