Close Calls

"The most over used term in the fire service has to be "close call"!! How is this a close call? you are assigned to open up the roof and when you do turbulent smoke and fire came out.... that would be what I would expect to come out of there! If 2000 Chipmunks came out of that hole I would be a little surprised..... but smoke and fire is kinda what I expected."-Andrew Brassard

What truly constitutes a close call?  Is it a near injury, does it have to be a preventable injury or are they just part of "the job"?  Is it only reserved for near death incidents?  How do we know if the incident would have resulted in death?  Really, close calls happen everyday on the fireground.  Just some go on to be reported in some way. 

The best firefighters look at those incidents as experiences, that most time, can not be learned in a classroom or from a book.  They examine the situation and search for ways to improve their safety during operations.  Also the best firefighters pass those experiences along to their crews and others so that they can benefit from their experiences.