Turnout Time

[Healdav]

I was reading "Into The Fire" recently and I saw that the author talks about 'the one minute' turn out time.

I trained a long time ago (but was never operational), and my memory is that turnout time was 30 seconds. Am I correct, and has the time changed?

[Br9mp81]

TBH in these H&S times, l don't see the risk assessment being passed for dressing in a fast moving machine, most dress in ppe before going and seat belts worn, even with ba donned.

[Rory-495]

I'd say within a minute we are on the appliance and getting out the door. Tunic donned on route and BA donned on route if needs be. Only delay would be if it was a shout that is a curious location or off the station ground... ie a bit more time checking the route 

[Carl]

If discussing turnout time in todays world, you really need to define it a little more to include all elements such as 

• Time of Call to Station Actuation
• Station Actuation to Booking Mobile Incident

In GMFRS we even have Pre Alerts which have been discussed at length in here. 

I suspect the term turnout time in relation to "long time ago" may well be the measurement of time from the bells going down to the vehicle going out of the doors? Not relevant in the modern day fire service as its all about time of call to arriving at scene.

[Messyshaw]

Some say the author of this book has been suspected of exaggerating stories and making claims that are difficult to substantiate.

I haven't met the guy so cannot comment, but I am aware he and his book have been highly controversial. 

If you are planning on joining the fire service or just want to read a behind the scenes book, there are plenty out there that are perhaps more reliable.

The LFB used to carry out turn out drills. A bored senior officer would put the bells down and the term "turn out drill" was shouted and we all ran around like performing poodles.  The time the bells went down to the time when the 1st appliance crossed a defined threshold was recorded.

Then some more idiotic senior officers produced local results and tried to get huge 5 storey stations to turn out quicker than a tiny 1 pump shed. It was a waste of time and complete boll ox.

Turning out safely and ensuring you know where you are going, is better than dashing about like a demented greyhound 😉

[Ian]

We are measured (managerially) in Herts for our turn-out time.

1.56 minutes for wholetime

4 minutes for On Call

As Messy has stated, the size of the stations vary enormously which is reflective for our turn out times for our wholetime stations.

On Call is entirely in the lap of the gods and will never be 4 minutes or less but more like 5-9 minutes dependant on time of day. Our Vision mobilising system was changed some years ago to be more specific for each On Call station. This lasted about 2 months when they realised that most On Call station grounds were swallowed up by our Wholetime machines with some being 3rd on to a fire in their own station yard! Vision was soon changed and this has been left in the too difficult to address pile.

[Noddy]

West mids policy is the ‚‘5 Minute attendance time‘ to all primary incidents.  I think we do pretty well but those on station would be better placed to answer.

times to get out the door are irrelevant when taken in  isolation, for me it’s when a truck gets to a job that’s important. 

[Jet]

@Noddy totally agree. Turnout out times are irrelevant IMO unless the job is at the station!

[Healdav]

Thanks. As I remember it, turnout time was between bells going and appliance leaving station. The CFO in Plymouth at the time had a clock on his desk connected to all three stations, and could see how long turnout was. Heaven help the Station Officer who took too long.

Also, as I remember it, the Home Office laid down a five minute arrival time at an incident in urban areas and 15 minutes (mostly retained) in rural areas.

I trained or partly trained when doing Duke of Edinburgh's Gold when I asked to do something more useful than making tea in the Control Room. The CFO was amazed, but arranged for me to be able to join in drills that the duty watch happened to be doing on Tuesday evening. I even got a uniform, and a letter saying I was a (non-existent) auxiliary. They even let me go through the rat run, once.

If I didn't wear glasses I might have joined up full time. Yes, in those days they wouldn't have you without perfect eyesight.

[Becile]

Wholetime 75 seconds during the day, 120  seconds during the night, both with pre alert notifications which has seen roughly 15 seconds being taken off booking mobile times since its introduction.

The station turnout system counts up and announces ellapsed times every 15 seconds.( a lovely soft spoken female voice !) I voted for Jonny Vegas voice...lol

On call 5 minutes.

[Lumie]

At my station at least, it varies by call type. I’ve only done 2 tours and about 14 shouts, but the main thing I’ve picked up regarding turnout times is that people slack off a bit when the call type isn’t as serious. 

For example, AFAs we all run from the mess to the watch room and see it’s an AFA and kind of briskly walk to the pump and don the gear outside, we’re out the door before the lovely lady says 45 seconds. The two fires I’ve had it was the same to the watch room, and then a sprint to the pump and donned PPE and BA on the rig as we pulled out. 

[Firestorm]

On 23/03/2019 at 02:25, Messyshaw said:

The LFB used to carry out turn out drills. A bored senior officer would put the bells down and the term "turn out drill" was shouted and we all ran around like performing poodles.  The time the bells went down to the time when the 1st appliance crossed a defined threshold was recorded.

Then some more idiotic senior officers produced local results and tried to get huge 5 storey stations to turn out quicker than a tiny 1 pump shed. It was a waste of time and complete boll ox.

Turning out safely and ensuring you know where you are going, is better than dashing about like a demented greyhound 😉

2

I used to refuse to get my watch to do turn out drills. Seeing how fast we could all dress up and jump on a fire engine was a game reserved for visiting scouts and served no purpose at all for professional firefighters.

[Messyshaw]

Chiswick would play, but very slowly. Not exactly slow motion, but slower that walking pace, picking up litter on the floor, straightening the drip mats and any other spurious health and safety stuff.

They would rig super slow, ensuring all the tunic buttons were turned with the shield upright. The Guvnor would greet the senior officer with a handshake and a chat about the weather

It was hilarious and as a result, they were left alone 😊

The only part of the turnout drill worth anything was the senior officers checking BA sets, tallies and log books were in order. It was a pain, but had an audit/H&S aim

[JonesMrJones]

90 secs in Avon. From the bells going down to booking mobile. 

[Dot]

Given this area is called smokey stories and the good old days... here's the best turnout I've seen...

Dot 🙂

[Jet]

Of course the best turnout was at Lambeth 😉