joesph Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 Just got done with the yearly pack test. Which is a fitness test for wildland fires. It consists of a 3 mile hike with a 45 # pack in 45 minutes or less. My knees are singing from the asphalt but managed to get my fat arce in on time. Question that I pose is do any of your out fits do anything similar. I understand that many of the people her are not fire based but still the work can be strenuous at times. I am of the belief that a stress test and EKG would be a better measure but the Pack test is recognized by NWCG so it is a standard.
mobey Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 Just got done with the yearly pack test. Which is a fitness test for wildland fires. It consists of a 3 mile hike with a 45 # pack in 45 minutes or less. My knees are singing from the asphalt but managed to get my fat arce in on time. Question that I pose is do any of your out fits do anything similar. I understand that many of the people her are not fire based but still the work can be strenuous at times. I am of the belief that a stress test and EKG would be a better measure but the Pack test is recognized by NWCG so it is a standard. About a month ago I did a quad rollover call. The patient was 2.6km down a trail. The trail was muddy, rocky, narrow and VERY up and down. I was carrying a spine board and our primary bag while my partner carried a collar kit and O2. Even though we do not have any formal physical testing, you pretty well have to be in good shape to work rural near the mountains. The quad rolled over backwards on the trail, so that should be an indicator of how steep some of the hills are. Come to think of it.... If we do not formally test, can we refuse to hire someone based on the assumption they are out of shape? (quite overweight)
Diazepam618 Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 What are you talking about the pack tett is cake, and the CPAT is a joke, Ive done both. Now the biddle on the other hand is hardcore most LA and orange county departments use that one physical agility test to weed out all the slugs, done that test too and passed with a good amount of time left.
WolfmanHarris Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 Great one area where LA is setting the bar higher than somewhere else. What's that, one out of every other remotely EMS related topic?
joesph Posted May 9, 2009 Author Posted May 9, 2009 What are you talking about the pack tett is cake, and the CPAT is a joke, Ive done both. Now the biddle on the other hand is hardcore most LA and orange county departments use that one physical agility test to weed out all the slugs, done that test too and passed with a good amount of time left. Discribe the 'biddle' test never heard of it
FireMedic65 Posted May 9, 2009 Posted May 9, 2009 take a respiratory protection class with a fire department . you pack up, run air and all. go through obstacle course's swing axes, climb ladders... over and over and over until you run out of air.
Richard B the EMT Posted May 10, 2009 Posted May 10, 2009 NWCG? CPAT? While I am in an FD based service, I am urban/suburban, not rural, and EMS mission specific. What mean these terms shown above?
joesph Posted May 10, 2009 Author Posted May 10, 2009 (edited) NWCG? CPAT? While I am in an FD based service, I am urban/suburban, not rural, and EMS mission specific. What mean these terms shown above? CPAT no clue NWCG= National Wildfire Coordinating Group. They are a administrative body that is in charge of resources for major wildfire incidents including minimum standards per resource. So you know what you will get when you order it. Edited May 10, 2009 by joesph
firedoc5 Posted May 11, 2009 Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) take a respiratory protection class with a fire department . you pack up, run air and all. go through obstacle course's swing axes, climb ladders... over and over and over until you run out of air. Hated doing that with a passion, who wouldn't? We had to do it yearly. But believe it or not, if you had 15 yrs. in it didn't matter if you failed or passed. You just had to do it. Edited May 11, 2009 by firedoc5
Diazepam618 Posted May 11, 2009 Posted May 11, 2009 Joseph the CPAT stand for Canidete Physical Agility Test this is a Certified test that is given across the country you can see videos if you go to CPAT.com, it's a pretty good test gets your heart rate up. Now you can google santa ana college fire academy and see the BIDDLE, that one tends to weed out the slugs and females. LA city and LA county require the CPAT, I think because they have to be more PC these days, but most other departments around the area use the Biddle.
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