08/02/2026
Last week, the first pilot program of the revamped 3-day firefighter mayday and survival program was conducted at the State Fire Academy. All skills were individual based focused helping yourself out of a bad situation. Skills included calling a mayday, bailout kits, first floor window exits, upper floor hang and drop, upper floor hang and ladder scoop, negotiating wire entanglements, wall breaches, hose orientation, reduced profile and SCBA removal for egress, and mastery of SCBA familiarization without visibility. Over the course of three days, students performed five different maze style courses negotiating a combination of all these skills.