Chief Don Abbott - MAYDAY! MAYDAY!

Every first responder must remember that any and every emergency scene remains fluid. No matter how hard we practice, review, prepare, etc., there is always an “unknown” factor that can, and often does, come into play. For the fire service, when that happens, we call a “MAYDAY!” Nevertheless, when we do, the scene often devolves into chaos.
My guest on this episode is retired Chief Don Abbott. Chief Abbott runs the ProjectMayday.net website and, along with his group of various professionals, that have reviewed over 6,000 MAYDAY audio files and many videos, as well. This group is able to listen to every radio transmission on a given scene and analyze that traffic from before the emergency was declared, replies to the firefighter(s) and the transmissions subsequent to the emergency being mitigated.
As we discussed this very important topic, I learned that still have a lot to learn about our tactics, how we treat radio traffic from our radios when we are in the midst of our assigned tasks and how we respond when a MAYDAY is sounded. Here is just one of their facts – over 60% of MAYDAYS called, are NOT heard the first time they are declared! Take this episode to heart – it may just save your life or someone else’s.