Ropes and Knots

As the saying goes, "don't train until you get it right, train until you can't get it wrong." 

Ropes and knots training is great. There are thousands of knots and just as many ways to use them. Learning to tie them is only half of the battle. Applying them practically on the fireground, under stress and with bulky fire gloves on is the other half. 

This is why so many recruit schools and academies require probationary firefighters to carry around short sections of rope. It's a rite of passage to be singled out by an instructor at random and told to tie a specific knot. The ability to do so might be the difference between push-ups or a 10 minute break.

When a firefighter working on a roof calls for certain tools to be hauled up to him, there are correct ways and incorrect ways to tie the tools to the rope.