Mayday comes from the French term “m’aider,” an imperative that means “Help me.” The term “Mayday” was adopted by the International Radio Telegraph Convention in 1927, as a distress call. In International Radio language, “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” means “Life is in danger. Immediate help needed!”
Why don’t Firefighter or Pilots use the term “Mayday?”
Through extensive research, the military has identified 10 reasons why pilots fail to or delay ejecting when they must. These same conditions may be applicable to firefighters who do not call a mayday when they must:
¨Temporal distortion (time seems to speed up or slow down)
¨Reluctance to give up control
¨Channeled attention
¨Loss of situational awareness
¨Fear of the unknown
¨Fear of retribution
¨Lack of knowledge
¨Attempting to fix the problem
¨Pride
¨Denial
What are the Firefighter Mayday Parameters?
¨Fall—no matter what it is through
¨Collapse—having something collapse on a firefighter
¨Lost or Trapped—if a firefighter gets lost or trapped
¨Stuck—if a firefighter is stuck
What should a Firefighter do when confronted with a Mayday parameter?
The first step a firefighter should take when confronted with a mayday parameter
is to call the mayday. Only then, can they try to fix the situation themselves, if a firefighter waits to call, the window of survivability can close quickly. Mayday must be called immediately because the window of survivability is small. Carbon monoxide quickly reduces your thinking and motor skills, which can cause you to do things that make the situation worse—like standing up, taking your face mask off, or going towards the fire without knowing it. All this time the fire can be getting bigger.
Give LUNAR
¨Location
¨Unit number
¨Name
¨Assignment [what you were doing]
*Also consider Air Supply (how much air you have left)
¨Resources needed [what you need]
*Also consider reasons (why specific resources are needed)
