RULES GOVERNING THE FIRE GROUND TRAINING AT THE
ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE IOWA FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION
Revised March 19, 2022
GENERAL RULES:
1. Any Fire Department participating must have a membership in the Iowa Firefighters Association of not less than three (3) members.
2. Participants must be regularly appointed active members of the Fire Department they represent according to the records of the IFA and must be members of the Iowa Firefighters Association. EXCEPTION OF DRILL #10 (Water application Drill) IFA members are allowed to assemble a team consisting of members from multiple departments with the #1 person and #2 person being members of the represented department. No individual shall be allowed to compete as a member of more than one team in any drill.
3. That there be a limit of not more than three (3) teams from any one department of a City or Town in any training drill.
4. The Executive Director of the Iowa Firefighters Association shall act as Clerk of Drills and shall keep a record of all participants, a record of teams that actually compete in each drill, a record of the time made by each including time penalties imposed by the Judges, and a record of the winners in each event as determined by the Judges, and keep a running total of the points awarded to each team in the drills.
5. The Board of Directors shall appoint as many Assistant Clerks that they deem necessary to assist the Clerk in his or her duties as Clerk of the Training Drills.
6. The President of the Association, with the approval of the Board of Directors, shall appoint all Judges, Timers and Starters for the Drills and terms of all Judges, Timers and Starters be established by the Board of Directors.
7. Starters will have full authority on starting drills. Starting ahead of the gun the second time shall disqualify the participant. All starters are to use the same cadence “Judges ready, Timers ready, Contestants ready, One, Two (Bang)”
8. The Judges shall impose penalties as provided in the Rules prescribed for each Drill and shall have the power to disqualify a team for improper conduct. The agreement by any two of the Judges shall constitute a decision. Decisions by the Judges shall be deemed final when the next team is on the line. A judge’s decision may be overturned by the consensus of all officials assigned to that drill. Any team contesting a judge’s ruling after the next team is on the line will be disqualified from that event.
9. All Drills except Drill No. 3 and the Water Application Drills shall be decided upon basis of elapsed time, which shall include the actual time of the participants and the time penalties imposed by the Judges. Drill No. 3 and Drill No. 10 are decided by elimination. In the elimination drills any team/teams disqualified shall receive no points or trophies. If all four final teams are disqualified the drill is void.
10. Entry blanks will be provided by the Association in such form as to show the number of teams entered by each department for each drill, together with names of individual team members of each team.
11. All entries, except Drill No. 10, shall be made before 5:00 P.M. the night before the Drills are to run by turning over to the Clerk or his designated assistant, such entry blanks properly filled out and signed by an authorized person. Entries for Drill No. 10 shall be turned in to above mentioned authorities not later than 10:00 A.M. on the day mentioned above.
12. Team captains of entries in Drill No. 10 (Water Application Drill) shall meet with the President of the Association or his designated representative at the location of Drill No. 3 (Leader Line Drill) no later than 10:00 A.M. on the day mentioned above, for the purpose of deciding by majority vote which direction the Water Application Drill equipment shall be set.
13. Each department shall appoint a Drill Captain for all Drills to meet with Judges prior to start of each drill to discuss rules.
14. Substitution of team members may be made after entry registrations have closed, but no individual shall be allowed to compete as a member of more than one team in any drill.
15. Use of any illegal participants or any misrepresentation of participants shall disqualify the team and the Department from all competition in current drills. IF A DEPARTMENT MEMBER ENTERS A DRILL AND IS NOT REGISTERED, THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT SHALL BE DISQUALIFIED FOR THAT DRILL.
16. No team may participate without the required number of firefighters.
17. The Association assumes no responsibility for loss or accidents resulting from participation in Drills.
18. The Convention will open at 7:50 A.M. Sharp. Drills will start at 8:00 A.M. and run through the noon hour. There will be no break for lunch. The Water Application Drill will be held as the final drill of the afternoon program.
19. The Association portable hydrants shall be used for all hands-on hydrant drills. (Drill Number 1, 8 and 9).
20. All nozzle connections and coupling connections must show at least three (3) full threads or hand tight, at start or finish of drill, or both where required *WITH EXCEPTION OF DRILL #3. For consistency, the same judge shall check both valves for tightness on drill #3.
21. EXPLANATION OF “three full threads or hand tight”: Couplings having more than three threads must be connected by at least three full threads. Couplings having less than three full threads must be connected hand tight. No quick couplers allowed.
22. During the Drills, the team “ON DECK” (next team to compete) shall be ready to go WITHIN TWO (2) MINUTES of the time they are called to enter the current drill or be disqualified for that round.
23. The team “IN THE HOLE” (team immediately following team on deck) must be ready to compete in the current drill without unnecessary delay.
24. Several drills may be run at the same time. If a firefighter or firefighters are participating in another drill being run, ample time will be given them to finish that drill before being up for next drill. However, in the event that there are no teams waiting, any available team may compete.
25. Drills that are not completed in one day because of weather shall be ruled no drill.
26. Pairings for any elimination drills shall be drawn in such a way as to prevent two teams from the same department meeting before the semi-finals.
27. ALL MEMBERS OF ANY DEPARTMENT ENTERED IN THE ASSOCIATION DRILLS MUST BE REGISTERED AT THE CONVENTION TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR PARTICIPATION. THE AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF EACH DEPARTMENT SHALL SIGN A STATEMENT CERTIFYING THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS OF THAT DEPARTMENT ARE REGISTERED.
28. PROTECTIVE CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS THAT SHALL APPLY TO ALL DRILLS…
All Contestants shall be dressed in firefighting PPE consisting of Helmet, Coat, Pants, and Boots. Gloves, hoods, and liners are optional
1. Helmet: Any helmet considered by its manufacturer as a firefighter’s personal protective equipment.
2. Coat: Any Coat considered by its manufacturer as a firefighter’s personal protective equipment.
3. Pants: Any Pair of pants or full-length pull up boots considered by its manufacturer as a firefighter’s personal protective equipment.
4. Boots: Any boot considered by its manufacturer as a firefighter’s personal protective equipment.
5. Gloves: (Optional) Any glove or hand covering considered by its manufacturer as a firefighter’s personal protective equipment.
6. All turnout gear to be worn with no alterations of any sort to any part of the ensemble. Boots must have bunker pants worn over them and full-length boots must be pulled up while competing. All gear must provide full coverage of the contestant while competing. No exterior fastening devices other than those that are an integral part of the turnout gear will be used to secure the coat or pants. Examples of devices not allowed are: Truckman’s belts, Milwaukee belts, bungee cords, duct tape, etc. No warning will be given for non-compliant personal protective clothing. Failure to comply will result in team disqualification from that event.
29. All ties in all drills will be run off.
30. Any training rule changes must be submitted, for acceptance by the membership, to the Mid-Year Business Meeting.
31. Beginning at Convention 1995, pyrolite couplings shall be used in contest 8 & 9 ; pyrolite or brass couplings, whichever the custodian provides, may be used in contest 6 & 7. Anywhere 1&1/2” hose is mentioned should be interpreted as 1&1/2” OR 1&3/4” hose.
32. At the end of each drill, the accumulated points shall be added up and the team with the highest point total be declared the overall winner. In the event that there is a tie for first place, the town with the most first place finishes shall be the winner with the other town, the runner-up. In case of a tie after the first place finishers are counted, go to the second place, then the third and then the fourth place finishers, if necessary, to determine the overall champion.
33. All Drill Records that were attained by participants competing in drills while the association was known as the Iowa Firemen’s Association will be recognized as still being the Drill Records of the Iowa Firefighters Association until such time that they are broken.
34. Drills 1,3,8, and 9 will have a STATIC operating pressure of 80 psi, or the minimum pressure provided by the municipal water system at the pumper. Drill 10 will have a flowing pressure of 75 psi at the wye with both nozzles fully open.
POINTS: First – 4 Points; Second – 3 Points; Third – 2 Points; Fourth – 1 Point.
TROPHIES: First four (4) places. The Iowa Firefighters Association logo will be displayed on each trophy awarded.