Firefighters have to function in high stress, emergent situations. Every incident is different. Muscle memory is critical in these situations. According to Klein’s recognition-primed decision making concepts, when we are in stressful situations, we make decisions based on previous similar experiences and training, and use solutions that worked in those situations.79 Drilling over and over on both basic and not-so-basic activities frees the mind to deal with the anomalies that occur in all emergent activities.80
Instructors teach the drills incrementally so that they instill muscle memory. Drills begin with the basics, the mechanics of how a task is done, in an open, stress-free environment. Later during the week, students must complete the same drills in a simulated fireground scenario with the addition of smoke, fire, zero visibility, running water, and loud noises.
Recent research shows that “emotion and vividness influence fluency, availability...