By John F. “Skip” Coleman, Technical Editor
During my career, I have responded to several incidents involving shootings. For most of them, the police were already on the scene. For a few, however, as a company or chief officer, I was the first to arrive or was already on the scene when violence broke out and shots were fired.
These types of incidents have occurred across the country. Several of them have stuck in my mind. One occurred in a very nice neighborhood in an eastern city where a man barricaded himself in the garage of his home after shooting a few family members in the house. He held at least one of his children hostage in the garage when police and fire crews arrived. The beginning and middle of the story are not pertinent to this article. The ending was that a little girl bled to death under a front yard tree. The fire crew did as procedure dictated and staged a block away until police secured the scene.
Several years ago, in a similar Roundtable question, I discussed the Columbine shooting and asked, “If you were dispatched to a shooting in a school and arrived prior to the police, and the kids running out told you that there were kids shot and lying in the hallway inside the door, would you have your crew go in and pull them out or would you wait until police secured the scene?”
Responses were fast and furious. Since then, this country has experienced another rash of active shooting incidents. We have for a long time had a fire “risk policy” that begins, “We will take great risk to save life.” Is that to be a “fire only” policy, or is it an “all-risk” policy?
Roundtable question: Does your department have an “active shooting incident procedure” and, if so, what is it? To post your comments, go to fireengineering.com/roundtable.html.
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| PHOTO OF THE DAY: Five members of the Hoboken (NJ) Fire Department were injured and more than 200 schoolchildren were safely evacuated when a fire consumed the upper floors and roof area of the Hoboken Charter School. The fire traveled up walls and along ceilings, involving old-fashioned tin ceilings and making it labor intensive for firefighters opening up the structure. (Photo by Ron Jeffers.) See more photos at http://www.fireengineering.com/photo-of-the-day.html. Send your Photo of the Day submissions to Peter Prochilo (peterp@pennwell.com). |
WEBCASTS
Join us for monthly Webcasts featuring the best of Fire Engineering authors and FDIC speakers. On November 15, Captain Jason Krusen, Columbia (SC) Fire Department, will present “Atmospheric Monitoring on the Fireground.” On December 13, Lieutenant Michael Cacciola, Fire Department of New York, will present “Candidate Physical Ability Test/Peer Fitness Trainer Program.” Webcasts are free, but you must register.
FIRE LIFE
In her column “The Two Most Powerful Words in a Marriage: I’m Sorry,” Anne Gagliano writes: “Most of my columns have been directed at the wives of firefighters as I try to give them advice on how to be a good firefighter’s wife. But this one’s for you, husbands, and the words for this column come directly from my firefighter husband himself.” She shares an example of her husband’s perfect apology.
FEATURED ARTICLES
David DeStefano, lieutenant, North Providence (RI) Fire Department, writes in “Maintaining Accountability with Automatic Status Checks”: “Maintaining accountability is front and center when it comes to importance in policy development, training, and fireground management. However, the number of single-unit responses for most departments, especially those providing EMS, far exceeds the number of multiunit incidents. Many fire departments have no policy in place to monitor the status of units engaged during these incidents.” (http://bit.ly/THTJIM)
Dennis L. Rubin, chief, writes in “The Attack of the Cyberbully”: “With so many issues having a negative impact on the roles and responsibilities of the position of fire chief, it is time to examine the impacts and effects that the cyberbully can have on this public safety mission critical position.” (http://bit.ly/QIxHiY)
Tim Hyden, training officer, East Manatee (FL) Fire Rescue, writes in “Training Records and Organizational Liability”: “If an investigation regarding an operational issue ever takes place, the office that the investigator will be visiting after the chief’s is likely going to be that of the training officer. Records will be pulled, and reports will be run to confirm the level of training and proficiency of an individual or an agency in a task or an operation.” (http://bit.ly/Q4DDDR)
Gregory Havel, deputy chief (ret.), Burlington (WI) Fire Department, writes in “Post-Incident Concerns”: “During our response to and initial operations at an emergency incident at a building, firefighters work according to standard operating procedures or guidelines with built-in risk evaluation and management. Once the event is controlled, the fire is out, and energy sources are isolated and locked out, we must continue to use our risk evaluation and management procedures.” (http://bit.ly/QXpRCC)
COMMUNITY MEMBER OF THE MONTH
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Name: John Gilmore. |
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