Volunteer Command Post Operations: Coordinating the Fireground

By DAVID LENART

THE COMMAND POST (CP) is the hive of activity and the information hub of any incident. Yet, many volunteer departments don’t maximize this location to increase span of control, accountability, and safety. Properly using and staffing CP positions will increase your command and control of the fireground or emergency incident.

We have often witnessed a large crowd gathering at the CP to watch, critique, observe, and sometimes interfere. Even my own volunteer department was not immune from interference. As a career officer in the state’s largest urban city and a volunteer in the smallest city, I found fireground operations more challenging in the volunteer setting. Staffing is fluent depending on time of day, and not knowing beforehand who will turn out is a challenge for every volunteer company. Incident commanders (IC) must ask if their CP is up and running to manage and meet the tactical objectives outlined in the incident action plan (IAP). If not, the department needs to train in command operations and ensure the right policies can be enacted to reflect the operational realities we face as volunteer firefighters.

Observe the Veterans

Go to any fire and look behind the CP. Besides the buffs and fire photographers, observe who is watching, critiquing, and reminiscing about old times. Usually, the audience consists of a small group of senior members who are physically unable to fight fires but have years of experience. These are the best members to recruit for the CP. Assigning these members a task and position as part of the command team is a great way to bring them back into the fight. The knowledge and experience they bring will greatly assist during operations.

The Derby (CT) Volunteer Fire Department developed an eight-hour program aimed at equipping these individuals with the skills and expertise to fulfill their new duties effectively. Our newly designed course covers essential aspects such as radio communication protocols, CP positions, and operationalprocedures across various incident types. We soon discovered how quickly these members, whom most departments write off as antiquated equipment, became reengaged in the department. The assigned tasks for CP operations are as follows:

Chief’s aide.
Accountability officer.
Liaison.
Occupant manager.
Dispatch command aide.
Fire department representative.

Chief’s Aide

By recruiting senior members as chief’s aides in CP operations, fire departments will quickly see several benefits. The redeployment will renew seasoned veterans’ involvement and significantly enhance operational efficiency, fostering a culture of inclusivity and respect. Imagine the potential for improvement and the excitement of seeing these benefits in action (photo 1). In addition to their duties as the chief’s aide, senior members can also be used to fill additional roles within the CP and incident command system (ICS). This includes a scribe to track operations that are part of the IAP.

1. Mike Gardella Jr., a 50-year member of the Seymour (CT) Fire Department, operates the command board at a two-alarm fire. (Photo by Keith Muratori/Firegroundimages.com.)

Accountability Officer

This task is best assigned to a senior member who has no other role than tracking individuals on scene, their respective companies, and operating locations via radio traffic. This is often one of the most challenging and critical positions in the CP. While this position cannot give orders, it remains an integral part of the operation and can be used to conduct an on-scene personnel accountability report (PAR) depending on the department’s standard operating procedures.

Liaison

During more complex incidents, the IC can assign senior members as liaisons to interact with additional services responding to the scene. On arrival, a representative of a utility company will report to the CP for a briefing with the IC. The IC is able to assign one of the senior members to escort the representative around the scene and report their progress back to command.

Occupant Manager

Managing occupants is another task that can be assigned to the senior crew. Incidents involving multifamily buildings can create a crowd of occupants around the CP looking for updates on their property and the status of the incident. Senior members can be placed in charge of the occupants to help collect basic information for reporting. At mass-casualty incidents ranging from an active shooter to a vehicle crash, a member of the command team can be assigned patient tracking.

Dispatch Command Aide

Too many departments still have the IC dealing with radio traffic from dispatch and units inside. One simple-sounding task of listening to two radios at once can easily lead to disaster. The newly established aide can handle dispatch- to-command traffic, which enables an IC to give full attention to suppression operations. The aide also serves as a gatekeeper and placeholder to prevent unnecessary personnel from distracting the IC and sometimes to prevent the IC from wandering on scene.

Fire Department Representative

During large-scale incidents, disasters, or weather events, senior members can be sent to the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to act as a fire department representative. By using experienced members in the city’s EOC, they can assist emergency management officials with planning, response, and recovery.

Check, Please

Checklists are an indispensable tool in the arsenal of any CP. They serve as a lifeline, guiding any IC through problematic and evolving scenes.

We responded to a mutual-aid fire in a neighboring city, but the absence of a checklist led to a critical oversight. On arrival, I conducted my face-to-face with the IC and noticed that he had not mentioned who was assigned to conduct primary searches. When inquiring about this, his expression turned to realization and panic. This incident underscored the importance of having a checklist, as it serves as a guide to prevent these errors. By providing a structured framework and delineating essential tasks, checklists help to mitigate the risk of errors and omissions, ensuring that no details fall through the cracks while operating on scene.

Do not overcomplicate a checklist. Keep it simple and practical. I developed my checklist the day after my assistant chief’s exam. I sat at my computer and made a simple, one-page, front and back checklist for a structure fire, hazmat, or technical rescue incident. My list contained basic incident information, unit assignments, Mayday procedures, and benchmarks for the aide to track. I created a series of actionable steps to guide any IC in various emergencies. We must remember how many working incidents we run annually. The reality is, most volunteer ICs will run less than 10 times a year. Is that enough experience to remember every detail, assignment, and step for a structure fire or an extrication? What about an active shooter or large-scale hazmat event? Using checklists for each type of incident will prevent oversights.

Tactical Worksheets

Our volunteer department is well- equipped with a healthy budget. However, buying a command board for each chief and one or two to place in apparatus wasn’t a high priority. We only had one full-size command board, located in the department chief’s vehicle. I was left to my own imagination to make my CP work without a command board or tactical worksheet. How can anyone be an IC without a commercially produced large command board?

I decided on a cheap and easy solution: the tactical command clipboard. With a simple metal clipboard alongside a storage compartment for my checklists and markers, I was ready. A quick internet search will lead to numerous vendors for command boards of all shapes and sizes, so find one that is simple and practical. Never discount command apps or other technologies that can make managing an incident safer and more efficient. Another concept is to place a compact command board on a first-due apparatus. Regardless of the board or tactical worksheet you use, the goal should be to have it adopted departmentwide to ensure continuity of command (photo 2).

2. After each incident, the aide must ensure the board is cleaned and returned to service. (Photo by Thomas Lenart Sr)

CP Operations

With the introduction of staffing, training, checklists, and an actual board, the last step is operating the CP. One drawback with the newly established CP program is the collection of chiefs that spring up around the green CP flag. This became a strength when we changed our policy. A simple way to break up the troops is to put them into action. When later-arriving command officers are assigned safety or a division, too many chiefs listen to the spouting ideas from the back, interfering with the IAP. To minimize distraction, only keep the chiefs and officers needed to help run the incident and move everyone else away from the CP.

The CP is the nerve center of any incident response. Proper staffing and operations will help an IC deal with any incident, regardless of size. The most significant dynamic of an ICS is the flexibility to adapt command to a specific size and scope. Adjusting the command staff to meet that need is the best way to ensure a safe and efficient operation. These tips and tricks will help even the smallest and most budget-limited departments set up and operate a proper CP.

DAVID LENART is a former chief of the Derby (CT) Fire Department and is a lieutenant in the Bridgeport (CT) Fire Department assigned to a heavy rescue. Previously, he was the chief of the Storm Engine Company Ambulance & Rescue Corps. He has a bachelor’s degree in public safety administration and is the creator and host of The Volley Chief Podcast.