By Jimmy Taylor
There is always a lot of discussion about what needs to be done to ensure fireground success. Below are some examples of common fireground concerns and failures. Become familiar with them so you can recognize them quickly and correct the problems before they have a chance to develop into life-threatening situations.
1. Size-up
One of the first and most common failures is a poor size-up or no size-up at all. The size-up is so important that it should be incorporated into the incident management system (IMS) model as a benchmark. If you don’t do a size-up, you are inviting failure for everyone on the fireground from the start. The size-up is the basis for making tactical decisions on the fireground and should be done systematically from the perspective of determining how and where the fire is attacking the structure.
2. Water Supply
Make sure your water supply doesn’t become your weakest link. If you only have one three-inch squirrel tail hooked up to the hydrant, you have limited your water supply; the operation will have to be shut down to add additional lines to the hydrant. Two three-inch lines should always be connected to the hydrant as a minimum. The five-inch intake hose is a better way to maximize your water supply. The absolute best way to maximize your water supply is to use the three-inch squirrel tails and the five-inch intake simultaneously.
3. Communications
The first-arriving unit sets the tone for communications with its on-scene report. If this report is chaotic and the person sounds excited, that communication tone will resonate in later-arriving units. The communication must be clear and concise so that orders are received and understood without having to be repeated. A calm and confident tone has a calming effect on others on the scene. It is the incident commander’s (IC’s) responsibility to set the tone for fireground communications, regardless of how excited the initial units may sound..
4. Attack lines
We sometimes overestimate our ability to stretch our initial attack lines and advance them to the seat of the fire. Consider where the fire will be several minutes later, and ask yourself if you have enough water to extinguish the fire. If you are unsure, then immediately place additional lines or a larger line in position before your initial attack team gets in trouble. We assign backup lines all the time; these lines advance to the fire and become additional attack lines instead of serving as backup lines. A backup line is put in place to protect the attack team or teams and needs to stay behind the attack team to ensure it has a safe egress path.
5. Tactics
Do not be afraid to change tactics. If the tactics are not getting the job done, you have to change them. Sometimes we have trouble admitting defeat and will stay longer than we should in bad positions and bad conditions. Keep this in mind: “The failure to change tactics when needed can get firefighters hurt and killed.” IC is responsible for evaluating the tactics and their effectiveness. They must be changed if they are not working; if they are not working at the present time, they will not work 10 minutes later.
6. Freelancing
Freelancing still happens, usually with small tasks such as helping to advance the hoseline through a doorway. You get caught up in the moment and continue right in and help some more. You have to ignore the urge to help another crew complete a task unless your officer tells you to do so. You have to maintain crew integrity or let command know when crews are split up. Your officer should know your location every second you are on the fireground.
7. Feedback
Never assume that the IC is aware of the situation you are facing. Give him feedback so that intelligent fireground decisions can be made. Continuous feedback from operating crews is imperative for the IC. That information is compared to the ongoing size-up so that tactics can be effectively evaluated and changed if necessary.
8. Safety officer
The incident safety officer is one of the biggest assets on the fireground. The safety officer provides another set of eyes for the IC on the fireground to evaluate the effectiveness of the tactics and the level of risk firefighters are facing. The safety officer should take immediate action to reduce the risk to firefighters if he feels the risk outweighs the benefits. It is not necessary for the safety officer to ask the IC’s permission to remove crews from unsafe positions; he takes immediate action and informs the IC of the actions.
9. Rapid Intervention Team (RIT)
We have done a great job of assigning a RIT on all structure fires, but we do a terrible job of performing RIT. I see a blue tarp in front of the fire building with a crew sitting on it in the role of spectators. RIT means doing a size-up to ensure that the firefighting crews have a secondary means of egress and ensuring that the equipment needed on the ground is ready. It means keeping up with crew assignments and locating the crews inside the structure. It means sharing information with the incident safety officer so everyone is on the same page. It means continually assessing the risk to operating firefighters and deciding the best way to remove them should things go bad. RIT is an active process; not a passive one. You owe it to your fellow firefighters to do it right because you may not get a second chance.
10. Accountability
Accountability starts first thing in the morning when you put your tag on the truck. It is often overlooked when you get busy. If you overlook that small task, there is a chance you may be overlooked on the fireground. Level I accountability should be given a high priority so that the accountability officer can account for every person on the fireground. Remember, you may be responding with another jurisdiction. Level II accountability should be done on the incident scene and includes collecting the PASS tags from all apparatus and using the accountability board. Level II accountability is not performed with a pen and a legal pad. Personnel Accountability Reports (PARs) should be completed every 20 minutes, whenever there is a change in the strategy; and after any significant fire event, to ensure that all personnel are accounted for. It is imperative that company officers visually account for their crew members and not get lackadaisical in answering the accountability officer when prompted for a PAR report.
This is a short list of fireground concerns and failures to keep in mind. Remember that it is not enough to just recognize the items, but you must correct them when you see them heading toward failure. All must do their part to ensure the fireground is as safe as possible.
Jimmy Taylor, a 24-year fire service veteran, is a battalion chief and paramedic with Cobb County (GA) Fire & Emergency Services. Taylor has a fire science diploma from West Georgia Technical College. He is a Georgia-certified instructor and has taught classes on incident command for high-rise operations at the Georgia Fire Academy.
