Judged by our incident management

This is another discussion board that I originally wrote for my Principles of Emergency Services class and wanted to share here:

The management of incidents is often the standard by which fire departments are judged. Is this the right standard?

Although we rather it not be this way, our reputation as a department is only as good as how we managed the last incident we responded on. We might have the newest, most beautiful station around, but, if the public perceives that we “screwed up” on that fire on Cleveland Avenue the other day, that is what we will be remembered for and judged on. Let’s take the fire pictured at left, as fire service professionals – and, make no mistake, we are professionals – we know the deck is stacked against us when we roll up and have a single-family dwelling fully-involved. The general public does not understand that, they expect us to be able to save the structure (and contents) regardless of what we encounter on arrival.

Sometimes we make parking lots

The heading above comes from Fire Command by Alan Brunacini (ISBN 0877655006) and he is absolutely correct . . . sometimes we make parking lots or, if it is a residential neighborhood, green space (Brunacini, 2013).  Never let it be said this happens because we don’t try, but when you pull up and the house is almost completely involved, it just does not bode well for a good outcome. There are steps that we can take as Incident Commander’s to work towards a favorable outcome (FireScope, 1994): 1) Remove endangered occupants and treat the injured; 2) Stabilize the incident and provide for life safety; 3) Conserve property; and 4) Provide for the safety, accountability, and welfare of personnel. (The latter is a priority that must be ongoing for the duration of the incident.)

Functions of Command

In order to obtain the outcomes listed above, the Incident Commander is the one who must drive his/her command toward that end. To assist us in that task the ICS provides us with functions of command that are imperative for us to utilize: 1) Assume and announce the command and establish an effective operating position (Incident Command Post); 2) Rapidly evaluate the situation (size up); 3) Initiate, maintain, and control the communications process; 4) Identify an overall strategy, develop an Incident Action Plan (IAP), and assign personnel in a way that is consistent with plans and Standard Operating Guidelines; 5) Develop an effective ICS organization; 6) Provide tactical objectives; 7) Review, evaluate, and revise (as needed) the IAP; and 8) Provide for the continuity, transfer, and termination of Command.

Reference

Brunacini, A. (2013, February 01). National fire protection association. Retrieved from http://nfpa.org Retrieved: August 25, 2013

Firefighting resources of California organized for potential emergencies1994. (1994, November 01). Retrieved from http://www.firescope.org/ Retrieved: August 25, 2013