The Fire Scene: There Is Not One Way

When you look at the way that different departments manage operations and even how different chiefs in the same department manage incidents, you find a tremendous variety of tactics and procedures. Some departments have written, established procedures that are followed religiously; some don’t. What issues can affect the degree of success at emergency operations?

Staffing
There’s little disagreement that staffing can have a dramatic and overriding effect on just about every operation that’s undertaken.

At FDNY, there are six people on every ladder company, rescue company and squad company. The six personnel include five firefighters and one officer. Most of the almost 200 engine companies respond with five personnel. A basic response of two engines, two trucks and a battalion chief with an aide give the chief a team of 24 people to begin operations. This is a tremendous advantage and provides the capability to get several important tactical operations underway immediately.

Smaller departments that have lighter staffing might arrive with the same number of companies but with half of the staffing, which limits the number of tactics that can be initiated.

Companies
Some small and medium-size departments intentionally dispatch a small assignment for calls on the first alarm to maintain more units “available” while the alarm is investigated. The obvious problem with this situation is that it initially limits the number of units that are on scene as well as the number of personnel that can go to work. For example, a department that has four engines and two ladder companies might have a policy of dispatching one and one or an engine and a ladder company. This allows the department to get units to the scene of the alarm for an investigation and keeps three engines and a ladder company available to respond should another alarm be received. This specific situation risks the first alarm being a condition that requires more units than are assigned initially, but at the same time, it guarantees that there are enough available units to dispatch to a second similar call.

Other departments might assign two engines and two ladder companies to this alarm to ensure that enough units and personnel are dispatched initially to get all of their tactics underway immediately if needed, leaving no ladder companies available should another alarm be received.

This is an example of how a simple alarm response policy can have a dramatic positive or negative effect on an incident.

Tools and equipment
Tools and equipment, including hand tools, ladders and even radios, also can help or hinder a department in handling emergency situations.

As difficult as it is for some to believe, some departments don’t assign a fireground radio to every working firefighter. The obvious problem: Members can be left unable to communicate with other firefighters who are on scene, which can cause dramatic delays in getting hoselines stretched and searches underway.

Another tactical variation that can have a notable effect on the success of a fire operation is the manner by which engine companies select and stretch the initial attack line. There are departments that run engines with staffing of three: an officer, a driver and a single firefighter in the crew compartment. Some of these departments struggle to get the first line in position, but others that developed and mastered unique hose packing and stretching methods strive to get the first line pulled, flaked out and charged in under a minute.

Mastery
The message to every firefighter, company officer and chief is to pay attention to every tactic, every procedure and every method that your company or department practices and know that all of them must be mastered and performed perfectly every time.