command and control ics

• The resources available consist of: 1st Alarm, 2nd Alarm, Battalion Chief 1, Battalion Chief 2, Engine 1 (4 persons), Engine 5 (3), Engine 2 (3), Engine 6 (3), Engine 3 (3), Engine 7 (3), Truck 2 (3), Truck 5 (3), Engine 4 (3), and Medic 1 (2).

Apartment Fire Scenario

• A three-story garden apartment has a single front entrance and no balconies.
• It's Wednesday at 1100 hours with 78°F weather and 5 mph westerly winds.
• Occupants are self-evacuating, but conflicting reports exist on those still inside.

Problems and Solutions

• Problem 1: Fire confinement to the second floor with potential extension to the third, and the necessity to protect stairs for rescue.
  • Tactical Solution: Establish water supply, advance two lines to the second and two to the third floor.
  • ICS Solution: Assign Division 2 and Division 3, providing adequate resources.
• Problem 2: Occupants trapped on the fire floor or above.
  • Tactical Solution: Immediate rescue assignment with sufficient resources.
  • ICS Solution: Establish a Rescue Group or allocate sufficient resources to Divisions for rescues.
• Problem 3: Building filled with smoke.
  • Tactical Solution: Aggressive ventilation starting on the fire floor and then above.
  • ICS Solution: Establish a Vent Group with adequate resources or provide additional resources to Divisions for ventilation, coordinating with fire attack.

Incident Scene Decision Making

• Decision-makers utilize multiple methods to reach conclusions and institute actions.
• The classical decision-making process begins with determining the problem and gathering information.
• Experienced Incident Commanders typically use recognition-primed decision making.
• Recognition-Primed decision making relies on the decision-makers' experience.
• A prototype in decision making refers to a similar, previously encountered situation that suggests an effective action.
• Classical decision making is not quicker and should not be used whenever possible.
• Classical decision making should be used for preplanning, post-incident analysis, reviewing case studies, and in training mode, but not necessarily when experienced with the incident type.
• The Classical method should be used when there is little or no training with the incident type, unfamiliar cues, or feelings of being lost or overwhelmed.
• Actions in the Command Sequence include implementing the Action Plan, Strategy & Tactics, and Size-up.
• Size-up is "the process of gathering and analyzing incident information that affects our decision-making”.
• The three phases of size-up are pre-incident information, dispatch through on-scene size-up, and ongoing size-up.
• Time of Alarm is not pre-incident information.
• WALLACE WAS HOT is an acronym for size-up considerations during phase two of the size-up process.
• Results in the Command Sequence include Strategy & Tactics, Action Plan, and Problem Identification.
• Identifying the problem(s) is the primary goal of size-up.
• Effective Incident Commanders must predict changes, remain pessimistic, and know building construction.
• Size-up is a continuous process.
• Incident objectives can change.
• Strategy is part of the "think" process, prioritizing action without taking it.
• RECEO VS is not correct.
• Tactical operations evaluation can alter strategy.
• A knowledge base comprised of both real incidents and training is necessary for effective recognition-primed decision-making.
• The Command Sequence contains three action steps and three results.
• Initially, the Recognition Primed method of decision methodology is used.

Practical Application of ICS

• The Incident Command System (ICS) was developed due to multi-agency issues with large wildland fires.
• Incident scene problems often stem from command and control level failures rather than poor tactical actions.
• A system is a "group of interrelated parts or functions designed to achieve a common goal”.
• ICS is an all-risk system using common terminology and procedures but is not rank-oriented, using a top-down system.
• Safety Officer does not have Deputy.
• Liaison Officer has an Assistant.
• Unity of Command means that everyone has only one boss.
• The five major functions of ICS are Command, Operations, Logistics, Planning, and Finance/Admin.
• The ICS organization can be used for more than just emergency response.
• The first arriving Fire Department member should assume command regardless of rank.
• When passing command, the officer assuming command must be on scene before taking over and must contact the officer who passed command.
• Command is not always transferred to the senior officer.
• The Command Staff includes Safety, Liaison, and PIO.
• The PIO is not responsible for approving media reports.
• The Incident Commander has overall responsibility for incident management.
• Logistics is responsible for providing facilities, services, and materials for the incident.
• When an incident occurs within one jurisdiction with one agency in control, single command is used.
• Five engine companies of the same type with similar equipment, communications, and a leader are a Strike Team.
• The Liaison Officer serves as a point of contact for assisting and cooperating agencies.
• The Planning Section Chief is responsible for the collection, evaluation, dissemination, and use of information about the development of the incident and resource status
• A Division is responsible for operations in a specific geographical area.
• ICS sets the optimal span of control at 5:1.
• A Branch may be staffed to maintain span of control when there are more than five Divisions/Groups.
• Two engine companies and one truck company with common communications assembled for a temporary assignment under the supervision of an identified leader is Task Force.
• A Group is responsible for a specified functional assignment at an Incident.
• The Operations Section Chief is responsible for the management of all tactical activity at the incident.
• The General Staff is comprised of Operations, Planning, Logistics, and Finance/Administration.
• Staging is directly responsible to Operations.
• The ICS title for the supervisor of staging is not Director.
• When dividing up an incident scene you generally start at the address side and go clock-wise designating the sides A, B, C, and D.
• Groups only work for Divisions in multi-story building where functional responsibility crosses geographical boundaries.
• According to ICS the correct title for the person supervising a Branch is Director.
• Branches are used in the Operations Section and other sections.
• Incident security is not a planning responsibility.
• Every incident has an Incident Action Plan.
• The Planning Section is comprised of the Resource Unit, Documentation Unit, and Demobilization Unit.
• Planning Section assembles and distributes the Incident Action Plan, including developing communications and medical plans.
• The Logistics Section is comprised of the Medical Unit, Supply Unit, and Ground Support Unit.
• According to ICS, the person supervising a “Unit” is called a Leader.
• The Unit primarily responsible for ordering personnel and equipment is the Supply Unit.
• The Finance/Administration Section is comprised of Compensation/Claims Unit, Cost Unit, and Time Unit.
• Liability issues pertaining to the incident would be handled by the Finance/Administration Section.
• “All agencies with incident responsibilities, either jurisdictional or Functional, jointly provide management direction” is a definition of Unified Command.
• If an event is multi-agency, a Unified Area Command may be established.
• The “team effort” approach of Unified Command allows for the accomplishment of the mission without any agency abdicating its authority, responsibility, or accountability.

Safety

• Safety is an attitude.
• Risk/benefit analysis must be a continuous process.
• NFPA® 1581 is not the standard for Fire Department Safety Officer.
• At a minimum, written policies and guidelines must address a team approach to tasks, sufficient hose lines, and a Rapid Intervention Crew (RIC).
• Failure to enforce rules and regulations make them ineffective. Personnel who violate safety procedures must be disciplined even if they are injured when violating the rules.
• The mode of operation is not a resource cue that must be considered.
• Victims in the area of a flashover can perish in one minute or less.
• When considering exposure protection, any building 50 feet from the involved building is considered an exposure.
• Securing the utilities is not a ventilation cue.
• All personnel, regardless of rank, have the responsibility to make practical risk/benefit judgments.
• An effective command officer must always remain optimistic, gathering information, anticipating problems and looking for new cues.
• Frequently a structural collapse is caused by a single defect.
• Staffing the position of Incident Safety Officer is critical. The incident commander may not use any firefighter who has a good understanding of basic fire fighting policies and procedures.
• The criteria for when to staff the Safety Officer position is flexible and will vary from department to department.
• Unprotected steel will not support its own weight at 1100 degrees and lightweight wood truss assemblies can fail in less than 5 minutes under fire conditions.
• An Assistant Safety Officer Haz Mat is not required by law.
• The most common duty being performed by firefighters when injured is fireground training.
• When analyzing firefighter fatalities, it is determined that 20 – 25% of firefighters are killed when responding to and returning from alarms.
• The most tragic statistic is not the 13% of firefighters killed during training because we have the greatest ability to reduce that figure.
• The top five causes contributing to firefighter fatalities include inadequate risk assessment, lack of standard operating procedures, and lack of incident command.
• The two in/two out procedures are required by 29CFR1910.134, with exception, once firefighters begin an interior attack.
• Not all firefighters are covered by the OSHA Respiratory Protection Standard.
• The composition of a RIC may be agency specific but should consist of a minimum of two fully equipped firefighters.
• RIC should always be located in proximity to Command/Operations for rapid deployment.
• Command Officers must be ready to establish Responder Rehab as soon as the need arises.
• According to NFPA® 1584 crews must go to a formal rehab area, be re-hydrated, get a medical evaluation and rest for a minimum of 20 minutes after any of the following criteria except one.
• Responder Rehab is located in the Logistics Section.
• The Rehab Unit is frequently set up near the Morgue Unit on mass casuality incidents.
• The ability to recognize and predict changes in the incident scene plays a key role in firefighter safety.
• The most important condition of a Personnel Accountability System it that it meets jurisdictional needs.

Safety Scenario Answers

• Resource Cues include: Is sufficient water available to fight the fire and provide back-up lines? Are sufficient personnel available to handle the necessary tasks? Are adequate resources available to handle the incident potential?
• Rescue Cues include: Firefighters working above the fire, what are fire conditions below? Open stairs/ one means of egress. Possibility of becoming lost in the smoke, collapse potential.
• Ventilation cues include: Type of roof construction; pre-burn time. Firefighters working above the fire; open stairwell; secondary means of egress. Pulling or pushing the fire on interior crews.

Introduction to Building Construction

• Walking through buildings under renovation and/or construction increases your understanding of fire and heat travel.
• Pre-incident preparation is simply planning.
• Incident priorities may vary, requiring IC to recognize changes.
• Building ownership does not directly affect firefighter safety.
• Lightweight construction components can indicate structural instability.
• A pre-plan form for field use should be no more than six pages including a drawing.
• Weather conditions, mobility of occupants and compartmentalization are all valid reasons to defend in place.
• The six construction types are: Fire Resistive, Noncombustible, Ordinary, Heavy Timber, Wood Frame and Lightweight.
• Each of the basic construction types, except Fire Resistive, has collapse hazards associated with it.
• There are three basic ways to design fire protection into a structure.
• If there is any doubt regarding the proper use of the HVAC system under fire conditions, you should first try it on a floor that has been evacuated.
• There are four sides to every fire: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta. All must be considered as threats.
• All buildings should be informally pre-planned.
• A Target Hazard can be any occupancy that would severely tax your resources.
• Given equal amounts of fire and burn time, all three types of wood frame construction collapse in approximately the same time frame.
• All structural components will not withstand normal fire conditions for 4 hours in Fire Resistive construction.
• Limited ventilation opportunities are not fire suppression problem in Fire Resistive construction.
• In noncombustible construction none of the structural components are combustible and do not add to the fuel load.
• Noncombustible buildings are subject to early collapse under fire conditions.
• The load-carrying capacity is considered a strength of noncombustible construction.
• If structural steel members are restrained, expansion of several inches due to heat can cause rapid collapse.
• Ordinary construction typically has masonry exterior walls over a platform wood frame skeleton.
• The primary reason that floor joists were fire cut was to reduce the possibility of collapse.
• Often tie-rods or spreaders are the only thing preventing the collapse of a masonry wall in older Ordinary construction.
• Fire cut floor joists are not weaknesses of Ordinary construction.
• The principle dangers in modern Ordinary construction is lightweight truss roof assemblies and common attics.
• They don't burn rapidly due to oil soaked wood and fire load in Heavy Timber construction.
• Non-combustible machinery is not considered a strength of heavy timber.
• There are three basic types of Wood Frame construction.
• The use of metal wall studs has become more prevalent presenting firefighters with additional safety hazards.
• Post and Beam frame construction was used almost exclusively in single family dwellings in the early 1900s.
• Balloon Frame construction provides no fire stopping from the basement to the attic.
• NFPA® standards require that all fasteners on wood truss assemblies be metal.
• Wooden I Beams are engineered floor and roof support members and can collapse in less than 10 minutes under fire conditions.
• Open web steel joists are commonly used in commercial construction. They are more resistant to early collapse because they are fabricated to industrial standards to support heavier loads.
• Forcible entry is more difficult and time consuming in occupancies with high impact windows and/or gypsum board.
• Structural Insulated Panels (SIP) melt under normal fire conditions.
• One of the strengths of Modular Homes is that they are constructed with smaller void spaces between the modules reducing the likelihood of fire spread.
• One of the most common occupancy specific hazards in Fire Resistive construction is that they are difficult to ventilate.
• One of the most common occupancy specific hazards in noncombustible educational facilities is poke through construction.

Cues that would drive strategic decisions for Ordinary contruction warehouse

• Volume of fire, two floors involved, construction age/type, signs of structural instability and building history.
• Safety concerns and/or actions: Defensive mode of operation, establishing a collapse zone, positioning of apparatus and crews, and available water supply.

Single-Family Unattached Dwellings

• According to the United States Fire Administration’s National Fire Data Center, over 80% of all fire deaths occur in residential occupancies.
• Parallel cord wood truss or plywood I – beams are not generally found in older wood frame construction
• Due to the high percentage of firefighter fatalities in residential structures, firefighters cannot afford to treat residential fires as “bread and butter” operations.
• Wood frame with wood, vinyl or aluminum siding or brick veneer are bearing walls in single family dwellings are generally constructed using one of two basic methods
• Ridge pole and rafter roof construction is generally found in older construction and wood trusses are most often used in modern construction.
• Single family dwellings, being wood construction, ar enot prone to early collapse.
• Smoke from the basement entrance is not a cue that the fire has probably extended to the roof assembly.
• Begin primary search on floor directly above the fire floor is not the correct statment.
• Older buildings may have pre-existing structural deficiencies, increasing the likelihood of fire spread.
• The best option when fighting a basement fire in a single family dwelling is not to locate the interior stairs and advance a line down the stairs, preventing the fire spread to the first floor.
• Basements are not required to have at least one window and an exterior entrance,
• The primary function of early ventilation is to support confinement and extinguishment.
• Rescue problems in single family dwellings may be complicated by unattended children and elderly or infirm occupants.
• Ridge-pole and rafter with 1-by-6 sheathing type of roof construction is generally found in older single family dwellings.
• Firefighters can often escape the fire room by breaching a partition wall. This technique is not more difficult in balloon frame construction due to construction methods.

Engine and Truck Actions for reported fire in a two-story, single family dwelling.

• The Officer would assume command.
• The engine would establish a water supply and the crew would prepare to make entry with a charged line to locate the fire and protect the stairs.
• First arriving truck: would begin ventilation and possibly initiate rescue.
• Location and volume of fire, occupant load, staffing levels and arrival of additional resources would all impact initial decisions.

Garden Apartments

• Garden Apartments are usually constructed with concrete block exterior walls.
• Wood frame Garden Apartments are generally built using platform method of wood frame construction.
• Occupancy specific cues found in Garden Apartments are also applicable to some degree in Motels, Townhouses, and Condominiums.
• A three story Garden Apartments will usually have a total of 12 apartments per building.
• Flat roofs are not safer because they are not lightweight construction.
• Trusses with toe nailed joints is not a type of lightweight wood truss construction.
• Vertical ventilation is critical to success in attic or cockloft fires.
• Even when a Garden Apartment has fire walls, it is not unusual to have a common attic space over four or more top apartments in a section.
• Balconies present the easiest method of rescue during a serious fire.
• Older Garden Apartments are commonly constructed with steel-bar joists and poured concrete floors.
• Building managers enforce strict guidelines on what can be stored in storage rooms.
• Every unit is not considered occupied between the hours of 1500 and 0900 hours.
• Truss roofs are always a concern but tend to be more stable in Garden Apartments.
• A good rule of thumb for the IC is “if a roof is not safe enough to work on then firefighters should not be allowed to work under it.”
• The command officer has no time upon arrival at a Garden Apartment fire incident to determine roof and floor construction. This must be done during pre-planning activities.
• Heavy smoke throughout the first floor is not a sign of probable roof assembly involvement.
• The ability to predict is an important part of size-up.
• Wood frame Garden Apartments are prone to early collapse under fire conditions.
• Due to the potential risk, rescue operations should be assigned to the Divisions.
• All of the above about rescue operations
• Storage rooms are required to have 2 hour rated ceilings reducing likelihood of upward extension.
• When there is a fire NOT involving a roof assembly, positive pressure ventilation should be established immediately.
• In a Garden Apartment with a first floor fire, a recommended ICS organization would include A Rescue Group, Ventilation Group, Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3 in addition to Command Staff functions.
• Once a large ventilation hole is cut fire can be attacked using a ladder pipe is incorrect.
• Type of building construction will have an impact on firefighter safety, influence the spread of heat, fire, and smoke, and aid the IC in making predictions about the incident.

Apartment Fire Tactical Solutions

• Possible fire extension into the common attic area.
• Pull ceiling in an adjacent room in the fire apartment to check for extension.
• Establish Division 3 with sufficient resources to attack the fire and control extension.
• People may be trapped on the fire floor due to smoke in the common stairway.
• An immediate need for a rescue assignment with sufficient resources.
• Either establish a Rescue Group or assign additional resources to Division 3 with appropriate direction to do rescue work.
• Building charged with smoke.
• An immediate need for ventilation starting in the areas where victims are most threatened.
• Establish a Ventilation Group or depending on conditions, assign additional resources to Division 3 or the Rescue Group with appropriate instructions. This must be coordinated with both suppression and rescue operations.
• One entrance, type of occupancy, and common attic area.

Strip Shopping Centers

• May have second stories containing offices and/or apartments, May have anchor stores, Many have common attic and/or mansard areas statements about Strip Shopping Centers are all correct.
• The most common exterior wall construction is not wood frame.
• The most commonly used pitched roof assembly is ridgepole and rafter.
• Wood beam and rafter roof assembly has a very high resistance to structural collapse.
• Wood Beam and Rafter roof assembly, of those listed below, is the strongest.
• Plywood roof assemblies, often found in new construction, have been known to collapse after only five minutes of flame impingement.
• Generally entry through the rear of Strip Shopping Centers is difficult and time consuming, often forcing firefighters to push the fire from burned to unburned areas.
• The best time to identify floor and roof assemblies is during preplanning.
• All of the above.
• Roof mounted HVAC systems may accelerate collapse in Strip Shopping Center with unknown roof construction.
• Life hazard in a single-story Strip Shopping Center is normally high.
• The United States Fire Administration does not indicate a fire death problem at strip shopping center fires. This allows us to reassign the resources normally assigned to primary search to fire attack, providing quicker extinguishment.
• Horizontal ventilation is critical to stopping the lateral spread of fire in Strip Shopping Centers.
• Due to the difficulty of rear entry, you may have to enter the adjacent occupancy and breach the wall to expedite the rescue and/or fire attack.
• Fire control cues for Strip Shopping Centers include: Building construction, Fire location, Common attic space.

Cock Loft with hot rising smoke Answers

• The fire has probably extended into the common cockloft and is involving the roof assembly.
• Pull ceilings in the adjacent occupancies to check for fire extension into the roof assembly and vent both horizontally and vertically.
• Establish an Exposure B and an Exposure D. Assign sufficient resources to control extension and suppress fire.
• Establish a Vent Group with sufficient resources to provide rapid vertical and horizontal ventilation. Ensure the roof is stable enough for crews to operate safely; otherwise vent from a ladder.
• Volume of fire, location of smoke and common area.

Vacant Commercial Buildings

• Vacant Commercial buildings are generally of Non-combustible, Fire resistive, Heavy Timber construction.
• Platform wood frame construction tends to limit vertical fire travel.
• Mill construction does not have the potential for rapid fire spread and early collapse in Vacant Commercial buildings are true.
• Masonry walls in vacant commercial buildings may be brick, concrete block, or concrete tilt-up construction.
• The Safety Officer should monitor the structure for possible deterioration during fire operations.
• Of the roof types found on vacant commercial buildings, which is wood beam and rafter.
• Bow-string roofs have a reputation for collapse under fire Conditions, especially if the bottom chord is carrying additional weight such as storage.
• Due to the nature of the occupancy, there is virtually no chance of a backdraft is not true.
• There is no way to predict whether a roof will collapse inward or outward is incorrect when evaluating the potential of structural collapse.
• The rule of thumb is that walls will collapse outward to a distance of 1½ times their height.
• Distance from the fire isn't what make it difficult to protect exposures.
• Always suspect arson at any fire in a vacant commercial structure.
• When fighting a fire in a vacant commercial building you must perform a good size-up, base strategy and tactics on a risk/benefit analysis, and coordinate tactical operations.
• When determining the attack mode, one of the considerations should be “Is the value of the building worth the risks involved in saving it?”.
• Use smaller hand lines to provide greater mobility isn't true about offensive attacks.
• If the initial strategy is a defensive operation, you never switch back to an offensive operation.
• Your agency must develop and use a signal that, when sounded, alerts everyone to leave the building and the immediate perimeter area.
• Loss of floor girders or floor beams may trigger wall collapse, especially in older style buildings.
• State of deterioration is not cues to potential fire spread and volume.
• Since they are unoccupied, fire loading is not a problem in vacant buildings.
• The possibility of floor voids in vacant buildings requires that extra caution be exercised during interior operations
• The floor assembly(s) common in vacant buildings: Concrete, Beam & joist, Parallel chord wood truss.
• Easier to protect than unconnected exposures because interior crews can do “double duty” isn't true.
• Property ownership should you cause you to consider defensive operation
• What are the projected weather conditions should influence strategic and tactical decisions when you do your risk/ benefit analysis.

Medical problems and solutions at two-story enclosed mall fire

• A large number of victims reported indicates the need for triage, treatment (ALS and BLS), and transport sectors.
• In addition to routine burns, smoke inhalation, and orthopedic injuries consider cardiac, neurological, and emotional problems.
• The roof may compromise tactical operations.
• The ICS organization should include: Medical Group, Triage Unit, Treatment Unit, Staging Unit, and Transport Unit.