Fireground Operations Procedures

Establishing Fireground Operations

• The document outlines procedures for the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department to establish fireground operations.
• The first arriving unit should contact dispatch and provide information, including their location, preliminary assessment, and establishing incident command.
• If fire or smoke is visible, the first-arriving unit should declare "fast attack" mode and request a tactical channel.
• The first-arriving unit should locate a Primary (Level 1) staging area for responding units.
• The department's personnel accountability system should be established, ideally at the incident command post.
• A 360 assessment of the incident should be conducted to provide information to the Incident Commander.
• The incident commander will declare a command mode, choosing from "Investigative," "Fast Attack," or "Command."
• The initial operational mode should be chosen based on the fire's extent, potential life hazards, building construction, occupancy, and available resources.
• The operational modes are: "Offensive," "SOG," or "Defensive."
• An Incident Action Plan should be developed, prioritizing and assigning tasks to incoming units, including safety officer, search and rescue, initial fire attack, water supply, and more.
• Utilize groups and/or divisions for maintaining proper span of control.
• Additional resources should be requested or cancelled as needed, considering the potential for increased response time.

Resource Deployment

• Apparatus should be positioned according to the Incident Commander's directions and the incident’s specific conditions.
• Primary (Level 1) staging should have one or two pieces of apparatus proceed to the scene, while others stage one block away.
• Secondary (Level 2) staging is for second or greater alarm and mutual-aid companies.
• The Incident Commander should consider a stage-away option if there's a potential for a violent encounter.
• Personnel should wear appropriate structural firefighting PPE and be prepared to carry out their assigned tasks.
• No personnel, regardless of rank, should enter an IDLH atmosphere without full PPE and SCBA .

Operations

• Incident operations will be dictated by the incident and its conditions.

Universal Practices

• The Incident Commander should incorporate risk management and risk assessment principles into all levels of the incident management system.
• Crew Resource Management principles, including communications, teamwork, leadership, task allocation, and critical decision-making, should be implemented during all emergency incidents.
• Division/Group supervisors should coordinate all fireground activity, communicating all intended actions and waiting for confirmation before initiation.