Bernalillo County Fire & Rescue Standard Operating Guidelines PDF

***Robert Rose, Deputy Chief Operations Greg Perez, Fire Chief*** Purpose: To develop a regular approach to size-up using standard information-management forms that identify the incident's major critical factors. Scope: The information-management phase, known as the *size-up*, involves the syste...

***Robert Rose, Deputy Chief Operations Greg Perez, Fire Chief*** Purpose: To develop a regular approach to size-up using standard information-management forms that identify the incident's major critical factors. Scope: The information-management phase, known as the *size-up*, involves the systematic, yet rapid and deliberate consideration of all the incident's critical incident factors. This standard size-up approach must begin at the very start of every incident operation. This insures that we will develop a rational incident strategy and corresponding action plan based on the current conditions. Definitions: **CP:** Command Post **IAP:** Incident Action Plan **Progress Report**: (Command to Crew) **C.A.N**.: Conditions Action's Needs (Crew to Command) General Guidelines: **Matching standard conditions to standard actions** Standard conditions are identified as the incident's **Critical Factors**. We must identify the incident's critical factors before taking any action. Our initial size-up produces the information that becomes the basis for the incident strategy and the corresponding incident action plan (IAP). Investing a small amount of time evaluating the critical factors is extremely important to both beginning and on-going command and operational success, as well as firefighter safety. The current, accurate and relevant information command obtains at the front end of the event will generally provide the informational foundation for effective initial and on-going action. This systematic evaluation process continually produces standard, safe, well-managed incident outcomes. **Strategic Decision-Making Model** The strategic decision-making model conforms the decision-making process into a standard sequence: First we identify the incident's significant critical factors, and then we base all actions on our evaluation of those factors. By continually evaluating those factors, we keep the plan current and the workers safe. **Information management** Information management presents complex challenges during most working incident operations. Information must be quickly received, processed, interpreted and acted upon. In some cases, certain factors can be observed from the command post, while others can only be determined from different locations inside and outside of the structure/incident area. Obtaining critical information requires command to develop, refine and practice a standard system of incident-intelligence management that is applied to actual on-line incident operations. Command uses a combination of the following four basic information forms to help manage and process information on the emergency scene: - Previous experience - Visual information - Reported Info/Reconnaissance - Pre-incident planning and familiarity **Previous experience** Previous experiences and lessons learned are major incident-management resources and offer a practical way to evaluate where the incident is now and anticipate where it is heading. If we have seen the actual conditions in the past and developed an action plan to meet and match those conditions, we can anticipate the outcome of those actions if we were to apply them again.   **Visual observation** Visual observation and inspection are one of the most important ways we gain information. This information form requires a critical, perceptive eye and is the most common way command gathers information during initial and ongoing incident evaluation. As an officer approaches the scene, they should take a route that shows 3 sides of the structure, or when possible, completely circle the incident (later arriving Command Officers). A drive-around can reveal a great deal of information, such as the layout of the incident area; access or obstruction issues; the extent and severity of the incident problem(s); potential structural failures; or rescue situations. *An important note on visual information as a size-up tool:*\ If command sees an unfavorable variable, it should prompt command to ask crews working in the hazard area for a progress report. This report should then help guide command in the decision making process for the incident (e.g. command sees heavy black smoke increasing from the building, interior reports we are ventilating from the "Charlie" side). If the progress report matches the visual information, there is no need to change the IAP. If the report does not match the visual information, command should consider a change to the IAP. **Reported Info/Reconnaissance** Information command can't gather visually from their fast-action or command-post position is typically acquired from personnel assigned to standard geographic and functional positions. Information can come from resources dealing with specific problems and locations who then transmit a C.A.N. report to command. Additional information can come from other sources, such as owners/occupants, technical representatives, other agencies, law enforcement or media video feeds. Command is responsible for understanding the overall situation, incident resources, and organizational and operational statuses. Company officers and Division Supervisors concentrate on information that supports tactical operations, integration and coordination. Companies must deal with the details required for direct task-level effectiveness. Simply, the level of required information (details) gets cut into smaller pieces as it moves toward the task level. **Pre-planning information** Pre-incident planning arms responding units with facts and details about an existing occupancy or location and is conducted in ideal situations, during the daytime under non-emergency conditions. By physically visiting these occupancies during normal business hours, we increase the awareness and knowledge of responders who might have to operate at these locations under critical conditions. Even though the task-level workers operating at an incident aren't in the position to review the actual plan during an event, they retain the familiarity gained during the preplanning process. An officer working in the command position is generally in the best position to look at, manipulate and manage the plans, and they can relay pertinent information to the decentralized operating companies. Specific procedures: **Critical Factors** Every incident factor has a related set of consequences ranging from minor to fatal. A major function of command information management is to identify the factors with the most severe consequences and then concentrate on reducing, stabilizing, eliminating or avoiding the possible outcomes of those critical factors. This requires command to develop a standard approach of sorting and prioritizing critical factors. Command needs a simple system to deal with all basic incident information. Critical factors offer such a system. The 8 Critical Factor categories: 1. Building 2. Occupancy 3. Arrangement 4. Life safety 5. Fire 6. Resource 7. Action 8. Special circumstances **Critical Factor Category -- Building** - Size---area and height - Interior arrangement/access (lobbies, stairs, halls, elevators) - Construction type---ability to resist fire effect - Age - Condition---faults/weaknesses - Value - Interior compartmentation/separation - Interior arrangement / Basement profile - Vertical---horizontal openings, shafts, channels - Outside openings/access---doors and windows/degree of security - Utility characteristics (hazards/controls) - Concealed spaces/attack characteristics - Effect the fire has had on the structure (at this point) - Time projection on continuing fire effect on building - How much of the building is left to burn? **Critical Factor Category -- Occupancy** - Specific occupancy Type---group (business, mercantile, public assembly, institutional, hazardous, industrial, storage, school) - Value characteristics associated with occupancy - Fire load (size, nature) - Status (open, closed, occupied, vacant, abandoned, under construction) - Occupancy---associated characteristics/hazards - Type of contents (based on occupancy) - Time---as it affects occupancy use - Property conservation profile/susceptibility of contents to damage/need for salvage **Critical Factor Category -- Arrangement** - Access, arrangement, and distance of external exposures - Combustibility of exposures - Access, arrangement and nature of internal exposures - Severity and urgency of exposures (fire effect) - Value of exposures - Most dangerous direction---avenue of spread - Time estimate of fire effect on exposures (internal and external) - Barriers or obstruction to operations - Capability/limitations on apparatus movement and use - Multiple buildings **Critical Factor Category -- Life Safety** - Location of occupants (in relation to the fire) - Number of occupants - Condition of occupants - Incapacities of occupants - Commitment required for search and rescue (firefighters, equipment, and command) - Fire control required for search and rescue - EMS needs - Time estimate of fire effect on victims - Exposure/control of spectators - Hazards to fire personnel - Access rescue forces have to victims - Characteristics of escape routes/avenues of escape (type, safety, fire conditions, etc.) **Critical Factor Category -- Fire** - Size - Extent (percent of structure involved) - Location - Stage (inception to flashover) - Direction of travel (most dangerous) - Avenue of travel - Time of involvement - Type and amount of material involved---structure/interior/finish/contents/everything - Product of combustion liberation (smoke, heat, flame, gas, etc.) - What is perimeter of fire? - How widespread is the fire area? - Fire access---ability to operate directly on fire **Critical Factor Category -- Resource** - Staffing and equipment on scene - Staffing and equipment responding - Staffing and equipment available in reserve - Estimate of response time for personnel and equipment - Condition of responders and equipment - Capability and willingness of personnel - Ability of responders to fit into an IMS - Number and location of hydrants - Supplemental water sources - Adequacy of water supply - Built-in private fire protection (sprinkler, standpipe, alarms, protected spaces, smoke removal, etc.) **Critical Factor Category -- Action** - Effect current action is having - Things that need to be done - Stage of operation (rescue, fire control, property conservation, customer stabilization) - Effect of the command function---is command established and working? - Is there an effective organization? - Has the IC forecasted effectively? - Is the incident in the proper Strategy with the corresponding IAP? - Tactical priority questions: Are victims okay? Is fire out? Is loss stopped? - What is the worst thing that can happen? - Are operating positions effective? - Are there enough resources? (Personnel, apparatus/equipment, logistics/support, command, water, SCBA air) - Are troops operating safely? - Is there a safety plan/organization (On-Deck, tactical supervision, etc) in place that can react in case someone gets in to trouble? - Situation status: from out of, to under control **Critical Factor Category -- Special Circumstances** - Time of day/night - Day of week - Season - Special hazards by virtue of holidays and special events - Weather (wind, rain, snow, heat, cold, humidity, visibility) - Social unrest (riots, terrorism, etc.) **Managing Critical Factors** The incident critical factors are the basic items command must consider when evaluating tactical situations. They constitute a checklist of major elements associated with size-up, decision-making, initiating operations, and review and revision. Command deals with these incident factors through a systematic management process that: - Includes a rapid overall evaluation - Sorts the critical factors in order of priority - Seeks more information about each of those factors - Focus on the major factors effecting the incident (fire) - Quickly and properly react to visual observations and CAN reports   Critical incident factors represent an array of items that remain dynamic throughout the event. Therefore, the relative importance of each factor changes over time. Command must deal continuously with these changes and base decisions on current information relating to the most important factor. The effective Incident Commander does not stick with the initial plan of action after conditions change---for better or for worse. Successful incident operations requires command to revise the IAP as needed by constantly reconsidering the incident's major critical factors based on feedback from the information forms. **Consider fixed factors & manage variable factors** ***Fixed factors*** pertain to the things that can't be changed, such as the way a building sits on a piece of property, the occupancy type or the distance of an exposure. These fixed factors present certain realities that command must plug into their IAP. If something that normally takes 3 minutes is going to take 20 minutes because of a fixed factor, command must react, plan and manage accordingly Fixed Factors include: - Building - Occupancy Type - Arrangement - Special Circumstances ***Variable factors*** are things command can change. If a building is full of smoke, command can order ventilation. If the building is heavily secured, a company can force entry. Crews manage the fire by applying a sufficient amount of water to extinguishing it. When we can't control the variable factors, we should be in safe locations, away from the factors that may harm us. Variable Factors include: - Life - Fire - Resource - Action **Critical Unknowns** During most critical incident situations, command must develop an initial action plan based only on the critical factors they can see at the beginning of operations. Most of the time, the initial information is incomplete. The ability to identify the "knowns" and the "unknowns" emerges when command uses the standard inventory of the critical factors. Command must: - Quickly size up what they know and what they don't know - Identify and address critical "unknowns" during incident operations - Some unknowns must be addressed immediately, especially in situations that involve firefighter safety and survival, before the problem can even be engaged (such as basement fires) - Some forecasted critical unknowns are so critical that they may drive the initial or current Strategy choice. **Quickly Identify & React to Safety "Priorities"** "Priorities" are pieces of information that we must address because they can end up injuring or killing us. Command must always take a cautious approach when sizing-up, assuming the worst until determining otherwise. A "priority" will not necessarily change the overall incident strategy or incident action plan, but it must be identified and addressed by command and the unit's operating in the hazard zone. This is a big part of how command ensures everyone goes home when the event is over. Some examples of "priorities" include: - Fire in the attic space - Fire in a basement - Operating above a fire (basements, floor above the fire) - Applying water with little affect - Victim(s) located - Wind-driven fires - Smoke/fire showing from cracks in walls - Inadequate water supply with crews inside **Structure & Time Information around the Tactical Priorities** Tactical priorities provide a job list for incident operations; they are the reason our customers call us. For structural firefighting, these tactical priorities include: - Search/rescue - Fire control - Property conservation - Firefighter decontamination - Customer stabilization References: *Blue Card Command SOP's, October 2018 update, Blue Card Command™*