Toronto Fire Department Apparatus Changeover Procedure PDF

STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE CHANGEOVERS OF APPARATUS TO AND FROM RESERVE UNITS Date Issued: October 14, 2022 Rescinds: March 29, 2019 Section: Apparatus File Code: A-CHNG PURPOSE To provide Toronto Fire Service Personnel (TFS) with a guideline for Changeovers of Apparatus to and from Reserve Units...

STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE CHANGEOVERS OF APPARATUS TO AND FROM RESERVE UNITS Date Issued: October 14, 2022 Rescinds: March 29, 2019 Section: Apparatus File Code: A-CHNG PURPOSE To provide Toronto Fire Service Personnel (TFS) with a guideline for Changeovers of Apparatus to and from Reserve Units. RESPONSIBILITY Firefighters responsible for driving shall take a complete inventory of all equipment and record each item transferred during the changeover and shall conduct a complete inspection of the apparatus. Company Officers are responsible for ensuring changeovers are conducted in accordance with this guideline and reserve apparatus located in their fire station are reported to the Communications Centre. Company Officers are responsible for ensuring all equipment removed from their apparatus that could not be carried on the reserve unit while stored in the respective fire station is inventoried and accounted for every shift. Communications Centre Officers shall be responsible for posting the location of spare apparatus. GUIDELINES 1. Changeovers The Driver of any apparatus, in consultation with his/her Company Officer shall make the determination regarding the road worthiness of an apparatus. The Company Officer shall consult with the Mechanical Division regarding the prospect of immediate repair to any apparatus. Apparatus shall be subject to changeover in the event of failure of major fire operations components (e.g. pump, etc.) or mechanical devices (e.g. emergency lights, etc.) that compromise the safety of the operation of the apparatus. Aerials with mechanical failure of the aerial devices shall be exempt from #3 when the District Chief, Platoon Chief and Communications are advised of the status of the Aerial apparatus and its operation is for the exclusive use of the equipment. This condition should be a last resort or temporary measure only. File Code: A-CHNG Page 1 of 4  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE In the event an apparatus is removed from service due to safety or mechanical concerns, the Company Officer shall notify the District Chief immediately. The changeover location shall be determined by the District Chief in consultation with the Company Officer and the Mechanical Division. Before commencing a changeover the vehicle to be loaded shall be inspected and operationally tested to ensure the condition of the apparatus meets the requirements of emergency operations. All Firefighters shall participate in the changeover procedure. The apparatus or vehicle being changed over shall be completely emptied of equipment and fire hose. No equipment shall be left aboard an apparatus being changed. Equipment that cannot be carried aboard the changeover apparatus (due to capacity, etc.) shall be completely inventoried and securely stored in the respective fire station. The equipment inventory that cannot be carried aboard the changeover apparatus (due to capacity, etc.) will be checked daily and signed off by the Company Officer of that apparatus. Any equipment missing will be brought to the attention of the district Chief and an investigation will commence immediately. The Driver of the apparatus shall keep a written inventory of all items transferred and their placement aboard the Reserve Apparatus. All equipment transferred shall be under the direct supervision of the Driver of the apparatus and Company Officer. At the fire station, the written inventory shall be stored in the respective Company Officer’s area in order to make it available and conspicuous to other Platoons assigned to the apparatus. All spare apparatus are outfitted with aluminum brackets to hold front line truck number plates. The purpose of these plates is to enhance the identification of spare apparatus at an emergency scene, clearly identifying the crew using the spare. All front line TFS trucks will be issued identification plates with their apparatus number, two (2) for use with a spare truck. The plates are to be kept in the Captain`s office until required. Each spare apparatus has two (2) brackets installed, one at the front and one at the rear as shown below. During changeovers, Identification plates are to be installed on the spare apparatus by simply sliding the plate into the brackets. Plates are to be removed as part of the process to change equipment back to your regular truck. File Code: A-CHNG Page 2 of 4  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE 2. Notification The District Chief shall consult the Platoon Chief to explore operational considerations such as movement of personnel or apparatus during the changeover procedure. The Company Officer shall notify and continue to update the Communications Division regarding the status of the changeover procedure. The Company Officer shall initiate a radio identification change(s) with the Communications Centre to correctly identify the vehicle. For situations where the functionality of the vehicle changes, the vehicle radio identifier will be changed as follows: (a) Specialty aerial devices (e.g. Tower, Platform, etc.) replaced with a spare Aerial. Example: Tower 333 would change their mobile and portable radio identifiers to A333. (b) An Aerial replaced by a Pumper E.g.: A215 would change their mobile and portable radio identifiers to P215C, using the Charlie designation to indicate the change in vehicle type. In both situations the Incident Commander is made aware of the change in vehicle type and functionality. For situations where the capability of the vehicle changes, the Officer must review the Attributes and Equipment and report any changes to the District Chief, who will in turn update the Communications Captain: (a) A Rescue using a Pumper, but lacking their Rescue/Auto Extrication equipment would remove the Rescue attribute. The Rescue will be selected for dispatch as a Pumper Class vehicle, with another Rescue being dispatched to fulfill the Rescue/Auto Extrication requirement. 3. Apparatus Removed from Service Apparatus removed from service shall be stored inside whenever possible. In the event an apparatus must be stored outside the apparatus shall be prepared so as to ensure the apparatus will not be damaged by the exposure to elements. This includes, but is not limited to the following: (a) Draining all water from the water tank and pump. (b) Opening all valves and drains and leave open. (c) Removing all inlet and outlet caps. File Code: A-CHNG Page 3 of 4  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE (d) Leaving all control valves open (e) Closing doors, windows and cabinets. Once removed from service, the apparatus shall be tagged with the Fire Apparatus Removal from Service Tag. The Fire Apparatus Removal from Service Tag is to be filled out by the Officer in charge of the vehicle being removed from service and left in the Driver’s window with the "OUT OF SERVICE" side facing out; regardless if the vehicle has been left in a fire station, at the Mechanical Division, or another location. It is understood that apparatus may be required to be removed from service at any time of day if there is a safety concern. The Fire Apparatus Removal from Service Tag does not circumvent any of the regular reporting structure practices. The purpose for the Fire Apparatus Removal from Service Tag is to accurately do the following: (a) Confirm the reasons a vehicle was removed from service. (b) Ensure all water is drained from the system to prevent freezing damage. (c) Eliminate the chance of an unsafe vehicle being used for service when another crew (that may then be off shift) has removed it for safety reasons. 4. Apparatus Returned to Service When an apparatus is returned to service and changed over the reserve apparatus shall be returned to its designated fire station or to the Mechanical Division. Reserve apparatus removed from service as a result of a changeover should be left in a state of cleanliness. Any deficiencies shall be reported to the Mechanical Division. 5. Safety All personnel participating shall be wearing approved safety footwear during the changeover procedure. All personnel shall abide by rules of safety during the changeover procedure. ATTACHMENT(S) N/A RELATED SOGS A-MAIN – Maintenance and Repair to Apparatus and Vehicles A-BREA – Breakdown of Apparatus File Code: A-CHNG Page 4 of 4