Toronto Fire Standard Operating Guideline - Emergency Incident Reports PDF

STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE EMERGENCY INCIDENT REPORTS Date Issued: February 2, 2024 Rescinds: August 8, 2019 Section: Incident and Emergency Operations File Code: G-EMIR PURPOSE To provide Toronto Fire Services (TFS) Company Officers with direction on the use of Fire Records Management System (RM...

STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE EMERGENCY INCIDENT REPORTS Date Issued: February 2, 2024 Rescinds: August 8, 2019 Section: Incident and Emergency Operations File Code: G-EMIR PURPOSE To provide Toronto Fire Services (TFS) Company Officers with direction on the use of Fire Records Management System (RMS). RMS is designed to record all actions performed by TFS and to collect the statistical data required by TFS and the Ontario Fire Marshal and Emergency Management (OFMEM). TFS is legally obligated to provide Fire RMS Reports to the OFMEM and may also be required to provide reporting information to other agencies when requested through TFS Reports. RESPONSIBILITY Company Officers are responsible to complete Fire RMS Reports and/or report narratives, in a timely, accurate, professional, and thorough manner before the end of the respective shift. District Chiefs are responsible to ensure this guideline is followed by Company Officers. Reports should be completed as soon as practicable to the time of the incident while the details are still fresh in the mind of the Company Officer and all crews. District Chiefs are responsible to review completed Fire RMS Reports thoroughly and expeditiously before the end of the respective shift. Platoon Chiefs are responsible to ensure that District Chiefs adhere to this guideline. GUIDELINES 1. General Fire RMS Reports shall include, but are not limited to, the following information: (a) Incident number (automatically inserted by CAD). (b) Date of the call (automatically inserted by CAD). (c) Location of incident. (d) Information received from TFS Communications, re: fire conditions, potential rescues, etc. (e) Times. i. Extinguishing agent is applied. ii. Command established. iii. “Under control” transmitted. iv. Command terminated. v. Fire Prevention and/or Fire Investigation personnel notified, and who File Code: G-EMIR Page 1 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE attended. vi. OFMEM notified, and who attended. (f) Anything that delayed arrival such as traffic, slippery roads, wrong address, etc. (g) Building construction type and physical state of building. (h) Building use/occupancy. (i) Observations on arrival. (j) Comments made by neighbours and bystanders, including their name, address, telephone number and date of birth. (k) Names of all Incident Commanders and time assuming Command. (l) Names of Sector Officers and their assignments. Information that must be included in the Fire RMS Report Narrative: (a) Owner and occupant information. (b) Weather conditions. (c) Road conditions. (d) Any delay in response and reasons for it. (e) Conditions observed upon arrival. (f) Action(s) taken to control the incident. (g) Salvage or overhaul performed. (h) Scene observations at the end of fire service involvement. (i) Who the structure or incident was turned over to for investigation. (j) Any firefighter or civilian injuries or fatalities. (k) Any difficulties experienced. (l) Fire watch established and times of watch and apparatus assigned. (m)Estimates of loss and insurance information. (n) Police attending, including time of arrival, name/badge number(s). (o) Ambulance(s) attending including time(s) of arrival, unit numbers. (p) Other agencies/organizations attending (i.e. utilities, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Medical Officer, Red Cross, Salvation Army, volunteer fire service canteen, St. John Ambulance, Critical Incident Stress (CIS) team, etc.). Medical calls are not to include personal information. 2. Auto Narrative The Auto Narrative feature will only be used to create the framework for the incident. The Fire RMS Report Narrative shall be supplemented by additional details provided from the Officer’s notes. The Auto Narrative feature shall only be used by the Officer of Note. 3. Officer of Note The Officer of Note is typically the Company Officer aboard the first arriving apparatus at an incident unless otherwise determined by the Incident File Code: G-EMIR Page 2 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE Commander. The Officer of Note shall be responsible for completing the main report for an incident in the Fire RMS Report. This report is called the Incident Report. Each emergency dispatch requires an Incident Report to be completed even if all apparatus are cancelled while en-route. For larger incidents (Second Alarm or greater), the District Chief may be the Officer of Note. In these situations, the District Chief may complete the Incident Report. If the Incident Report is completed by a District Chief, it must be reviewed by the Platoon Chief. For these larger incidents, the Platoon Chief shall list in their Narrative, the name of the Officer of Note. In the event the District Chief is the only apparatus arriving on scene and all other responding apparatus are cleared prior to their arrival, the District Chief shall be the Officer of Note and be responsible for completion of the Incident Report. The Officer of Note shall be responsible for ensuring the completion of all Unit Reports from apparatus dispatched, except the details of the actions of other fire personnel at the scene where another Officer has that responsibility. If the first arriving Company Officer confirms a false alarm, they complete the Incident Report. This Officer shall report a confirmed false alarm and that all other vehicles were cleared. If no vehicles arrive on scene, the Company Officer of the vehicle dispatched from the fire station closest to the incident address should do the Incident Report. When in question, the District Chief shall assign a Company Officer to do the Incident Report. This should be a rare event, as guidelines require at least one vehicle to arrive on scene. 4. Unit Report A Unit Report shall be completed by all Officers (other than the Officer of Note) to indicate the actions of themselves and their crew for all incidents, unless it is a false alarm (see 4.2). This report shall include staging activities if applicable. For false fire alarm incidents ONLY, the Officer’s Narrative in the Unit Report is not required if the apparatus only staged at the scene or if the apparatus is cleared prior to arrival. This does not apply if the Incident Commander requests a report from the Officer. All Officers (Company, District Chief and Platoon Chief) shall complete a File Code: G-EMIR Page 3 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE Narrative of the Unit Report for any incidents at which they assume Command. The Narrative in the Unit Report shall also be used by all Officers to add relevant information to the record for any incidents at which they arrived and played a role. The Officer of Note shall be responsible for ensuring the completion of all Exposure Reports. The Officer of Note may assign the task of completing all aspects of the Exposure Report(s) to any Officer involved with the exposure. When the Exposure Report is created, only the incident times are copied over to the new report. The Officer must complete the Exposure Report in detail, including adding the exposure address, as well as their apparatus and name in the Resources tab. 5. Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Referrals Company Officers observing Fire Code violations (not immediately dangerous to life and health) at a property attended by TFS shall report such to the CRR Division using the Fire Prevention Notes box, under the Agency tab, and Narrative fields of the Incident Report or Unit Report. If indicating Fire Prevention Notes in the Incident or Unit Report, a separate Narrative is required. The apparatus number and platoon shall be referenced in the Narrative so that CRR personnel can easily identify the section of the Narrative that pertains to them. E.g. (FP R122 B) “Crew observed the fire alarm system in trouble and...” The CRR Division referral Narrative shall be separate from, and in addition to, the Officer’s Narrative of the incident details. Company Officers observing serious Fire Code violations (immediately dangerous to life and health) in a property attended by TFS shall notify a District Chief and shall take appropriate action (refer to Standard Operating Guideline G-FIR(R) Fire Prevention Referrals). All actions shall be reported in Fire RMS using the Fire Prevention Notes box, under the Agency tab, and Narrative fields of the Incident or Unit Reports. CRR Division District Chiefs shall check the Fire RMS daily to follow up on referrals flagged in the Fire Prevention Notes and Narrative fields. 6. The Arson Prevention Program for Children (TAPP-C) Referrals Operations personnel observing conditions that potentially require TAPP-C intervention should refer the incidents using the Fire RMS Incident or Unit Report. File Code: G-EMIR Page 4 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE Company Officers observing cases potentially requiring TAPP-C intervention shall report such to TFS Public Education using the Fire Prevention Notes box, under the Agency tab, and Narrative fields of the Incident or Unit Reports. When indicating Fire Prevention Notes in the report, a separate Narrative is required. The apparatus number and platoon shall be referenced in the Narrative so that CRR personnel can easily identify the section of the Narrative that pertains to them. E.g. (FP R122 B) “TAPP-C follow-up requested.” Specific details of the incident, particularly names of youth individuals, shall not be included in the report. For additional information regarding TAPP-C referrals, refer to FCC20-065- The Arson Prevention Program for Children – TAPP-C. 7. Tools When Completing Incident or Unit Reports The Fire RMS Incident or Unit Reports shall be completed using TFS computers only. Incident reports shall be completed by the Company Officer as soon as practicable to the time of the incident while the details are still fresh in the mind of the Company Officer and crews who attended. Officers shall use their Officer Notebook to record incident information only. When supplemental hard copy reports, such as Incident Observation Forms (IOF’s), are required, reports shall be completed using a station computer. No handwritten reports will be accepted. All diagrams shall accurately reflect the circumstances of the incident and reflect the professionalism of our organization. IOFs should be completed as soon as practicable to the time of the incident while the details are still fresh in the mind of the Company Officer and crews who attended. The District Chief will promptly collect the reports, ensuring accuracy prior to delivery to the Platoon Chief for final review and sign off. The Platoon Chief will forward IOF’s to TFS Investigations when an incident is being investigated, or to TFS Reports when an investigation is not required. All Fire scene documentation, such as IC’s worksheets, FIT’s Running Log, Scribe notes, Diagrams etc., shall be collected at the conclusion of the incident by the DC or designate and forwarded to TFS reports. File Code: G-EMIR Page 5 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE Much of the information required on the Fire RMS Incident or Unit Report is provided by the TFS Communications Centre on the fire station printer or directly into the report via the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD)/Fire RMS integration after the apparatus clears the incident. Unless otherwise instructed, information that does not automatically populate should be copied to the report exactly as it appears from the dispatch information provided. by the Communications Centre. The only exception is when the incident was found to be at an address other than one dispatched to by the Communications Centre. In those situations, if the correct address is not sent through from CAD the Officer shall correct the address. The apartment/unit number shall be added if applicable. If CAD or the interface from CAD to Fire RMS is down, then the Officer should wait until this is restored before completing the report, unless advised otherwise by the District Chief or the System Administrator. Company Officers are to use the “Validate” and “spell check” function on the authorization page to eliminate errors when completing reports. Any grammar or spelling errors will result in the report/narrative not being marked as “Complete” by the reviewer and returned to the Company Officer for correction. NOTE: Company Officers are responsible for ALL incidents to which they are dispatched, whether they populate automatically in FIRE RMS or not. Incidents attended before Quatro completion MUST be proactively searched by the Company Officer for Completion. 8. Review of Reports District Chiefs will review all of the following: (a) Company Officer's Fire RMS Incident or Unit Reports submitted for the incidents to which they are dispatched. (b) Submitted Fire RMS Incident or Unit Reports for every incident not attended by a District Chief (e.g. medical responses) but responded to by the apparatus in their assigned District. (c) The District Chief who will be the Reviewer of the report is determined by the following sequence of events: i. District Chief that arrives on scene and assumes Command. ii. The District Chief that arrives first but a Company Officer maintains Command. iii. The District Chief did not respond or arrive at the scene but is the District Chief of the Officer of Note. File Code: G-EMIR Page 6 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE District Chiefs reviewing the Fire RMS Reports will examine the accuracy of all information and the amount of detail included in the Company Officer’s Narrative as if it was to be entered into evidence and become a matter of public record. The main objectives of the review process are the following: (a) Ensure the reports being submitted are accurate. (b) Ensure sufficient detail to reflect what took place. (c) Raise the standard of report writing. The District Chief shall follow up with respective Company Officers to ensure satisfactory reporting is maintained. Once the narrative is marked as “Complete”, that narrative contents will be the responsibility of the reviewer and author. If a report has not been marked as “Complete”, the District Chief shall follow up with any Officers that have not done their mandatory Narrative. District Chiefs must show diligence in reviewing completed reports before the end of their respective shift. The Platoon Chief shall be responsible for the following: (a) Ensuring all Chief Officers complete narratives for an event of significance. (b) Ensuring all District Chiefs review the incident reports. (c) Accountability/follow up with all Officers not in compliance with the above guidelines. (d) The quality of reports as it reflects on the professionalism of TFS. 9. Password Protection Passwords are the user’s electronic signature. Passwords that allow personnel to access computers shall be always kept confidential. No person shall file reports under the identity of another person at any time. 10. Noteworthy Incidents At the conclusion of any noteworthy incident, the Incident Commander shall e-mail the Platoon Chief the details of the incident. This should include the date, time, incident number and a brief description. The Platoon Chief shall notify the Division Commander with the details of the incident (usually via e-mail). File Code: G-EMIR Page 7 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE 11. Support If something in the Fire RMS reporting system fails to function as expected, problems shall be communicated by the Officer to the following: [email protected] Contact with the Fire Systems Helpdesk shall be reported in the Fire Station Logbook by the Officer. In the event of a broad-based system failure outside of business hours, a Platoon Chief shall contact the Communications Centre to request an after- hours call to a Fire Systems Helpdesk staff member. The Communications Centre Officer shall notify the Fire Systems Helpdesk staff as required. 12. Release of Reports Emergency Incident Reports required by TFS personnel for court proceedings may be printed by a Company Officer or District Chief rank or higher, via the Online Reporting System (Reporting Kiosk) available on the TFS intranet site. The release of Emergency Incident Reports to the public shall abide by the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Requests received from members of the public (e.g., insurance companies, etc.) should be directed to Toronto Fire Services Data Analytics and Decision Support section where a formal Routine Disclosure access to information request should be made. The Data Analytics and Decision Support section should be contacted at the following: Phone: (416)338-9338 Or Email: [email protected] Requests for Emergency Incident Reports received from government agencies, Police, or the OFMEM that aid in investigations, should be referred to the Data Analytics and Decision Support section at the following: Phone: (416)338-9338 Or Email: [email protected] Once the application for the information has been made and authorized, the report is released through the Data Analytics and Decision Support section at TFS Headquarters or may be released through Platoon Chiefs or Division Commanders only. File Code: G-EMIR Page 8 of 9  STANDARD OPERATING GUIDELINE ATTACHMENT(S) N/A RELATED SOGS G-AIRB — Air Monitoring G-COMD — Communicable Disease Exposure G-DAMA — Damage Caused by TFS G-ELEV — Elevator (Disabled) Responses G-FFOF — Incident Observations Form (IOF) G-EVAC — Emergency Voice Alarm Communication (EVAC) Systems G-FIR(R) — Fire Prevention Referrals G-FIWA — Firewatch G-FORC — Forcible Entry G-LANG — Language Line G-NOFM — Notification of TFS Fire Investigators and the office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) for Investigations G-VALU — Valuables Left at the Scene File Code: G-EMIR Page 9 of 9