Lehigh Acres Fire Control And Rescue District Initial Operations PDF

Policy Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District 521 Fire Services Manual Initial Operations 521.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE: This policy describes the District's expectations of its employees when performing Initial Operations, to ensure that all members are fully capable of functioning in their ca...

Policy Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District 521 Fire Services Manual Initial Operations 521.1 PURPOSE AND SCOPE: This policy describes the District's expectations of its employees when performing Initial Operations, to ensure that all members are fully capable of functioning in their capacity. 521.2 POLICY: It is the policy of the Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District to identify the expectations required of its members when performing Initial Operations, in order to provide efficient and quality services to the community and to provide for the safety of its members. 521.3 PROCEDURE: (a) Arrival: 1. The initial efforts of personnel upon arrival at an incident will often dictate the results of our endeavors. Our COMMAND policy outlines our initial goals, which include the size-up of the incident, and our initial intervention efforts: (a) The company officer of the first unit to arrive on the scene of an emergency will establish command and transmit a brief arrival report to fire control in accordance with departmental SOP. (b) If the first unit on scene reports "nothing showing," all other units responding to the same location will turn off all audible and visual warning devices, slow to the posted speed limit, and continue toward the scene in a non-emergency response mode unless returned to available status. (c) Units shall park in such a manner as not endanger their vehicles, and to not block entry or exit to the scene by other emergency vehicles. (d) If further investigation by the first in unit determines that an emergency exists beyond its capabilities, the company officer will notify Lee control to have the required additional equipment continue responding emergency. 2. The above-described procedures should not deter crews from entering smaller occupancies for an incipient fire, where immediate egress is possible to determine life hazard, fire conditions, initial intervention, etc. An exception is allowable if the officer in charge feels an immediate life threat is present due to the structure possibly being occupied. 3. Once a crew is operating inside the hot zone, the incident shall no longer be considered in the "initial stage", and at least one Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) shall be required. (Accountability section). 4. Members operating in interior hazardous areas shall operate in teams of two or more. All entry crew personnel during initial operations shall be equipped with a portable radio and all crew members shall remain in voice and visual, or physical contact with each other. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/05/22, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Initial Operations - 1 Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Fire Services Manual Initial Operations 5. (b) (c) 2 In – 2 Out: 1. It is the policy of this department that the Florida Firefighter Occupational Safety and Health Administration (FFOSHA) rule governing interior firefighting shall be adhered to without exception. For every two (2) interior firefighters there will be 2 fully protected and equipped firefighters on stand-by outside the Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) prepared to extricate or assist the two interior firefighters. In accordance with that rule, one or both of the two exterior firefighters may be engaged in an activity, which can be immediately abandoned without endangering others. Those exterior activities may include such duties as Incident Command, Incident Safety Officer, or similar support activities. 2. If either member of the interior team must exit to the exterior, both members must exit. If this cannot be accomplished without abandoning a rescue or suppression effort, the exterior team may relieve the interior team but shall assemble a second exterior team until the exchange is completed. Safety Divisions: 1. (d) Command has the responsibility to recognize situations requiring the implementation of a Safety Divisions. Upon arrival at a working incident the Incident Commander may appoint a Safety Officer. He/She will report to the Command Post and will automatically establish a Safety Division and assume responsibilities assigned by command. Safety Division: 1. 2. (f) The recognition of situations, which present inordinate hazards to fire ground personnel and the proper response to safeguard personnel from those hazards, is of critical importance to all fire department operations. Command: 1. (e) If further investigation by the first in unit determines that the units on the scene can handle the incident, the incident commander will notify fire control to have all additional apparatus cancel their response and return to available status. Safety Division shall be established at those incidents posing a high potential danger to personnel such as: (a) Fire complexity, e.g., most multiple alarm fires. (b) Hazardous materials and chemicals, etc. (c) Any other situation where a Safety Division could be advantageous to the safety of the operation. The establishment of a Safety Division or the presence of a Safety Officer on the scene in no way diminishes the responsibility of all officers for the safety of their assigned personnel and of each and every member to utilize common (safety) sense, and to work within the intent of established safety procedures at all times. Accountability: Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/05/22, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Initial Operations - 2 Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Fire Services Manual Initial Operations (g) 1. Accountability involves a personal commitment to work within the safety system at an incident. 2. Command will always maintain an accurate tracking and awareness of where resources are committed at an incident. 3. Command will always be responsible for including accountability as a major element in strategy and attack planning and must consider and react to any barriers effecting accountability. 4. Company and Division Officers will always maintain an accurate account and awareness of crews assigned to them. This will require the Company and Division Officer to be in their assigned areas and to maintain close supervision of crews assigned to them. 5. Responding off-duty personnel shall park their personal vehicles in a location where they will not restrict access to or from the scene. For on-scene accountability such personnel must be assigned to a company. Personnel responding POV shall report as delineated below, properly attired, and ready for assignment: (a) If units are staged (Level I or II), report to those units. Companies receiving such additional personnel will add the names in accordance with on-scene accountability procedures. (b) If only one unit is on scene, report to the officer in charge or in their absence the driver. (c) If all units are already on-scene and operating, report to the Incident Commander (stand by command position until assigned). 6. All crews will work for Command or Divisions, no free-lancing. Free-lancing occurs when individuals or crews perform tasks without direction and the tactical objectives are not supported. 7. Crews arriving on the scene should remain intact for all incidents and purposes, unless reassigned by command. A minimum crew size will be considered two or more members, and at least one portable radio will be required. 8. All crews will go in together, stay together, and come out together. Reduced visibility and increased risk will require very tight proximity. Crews must maintain visual, or voice contact at all times. If a radio fails while in a hazard zone, the crew will exit unless there is another working radio within the crew. 9. No crew shall enter an IDLH without first establishing an exterior support team in accordance with the "2 in – 2 out" policy. Accountability Officer: 1. Accountability shall remain the responsibility of Command and will be transferred in the same manner. This shall continue until an Accountability Division is created. The first arriving engine company will establish accountability with the engineer collecting accountability passports and tags from arriving resources, until command re-assigns to an accountability officer or until relieved by another Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/05/22, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Initial Operations - 3 Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Fire Services Manual Initial Operations engine company, assigned by command. Any person acting in any capacity assigned as the Accountability officer will not be utilized as part of the RIT Team. (h) 2. As the incident escalates to the level that an Accountability Officer is required, Command should implement an Accountability Division. 3. The Accountability Officer will operate on the assigned radio channel and shall be located at the Command Post. 4. The Accountability Officer's responsibilities include: (a) Collect accountability tags. (b) Track and account for all personnel. (c) Provide progress reports to command. (d) Initiate PAR's upon benchmarks or as needed. TACTICAL BENCHMARKS: 1. Several accountability benchmarks are included in tactical operations. The Personnel Accountability Report (or "PAR" pronounced as the golf term "par") involves a roll call of personnel assigned. For the Company Officer, a "PAR" is a confirmation that members assigned to his/her crew are accounted for. For the Division Officer, a "PAR" is an accounting of the crew members of all Companies assigned to his/her Division. Reports of PAR's should be conducted face#to#face within the Company or with the Division whenever possible. Example: (a) 2. (i) "Accountability, Engine 104 has a PAR." A personnel accountability report will be required for the following situations: (a) Any report of a missing or trapped firefighter. (b) Any change from offensive to defensive modes of the incident. (c) Any sudden hazardous event at the incident # flash over, back draft, collapse, etc. (d) By all crew(s) reporting an "all clear" (Company Officers or crews responsible for search and rescue will ensure they have a PAR for their crews at the time they report an all clear). (e) At 30 minutes elapsed time. (f) At a report of fire under control. (g) Anytime an evacuation is called for. SHIFT CHANGES: 1. Arriving crew members will be responsible for immediately updating the company Accountability system / passport as they arrive to duty # including transfers from other stations. 2. Crew members going off-duty will remove their tracking tag from the apparatus. The tag will then be placed on the back of their helmet. Company officers are Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/05/22, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Initial Operations - 4 Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Fire Services Manual Initial Operations responsible for ensuring that the tracking tags always remain current. Tracking tags must reflect only those members presently assigned to each apparatus. 3. (j) Rules of Thumb: 1. (k) (l) Tracking tags should follow basic rules of thumb: (a) Only department issued tracking tags may be used. (b) Tracking tags never enter the hazard area. (c) Tracking tags must reflect only those personnel presently assigned to each apparatus/crew. Rules of Implementation: 1. Use of the accountability system will occur at any incident that requires the use of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) or in which a firefighter is at risk of becoming lost, trapped, or injured by the environment or structure; and any other situation where tracking of personnel is critical inclusive of wild land fires. 2. The objective of the accountability system is to always have a current and accurate method of incident scene accountability. 3. For smaller incidents the tracking tags remain on the apparatus dash. The Incident Commander will assume accountability responsibilities. 4. For more complex incidents, the tracking tags will function as follows: (a) The Incident Commander is responsible for accountability. This responsibility remains with the Incident Commander until the assignment of an Accountability Officer. (b) The Accountability Officer, once assigned, will be responsible for picking up and maintaining the tracking tags and all accountability. (c) As an incident scale down the accountability function may be passed back to the Incident Commander once it reaches a manageable level. Terminating the System: 1. (m) The Battalion Chief will be responsible to forward a completed accountability roster identifying personnel on-duty and assigned response apparatus to the Fire Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, Asst Chief's, Division Chief's, Captains and Lieutenants on-duty prior to 9:00 a.m. each day. This can be accomplished via e-mail. The accountability system will be maintained throughout an incident. Upon termination and release from the incident, company officers and crew members will ensure that the tracking tags are returned to the dash of their apparatus and that the tracking tags are up#to#date. SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTABILITY RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Accountability will work only with a strong personal commitment to the safety system. This commitment involves the following responsibilities: (a) Firefighter # Responsible for staying with his/her crew at all times and ensuring that his/her tracking tag is on the apparatus at all times. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/05/22, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Initial Operations - 5 Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Fire Services Manual Initial Operations (b) Company Officer # Responsible for keeping his/her crew intact at all times, and that the tracking tags are current and accurate. The tracking tags must reflect only those personnel currently assigned to the apparatus. (c) Division Officer - Responsible for accounting for all personnel in his/her division and maintaining an awareness of their exact location. (d) Accountability Officer # Responsible for all accountability. The Accountability Officer must collect all tracking tags and must maintain close coordination with Command. Copyright Lexipol, LLC 2023/05/22, All Rights Reserved. Published with permission by Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District Initial Operations - 6