Palm Beach County Fire Rescue SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability PDF

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 220-01 Personal Accountability Issue Date: 05/21/2018...

Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Standard Operating Guideline SOG 220-01 Personal Accountability Issue Date: 05/21/2018 Effective Date: 06/21/2018 PURPOSE: To provide a consistent countywide standard to track and account for the assignment of companies, units, and personnel at all times during emergency incidents. AUTHORITY:  Fire Rescue Administrator  Fire Chiefs Association of the Palm Beaches  NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program  NFPA 1561, Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management System  National Incident Management System, FEMA  Florida Field Operations Guide, October 2012 SCOPE: This Standard Operating Guideline (SOG) shall apply to all Emergency Operations personnel and Reserves. PROCEDURE: 1. Non-Emergency a. Personnel Accountability System i. Chief and Company Officers are responsible for the enforcement of this SOG. ii. At the beginning of each shift Fire Rescue personnel shall: 1. Attach one name tag to the Primary Passport and one name tag to the Backup Passport of the unit to which they are assigned. 2. Attach the appropriate helmet tag on their helmet shield. iii. Company Officers shall ensure: 1. Accountability components are checked periodically 2. Accountability components are available and useable at all times 3. Compliance with this SOG is enforced 4. All personnel are rostered on the unit iv. If at any time during the shift an employee changes a unit or location, it is the Company Officer’s responsibility to assure that the following is updated: 1. Primary Passport 2. Backup Passport 3. Helmet Tag 4. Roster SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 1 of 7  b. Passport Hardware Specifications i. Primary Passports 1. Primary Passports shall be 2” x 4”, flexible with Velcro 2. The primary Passport shall be maintained under the brim of the Company Officer’s helmet. ii. Backup Passports 1. Backup Passports shall be 2” x 4”, rigid with Velcro 2. The backup Passport shall be inside the cab of the vehicle, on the officer’s side. iii. Unit ID tags 1. Unit ID tags shall be ½’ x 2”, with Velcro. 2. Each Unit ID tag shall have the unit ID engraved. 3. Unit ID tag colors are: a. Chief Officers White b. Engine Red c. Rescue Blue d. Brush Truck Green e. Specialty Units: i. Special Operations ii. Aerials iii. Tenders iv. Light and Air Black iv. Name tags 1. Name tags shall be 3/8” x 2”, color-coded by rank, with hook Velcro on the back. At a minimum, each name tag shall have the firefighter’s last name engraved. 2. Name Tag colors are: a. Battalion Chief and above White b. EMS Captain Red c. Operational Captains Red d. Lieutenant Red with Lt in front of Name e. Paramedics Blue f. Driver Operator Black g. Firefighters Yellow 3. Four (4) name tags shall be kept on the underside of each firefighter’s helmet when not in use. SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 2 of 7  c. Helmet Hardware Specifications i. Helmet Shields are the secured to the helmet. Helmet Shields Position Background Color Display Helmet Tag Fire Rescue Administrator White CH 1 Permanent Deputy Chief White CH # Permanent Division Chief White OPS # Permanent District Chief White DC # Permanent Battalion Chief White Removable EMS Captain White Removable Operational Captain White Removable Lieutenant White Removable Driver Operator Black Removable Firefighter Black Removable Probationary Orange Probationary Removable Recruit Orange Recruit Removable # meaning a number (i.e., CH 2, CH 3, OPS 1, OPS 2, etc…) ii. Helmet Tags are secured to the helmet shield. Helmet Tags Helmet Tag Background Color Wording Color Battalion Chief White Black EMS Captain White Blue Engine Black White Rescue Blue White Special Operations Yellow White Aerials Red White Tanker Brown White ARFF Specific to Unit SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 3 of 7  2. On an Emergency Scene a. General i. Accountability involves a personal commitment to work within the safety system at an incident. Therefore, it shall be the responsibility of all personnel to actively participate in the Personnel Accountability System. ii. It is the responsibility of all personnel to initiate necessary activities to check into the accountability system before responding on any unit or working at any incident. iii. It is the responsibility of the Company Officer to update the Passport anytime personnel change apparatus or location during a shift. iv. All Fire Rescue personnel shall work for the Incident Commander or within the confines of the Incident Command System (i.e., Group Supervisor, Unit Leader, etc…). No freelancing shall be allowed. v. Only the person holding the Passport of a unit or individual can provide strategic or tactical orders to them. vi. Personnel accountability shall be tracked at all incidents where personnel are operating at an incident with an Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) environment. vii. Companies arriving on the same unit should stay together to maintain company integrity. viii. Personnel are responsible for conducting a face to face verification before returning the Passport ix. Fire Rescue personnel arriving as a single unit resource (i.e., Chief Officer, EMS Captain, PIO, Fire Investigator, Staff Captain, etc…), must report to the Incident Commander and provide their Passport. x. When Fire Rescue personnel are working away from their Company (i.e., Driver Operator at the pump panel) their Name Tag shall be placed upside down on their Passport. xi. Whenever an incident escalates to the point that a Division or Group is made: 1. The Unit ID tag normally kept at the bottom of the Passport shall be removed and kept by the Incident Commander. 2. The Unit ID tag shall be used to track the individual companies as they are assigned and re-assigned to the various Divisions or Groups. 3. The Passport goes with the Company to the new assignment to be given to Division or Group Supervisor. b. Incident Commanders i. When Incident Command has been established, the Incident Commander shall: 1. Account for all Fire Rescue personnel regardless of atmospheric conditions 2. Utilize the Passport Accountability System 3. Collect, or identify a person to collect, Passports ii. The Incident Commander shall make every effort to keep Companies intact however, if companies are split, the IC shall ensure continued accountability. SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 4 of 7  iii. Based on the needs of the incident, the Incident Commander should assign an Accountability Officer to track accountability. iv. The Incident Commander should utilize a Incident Command board to: 1. Manage span of control 2. Assist with accountability 3. Maintain resources 4. Track tactical priorities v. Special Operation Units (Engine, Rescue and the Special Operations Unit), when requested as a Special Operations Team, should remain intact and kept as a Task Force. The Special Operations Rescues should not be lumped into the total Rescue units on scene, to keep accountability intact. vi. Aerial Station Units (Aerial and Rescue), when requested as a Dive Team or Task Force, should remain intact and kept as a Task Force, to keep accountability intact. c. Company Officers i. A minimum company size shall be considered two (2) personnel. ii. It is the responsibility of all Fire Rescue personnel to only receive orders from the person holding their Passport (or give orders to only those persons whose Passport they hold). 1. Safety related orders from the Incident Safety Officer or Assistant Safety Officer are an exception to this. iii. At all times Company Officers shall know the following of all personnel they directly supervise: 1. The identity 2. Location 3. Tactical assignment 4. Time of assignment iv. Anytime a Company enters or exits an IDLH environment they shall notify the Communication Center, Incident Commander, or person holding their passport, that they are entering or exiting the IDLH. 1. The communication may be on a TAC channel or face to face. 2. Examples: a. The Incident Commander communicates via radio to the Communication Center b. During a complex event the Company Officer communicates via Face to Face to the Charlie Division Supervisor v. Companies entering and exiting an IDLH environment shall communicate: 1. Unit ID 2. Location entering or exiting 3. PAR of Number of personnel 4. Assignment (if relevant) 5. Direction of travel (if relevant) a. Example: “Rescue 41 entering side Alpha, PAR of 3, primary search, right-hand” d. Firefighters SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 5 of 7  i. Fire Rescue personnel operating in an IDLH environment should have a portable radio. ii. It is the responsibility of all Fire Rescue personnel to stay with their Company by voice, vision, touch, or other single line method when in an IDLH environment. 1. Radio communication may not be substituted for voice contact. e. Staging Area Manager i. Refer to SOG 200-05 Staging. f. Incident Safety Officers i. Refer to SOG 200-03 Safety Officers. g. Accountability Officer i. An Accountability Officer manages accountability of personnel at the incident. ii. During an incident, the Fire Rescue person in charge of a units’ accountability shall (this may be the Accountability Officer, or any person that receives a units’ passport): 1. Receive Passports from Companies 2. Record the following when entering or exiting in an IDLH environment: a. Unit ID b. Location entering or exiting c. Number of personnel d. Assignment (if relevant) e. Direction of travel (if relevant) f. Time entering 3. Maintain awareness of activities being supervised 4. When necessary use Passports to conduct emergency accountability duties iii. On Special Operations or TRT incidents, the person assigned to track accountability is designated as the Site Access Control Leader and shall control access through a controlled entry point. h. Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) i. A PAR is an accountability check of all Fire Rescue personnel on an incident. ii. When performing a PAR, the Incident Command should request “Emergency Traffic” in accordance with SOG 210-01 Communications. iii. When providing a PAR, relay the following: 1. Unit 2. Number of personnel 3. Location a. Example “R16, PAR of 3, side Bravo” iv. A PAR should be performed for; 1. any “Mayday”; or 2. As determined by the Incident Commander or Incident Safety Officer. v. The Incident Commander shall notify the Communication Center when the PAR is complete. SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 6 of 7  vi. The Communication Center shall log the PAR initiation and completion in the incident history as a benchmark. i. Released from an Emergency Scene: i. As units or personnel are released from an incident, Company Officers shall ensure their Passport is retrieved and returned to the proper location. Supersession History 1. SOG #1515, issued 03/15/1995 2. SOG #1515, issued 08/01/2009 3. SOG #1515, issued 08/01/2017 4. SOG 220-01, clerical 05/01/2018 5. SOG 220-01, issued 05/21/2018 SOG 220-01 Personnel Accountability Page 7 of 7