Command Post Location

I overheard a very interesting challenge at the 2003 Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis. One of the leading fire chiefs in the nation and a very prominent Fire Department of New York (FDNY) battalion chief (BC) were discussing command posts—specifically, the pros and cons of running a fire from inside a car.

The chief told this FDNY chief that he wanted him to come to his city (somewhere west of the Mississippi) for a year. He said that if he (the FDNY chief) would run fires from his car for a year, he would never want to stand outside and run a fire again. A pretty tough statement!

I recently spoke with the FDNY chief, and he said that he would be more than willing to take his family and head west for a while to take the challenge.

Before I put in my two cents’ worth, I would give the FDNY chief one word of caution: I know that the chief has run fires both ways! In the olden days, he stood outside and directed, swore, and laughed and cried (most of the emotions experienced by a chief while running a job!). He’s tried it both ways and can speak from experience. The FDNY chief (who is one hell of a tactical chief, I’ve been told) has only done it the good old way. It would be interesting, wouldn’t it?

In my town, we take the best from both worlds. We stand outside in front of the building on fire in the vast majority of fires. Most of our fires are single-family residential fires. Most chiefs have little trouble directing, talking, swearing, and laughing and crying while standing in front of the house. To my way of thinking, a picture is worth a thousand words. In fact, when I teach, I always remind command officers to “look at the picture” in front of you when running a fire. I can see things (smoke, flame, fatigue in my crews, buildings acting up) and hear things (PASS devices, creaks and moans of buildings, screams, and low-air alarms) that I might miss if I were in a vehicle someplace else. At large fires, we do, however, operate out of the tail end of our command vehicles. Radios, along with additional lighting and a surface for writing, are mounted back there. I guess it’s like being in a command vehicle except that we’re standing (as opposed to sitting) and we’re somewhat in the weather (which I believe makes me a little more empathic to the troops than if I were in some air-conditioning in the summer or in a heated command vehicle in the winter).

—John “Skip” Coleman, deputy chief of fire prevention, Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue, is the author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997) and Managing Major Fires (Fire Engineering, 2000). He is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering and a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board.

Question: Some departments advocate setting up a command post (CP) in front of the fire building/incident. Others prefer setting up the command post slightly remote from the incident, in the chief’s vehicle. Which CP location do you (or does your department) advocate, and why?

Bobby Halton, deputy chief, Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department

Response: The Command Team Concept, which we use on the fireground, has been the most successful for us. The system, modeled after cockpit or crew resource management, has some prerequisites. First, you need a crew; it can be two or three or more, but at least two. Second, all members of the command team have a role or assignment. The first-due battalion commander or first on-scene is the incident commander (IC). This individual focuses on the strategic and tactical deployment of all on-scene companies. The second-due is the support officer, who tracks the companies’ positions, pays attention to available resources, and supports the IC. This is all we need for most of our business.

Greater alarms get a senior advisor. Usually, I, as our elderly deputy chief of operations, am pulled from the nursing home to provide an overview and assist with more complicated on-scene operations. One of our four battalion commanders can also assume the senior advisor role when the need is more immediate.

The third and critical piece is command positioning—sitting in a command vehicle positioned with a view of at least two sides of the building. As I fly around the country, I have noticed that all the folks flying the airplane sit together. This is a good idea; it helps when you need to share information or provide input. Also, at longer fires, if the IC must leave the scene, the support officer can “fly” the fire until the IC returns.

When the airlines went to crew resource management, the accident rate dropped from approximately 20 per year to one to two per year. The U.S. Coast Guard injury rate dropped 74 percent. If the American fire service does nothing to improve, we will lose 1,100 and injure a million over the next 10 years. That’s atrocious, and doing nothing to change it just because that’s the way we have always done things is even more atrocious. We need to improve the decision-making ability, accountability, and potential of our leadership from top to bottom.

The Command Team is in a command vehicle in an easy-to-find location. You know where the buck stops and where to go to come off the bench. The term “down the block” came up; in Albuquerque, the command vehicle is usually right up front. Our streets are wide; we are able to get as close as we want. If you can’t get close enough with a command vehicle, the forward pumper can work. Our command units are never very far from the forward operating apparatus.

Command vehicles are supportive; command team members can communicate. They have good radios, more watts than a portable, and headsets so that even the elderly and hearing impaired can hear. They are not standing next to an engaged pump that is pumping three lines; they can hear and talk. “10-9” (repeat) is a lousy response to “Mayday.” They are not in the rain or snow and are not too hot or too cold and, therefore, pushing their companies because they are uncomfortable. Being in a command vehicle also makes it impossible to become active in a task such as moving a handline or placing a ladder, which is not command work in our system.

The command team has good field intelligence officers running the companies; they are tuned into the situation and their company’s mission. They also have been seasoned by training and experience. They communicate to the command team, who are actively listening and aware of anomalies or cues to danger or surprises. We hate surprises on the fireground.

The command team works when real leadership explains how communications, situational awareness, decision making, and teamwork all come together to overcome the barriers preventing the American fire service from decreasing firefighter injuries.

John Salka, battalion chief, Fire Department of New York

Response: The consideration is not the specific location of the CP but that it needs to be where it can be most useful for the IC to perform his duties effectively. This may be in different places for different types or sizes of structures. Whether the CP is positioned in front of the fire building or down the street, the IC needs to have a view of the fire operation. One thing I have learned is that the more you can see for yourself, the more accurate your decisions will be.

Experience is in short supply in today’s fire service. In FDNY, we have hired and promoted hundreds of firefighters and officers since 9/11, and our experience level is much lower than it has been in the past several years. Our people are as well trained and as motivated as any firefighter or officer who has gone before them, but many company officers have just a few years of experience as officers, and their fire experience often is limited.

With this in mind, why would I park myself down the street from a structure fire when I am responsible for safely handling it? With more than 24 years in FDNY and more than six years as a chief officer, I want to be where I can see for myself what is going on. I want to see the color of the smoke, how it is pushing from the building, where fire appears to be extending, what the building is made of, and many other particular details that can be helpful based on my experience. I want to be near the building so I can see, hear, and feel what is going on from a vantage point that will allow me to take immediate action to withdraw my companies or deploy them to other threatened areas or buildings.

As responding units arrive, I want to be in a position to receive them and deploy them to exactly where I think they can have the greatest impact on the fire operation. I may even have to point to a floor or a window that I want them to enter and operate from. Yes, company officers can give me reports of conditions, but these reports are based on their experience and knowledge. It is safe to say that by the time individuals reach the chief officer level they are probably among the most senior and experienced firefighters operating at an incident. Why put this tremendous experience and insight down the street and rely on reports of less experienced junior officers?

I have received from officers inside a fire building reports of fire conditions and fire extension that I knew were inaccurate simply by looking at the building in front of me. Had I not had that view of the building at that specific moment, I might have made a tactical decision based on that information. Can being in close proximity to a raging fire in an occupied building get confusing or distracting? Yes. If I sit in a chief’s car down the block and look the other way, I definitely won’t get excited, but I also won’t have the information and input I think are most effective in fighting structural fires. If you can’t stand in front of a multistory building that is heavily involved in fire, with reports of people trapped, and incoming companies reporting in while you are receiving radio reports of ongoing searches, then maybe you shouldn’t be an IC.

Ron Hiraki, assistant chief, Gig Harbor (WA) Fire & Medic One

Response: Generally, our officers and firefighters prefer to have the CP near the front of the fire building/incident. A primary goal of our ICs is to establish and maintain good communication with all units working at the incident scene. This is done through a proper incident management structure with good radio communication and face-to-face conversations. The IC has an opportunity to view the general incident scene, including emergent or changing conditions. As a communications “focal point,” the IC is responsible for ensuring that adequate resources are being deployed from staging or from the fire dispatcher.

Considering our preference, the CP must be in a safe location so it will not need to be relocated. The location must provide the IC with a “work environment” away from noisy apparatus or equipment, the public or news media, staging, and the rehabilitation area. Members should be able to get to and from it without going too far out of their way or through difficult accesses.

Do not forget to identify the CP. The IC must wear an identifying vest and remain in the same general location. If there are several large, red, fire department SUVs at the scene, it may be necessary to identify one as the CP.

Other factors, such as the following, may hinder or help your decision regarding the CP location:

• Type of incident. At some incidents, like a house fire, there may be much to see as opposed to a high-rise fire or confined-space rescue.
• Topography. Our district includes a great deal of saltwater shoreline with residences. Often, our decision to locate the CP is affected by long, narrow, steep, and winding driveways leading to the house on fire.
• Technology. Many ICs have access to computer-aided dispatch information, mapping programs, preincident surveys unit status, and accountability programs. If the IC relies heavily on these programs, the CP may need to be at the vehicle or other location where the technology can be supported.
• Fire department staffing. Our department uses volunteer firefighters who arrive on-scene individually in privately owned vehicles. Consequently, our ICs prefer to locate the CP at an access point where they will be available to volunteers arriving on-scene.
• Weather/environment. Our weather is relatively mild. However, if it is extremely hot or cold, locating the CP in a vehicle may be a necessity instead of a convenience.
• Duration. Ship fires or incidents resulting from acts of terrorism can go on for days, which would dictate the location or type of CP.

Ensuring the safety of incident responders while mitigating the emergency is the IC’s most important job. The CP (and its location) helps the IC get the job done.

Katherine T. Ridenhour, captain, Aurora (CO) Fire Department

Response: We use the National Fire Service Incident Management System Model Procedures Guide for Structural Firefighting as our reference guide for the IMS. The Guide states that the CP should be in an “exterior, safe and effective position” and “ensure a strong, direct and visible command will be established.” Besides this, there are no other specific department instructions for the CP location, so our system allows the IC to choose the location according to the incident.

After sending out a survey to the BCs, the vast majority of the chiefs in the department agreed on some basic principles related to the CP location. For smaller fires or other incidents requiring a chief, most preferred to be in sight of the incident on the A side or on the corners, where they could see two sides. Having the CP on the exterior and within view of the building has several advantages: The IC sees the progress being made and can assist with potential safety concerns, such as a sagging roof, fire extension, occupants needing rescue, or possibly firefighters in danger. Being able to observe the majority of the operations allows the IC to have a greater knowledge and sense of the crews’ movements and actions as well as how the fire or incident is progressing. A closer position also allows more face-to-face communication with officers, which reduces radio traffic and helps ensure that any questions can be answered and clarified directly.

The next option is to locate the CP at a more remote location using the command tools in the chief’s vehicle. Most chiefs cite this preference when the incident is large or complex. A remote CP location allows the IC to focus on the problems, the communications, and developing the game plan. These are the situations in which the IC needs to be taken out of the “chaos” to think; make clear decisions; and, in most cases, expand IMS/ICS use. Usually, the IC will have or need a SitStat officer; an operations section officer, if applicable; and perhaps an aide to assist with control of the incident.

Unified command is another situation that generally requires a remote location. At larger incidents, there are media, additional agencies, more administrative staff, police, and others present. Larger or complex incidents also require more discipline, and being away from the incident scene can help with overall management and organization.

One other point to consider is that if you set up near the incident and then get a wind or other situational change, you may have to relocate the CP for safety purposes. Relocating in the middle of the command process usually is not efficient; it is better to initially set up the CP in anticipation of incident changes and potential needs.

Where to set up the CP becomes more evident with experience. The more experienced chiefs in the department all mentioned the importance of setting up a remote location for any situation beyond the “routine.” The situation, level of skill, and needs of the incident should guide the IC in the decision of where to locate an “exterior, safe and effective position.”

Bob Zoldos, captain,Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department

Response: We believe that a visible CP is essential for managing complex incidents. The most important reasons for this visibility are that the members are happy when they know that the boss is looking out for them and the bosses are happy when they can see what is happening to their members. We try to position the IC’s vehicle in a location from which the fire building can be seen. This may seem to be an oversimplification, but that is our goal. We must position the vehicle so that it is visible at the scene and gives the chief a view of the fire building from the front seat. The IC stays inside the vehicle so that the command staff operates in a controlled environment (protected from scene noise, bystanders, responding vehicles, and other distractions), allowing the chief to focus on strategy, tactics, and radio communications. If the IC cannot position close to the incident because of terrain, obstructions, weather, or other reasons, the chiefs must proceed on foot to a place where they can view the area.

Communication is probably the most important element during the initial stages of the incident. As we know from almost every firefighter fatality report, the IC misses many critical “Mayday” messages sent over the radio. This can delay the activation of rapid intervention teams and endanger personnel. Therefore, our chief stays in the front seat, wears a radio headset, and monitors the scene during the early phases of the incident.

Only after the chief’s aide (plans officer) arrives and sets up the rear of the vehicle does the chief move outside to the back of the vehicle. Here, the chief continues to run the scene from a command area designed to easily track units in chart form while still allowing that officer to focus on radio communication and the fire building. Our ICs are positioned so they can visually and audibly monitor the fire scene while being accessible for face-to-face communication.

Josh Thompson, battalion chief, Avon (IN) Fire Department

Response: The location of a CP is directly related to the incident. Like every fire incident, the needs of a CP are similar in dynamics; location can and will change as the incident dictates. Our department does not have a specific policy outlining the CP location for fire incidents; it is left to the discretion of the IC (typically the BC). As a firefighter and company officer, I wanted the IC outside the incident establishing an overall view of the conditions I could not see. As a newly promoted BC and IC, I feel my responsibility is to monitor the conditions the interior units cannot see, just as it is their responsibility to relay the conditions I cannot see.

I generally follow a few guidelines when setting up a CP at a fire incident: (1) Because of staffing and the general nature of our department (low staffing and a primarily residential community), we seldom have a safety officer on the initial alarm. For this reason, the IC is the initial incident safety officer. Both positions cannot be done sitting in the comfort of a vehicle remote from the incident, and rarely in a vehicle near the incident. We know the responsibilities of directing units and commanding an incident, but the IC, with or without a dedicated safety officer, is ultimately responsible for the safety of everyone operating on the fireground. Part of this responsibility requires that the IC do an initial 360° walkaround and successive ones if no one else is there to monitor the conditions the IC cannot see. This walkaround can also assist the IC in keeping track of accountability.

Communication is crucial on every fireground—nonverbal and visual communication to the person looking at the overall picture in the immediate area of the incident only assists in filling the gaps. No matter how good the communication skills, will someone in direct view of the fire be able to communicate color/volume/velocity of smoke or rapidly deteriorating conditions? I would rather gather this information myself while viewing the operations in front of me. I would not want to get information on interior conditions from someone outside the structure in the same manner.

Another consideration for the location of a CP is the RIT/FAST. Should the team members be next to the IC to monitor radio traffic and to communicate directly with the IC for pertinent information? A remote location is not ideal for this situation. While this can be avoided by positioning the RIT/FAST in a more advantageous place, are they going to gather from the IC all of the important information needed, such as accountability or location of units on the fireground? Overall location of the CP is determined by the dynamics of the incident, availability of resources, and personal preference. But the IC is responsible for the overall safety of every member working on the fireground, no matter where he and the CP are located.

Steve Kreis, assistant chief, Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department

Response: Normally in Phoenix, the first-arriving IC (IC-1) is the company officer of an engine company. Ninety-five percent of the time, this officer assumes a fast action command mode in which he is mobile (operating with a portable radio) and typically inside the fire building with the crew. This fast action option is typically short in duration—either the fire is put out, a BC arrives and a command transfer takes place, IC-1 transfers command to another company officer on the exterior, or IC-1 comes back outside and assumes a command position. We need to remember that in this fast action mode, IC-1 is operating at a distinct command disadvantage.

Once a chief officer arrives at the scene, command is typically transferred to that officer (IC-2). The chief officer locates the CP (in his vehicle) in a standard and predictable location that affords the IC a good view of the scene and surrounding area. When possible, this location needs to be somewhat remote from the action (out of the hot zone), should not interfere with apparatus movement, and ideally should offer a view of two sides of the structure.

When the command mode is established in a staff vehicle, that officer’s window is rolled up; the door is locked; and the officer, with a headset on, is in a climate-controlled environment, intensely communicating and directing operating/arriving companies. The functions and responsibilities of command are too important to have officers standing in the street in front of a building fighting with the distractions of weather, darkness, interruptions, and not being able to effectively communicate with those inside the fire. Establishing command in a vehicle allows the officer or command team to focus on the strategic responsibilities required to run a safe and effective operation.

Locating command in a vehicle does not diminish the importance of having officers in strong tactical positions (inside the hot zone) in and around the incident. These tactical positions are assigned to sector officers, where they can take full advantage of their senses and years of experience. They do the extremely important work of supervising and directing the companies assigned to them.

We are very fortunate to have two sophisticated and highly technical command vans (CVs). Once a CV arrives at the scene of an incident, command is transferred into that vehicle. Typically after IC-2 makes the transition to the CV, a command team consisting of a support officer and senior advisor is established. There aren’t any simple incidents anymore; operating out of a well-positioned CV provides the IC and the management team with numerous advantages, including a vantage point of two sides of the incident, necessary staff support, lights to see at night, a climate-controlled environment, computers, video cameras, powerful radios, and a quiet place to make good decisions. All of the other advantages aside, if you were a firefighter who got into trouble and had one chance to call a “Mayday,” where would you want your IC, in the street trying to deal with those associated distractions and the incident or in a vehicle with little or no distraction intently communicating with you?

Response: Normally, we prefer to set up a CP close to the incident as opposed to a “remote” location. However, there are exceptions. The location is left to the discretion of the BC, who normally establishes command.

On most of our “working” incidents, the CP is nothing more than the back of the BC’s command vehicle. We usually locate the CP back from the incident so it doesn’t get in the way of operations, but within sight of most exterior activities. This seems to work best for us, since most of our “jobs” are one- or two-story dwellings or mercantile occupancies.

The Manatee County Recommended Operating Guideline (ROG) we use states, “The on-scene location of command shall be a position that allows observations of the incident, while making command highly visible to other units” and “Command shall then remain stationary.”

Although locating the CP near an incident is our norm, there have been situations when the CP was located remote and out of view from the emergency scene. These are typically nonfire incidents, though. Additionally, Manatee County has a fully equipped “Command Center Bus,” which is called in for major or extended operations. When this occurs, the location of command would be remote and inside the bus.

Here in west-central Florida, we are frequently faced with many emergencies (other than fire) that require a CP, such as vehicle extrications, tornadoes, aircraft crashes, floods, wildfires, and post-hurricane operations. Thus the location of the CP depends on what the emergency situation is, how long it will last, and the environmental conditions in which Command must operate. But for the normal structure fire jobs, our CP is out front in the street.

Larry Anderson, assistant chief, Dallas (TX) Fire-Rescue

Response: In Dallas, the CP is almost always set up at the first-in BC’s vehicle. Each BC’s vehicle is equipped with a command module with duplicate radios and a tactical work board. The most important aspect of our command structure is the command technician, who sets up the CP and coordinates IC, staging, and communication with fire dispatch as well as maintains the tactical work board. The BC is free to make decisions and implement strategic action plans without the burden of physically running a CP.

When the first-due company on any structure fire reports out with smoke or fire showing, an additional BC and truck company are assigned to the incident. The truck company is for additional personnel; the BC is assigned as the designated incident safety officer. This makes an additional command tech available to help staff the CP. The BC’s vehicle serving as the CP is designated by a green strobe. Once an extra alarm is transmitted on an incident, the locations of the CP and staging are transmitted to all incoming companies by apparatus radio and mobile dispatch computers aboard all apparatus. The second alarm picks up another two BCs as well as a deputy chief. The command tech assigned to the third-in BC becomes the staging officer, providing a minimum of four command techs staffing the CP. The deputy chief assumes the role of IC; the BCs are assigned to tactical sectors.

Over the years, these command procedures have served our department well. Having command techs assigned to all field battalion and deputy chiefs has been the most important factor in making it work. The myriad responsibilities and duties of a CP require that a sufficient number of talented individuals be available. I would hate to try to run an incident without them.

Peter Sells, district chief— officer development, Toronto (ON) Fire Services

Response: Our practice is to locate the CP in a chief officer’s vehicle (or a mobile CP vehicle) at a location slightly removed from the incident. We advocate this for the following reasons:

• We use a formalized system of entry control whenever personnel wearing SCBA are entering a building or hot zone. The point of controlled entry would normally be at the front entrance of the building/incident area. Locating the CP in the same vicinity could lead to congestion at the entry point. By separating the two functions, the chances of physical interference and cross-management are reduced. People don’t get in each other’s way and are allowed to focus on their respective assignments.
• With the command vehicle a discreet distance from the incident, the IC, literally as well as figuratively, has a bigger-picture perspective. The IC or operations officer can better concentrate on strategic issues of resource deployment and planning for the scope and duration of the entire incident if the immediate tactics and tasks are not right “in their face.”
• Any interagency liaison and public or media relations can take place safely and without interfering with tactical operations and movements near the entry point.

There may be many other considerations at specific emergency scenes (wind direction, potential threat of secondary device, physical layout of the area, for example) that may dictate that the CP be located at a greater or lesser distance from the incident, but our normal practice is a static location within a command vehicle slightly removed from the incident.

Bob Oliphant, lieutenant, Kalamazoo (MI) Department of Public Safety

Response: With the exception of a haz-mat event or an airport emergency, my department does not have specific requirements for CP placement. The IC decides its location. Most of our fires involve single-family dwellings or houses that have been converted to upper and lower apartments. The general preference is to establish the CP close to the incident, which is my choice as well. I have never felt comfortable managing an incident without being able to actually see what was occurring. A lot of valuable information can be gleaned from such things as smoke conditions, fire progression, structure configuration, tactical outcomes, and exertion levels. I would rather see these things for myself than rely on someone else to describe them for me. Another advantage to being close to an incident is that it enables face-to-face communication. This cuts down on radio traffic and keeps the channel open for critical communications.

A disadvantage to being close to the incident is that there is a temptation to get involved with the operation instead of manage it.

There are situations in which a remote CP is better, however. They would involve large structures, unusual hazards, or large numbers of personnel.

Tom Braund, Department Withheld

Response: We set up adjacent to the fire building, usually the front or the most involved side, wherever the chief decides. One reason for this is that we are a volunteer department with more than half our personnel having less than two years in service and a town with a population of just over 10,000 spread out in heavy woods with steep, winding streets on mountains (several won’t support a fire apparatus). And there are moose and bears. The chief needs to see what’s going on!

Another reason for this is that we don’t always have sufficient personnel for the ICS system to broaden to maximum effective levels on-scene. Officers and firefighters are often in command of a sector or division while performing the necessary tasks. We have about five firefighters experienced in more than a house or medium business occupancy fire; fewer are well experienced in heavy rescue, and two are experienced in haz mat. The majority have attended the IFSTA fire academy we sponsor every year. The chief is a supervisor and needs to see what’s going on.

Amazingly, when we have a fire, we come out of the woodwork and do a fantastic job on normal stuff. I hope we never see a derailment with haz mats because we’re not prepared yet. Our chief, assistant chief, and captains who command well and train others to do the right things are the strength of our little-experienced department.

First, we are pushing to train everyone as a firefighter and an engineer. Our firefighters and EMS personnel who do the tasks every day and follow very well those who command make our department strong. What we do in training we really do on the fireground, usually better than in training! We have no lack of ambulance people, even in the daytime when most work somewhere else. The chief is a commander and needs to see what’s going on.

Our community has the only railroad in the state, the only north-south highway in the state, several bridges, an airport next to a mud flat, an airstrip on a hill, a seaplane base on a lake, an LPG transfer facility next to the railroad, old age homes, schools, two lumberyards (one sprinklered and spread out), a huge sprinklered department store, lakes with fish, rivers, creeks, mountains, wilderness with hikers, heavy wildfire potential, four fire stations with one to be built this summer, and 22 pieces of fire and EMS apparatus (two more on the way)—and no one person experienced in all these phases. Oh yes, we have one traffic light. The chief is an expert and needs to see what’s going on.

Our chief needs to be on top of things and see what’s going on. So, he’s where he can do what he needs to and keep us alive while serving our community with all we have. Firefighters are just that way, everywhere! Oh yes, sometimes he’s not there; he works, too.

Marc D. Greenwood, lieutenant, Akron (OH) Fire Department

Response: Akron, Ohio, has adapted the command system taught at the National Fire Academy. The first-arriving company officer has three options:

• Set up a CP that provides the best view of the incident (rare).
• Operate a mobile CP, especially when investigating or when conditions require aggressive action such as in an interior fire attack or search and rescue.
• Pass command.

These options provide the IC flexibility. However, once a second alarm or greater is sounded, the IC must establish a stationary CP. Most often, the IC will use his unit as the CP. The vehicle has a rotating green light, which illuminates the vehicle. The IC has in the command vehicle a multitude of resources that facilitate commanding an incident.

Kai W. Rieger, firefighter/paramedic, Jackson Township (OH) Fire Department

Response: The IC certainly needs to be in front of the incident. The reasons are many. The IC needs to personally complete a size-up; an important part of this size-up is the use of the IC’s own senses. He needs to see from the exterior to confirm fire location, building construction, whether fire conditions are improving or deteriorating, and many other factors. He can get a good sense of weather conditions and how they affect the troops’ need for rehab. He can hear the sounds of an incident such as saws, breaking glass, PASS devices, water pumps, and the like. All these inputs into the IC’s mental computer would take many minutes of valuable radio airtime to transmit. The IC can add to the radio reports with his own observations. This cannot be accomplished if the IC is in a CP blocks away from the incident.

Mobile CPs have their place. They are invaluable in larger-scale incidents. They can help coordinate agencies, provide specialty research information, enhance communications, and even provide a climate-controlled conference area. All these amenities can drastically improve a larger-scale or multiagency incident. The higher-ranking officers can be liaisons in the CP, but the IC (or at the very least the operations officer) must be calling the shots from the scene.

As an example, in April 2002, an F2 tornado ripped through our jurisdiction. Our department set up an initial CP in our central fire station. This was more of a fire department resource track-and-control center, based on the input of dozens of incident commanders. Our chief of department was at the CP, in charge of all of the hundreds of incidents. He was not, however, directly controlling any one incident. This was the exception more than the rule, because of the catastrophic nature of the disaster.

Usually, our ICs set up a mobile CP in front of the building. At small incidents, this may mean the IC (usually the BC) stands in front of the building, keeping in mind that positioning on the A-B (1-2) or A-D (1-4) corners of the building many times will give two good sides to view without much movement. At medium-sized incidents, the IC may choose to use the back of his vehicle, which is set up to be a work area complete with maps, grease pens, phones, a laptop computer, a command board, and so on. The vehicle is usually parked away from the fire building but close enough to be useful.

As a county haz-mat assistant control officer, the IC is usually in front of the incident close to the warm/cold zone line. We need to be able to see, if possible, what we are working with. Transmitting radio messages in encapsulated suits is difficult and time consuming; sometimes the messages are hard to understand. The more input we can acquire ourselves, the more the entry teams can concentrate on their tasks. We use a tractor-trailer for resources, but the IC is still on the scene. Again, if we use a remote CP, we use a control officer as a liaison for the entire incident, not part of overseeing key strategies and tactics.

Robert DiPietro, captain, New Britain (CT) Fire Department

Response: We use the ICS at every fire incident. Most of the time, the system is used in its simplest form. The first-arriving fire company or the responding deputy chief (shift commander) establishes command and radios a size-up report. Responding companies know their assignments; radio traffic for assigning tasks is kept to a minimum.

When companies are operating in the “investigative mode,” the IC usually remains in his vehicle. The company investigates the incident and tells the IC if any assistance is needed. The IC makes decisions accordingly.

At “working fires” or any other incident that requires that action be taken, the IC usually positions himself in the front of the structure or in another prominent location. This position allows him to see most of the building or action area and to be visible to the firefighters, who may need to seek him out for verbal instructions. Another advantage of this position is that it allows the public to see that someone is in command of the incident, which can instill confidence in the public. Firefighters can also physically see that their commander is in charge of the fire/incident.

At other incidents such as hazardous-materials responses, the CP may have to be established in a remote location. We may use our heavy rescue vehicle box or small rehabilitation bus as a command center; it has radios, air-conditioning, and a work area.

At larger, multiagency incidents within or outside our jurisdiction, a larger command center might be needed. We have developed plans for dealing with these large-scale incidents. Mobile command centers can be driven to the scene and staffed with the IC’s personal dispatch team. This places a qualified radio operator at the scene to assist in managing communication. Emergency Operations Centers are also in place to assist in managing large-scale responses.

Lance C. Peeples, instructor, St. Louis County (MO) Fire Academy

Response: The IC should position himself in a location that affords him the opportunity to use his senses to full advantage. Generally, this would be in front of the fire building. Parking a block away and isolating yourself in a command vehicle does not afford you the chance to answer questions such as the following:

• Is that crack on side 2 getting bigger?
• Does it smell like dry cooking or wood?
• Is the smoke lazy, or heavy and pushing under pressure?
• Is the water from master streams accumulating in the building or running out the front door?
• Are saws operating on the roof?
• What was that cracking sound?
• Is the smoke changing to steam?
• Is that a low-air bell ringing?
• Is the water motor gong ringing?
• Does the master stream sound like it’s hitting the wall or penetrating the building?

These questions, and a thousand more, can only be answered by information that the chief has direct access to through his senses: sight, sound, hearing, smell, and touch. The chief must take the data arrived at from these sources and, along with the reports received from company officers and firefighters, sift that information through the filter of experience to arrive at a course of action that will ensure the best result.

There may be occasional incidents where the scope of the incident or distracting influences may necessitate that the IC distance himself from the scene and delegate operational-level decision making to subordinate officers. However, at commonly encountered structure fires, the IC’s place is at the front of the fire building.

Danny Kistner, battalion chief, Garland (TX) Fire Department

Response: Most of our ICs prefer a CP in the front; however, the sequence of apparatus arrival will sometimes dictate a less than desirable position to the flank.

In our locale, most of our structure fires are single or multifamily occupancies. Roadways are narrow so that only one vehicle at a time can pass; first-due apparatus are generally given the right-of-way and allowed to position at the front. Right or wrong, firefighters have a tendency to fight these fires by entering the front door as well.

A CP in front of the incident gives the IC immediate feedback as to what is occurring on the fireground and if any progress is being made. The IC, however, should guard against the tendency to leave the CP and venture to the front yard. He then loses his focus and may actually become a detriment to the situation.

CP locations are governed by variables such as occupancy, sequence of apparatus arrival, nature of the incident, and conditions as reported by the first-due company.

At large commercial occupancies, locations for the CP must be established in preincident planning. It is our procedure to identify such locations for high-risk occupancies such as schools, hospitals, and chemical manufacturing plants.

One consideration that must be evaluated in predetermining these locations is the type of incident being prepared for. For instance, we have one guideline for positioning a CP at an incident where there is a shooter in a school and quite another for a structure fire at the same occupancy. The CP in a shooting incident will be out of the line of fire and possibly several blocks away. Room must be left for a multitude of transport vehicles and responding apparatus. The CP may not even provide a view of the building in question, let alone enable the IC to watch the incident as it progresses.

A fire, on the other hand, may find the CP in the parking lot of the involved school. Fires in other commercial occupancies will call for the CP to be in a relatively noise-free area from which to oversee operations and that will be out of the way of working apparatus and certainly outside the collapse zone. This location may or may not be in front of the building. The best vantage point may be in a successive sector.

Obviously, at haz-mat incidents, the CP should be in a safe area and upwind from the hot zone. A less than visible CP may be desirable in these situations to help minimize the influx of people who come to offer their assistance.

Our department does not advocate one CP location over another; the IC can choose a location considered best for the scenario. Given ideal circumstances, though, most of our commanders would prefer a CP in front of the incident.

Rick Lasky, chief, Lewisville (TX) Fire Department

Response: I think that after examining the leading causes behind many firefighter fatalities, there should be no argument that one major contributing factor is the lack or misuse of an ICS. Failure to implement this system or follow it once you have established it is an accident waiting to happen, yet many fire departments today, in the year 2003, still do not use the IMS or anything close to it. Without a good solid IMS plan, most of the incidents will operate under seat-of-their-pants management and can jeopardize the safety of the firefighters.

As far as CP location goes, our department will work from within a vehicle, most often the BC’s vehicle, which is equipped with multiple radios, headsets, and other IMS “stuff.” Soon, we will work within our new command unit for fires that escalate to a third alarm or greater, haz-mat incidents, extended dive incidents, or an event that extends beyond a one- or two-alarm response.

If the vehicle is parked down the street, with no view of the fire building, an officer is positioned in front of the building. We feel that sending our troops into a burning building without having someone watching what’s going on outside is a danger in itself. With that in mind, we have yet to run an extra-alarm fire or large-scale incident without having command in a vehicle, because it offers command an environment free from noise and some of the other distractions that can occur with an escalating incident. However, when we do, I can assure you that we have an officer in the front of the building, at the rear, one in safety, and often cover our remaining sectors as well. We try not to use our company officers whenever possible. Now understand that these officers are more than capable and are trusted, but we try to keep them with their company as much as possible.

Implementation of IMS is paramount to firefighter safety. At the same time, making good, sound decisions depends not only on the information you receive over the radio or from within the building but also on the information obtained from your observations or from an officer outside of the building. I can remember, as I’m sure others can, many times being inside a burning building and being ordered out by command and thinking, “Why is he doing this? Everything appears to be fine,” only to get outside and see an entirely different picture. We often refer to those on the inside as being the eyes and ears for command. What about someone on the outside doing the same?

The safety of our firefighters is our highest priority; if it’s not, it should be. We trust our company officers and firefighters to do their job, and they do it well, but part of ensuring their safety is taking care of their backside. Doing this is only accomplished by being organized on the fireground, seeing what’s going on or having people in place to provide you with the information you need to make sure it remains organized and that in the end everyone goes home. We’ve worked way too hard to eliminate that acronym “CHAOS,” which for years has stood for “Chief Has Arrived On-Scene.”

Jim Murtagh, deputy chief (ret.),Fire Department of New York

Response: The location of the CP depends on the problem being confronted: incident size, location, and complexity and the number of people involved. As a general rule, as the problem becomes larger and more complex, CP operations become larger and more complex. If the fire were in an unattached single-family dwelling, the CP would be set up in the front of the building with easy access to a vehicle’s radio and out of the way of the operating forces. For a fire in a group of row houses or a strip mall, the CP would be in the street in front of the fire store but slightly toward the most severely exposed house or store. For large commercial buildings, factories, high-rise buildings, ship fires, tunnels, wildland fires, and so on, the CP must be in a location that makes it highly visible; easily accessible for arriving forces, other agencies, the press, and dignitaries; out the way of operating units; accessible to fire communication systems; accessible to building systems; and in a position to provide command personnel with a maximum view of the incident scene and its problems.1 In many complex operations, the general location of the CP is across the street (road), opposite the apex of the 1 and 2 (A and B) or 1 and 4 (A and D) exposures of the building.

When the problem is relatively small, the initial CP will generally be in front of the building, but as we uncover the problem and determine that it is not small or simple, the CP is relocated to a more functional location. The location of the CP is a geographic spot; the function of this geographic spot is to assist the IC, the operating fire forces, and all responding units and agencies. It, therefore, must be easily accessed, be highly visible, provide a good view of the scene, and be out of the way of the working troops. The location of the CP requires thought; it should not be left to chance. After making the initial on-scene size-up, one of the IC’s early decisions should be where the CP will be established; this information should be announced over the radio. Establishing the CP location early in the incident helps to make operations flow properly and reduces the chances that it may have to be relocated. Base your decision on the following considerations:

• Visibility. Can the incoming resources see and find the CP easily?
• Accessibility. Can the incoming resources get to the CP easily?
• Communications. Can the IC and CP personnel effectively communicate with the operating units and dispatchers?
• Scene coverage. Can the IC see where the problem is as well as where it is extending to? Can the IC see the scene’s defensive systems, fire breaks, division walls, fixed extinguishing systems, and so on?
• Out of the way. The CP can be a very busy and active area. Is it in a location that will not interfere with operations?

Endnote

1. The maximum overview can include site maps, building floor plans, fire protection systems plans, and other on-scene data that can assist the IC; thus command may at times be inside a building or a command vehicle.