BY RICHARD B. GASAWAY and PAUL LANDREVILLE
The alarm sounds, waking you out of a deep sleep. From the information given by the dispatcher, it sounds as if it’s going to be a working fire. Multiple calls were received; the information being passed along indicates the next few minutes are going to be very exciting and very busy. Dispatchers and other responding companies will want good size-up information. Arriving chief officers will expect that the first-arriving companies have a well-executed action plan. The customer wants results.
 Table 1. Riding Assignments: Outside Fires |
With so many people relying on you and your crew to take appropriate and quick action, this is not the time to decide who is on the nozzle and who should have been dropped off back at the hydrant. It is very difficult to implement an action plan when you have eight or nine firefighters asking, “What should I do?” Critical time will be lost assigning the most basic jobs to your crews.
With proper training, all firefighters should know the critical benchmarks to be accomplished at a working fire. This doesn’t resolve the problem of who is supposed to perform each task. This will result in some crew members’ doing nothing until told, and, even worse, some crew members dismounting the engine and starting to work independently of the action plan (freelancing). “What should I do?” is a great question. If you’re waiting until you arrive at the scene to answer it, it’s too late.
 Table 2. Alarms Sounding, No Other Calls |
Roseville, our paid-on-call department, is in a first-ring suburb to both Minneapolis and St. Paul, serving a resident population of 35,000. With more than 5,500 businesses and three shopping malls, Roseville’s daytime population swells to more than 100,000. Until April 2000, the department staffed two fire stations with two firefighters from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. daily. Each two-member crew responded with an engine company supplemented with callback firefighters who responded from home. Because of the limited capability of two-person crews, the need to have preresponse duties assigned never occurred to us. It was always pretty simple: The operator drives and pumps while the second firefighter conducts a size-up and waits for more help to arrive.
NEW STAFFING PLAN
All that changed in April 2000. In an effort to provide faster response times with an adequately staffed engine company, our department introduced a “trial” program to staff during the weekday, something we had never done before. The daytime staffing would also have two new variables: The crew size would be larger, and all the firefighters would be on-duty in a single station. Since we didn’t have the resources to staff Monday to Friday, it was decided that we would staff the busiest daytime station (Station 2) on the busiest day of the week (Thursday).
This new weekday shift program was staffed predominantly with firefighters who worked night jobs and normally sleep at home during the daytime. Given the traffic congestion in our city during the daytime, having the firefighters on-duty in a fire station (even if they had to sleep) would improve our response times to emergencies. During the trial period, the crew size was not limited. Anyone who wanted to work on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. could sign up on the schedule. Crew sizes ranged from eight to 12 firefighters. The larger crew size allowed for the immediate response of one engine and one ladder response with four to six firefighters per company. The experiment proved beneficial to the customer when the crews were deployed quickly on several working structural fires. One problem was solved-another problem was created.
FIXED DUTIES NEEDED
Shortly after implementing the weekday staffing program, firefighters were asking the shift supervisor, “What do you want me to do?” as they arrived for work. After a few shifts and a few fire calls with 10-plus immediate responders, it quickly became apparent that the firefighters needed to be assigned to the engine or the ladder, they needed a riding position, and they needed to have fixed duties. The shift commander and the crew members shared this view.
 Table 3. Three Stories of Fewer: Working Fires, Smoke |
To help us get started on this new project and not waste valuable time, we decided not to “reinvent the wheel” and to identify a resource to help us solve this problem. We contacted our neighbor, the Minneapolis Fire Department, for some answers. It has been assigning personnel and equipment to specific jobs for years and had a wealth of information to share with us. Assistant Chief of Training Mark Munson sent us all the basic information needed to set up assignments and get us started.
The process of adapting the Minneapolis plan to our paid-on-call fire department proved to be a challenge. Like Minneapolis, we were able to identify all the critical tasks that need to be performed on the fireground, but our crews’ levels of skills and experience varied from week to week.
 Table 4. High-Rise: Working Fires, Smoke |
We had to modify our standard operating guidelines (SOGs) to meet the needs of this new program. These modifications would allow the new day shift to operate without violating our traditional guidelines. We initiated some steps so that we could customize assignments.
NUMBERED SEATS
We assigned a number to every seat on the engine and truck. The engineer is seat 1 and the officer is seat 2 in both the engine and the truck. The seat directly behind the engineer is seat 3; the seat directly behind the officer is seat 4. The extra riding position, located between seats 3 and 4, is seat 5. The riding assignment for this extra seat is the last to be filled on the engine. On the ladder truck, seats 5 and 6 are designated as extras and are the last to be filled. Seats 3 and 5 are near each other, as are seats 4 and 6.
This numbering system eliminated the need for physically describing where members should sit. “You’re sitting right next to them” is a poor riding assignment and valid only if no one changes his or her seat. By assigning each seat a number, seat 4 is always in the same location and has the same job and tool assignments. Now, at the beginning of the shift, a crew member is assigned to “Engine 21, seat 4” or “Ladder 28, seat 3.” This is all the information needed to begin a thorough check of the equipment assigned to that riding position.
DISPATCH IDENTIFIES ALARMS
When an alarm is transmitted to the station, dispatch forwards important caller information. Based on this information, the company officer places a call in one of four categories:
- Outside fires: vehicles, rubbish grass fires; power lines down (see Table 1).
- Alarms: alarms sounding with no reported fire or smoke by a resident or police (see Table 2).
- Structure fires, three stories or fewer: fire or smoke in any structure three stories or fewer (see Table 3).
- High-rise fires: fire or smoke in any structure four stories or higher, or a shopping mall complex (see Table 4).
The driver and crew know which actions they should take and the equipment that will be needed for each category. If additional information received while en route changes the category of the call, the officer simply notifies the crew of the change. Who does which job and who takes which tool have already been predetermined.
TOOL AND JOB ASSIGNMENTS
Tools and jobs are assigned to seats according to the type of alarm (see Tables 1-4). This can be a delicate task. You don’t want to load your firefighters down with too many tools, yet you want to ensure they have the right equipment to get the job done. Also, the skill and experience of the individual assigned to the riding position affect how well the assigned job will be completed.
In addition to regularly assigned tasks, the engineer becomes another set of eyes and ears for the busy incident commander (IC). When there is only one engine responding to a structure fire and this first-arriving company is a four-person crew, the IC will establish a “Mobile Command Working” and leave the hydrant person and the engineer to staff the IRIT. By policy, “Mobile Command Working” tells the other responding units and chiefs that the IC will be engaged in the firefight and the next-arriving officer or chief should assume the street-level command. As additional units arrive, another company is assigned to serve as the rapid intervention team (RIT), and the IC and engineer are relieved of IRIT duties. Staffing an engine company and a ladder company enables us to relieve the IC from serving as a member of the IRIT; the engineers fill the IRIT positions.
The tasks assigned to the officer, hydrant, and nozzle seats have some variations in equipment that is to be taken off the apparatus, depending on the call category, but their core job function remains the same. The nozzle person sits behind the officer. This was planned so that both members exit together on the same side of the apparatus, making face-to-face discussions quick and easy. The hydrant person sits behind the engineer so that the engineer can watch the hydrant person exit the truck and walk to the rear, making sure he clears the truck and, more importantly, the wheels. This is very important in our northern climate, where slippery snow banks are present from Nov-ember to April.
Ladder seating was planned using the same consideration. The engineer serves as the second member of the IRIT. The forcible entry person is seated behind the company officer so they can exit together on the same side. Tactical discussions between these team members can begin immediately, at the truck, and continue while they head to the entry point of the structure. The ventilation person is seated behind the engineer. On exiting the ladder, the engineer assists the vent person to remove the large positive-pressure ventilation (PPV) fan. Once the fan is on the ground, the vent person starts his regular duties. If the incident requires that the aerial ladder be set up, the crew remains with the truck until the officer sizes up the situation and personnel needs.
Engine tasks don’t vary much by type of call; the ladder crews have a few more options at the different types of calls. However, like the engine company, the ladder’s core job functions remain the same. Engine and ladder company officers must remain flexible and change tool and job assignments to meet the specific demands of a call as they present themselves.
NEW PRESHIFT TRUCK, EQUIPMENT INSPECTION FORM
The current checklist was not specific enough for the new assignments. Each firefighter and officer assigned to an apparatus had to inspect or run the tools and equipment assigned to their seats.
The shift commander assigned apparatus and seats to the crew members according to skill and experience levels. No changes were allowed without the shift commander’s approval. All seat assignments were posted in the day room. If a firefighter had to leave the shift early, the shift commander would write the name of the replacement person on the assignment sheet.
Turnout coats were hung on the door of the apparatus to signify that the seat was taken. This was done as a visual signal to the off-duty firefighters who might be visiting the station that the seat was assigned.
TRAINING
We began training in our new protocol. The city’s three fire stations and a closed elementary school were used extensively for training. Each company began with the easy calls and then worked up to busy, multitasked calls. To get the most realistic training available, skills were tested at the Minneapolis Fire Department training center. The following important lessons were reinforced during this training.
- Know your job. A minimal crew size at a working fire leaves no time to discuss what a crew member should have committed to memory.
- Know your equipment. Some small engines are two-cycle, some are not. Know the difference. Where is the spare battery for the thermal imaging camera? Find it before you need it.
- Turn on the portable radio assigned to the seat when getting off the truck. If you don’t hear radio traffic, check the volume and channel. Small crews at busy fire scenes must be able to communicate with each other.
The more our riding assignments were used, the more smoothly they went. On-shift training became part of the weekly routine; they were in addition to the regularly scheduled drills. Stretching hand and supply lines, laddering fire station roofs, and conducting a search and rescue drill were common activities in the afternoons.
Significantly changing the way a department operates is challenging. Tradition runs deep in the fire service, and introducing something new will always make some members anxious. At first, some firefighters questioned assigning seats and jobs. The real test for this or any other new idea is showing how the new procedure works on the fireground. If it goes well a few times, the program will sell itself. There is no substitute for well-trained, fast-thinking, adapt-to-anything kind of firefighters. Assigning them seats and jobs can focus that intensity so that when the truck comes to a stop, no one has to ask,” What do you want me to do?” and the customer will surely benefit from the advance planning.
LESSONS LEARNED
- Successful calls need to start with accurate, consistent dispatch information. Sit down with your communications center to discuss what information responding companies need. Meet with dispatchers after your calls are categorized. Let them see how the companies will be operating. The more your communications center understands the operation, the easier it is to communicate with dispatchers.
- Keep equipment together, on one truck, for a faster response. Critical time is lost moving from one truck to another because your cutter-spreader and step chocks are on one truck and your class A foam and thermal imaging camera are on another. Decide which truck will be responding on all alarms, then arrange the equipment so that everything goes out the door with you every time.
Different types of training opportunities will present themselves when a crew works together. Take advantage of firefighters’ wanting to train. The crew knows it will be first in. Staffing the fire station will cut down the response time, leaving less prep time before checking on-scene. This adds to the intensity of the training and builds confidence within crews.
RICHARD B. GASAWAY, a 22-year veteran of the fire service, serves as the chief of the Roseville (MN) Fire Department. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and is an Inter-national Association of Fire Chiefs accredited chief fire officer. He has a master’s degree in business administration.
PAUL LANDREVILLE is a 15-year paid-on-call member of the Roseville (MN) Fire Department and currently serves as a captain in the Training Division. He served as the first weekday shift commander for the Roseville Fire Department and was instrumental in developing and implementing the department’s advance game plan.
