Response Timing of Fire Tenders

1. Response time By: A.K.Singh, General Manger (F&S), Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Gujarat Refinery,Vadodara. Email: singhakindianoil@gmail.com 16 Sept 2020

3. NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments • Fire & Safety Dept should accurately evaluate their response time and establishes standard criteria that provide a good place to start. • Those criteria include: • Alarm Answering Time: 15 seconds for 95% of calls; 40 seconds for 99% of calls • Alarm Processing Time: 64 seconds for 90% of calls; 106 seconds for 95% of calls • Turnout Time: 60 seconds for Emergency team responses; 80 seconds for fire responses • First Engine Arrive on Scene Time: 240 sec (4 minutes) for 90% of responses with a minimum staffing of 4 personnel • Second Company Arrive on Scene Time: 360 seconds (6 minutes) for 90% of responses with a minimum staffing of 4 personnel • Initial Full Alarm – Low and Medium Hazard Assembly Time: 480 seconds (8 minutes) on 90% of responses • Initial Full Alarm – High Hazard/High-Rise Assembly Time: 610 seconds (10 minutes 10 seconds) on 90% of responses

4. Although NFPA 1710 provides essential benchmarks, F&S Depts often measure baseline performance in terms of total response time, which is the time it takes from the call to be received at Fire Station until the first fire tender arrives on the scene of the emergency site. Total response time should be measured and reported for all turn out fire vehicles and the fire fighting crew assembly. Total response time is composed of call-processing time, turnout time and travel time • Call processing time – The elapsed time from the call being received at the PSAP to the dispatching of the first unit. • Turnout time – The elapsed time from when a unit is dispatched until that unit changes their status to “responding.” • Travel time – The elapsed time from when a unit begins to respond until its arrival on the scene. • For decision making, F&S dept can collect data from their past fire records of at least 12 months regarding time taken in responding various emergency calls in refineries. • According to the U.S. Fire Administration the average U.S. fire response time is less than 8 minutes, with 90% of the calls responded to in less than 11 minutes. • __________________________________________________________________________________________ • Further References available at https://i-psdi.org/nfors.html . • https://www.lexipol.com/resources/blog/understanding-and-measuring-fire-department-response-times/

5. NFPA 1710: Chapter 5 Fire Department Services 5.2.4.1 Initial Arriving Company. 5.2.4.1.1 The fire department’s fire suppression resources shall be deployed to provide for the arrival of an engine company within a 240-second travel time to 90 percent of the incidents as established in Chapter 4.5.2.4.1.2 Personnel assigned to the initial arriving company shall have the capability to implement an initial rapid intervention crew (IRIC).5.2.4.2 Initial Full Alarm Assignment Capability. 5.2.4.2.1 The fire department shall have the capability to deploy an initial full alarm assignment within a 480-second travel time to 90 percent of the incidents as established in Chapter 4.