Evaluating Incidents

1. Evaluating Incidents Rural/Metro Fire Department

2. All Incidents Are Similar • All incidents have Six Sides C - Side Top/Ceiling/Roof B C Basement/Floor B - Side D - Side D A A – Side (Always the address side, regardless of where you park the truck)

3. Evaluating Incidents • BIR (Brief Initial Report) through use of B.E.L.O.W or a Five Point Size-Up • Next, All incidents should be evaluated utilizing a Six Sided View • This is the time where you develop a better understanding of the scene and begin to develop your POA (Plan of Action). • A Six Sided View often requires you to: • Conduct a 360 Degree walk around • Look past the incident to see the Bigger Picture • Determine what other hazards are present on the scene. • I know the building is on fire, but What color is the building? • You CANNOT fix the incident, until you identify all of the problems

4. This picture Identifies Fire on a minimum of 3 sides. The D – Side, The basement/floor (Crawl space) and the Ceiling/Roof

5. Six Sides • A, B, C, D Sides of the vehicle • Top – Power Pole and Power Lines • Bottom – Fuel Leak, Oil Leak

6. Six Sides • Where is your crew working on the patient? • A, B, C, D - Sides • What is above them? • What kind of ground are they on?

7. Six Sides • You do this all the time. • Every medical call you run: • You report on the scene, evaluating the house, looking for ramps, stairs, etc. The minute you start up stairs, you begin thinking stair chair, scoop stretcher • You form a general impression of the patient, through visual clues • You look around the room for meds, ID, ETOH, Guns, Knives • On questionable calls, you position yourself in a manner to escape the house in cases of violence or until no one can get behind you

8. Six Sides • You do all of this naturally through experience and reacting to visual clues in the scene. • You must develop this ability for use on an all hazards approach. • Additionally, You must develop the ability to either recognize or identify what you are seeing. • Identify Windows, Ingress, and Egress points • Hazards or problems • And Potential…. • Potential for the fire and flame spread, Potential for your crews to extinguish, Potential for collapse

9. BASIC TACTICS

10. Command and Control • After your BIR, you need to determine specifics about what you have. • After you have a good grasp on the scene, scene factors, and conditions of the emergency, ESTABLISH COMMAND. • You cannot direct others to perform tasks before the development of the plan, and you cannot develop the plan before you size-up the scene. • The only exception – You are the first on the scene. • The reason for this exception – As the first on the scene, someone has to be in charge, and its YOU. • Determine what you need to accomplish the Action Plan and request it.

11. Tactical Considerations • Your action plan needs to be based on incident priorities • RECEOVS • Life Safety, Incident Stabilization, Property Conservation • Work from the same list and check stuff off as you either complete the task or have assigned it to someone.

12. First On The Scene • You arrive First on the Scene and provide a BIR • You establish Command • As you walk around and conduct your size-up you begin to develop your plan. • As you develop your plan, relay the parts and pieces to the appropriate people. “Command to E231 lay a supply line and assume water supply.” “Command to E234 upon your arrival deploy a 2nd 1 ¾ preconnect and assume RIT.” • Once your Size-Up is complete provide an updated report. • “Command to Bat271 – Med Size, wood frame vacant structure, with Heavy Fire venting, units are defensive and the fire appears doubtful.” • Command to Bat 24 – Large brick structure with heavy smoke showing, units are deploying lines, we are offensive at this time.”

13. Second Due or Later • When you arrive in these instances several things may happen. • You can be given tasks to accomplish or specific assignments that you need to complete correctly • You may be asked to Stage or provide support functions • You may be asked to assume command • Or you might arrive to find no command structure, unsafe actions, or poor decisions, and might have to assume command to begin to stabilize the fire department at the incident.

14. Second Due or Later • In any of these instances you will initially be working off of someone else's Action Plan. • It is important to gather as much information as possible about the initial plan, so that you can change, tailor, or proceed with the existing plan. • Once you have the plan, finish your size-up, and then assume command. Just because someone says they have command, does not mean they do. Know what is going on before you just in the deep end.

15. Second Due or Later • Anytime you cannot conduct a face to face or obtain information about the initial plan, you MUST STOP THE OPERATION. • Otherwise, conflicting order may be given, confusion occurs, individuals might continue to operate off the initial plan rather than the new one. • This may include Hitting the Reset Button, Evacuating the Building, Attempting Face to Faces, or Hitting the Evac Tones, Airhorns, Etc. • Everyone needs to know and work from the same plan, period.

16. Command and Control • Command – Be the field general • Resources/Accountability of Personnel • Egress – Primary and Secondary • Water Supply – LDH, Nurse, Shuttle • Safety RIT – A must for each and every Fire Ground • This represents a minimum and will be identified as: • CREWS • You must assign all of these tasks to someone or a crew, before committing personnel to fire attack as the Commander

17. First Floor Fire • CREWS • Line Size and Placement/Fire Flow Formula • Primary Mission - Search and Rescue • Secondary Mission - Fire Control and Extinguishment • R – Rescue - Ventilate to support the primary search, then to support other strategies • E – Exposures • C – Confine - Interior fire attack from unburned to burned • E – Extinguish - Check for extension on all six sides • O – Overhaul • V – Ventilation / PPV, Vertical, Horizontal • S - Salvage

18. Basement Fire • CREWS • Line Size and Placement/Fire Flow Formula • Primary Mission - Search and Rescue • Secondary Mission - Fire Control and Extinguishment • R – Rescue - Ventilate first floor to maintain control of operating area • E – Exposures • C – Confine – Look for Direct Access to Basement area - Interior fire attack from unburned to burned. Interior stairs act as a chimney • E – Extinguish - Check for extension on all six sides • O – Overhaul – Watch for Sagging Floors • V – Ventilation / PPV, Vertical, Horizontal • S - Salvage • Remember Descending a stair case into a Fire Area is an extremely dangerous tactic..

19. Second/Third Floor Fires • CREWS • Line Size and Placement/Fire Flow Formula • Primary Mission - Search and Rescue • Secondary Mission - Fire Control and Extinguishment • RECEOVS • Second floor with third floor above, treat as a first floor fire that often needs ladder support for various tactics • Top floor with attic/attic space above, treat as a second floor fire with possible extension to the attic/attic space

20. Attic Fire • CREWS • Line Size and Placement/Fire Flow Formula • Primary Mission - Search and Rescue • Secondary Mission - Fire Control and Extinguishment • RECEOVS • Attack fire from floor below • When truss construction assumed, do not get on or under roof assembly if well involved • Pull ceiling from rooms to leave Hallway Access and extinguish fire • Ventilate horizontally • Ventilate vertically only on large attic area • Watch for Signs of Collapse, Fire Spread

21. Attached Garage Fire • CREWS • Line Size and Placement/Fire Flow Formula • Primary Mission - Search and Rescue • Secondary Mission - Fire Control and Extinguishment • RECEOVS • Keep fire from entering main living area • Provide handlines to main living area and garage. This requires 2 Lines. • Pull walls and ceilings to prevent extension • When truss construction assumed, do not get on or under roof assembly if well involved • Provide horizontal ventilation

22. Support Activities • CREWS • Line Size and Placement/Fire Flow Formula • Primary Mission - Search and Rescue • Secondary Mission - Fire Control and Extinguishment • RECEOVS • SCBA bottle changes • Electricity and lights • Utility control • Rehab area

23. Fire On Multiple Floors • This is where it all gets extremely tricky, especially as new ECL’s. • The fire itself creates challenges for interior and exterior crews. • As a general rule, one should hesitate to send crews above a fire floor, until a crew is in place to control the floor below. • Attempts to control from exterior should be made. Get control of the situation and the transition to a different mode of operation

24. Large Buildings • In most cases large building should be visually broken down into small buildings. • Once this is accomplished the adjacent structure should be identified as Exposures and require action in the initial phase of the operations. • Once Rescue is Underway – • Exposures is the next priority on the Fire Ground B- Side Exposures D- Side Exposures Exposure 1 Exposure 1 Exposure 2 Exposure 2

25. Practice • The next pictures are worth a thousand words – • Run through the basics you’ve learned so far to fill out the tactical work sheet on each.

28. The next incident has 2 pictures. You as the on scene commander have crews operating on the scene with the initial picture. • The second picture represents the 10 minute on scene mark • Do you want to change your plan? • Is it time to change the plan? • During the on going assessment has your risk vs reward changed? • Are crews now in more danger than when they first arrived?