CHAPTERS 1 & 2 + Random Flashcards
Serves as the basis for SAFE and EFFICIENT incident scene management
ICS
Presidential Directive __ requires the use of National Incident Management System (NIMS).
5
ICS is a componenent of ____
NIMS
Common characteristics of NIMS-ICS
- Common terminology for functional structure
- Common communications
- Modular organization
- Unified command structure
- Incident Action Plan (IAP)
- Manageable span of control
- Comprehensive resource management
- Personnel accountability
Common terminology for functional elements, position titles, facilities, and resources is essential for any command system, especially one that will be used by units from ______ agencies
multiple
Type of command structure needed when an incident involves or threatens to involve more than one jurisdiction or agency
- Unified command structure
- may be appropriate within a single jurisdiction if multiple agencies are affected
NFPA 1561
standard for FD Incident Management System
IAP establishes what?
(Incident Action Plan)
Overall strategic decisions and assigned tactical objectives for an incident
Decision-making processes Model used to help manage incidents thats used by NIMS
Operational Planning “P” Model
Lloyd Layman’s _____-__ model focuses on Key strategies and Tactics needed to resolve an incident, primarily Fire related incidents
RECEO-VS
Operational Planning “P” focuses on the first five steps of the NIMS-ICS planning process:
- Understand the situation (size-up)
- Establish incident objectives and strategies
- Develop the plan of action (IAP)
- Prepare and disseminate the plan (make assignments)
- Evaluate and revise the plan
acronym RECEO-VS
- RESCUE
- EXPOSURES
- CONFINEMENT
- EXTINGUISHMENT
- OVERHAUL
- VENTILATION
- SALVAGE
Newer acroynm thats recommended for use by 1st arriving crews to initiate command and control of an incident. Composed of sequential actions and two actions of oppurtunity:
SLICE-RS
- Size-up
- Locate the fire
- Identify and control flow path
- Cool the space from the safest distance
- Extinguishment
- Rescue
- Salvage
- a system that optimizes the utilization of all available resources, personnel, procedures, and equipment in order to promote safety and improve operational efficiency
- designed to empower people w/ bias for action to contribute to the safety and goals of mitigating the incident
CRM
Crew Resource Management
Incident Priorities are always considered in this order:
- Life Safety
- Incident Stabilization
- Property/Environmental conservation
who established the 2-in/2-out rule
OSHA
the identification, assessment, analysis, control, avoidance, and minimization or elimiation of risk
Risk Management
A type of size-up that should be employed to evaluate the potential of a victim being alive withiin an IDLH environment
Victim survivability profiling (occupant survivability profiling)
The environment within a structural fire can exceed __ o F within 3-4 mins with the potential for flashover to occur within __ mins
500o F
5
- Size-up process begins when?
- 3 specific time periods that size-up takes places?
- before an incident is reported and continues throughout the incident
- Pre-incident, response and arrival, and during the incident
Size-up is an ongoing process of evaluating an emergency situation to determine:
5
- What has happened (nature/scope of incident)?
- what is happening?
- what is likely to happen?
- what resources are available w/ the initial response?
- what additional resources will be needed to mitigate the incident?
Operational readiness is a means to evaluate and pepare for the things you can do before an emergency. It includes what 4 things?
- Fitness
- preplans
- vehicle/equipment checks
- wellness of the crew
A standard initial report typically includes the following:
- On-scene report
- clear alarm
- unit designation/on the scene
- building/area description
- obvious problems/conditions
- actions taken
- declaration of strategy
- commnad confirmation with name
- follow-up radio report
- any immediate safety concerns accountablility started
- disposition of resources
- initial rapid intervention crew - in place and identified
To successfully enact change
- verbalize expectations
- establish priorities
- listen to subordinates
The categories of duties for all levels Fire Officers, as listed in NFPA, are:
- Community and Gov’t relations
- Admin
- Inspections and investigation
- Emergency service delivery
- Health and safety
Safey must become ______ _______ for all personnel in all types of emergency and nonemergency situations. Safety policies are ________, and the importance of safety cannot be overemphasized.
2nd nature
nonnegotiable
A person who leads or directs a unit
Leader
individual who accomplishes organizational objectives through effective and efficient handling of material and human resources
Manager
A person who is responsible for directing the performance of other ppl or employees
Supervisor
- Commonly used in the fire and emergency services, defined as having uninterrupted serious of steps or a chain of command
- Decisions/info are directed from the top of this organizational structure down thru intermediate levels to the base and vice versa from bottom to top.
- direct communication at lower organizational levels allows for quicker actions and reactions.
- certain decision making authority is delagated to lower levels and communication is enhanced
- info is generally CENTRALIZED for decision making
Scalar Structure
those who deliver services to the public or external customers;
typical functions include: fire suppression, EMS, inspections, education, and ivestigations
Line personnel
Those who provide support to the line personnel and internal or external customers;
typical functions: training, logistics, aux organizations, and personnel admin
Staff personnel
refers to the legal ability of an individual to make and implement decisions for which the individual is held accountable
Authority
Two types of decision making models:
centralized authority
decentralized authority
Decisions are made by one person at the top of strucure
works well in very small organizations, such as individual fire company
Centralized Authority
Decisions are made at a lower level w/ effects of the decisions reported through the structure
Decision making should be delegated to the lowest level possible
Allows almost all matters to be handled expeditiously
Decentralized Authority
Each person within an organization reports to one, and only one, designated authority
Unity of command
Purpose of unity of command
to ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander for every objective
Per NWCG (National Wildland Coordinating Group) Field Ops Guide, the 3 essential components of leaders intent are:
- Task - objective of the assignment
- Purpose - why the assignment needs to be done
- End State - how the situation should look when the assignment is successfully completed
Path of responsibility from the top of the organization to the bottom and vice versa
Although each member reports directly to one supervisor, all members throughtout the chain of command are still indirectly reponsible to the chief
Chain of Command
With _____ of command, supervisors divide the work into specific job assignments w/ out losing control
Unity
Consists of dividing large jobs into smaller tasks that are assigned to specific individuals.
Division of Labor
Fire and EMS use Division of Labor to :
Assign responsibility
Prevent duplication
Make specific, clear-cut assignments
Work groups may be created according to:
Type of Task
Geographical area
Time of year/season
Available resources
Skills specialization
For division of labor to be effective, all positions w/ in organization must be clearly defined.
_______ ________ is the key to identifying all the skills and knowledge req. for that job
Position analysis
Fire and emergency service organizations can be classified as either _____ or ______ depending on how the orgainzation is funded
public or private
- How are public fire organizations funded
- How are private fire organizations funded
- The public thru collection of taxes and fees
- Revenue provided by their parent organization, the sale of services, and contracts
Common public jurisdictions that provide fire and emergency service protection include:
- Municipal
- Fire district
- Federal
- County State/provincial
- Tribal
Primary means of categorizing public fire organization
Jurisdiction the organization serves
- These types of fire organizations follow an organizational structure that reflects local gov’t structure.
- Dept. head generally oversees the organizations operation and serves as the principal interface between it and the rest of the municipal gov’t
- Size depends primarily on size of population and geographical area served. Also special fire protection req’s and # of services local governing body determines necessary
Municipal
This type of fire organization generally protect large unicncorporated land that contain large populations.
County
Fire organizations that are not under the jurisdiction of a municipal, county, state/provincial, or fed gov’t.
Generally operate under a locally-elected board of trustees or fire commissioners.
Funding comes from district tax or subscription fee. City, county, state/provincial taxes, special levies, and mill rates
Fire District
This Fire organization may provide emergency and nonemergency services.
Generally fire suppression organized for forest, wildland, and urban-interface fires.
Nonemergency services inlcude state fire marshals office
state/provencial
There are _____ federally-recognized Native American tribal gov’s within US. Many reside on the 55.7 million acres of land that US gov’t holds in trust
The US Bureau of _____ _____ trains, equips, and funds fire emergency services organizations
The Dept of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada provides similiar support to the ___ officially recognized communities of Aborginial Peoples of Cananda (First Nations)
573
Indian Affairs
618
Volunteer FF’s staff approx __% of fire and emergency services organizations
70%
Political subdivision of a state, province, or territory for admin purposes and public safety. AKA Parish
County
Designated geographical area where fire protection is provided, usually thru a supporting tax or an area where fire prevention codes are enforced
Fire District
- Organizational principle that allows workers to report to more than one supervisor with violating the unity of command principle
- Workers report to their primary supervisor for most of their activities but report to a second supervisor for activities that relate to an assigned function only, and both supervisors coordinate closely
Functional Supervision
Functional division of the lowest level of local gov’t
Municipal
Territory occupied by one of the constituent administrative districts of a nation whose rights are defined by a constitution
State/Provincial
______ has been called a trait, a behavior, a skill, a talent, a characteristic, a science, and an art
Leadership
Leadership and Decision-Making Styles
- Autocratic
- Democratic
- Laissez-faire
Other identified Leadership styles include (Burns, 1978 and Bass, 1985)
- Transformational
- Transactional
This leadership style provides clear direction of what, how, and when tasks will be performed. Followers provide little or no input into leaders decisions;
Orders flow from the top down, and compliance is accomplished thru rules, regs, and punishment for non compliance
Autocratic
This leadership style leaders solicit input from their followers before making decisions.
Sometimes called participative leadership.
Req’s followers to participate in the process and be held accountable for the tasks delegated to them
Democratic
In this Leadership style leaders do not make decisions or avoid making them.
Followers left to make decisions and solve problems for themselves.
Leaders typically hae very little authority in their orgainzation
Laisez- faire
Leadership style in which organizational change is accomplished by followers commitment to the leaders vision and inspiration
Transformational
This Leadership style enforces compliance through rewards and punishments.
This this leadership style seeks to maintain consistency and is most effective in situations where performance needs to be standardized and consistent
AKA managerial leadership
Transactional
Ethics: 3 Step Check
- Is it legal?
- Is it fair to all concerned?
- How will it make me feel about myself
Determine what an individual believes about morality and right and wrong
Personal Ethics
a system of morale principles. These principles define what is correct and proper behavior for the members of a society
Ethics
Humans have both an _____ mind, that reacts very quickly w/ behavoirs based on experience, and a _____ mind, which acts more slowly and is more systematic.
Emotional
Cognitive
The Emotional Learning System (ELS) process uses what 5 steps to help you become less reactive and better identify and express your strong emotions:
- Step A -
- Step B -
- Step C -
- Step D -
- Step E -
- Self-Assessment: Explore
- Self-Awareness: Identify
- Self-Knowledge: Understand
- Self-Developement: Learn
- Self-Improvement: Apply and Match
What are the 3 parts to assertive communication that can help you to maintain your rights as a person while also respecting anothers rights.
- 1st - use the first person singular: “I feel, I believe, I think”
- 2nd - describe what you think or feel about a particular situation: “I feel frustrated when …..”
- 3rd - express what you would like to have happen
Includes the processes of directing, overseeing, and controlling the activities of other individuals
Supervision
Refers to the administration and control of projects, programs, situations, or organizations.
Management
IAFC divides fire officer ranks into four levels in its Professional Developement Model:
- Level I - ______ fire officer
- Level II - ______ fire officer
- Level III - ______ fire officer
- Level IV - ______ fire officer
- Supervising (all company officers)
- Managing (battalion, district, and assis. chiefs)
- Adminstrative (admin chief in charge of divisions or bureaus w/ in a dept)
- Executive (chief of dept)
First line supervisor should categorize activities into 3 priority levels:
Emergency response
Preparation for emergency response
Organizational duties
Acronym that can help officers develop goals and objectives and to effectively communicate them to unit members:
(assist company officer in managing and leading a crew)
SMART
Specific
Measurable
Action-oriented
Relevant
Time sensitive
4 stage development model developed by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, 1965) that can help a company officer guide individuals in a group and focus their efforts on becoming a cohesive team.
- Forming
- Storming
- Norming
- Performing
4 stage development model developed by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, 1965);
- Stage employees are initially uncertain of their roles in the group. Uncertain if they can trust or work w/ other members
- As relationships grow, trust and respect develope.
- Members begin seeing themselves as part of group and become enthusiastic about new projects/tasks
- This phase is CRITICAL within the team-developement process and one in which a company officer can have a significant effect
Forming
4 stage development model developed by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, 1965);
- During this phase conflict may result as members compete for a position of informal leadership or attempt to exert their personal influence over the group
- Leader is SUPPORTIVE in this stage. He actively listens to members and provides explanations for decisions.
- The MOST CRITICAL aspect of successful team development is to REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF TIME THE GROUP SPENDS IN THIS PHASE
Storming
4 stage development model developed by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, 1965);
- During this phase the group establishes and adheres to its own set of norms and values.
- Members become closer
- Leader transitions into role of a peer, allowing other team members to share leadership responsibilities
Norming
4 stage development model developed by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, 1965);
- During this phase the supervisor works to maintain spirit as the group accomplishes its objectives.
- At this stage, the group is a true team with all members sharing leadership.
Performing
4 stage development model developed by Bruce Tuckman (Tuckman, 1965);
- During this stage is the planned (sometimes unplanned) termination of the group task.
- Includes acknowledgement of the groups accomplishments and recongition of the participation of the individual members.
- Its an oppurtunity to debrief group members and determine if any changes in the process should be made
Adjourning
Effective feedback needs to be ____, _____, ______, and ______.
Honest
Immediate
Direct
Frequent
4-step method that can be used for counseling:
- Describe the current performance
- Describe the desired performance
- Gain a commitment for change
- Follow up the commitment
- Born between 1946 and 1964
- typically idealistic
- place high value on fairness, equality, hard work, and competition
- Hx of questioning authority and wanting to know why something is important
- place high value on education, family, and personal leisure time
- workaholics and work efficiently
- team players and desire quality
- respond positively to achievement titles
- want to be valued and needed
Baby Boomers
- Born between 1965 and 1980
- req. personal flexibility and thrive on feedback from iinstructors/supervisors
- prefer to work independently w/ minimal supervision
- seek a balance between work and leisure time in their lives
- self-relaince is important, more entrepreneurial
- Refered to as the “baby bust” because their population is much smaller than that of their parents
Gen-X
- Born between 1980 and 1995
- use technology as part of their daily lives
- use online social networks as a way of creating relationships and sharing info
- are generally optimitic
- appreciate diversity
- demand instant gratification in the form of tangilble results for their efforts
- take a broad world view
- embrace email and voicemall over in-person communication
Millennials, Gen-Y, Dot Comers, Nexters
- Born between 1995 and 2012
- grew up using internet
- use online social networks as a way of creating relationships and sharing info
- move from desktop PC to mobile computing devices
Gen Z, Post-Millennials
Hanri Fayol introduced five universal functions of management that are still relevant today (4 of which are essential to the management of fire and emergency service organizations)
The Tasks associated with each function are:
- Planning
- Organizing
- Directing
- Controlling
Hanri Fayol introduced five universal functions of management that are still relevant today (4 of which are essential to the management of fire and emergency service organizations)
List the tasks associated with the PLANNING Function
Creat mission statement and set goals and objectives. Develope tactical plans for accomplishing a specific objective
Hanri Fayol introduced five universal functions of management that are still relevant today (4 of which are essential to the management of fire and emergency service organizations)
List the tasks associated with the ORGANIZING function:
Coordinate tasks and resources to accomplish the units goals and objectives by:
- Establishing the unitis internal structure, system, or organization
- Creating labor divisions
- Coordinating resource allocation
- Taking responsibility for tasks and info flow w/ in dept.
- Filling positions w/ qualified ppl
Hanri Fayol introduced five universal functions of management that are still relevant today (4 of which are essential to the management of fire and emergency service organizations)
List the tasks associated with the DIRECTING function:
Guide, influence, inspire, and motivate employees to achieve the goals and objectives w/in a group. Directing is a proactive approach to managing, as the company officer applies leadership and supervision concepts
Hanri Fayol introduced five universal functions of management that are still relevant today (4 of which are essential to the management of fire and emergency service organizations)
List the tasks associated with the CONTROLLING function:
Establish and implement mechanisms to ensure that objectives are obtained. Set performance standards; measure and report the actual performance; compare performance standard with the actual performance; and take preventative and corrective action to close the gap between the two perfomance levels
NFPA 1021 defines Level I officer as a _______ and Level II officer as a _______
supervisor
manager
Determines in advance what an organization, a group, or an individual should do and how it gets done. It is the foundation of the management process
planning
Plans are generally classified by the frequency with which they are used and divided into what two broad categories:
Standing Plans
Single-use Plans
- This type of plan includes policies, procedures, and rules that are used frequently to manage the day-to-day emergency and non-emergency unit activities
- They help to ensure the consistent and equal application of authority while defining responsibility w/ in the organization
Standing Plans
- This type of plan is used to accomplish a specific objective, such as the developement of a program, project or budget.
- These plans are usually intended to reach an objective within a short period of time
Single-Use
- These type of plans take into account the external factors that affect an organization, such as changes in the economy, demographics, service req., hazards, and technology.
- They chart the organization course over an idefinite future that is divided into definite time components
Strategic Plans
- These type of plans focus on how objectives will be accomplished.
- These objective, fact based plans deal with factors that are within the control of the organization, while strategic plans are subjective
Operational/Adminstrative Plans
- These type of plans create alternative plans that can be implemented in the event of unforeseen events that make original plans unsuitable
Contingency Plans
- An evaluation method that incorporates feedback from multiple sources such as the worker, his/her peers, superiors, subordinates, and customers
360-degree Feedback Evaluation
- An individual’s ability to correctly perceive and label their own and others emotions. Also known as Emotional Quotient (EQ)
Emotional Intelligence (EI)
System of moral principles governing the perception of right and wrong
Ethics
Process of accomplishing organzitional objectives through effective and efficient handling of resources; official, sanctioned leadership
Management
Officers should should make sure Sexual Harassment policy is clearly stated to __________ and posted in a __________ in the station or facility
All employees
Highly visible location
Possible warning signs that sexual harassment is occuring that the officer must monitor;
- Lack of engagement
- Absenteeism
- Avoidance of certain coworkers
- Changes in behavior
Harassment is unwelcome conduct that is based on what 8 groups
race
color
religion
sex (including pregnancy)
national origin
age (40 >)
disability
genetic
When does sexual harrassment become unlawful
(2)
- Enduring the offensive conduct becomes a condition of continued employement,
or
- The conduct is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person consider intimidating, hostile, or abusive
Best tool to eliminate Sexual Harassment in the workplace
Prevention
Employers should clearly communicate to employees that unwelcome harassing conduct will not be tolerated. They can do this by ?
- Establishing and effective complaint or grievance process
- Provide anti-harassment training to their managers and employees
- Take immediate and appropraite action when an employee complains
EEOC provides the following guidance on sexual harassment:
(5)
Its unlawful to harass a person because of that persons sex. Harassment can include “sexual harassment” or unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature
Harassment does not have to be of a sexual nature, however, and can include remarks about a persons sex.
The victim and harasser can be of either the same or different sexes
Although law doesnt prohibit simple teasing, offhand comments, or isolated incidents that are not very serious, harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employement decision
Harasser can be supervisor, supervisor in another area, co-worker, or someone who is not an employee of the employer, such as a client or customer
Year FMLA act was established
CFR # and part?
1993
29 CFR Part 825
Is a United States federal law requiring covered employers to provide employees job-protected leave for qualified medical and family reasons
FMLA
Requirements for an employee to be eligible for FMLA
- Worked for covered employer for at least 12 months
- Worked at least 1,250 hrs for that employer during 12 months prior to start of FMLA
- Worked at or within 75 mi of a location where employer has at least 50 employees
Per the Dept. of Labor, how much leave time are employees entitled to
12 work weeks of leave in a 12 month period
Approved Medical and Family reasons under FMLA
- birth of a child and to care for newborn child w/in 1 yr of birth
- placement with the employee of a child for adoption or foster care and th care for the newly placed child within 1 yr
- care for spouse, child, or parent who has a serious health condition
- employee is unable to work because of serious health condition
- any qualifying exigency arising out of the fact that the employees spouse, son, daughter, or parent is a covered military member on “covered active leave”
Under Military Caregiver Leave, employees are entitled to how much leave to care for a covered service member w/ a serious injury/illness if eligible employee is the service members spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin
26 work weeks during 12-month period
Corrective disciplinary actions should be taken in a manner that is _____ and _____
progressive
Lawful
Progressive discipline usually involves 3 levels of action
Preventative
Corrective
Punitive
Discipline may only be administered for violations of the following:
Rules, Regs, and Laws
SOPs/SOGs
Verbal orders
Collective bargaining agreements
Characteristics of interpersonal communication include:
Informal language
informal nonverbal clues
frequent changes of the speaker and listener roles
spontaneity
formality
intensity
Interpersonal communication consists of the following basic elements:
Sender
Message
Reciever (crew member)
Feedback to the sender
Interference
For communication to be effective, both the sender and reciever must agree on its _____
purpose
What are the 5 general purposes for INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
Learn
Relate
Influence
Play (entertain)
Help
Practicing the following guidelines will help an Officer cultivate the skills needed for strong verbal communication
- engage in dual perspective
- take responsibility for personal feelings and thoughts
- show respect for the feelings and thoughts of the other person
- try to gain accuracy and clarity in speaking
- be aware of any special needs of the reciever
- avoid speaking or addressing a problem while angry or otherwise experiencing strong emotions
Nonverbal communication consists of what elements
Body language
Vocal tone and inflection
Personal appearance
- In Eurocentric cultures, good eye contact can convey what?
- Averting one’s gaze can indicate what?
- However, eye contact is also a function of ______ _______, so it must be appropriate to the situation, the relationship, and the culture
- self-confidence, honesty, trust, and credibility
- deceit, dishonesty, insecurity, or anxiety
- cultural background
Nonverbal communication can reveal and project what 4 different things
a person’s self-perception
emotional state
appoachability
cultural background
Match Facial Expressions to the ______
Message
Research supports that there are universal facial expressions for 7 emotions:
(Matsumoto and Hwang)
- Anger
- Contempt
- Disgust
- Fear
- Joy
- Sadness
- Surprise
Listening, unlike simply hearing, is an _____ process that includes what elements?
active
- Attending
- Understanding
- Remembering
- Evaluating
- Responding
This element of the active process of Listening involves:
- Critically analyzing info to determine how accurate it is
- seperating facts from opinion
Evaluating
Elements to effectively evaluate a message include:
- Drawing on personal experience
- Assessing credibility of the speaker
- Interpreting nonverbal cues
Element of the active process of Listening that involves:
- provides feedback to sender indicating that the message or info has been understood, or that it req. more explanation.
Responding
What are the 3 basic types of Responses:
- Verbal, such as asking questions or requesting more info
- Nonverbal, such as sleeping in class
- Written, such as answering questions on a test or report
Whenever possible, remove communication barriers. Before small group meetings or individual counseling sessions, remove barriers to listening in the rooms where the meetings will take place. These barriers may include:
- noise-producing equipment or visual distractions (posters on the wall)
- Wall decorations in classrooms should supplement the course material and not distract from it
Active listening is not the same as Reflective listening, which is what?
a process in which listener repeats back to the speaker what they just heard to confirm understanding on the part of both parties
process of engaging with individuals or groups using spoken language
Oral communication
Element of the active process of Listening that involves:
- Retaining info in short term and then long term memory
Remembering
Techniques for better recall include:
- Taking notes
- repeating info back to sender
- using MNEMONIC devices
- asking questions about unclear info
Element of the active process of Listening that involves:
Decoding the message and assigning meaning to it and involves the following action:
- Organizing message into logical pattern
- Interpreting nonverbal cues
- Asking questions to clarify meaning
Understanding
Element of the active process of Listening that involves:
- paying strict attention to the speaker and ignoring any distractions.
Attending (focus)
Other ways to improve listening skills through focus include:
- looking at the speaker when possible; think about the speaker and what is being said
- Visualizing the situation or event that the speaker is talkiing about
- Waiting until the speaker has finished delivering the message before responding
- Listening to the verbal message and observing nonverbal messages
3 types of speeches/presentations most commonly used by company officers are:
Persuasive
Informative
Instructional
- This type of speech may be difficult to develope and yet can be the MOST IMPORTANT speeches an officer can give
- Describing a problem and supplying a solution is intented to cause change
Persuasive
This type of speech is easiest to develope when supporting data is compiled and analyzed.
Company officers use these speeches to:
- Provide status reports
- Give project updates
- Educate the public and media
- Describe events
- Provide unit-level training
Informative
- Type of speech used to teach the audience how to do something.
- Normally include a visual aide or demonstration
Intructional
Written communication must be ____, ____, and _____ in appearance
accurate
concise
professional
The 1st step in writing any document is to determine what?
audience
scope
purpose
Outlining the document helps the writer establish the _____ flow of the material, placing the strongest points at the _____ and then supporting each point w/ additional data
Logical
Beginning
Average paragraph is how many words long?
This equats to a topic sentence and __ or __ supporting sentences
75-125
4-5
Transition words and phrases are used when
beginning and end of paragraph
Examples of transitions used at the start of a paragraph can be divided into what 4 categories:
- Showing contrast or qualification
- Indicating continuity
- Showing cause and effect
- Indicating exemplification
Majority of memos are written to provide the following 6 types of info:
Who
What
When
Where
Why
How
Important reasons for an organization to have an Email Policy?
Professionalism
Efficiency
Liability protection
Letters are generally used to correspond with who?
persons
groups
agencies outside the organization
Types of Narrative reports include:
Justification
Recommendation
Progress
Progress and justification
Description
Used to determine organizational decision-making
Policy
A detailed plan of action that is similiar and closely related to a Policy
Procedure
statements that identify a general philosophy and may be included as part of a policy
Guidelines
In the context of this manual, Policies define what must be done and ______ describe the steps required to comply with the policies
procedures
Provide instantaneous communication amoung emergency response companies, between those companies and the telecommunications center, and between companies and the rest of the emergency scene organiztion.
Safety of emergency responders is greatly increased thru effective _____ communication
Radio
Effective
Radio thats normally operated from the jurisdictions telecommunications center, stations, and other facilities.
May have scaled down version of this type assembled at ICP or IB for long term large scale incident
Base Radio
Type of radio mounted in emergency response vehicle (typically in cab)
Mobile Radio
Type of radio that allows personnel to remain in contact w/ each other while they are away from an apparatus mobile radio. May be operated on multiple channels
Portable Radio
Sometimes referred to as walkie talkies, hand-talkies, portables
This system recieves a signal from a radio, boost its power, and then transmits the signal to the receiver
Repeater System
What are the two types of repeater systems
- apparatus mounted repeaters
- prepositioned in specific geographical areas
Wireless telephone system that can provide reliable communication that is free of the limitations and interference that can hinder other types of telephone communications.
Some can operate as radios, communicating w/ other units w/in coverage area
satellite phone
Broadband connections are at least ___ times faster than modems
10X
radio operated data terminal that allows a telecommunications center to transmit dispatch info, incident/patient status info, confidential messages that arent appropraite for verbal transmission over a radio, chemical info, and maps and charts to units at or enroute to incident
Mobile Data Terminal (MDT)
Has all the features of an MDT with addition of a keyboard that allows two way communication between mobile units and the telecommunications center
Mobile Data Computer (MDC)
Designed to provide a computer readable description of geographic features in a given area
Geographic Info System (GIS)
This device is commonly used to dispatch the closest available unit to an emergency, track units at an emergency scene, and determine specific coordinates during emergencies
Global Positioning System (GPS)
Type of radio thats relatively inexpensive and used in some rural jurisdictions
Citizen Band (CB) Radio
4 key objectives in the developement of the NIMS/ICS standards were to:
- provide enhanced functionality w/ equip and capabilities for public safety needs
- Improve spectrum efficiency
- Ensure competition amoung multiple vendors through open systems architecture
- Allow effective, efficient, and reliable intra-agency and interagency communications
What are the 5 C’s of Radio Communication
- Consciseness
- Control
- Confidence
- Clarity
- Capability
Statement that identifies a general philosophy; may be included as part of a policy
Guideline
Organizational principle that is developed and adopted as a basis for decision-making
Policy
Customers of fire and emergency service organiztions?
Internal employees
External beneficiaries
stakeholders
Type of budget that includes projected major purchases - items that cost more than a specified amount of money and are expected to last more than one year (usually __ or more years)
Capital Budget
3
Personnel costs may represent as much as __ % of the operating budget
90
- NFPA 1500
- NFPA 1521
- NFPA 1561
- NFPA 1581
- NFPA 1582
- NFPA 1584
- NFPA 1852
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134
- FD Occupational Safety, Health, and Wellness Program
- FD Safety Officer Professional Qualifications
- Emergency Service Incident Management System and Command Safety
- FD Infection Control Program
- Comprehensive Occupational Medical Progran for FD
- Rehab Process for Members During Emergency Ops and Training Excercises
- Selection, Care, and Maintenance of Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA)
- Respiratory Protection
Leading injuries for responders are
sprains and strains
Most common cause of Incident Fatalities
Cardiac Arrest
Emergency Scene Injuries/fatalities can be prevented or reduced by developing what?
- Accurate scene size-up skills
and
- Utilizing sound risk management practices to devise the overall operational strategy
Company officer must address both unsafe ____ and unsafe ____ to ensure scene safety
acts
conditions
internal factors that the company officer or a member of the crew performs.
Unsafe Acts
Externally controlled and should be recognized and addressed appopriately
Unsafe Conditions
best way to ensure responders dont perform unsafe acts during an incident
Training
Smoke Hazards
In addition to deadly inhalation hazards such as carbon monoxide/Hydrogen cyanide, smoke may contain what 2 things that can penetrate ff protection clothing and become a skin absorption hazard.
Some are known carcinogens
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)
and
Polycyclic Aromaatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- according to NFPA, in 2016 there were ____ injuries associated w/ nonemergency activities
- and ____ injuries associated w/ training
- these injuries primarily involved:
- 12,780
- 8,480
- sprains, strains, cuts, bruises
3 E’s of Safety Model
Engineering
Education
Enforcement
- Company officer MOST IMPORTANT TASK is to ensure what?
- The company officer must balance the acceptable level of _____ to the unit while fulfilling assigned _________
ch. 1 pg 12
Personel Safety
Risk - Objectives
New Company Officers need to recognize they are both supervisory and subordinate.
- As a supervisor, the company officer is responsible for ____________
- The organizations admin expects the company officer to __________.
- The company officer is also expected to represent the ___________ and ensure _________ with admin policies, rules, and regulations.
ch 1 pg 12
- unit members and their actions while on duty
- supervise the unit and effectively complete assigned duties.
- admin - compliance
Good customer service is essential to maintain a _______ _______ _______ of the agency
Positive Public Perception
ALL members of the fire and emergency services are responsible for meeting the needs of their community with ______, ______, and _______
Competance
Courtesy
Efficiency
Provide the most direct influence over the FFs they supervise
The Vital link between the unit and the organizations admin
Company Officers
New Officers are challenged to learn, apply, and model the following:
- Leadership - cultivate leadership skills needed to ensure that unit operates safely, effectively, and efficiently
- Ethics - takes on greater imporance because officer is a role model for units subordinate members and peers, as well as the public
- Supervision - may be most difficult. move from being supervised to supervising, while still under supervision of higher officers can be overwhelming
- Responsibility - must assumne responsbility for their own actions, as well as the actions of subordinates
- Authority - must learn how much authority is legitimately assigned to the position and how to apply it in a fair and equitable manner
Perceptions are _______, often based on emotions or rumors instead of facts, and they can be difficult to overcome
subjective
Unless the officer clarifies his or new supervisory relationship with unit membvers and establishes a fair enforcement of policy, the Unit will ______
Suffer
To successfully enact change, ________, __________, and _____________
verbalize expectations
Establish priorities
Listen to subordinates
Overcoming tradition barriers (we never did it like that before)
Company officers must be able to:
- explain WHY its important to make change
- HOW change will benefit the crew/agency/community
True friendships should never place the Officer or suborndinates in a negative situation
If such instances develope, the Officer may need to take more of a _______ approach to establish clear proffesional boundaries in the relationship
Authoritarian
New Officers muse use ____, ____, and clear _____ to develope an appropriate leadership method for each individual unit member
skill, obersvation & clear communication
3 ways a new Officer can successfully enact change
Verbalize Personal Expectations
Establish Priorities
Listen to Crew Members
Best way for Company Officer to overcome Traditional Barriers (i.e. “we nvr did it like that before”
- Be able to explain WHY
- HOW the change will benifit the crew
Listed under overcoming personal changes;
_____ in public, _____ in private
Praise
Discipline
______ expectations may be the MOST DIFFICULT to overcome
Internal
What are the categories of duties for all levels of Company Officers according to NFPA 1021
5
- Community and gov’t relationsips
- Admin
- Inspection & investigation
- Emergency service delvery
- Health & Safety
Level 1 Fire Officer must administer organization’s policies, procedures, and orders at the ____ level
UNIT
Listed under Emergency Service Delivery,
- 1st arriving Company Officer must develope and initiate what 4 things
IAP
ISP
ICS
PIA (f**ollowing incident)
Ensuring the health and safety of all personnel requires that the Level 1 Fire Officer:
- Apply health and safety standards daily
- Implement safety-related policies & procedures
- Monitor personnel to ensure that safety guidelines are followed
- Report ALL situations that involve job-related inj/fatalities
- Act as role model by personally adhering to accepted health & safety practices
SAFETY must become ____ _____ for all personnel in all types of emergency/nonemergency siuations.
2nd Nature
Safety Policies are _______. and the importance of safety cannot be overemphasized
NONNEGOTIABLE
Necessary to fire/ems because it permits the effective, organized, and efficient use of resources
Helps provide highest level of service at the lowest possible cost to customers
Organizational Structure
- Define organizational policy
- Describe behavioral & employee performance expectations
SOP/SOGS
&
Rules & Regs
Type of organizational structure commonly used in Fire/EMS service
defined as having an uninterrupted series of steps or chain of command
decisions/info are directed from top down thru intermediate levels to the base & vice versa
SCALAR STRUCTURE
Allows for quicker actions & reactions at lower organizational levels
certain decision-making authority is delagated to lower levels enhancing communication
DIRECT COMMUNICATION
Terms that refer to an organizational concept that seperates Fire/EMS personnel into two distinct groups
LINE personnel
STAFF personnel
personnel who deliver services to the public or external customers; typically functions include fire suppression, EMS, inspections, education, and investigations
LINE personnel
Provide support to line personnel and internal or external customers; typical functions are training, logistics, aux organiztions, and personnel admin
STAFF personnel
Refers to the legal ability of an individual to make & implement decisions for which the individual is held accountable
Authority
Two types of decision-making models:
Centralized
Decentralized
In this type of decision making model ONE person makes the decisions.
Works well in very small organizations, such as an individual fire company
Centralized
Decisions are made @ lower level w/ the effects of the decisions reported thru the structure.
To work effectively, Chief must ensure all members understand the organizations direction, values, and goals.
Decision making authority should be delagated to the LOWEST level possible
Decentralized
Process of provideing subordinates w/ the authority, direction, & resources needed to complete an assignment
Delagation
When assigning a task, the Company Officer should:
Describe the task and its relationsip to the overall objective or goal
Provide support for successful outcome
Identify time/safety constraints that apply to the assignment
Follow up on assigned task
3 essential components of Leaders intent
(per the National Wildland Coordinating Group NWCG)
- Task - objectives of assignment
- Purpose - why the assignment needs to be done
- End State - how the situation should look when the assignment is successfully completed
each person within an organization reports to one, and only one, designated authority.
Unity of command
Purpose of ______ is to ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander for every objective
Unity of Command
Path of responsibility from the top of the organization to the bottom & vice versa
Although each member reports directly to one supervisor, all members throughot the chain of command are still indirectly responsbile to the Chief
Chain of Command
To reduce sidestepping the chain of command, officers should
Be available
Be proactive
Take action
Follow up
organizational principle that allows workers to report to more than one supervisor
useful when the distinction between line and staff functions becomes blurred
Functional Supervision
Centralized vs Decentralized
One person makes the decisions
vs
Decision-making is delegated to others
______ Authority works well in very small organizations, i.e. individual fire company
Centralized
Process of providing subordinates w/ the authority, direction, and resources needed to complete an assignment
Delegation
of subordinates and/or # of functions 1 individual can effectively supervise
Typically between __ - __
3-7
NIMS ICS span of control ratio -
Optimum ratio -
1:3-7
1-5
Variables that affect span of control
Ability and experience of the supervisor
ability and experience of subordinates
nature of the task
Proximity of subordinates to the supervisor and each other
ease//reliability of communications medium
consequence of a mistake
Dividing large jobs into smaller tasks that are assigned to specific individuals.
Division of Labor
Fire services use division of labor to:
3
assign responsibility
prevent duplication of effort
make specific, clear-cut assignments
Work Groups may be created according to:
Type of Task
Geographical Area
Time of Year / Season
Available Resources
Skills Specialization
Position Analysis
Key to identifying all the skills & knowledge req. for that job
Job analyses
Job discription
critical for personnel to successfully perform their many tasks
enables different companies to work together effectively because each company officer understands the capabilities, requirements, and needs of others
Cross-Training
Two ways Fire/EMS service organizations can be classified depending upon how there funded
public
or
private
Primary means of categorizing public Fire/EMS service organizations is by -
Jurisdiction organization serves
According to this manual, Jurisdiction has two distinct associations:
The response area are served by a fire ems service organization
authority that gives the organization the legal right to exist, provides emergency services, and takes the actions necessary to ensure adequate protection
Common public jurisdictions that provide fire & EMS service protectionn include:
6
Municipal
Fire District
Federal
County
State/Provincial
Tribal
Size of municipal fire ems organization depends primarily on -
Size of Population & Geographical Area served
Additional Factors:
- special fire protection requirements
- # of services that local governing body has determined necessary
Depts Budget is normally set on an ____ basis
ANNUAL
The second level in local gov’t is normally the _____
County
These organizations generally protect large areas of unicorporated land that contain large populations
County
Common names for fire and EMS organizations that are not under jurisdiction of a Municipal, County, or State/Provincial, or Fed gov’t
Fire District
Fire Protection District
Regional Fire Authority
Fire Districts generally operate under
Locally elected board of trustees
or
Fire commisioners
- In most cases, the ____ _____ is established thru local elections in which residents may also elect board members & approve taxes
- Funding may come from district tax / subscription fee
- City/county/state/provincial taxes/special levies/mill rates may provide additional funding
Fire District
Area that lies outside of jurisdictions that taxpayers support or fund
Generally rural, sparsely populated, & located far away from proper fire protection
Citizens living in these areas may not be willing to pay taxes for fire protection or their unavailable
Unserved Areas
Generally, State/Provincial emergency fire suppression companies are organized for _____, _____, and ______ fires
forest
wildland
urban-interface
Exist to protect federal lands & property
Includes Forestry units & Organizations stationed on Military installations.
Also maintains nationally organized USAR teams
Federal Fire District
US Fire Admin (USFA) provides training courses for all paid, volunteer, and combo/composite organizations thru ______ and the ______
National Fire Academy (NFA)
Emergency Management Institute (EMI)
US Gov’t operates fire & emergency services thru agencies that cover both Military & non-military installations in the continental US and abroad. These agencies provide all-risk fire protection, including:
4
Structural fire protection
Airport crash/rescue services (ARFF
Port
Shipboard fire protection
Canadian Dept of National Defense oversees military and civilian fire & emergency service organizations operating in __ installations in and arount N. America
35
____ governments have sovereignty over their designated lands, in accordance with the US & Canadian fed gov
Tribal
How many Fed-recongnized Native American tribal Governments w/ in US.
573
Trains, equips, and funds fire and EMS service organizations in the Native American Tribal Gov’t within the US
The ______ provides similiar support to the 618 officially recognized communities of Aboriginal Peoples of Canada (First Nations)
US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Dept. of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)
3 Categories Private EMS organizations generally fall into
- Industrial Fire Brigades
- For-profit fire & Emergency services organizations
- Private, nonprofit fire & EMS organizations
NFPA 600
Standard on Facility Fire Brigades
NFPA 1081
Standard for Facility Fire Brigade Member Professional Qualifications
Funding for nonprofit Fire & EMS may come from?
Must meet the req. of the US TAX code for ____ organization
- Donations
- Fundraisers
- Subscriptions
- Contracts
- Grants
501(c)(3)
Fire & EMS organizations can be categorized by how they are staffed, which may consist of:
Career FF’s
Paid-on-call personnel
Volunteers
Combo
In staffing, the term professional refers to
Level of competance or expertise, behavoir, and appearance that applies to career, paid-on-call, & volunteer personnel alike
Volunteer FFs staff approx. __ % of fire / ems services organizations
70%
Who oversees volunteer organizations?
- Entity that supports organization
or
- Independent association
or
- governing board
or
- nonprofit corporations governed by boards of directors
In this type of Dept., whether public or private, personnel recieve pay while others serve on volunteer basis.
Combination Departments
Type of Dept. that operate on a paid-on-call basis
Resemble a volunteer organization
Stations minimally staffed
Personnel summoned to incident scene or Fire station
FFs generally paid w/ hourly wage or set fee per response
Fiscally, this type of organization resemble full-time, career organizations
Most or all funding comes from Local gov’t agency or association
Paid-on-call Organizations
Mutual/automatic/additional resource agreements should be considered _______; reviewed by the legal depts of all affected organizations; and approved by the ______ ______of the affected organizations
Contracts
Governing Bodies
At minimum, mutual aide agreements and operating procedures for these agreements should include:
- Define roles of each organization (Incident management & chain of command)
- establish operating guidelines
- define lines & methods of communications
- include common terminology, references, specifications, equip compatability, other stuff that affects how diff organizations work together
- maps/evac routes/hydrants
- address insurance & legal consideratons
- additional non-emergency agreements.
- similiar to mutual except that payment, such as per response or annual fee, rather than reciprocal aide is made by one organization to the other
- Agreements should define what:
- Additional Resource Agreeements
- Conditions under which supports provided: automatic or request
- terms for conducting respons: command & comm., SOPs/SOGs & legal considerations