Fire Command Flashcards
The incident commander is called upon to —— and ——-the manual labor required to produce an —- and ——-incident outcome, so the command functions must (if they are to be effective) be closely connected to all ——– that make up the incident response
Orchestrate and support
Effective and standard
Moving parts
The plain and simple objective of the incident commander is to always perform whatever amount of command (no more, no less) it takes to
Produce safe, effective action and continually adjust to match the changing needs of a dynamic incident
What type of incident commander does the operation require?
A lucid, competent incident commander, actively in attendance, who can pull the trigger at the right time and aim the command cannon in the right direction.
The upfront section is arranged and three basic clumps:
1) what changes – what doesn’t
2) The incident commander
3) The IMS package
Actively coaching the troops through the change process is
A major role of good bosses. Sensibly sorting out what has, from what hasn’t, changed house workers use current capabilities as the launching pad for developing new skills that match what hasn’t he changed
IMS development has created the capability to proactively – ahead of the event – build a set of standard operating procedures that creates a consistent
Organizational command plan
Forms a simple, doable plan that outlines the moves and formations of the incident commander and the command team
The Eight standard command functions
Why was that the lack of pre-incident planning really a problem in the beginning of the event?
1) We had no standard starting point for command and operations
2) Front and confusion typically produced an out of control beginning
3) we spent the rest of the incident trying to catch up to being under control
The “nonsystem”(before IMS developed) produced and a lot of breakdowns that occurred over and over – one old sage called it
Practicing mistakes
Operational problems are—– and —–
Command problems are
Operational problems are physical and tactical; command problems are organizational based leadership problems.
What IMS has changed is how the IC and the command/ops team will —— themselves when they respond at the timeless stuff that all comes together to cause an incident to be an incident.
Manage
What is BIMS and AIMS?
Before IMS and after IMS
A practical and accurate way for us to observe what IMS has changed is to compare a series of old BIMS snapshots with those of a new AIMS response
Before ICS(BIMS) there was no such phrase as “incident commander”.BIMS used the term
Fire ground commander(FGC)
An important IMS change involves the IC developing an
Incident action plan
The capital IAP provides the plan for how our action will make contact with the incident problem – this engagement becomes the essence of why we are in business
What standard strategies are the foundation of the incident action plan
The standard offensive/marginal/defensive
The incident action plan creates what type of connection between the incident commander and the operational team?
Predictable, dependable, and very practical
When the incident commander arrives on scene (after we start operations) what standard set of briefing questions do they ask?
1) waddaya got?
2)Waddaya doin?
3)whatsit doin?
4)waddaya need?
5) Is everybody okay?
The IAP provides a quick answer to #2; The ongoing answers to #1 and #4 will describe how waddaya doin will answer #3. The answer to #5 will indicate if we should keep fighting a run
As we trudge through the eight command functions, we must continually connect the IC doing his/her job with the
actual physical labor that quickly solves the customers problem
The basic objectives for command assumption is for command to always
Start in a standard way upon our arrival at the incident
It is important to have the initial arriving officer to assume command from their arrival because
The first arrived is really the only person who can directly evaluate conditions and use the observable information to develop on scene decisions
The term command refers to
Jointly to the person, the functions, and the location of command, and provides a standard identification tag for the incident commander
Within and affected IMS system function replaces
Rank and hopefully displaces ego
The basic agreement among the response team that keeps IMS going is that the first arriver becomes the IC and responders, who arrived after command is established, doing the following three things:
1) following staging SOP’s (Park/announce position/listen/look/waiting for orders)
2) staged units receive and acknowledge orders from the incident commander
3) go to work on the incident commanders order/work under the incident commanders command
Assuming command at the very beginning of operations eliminates the
Zero impact command. (ZIP) caused by initial commanded confusion, roving, multiple commanders, or free enterprise or all of the above
The fast action mode should be concluded rapidly with one of the following outcomes:
1) The situation is quickly stabilized (incident problem is solved) by fast offensive of action
2) command is transferred from the fast action company officer IC to a later arriving company/command officer
3) for whatever reason the situation is not stabilized, the fast action company officer IC moves to and exterior (stationary) command position and is now in the command mode
When a company officer assumes the command mode, he/she has several options with regard to crew assignments. The initial company officer IC may:
1) move up and acting officer within the company
2) A sign company personnel to staff (aide) functions to assist the IC
3) A sign company personnel to another company
The standard initial arriving report should include:
unit designation, arrival, assumption of command, conditions, and the name and location of that command post
Regular operating units/officers arriving at an incident with an in place IC must fall under one of the following four standard status categories
1) use regular arriving procedures (staging), receive an assignment from the incident commander, and then work under the incident commanders command
2) transfer and take command, if you out rank the current incident commander
3) if requested, take command from the incident commander by virtue of having higher rank/qualification, following standard procedures, or agreement/request (“Please take command”)
4) join the incident commander and become part of the command team
Describe the standard command position/location
A stationary one, inside a command vehicle or a piece of response apparatus that is then, called the “command post”
The command post should be situated in a standard and predictable location that affords the incident commander a good view of the scene and surrounding area. Ideally, it would also offer a vantage/viewpoint of
Two sides of the situation generally the front and most critical side
Effective control by the IC equals
Worker safety
Size up is a systematic process consisting of the rapid, yet deliberate, consideration of –– —- —- which lead to the development of a rational –
Critical incident factors
Action plan based on these critical factors
The incident commander uses a combination of these for basic information forms:
1) previous experiences
2) Visual
3) reported/reconnaissance
4) pre-incident planning and familiarity
What is the most common information form that the incident commander uses?
Visual, is the most common factor used for initial and ongoing incident valuation by the incident commander and the most natural factor for action oriented responders
Information from past experiences create the ability to better no tactically
What to do and how to do it, and personally how to act in that situation
The five basic tactical priorities
1) Life safety
2) incident stabilization
3) property conservation
4) responder/worker safety
5) customer service
The initial evaluation for each incident begins
At the time the alarm is received
Some of the exterior conditions at typically are easily identifiable visually include:
1)Area arrangement – streets, alleys, buildings, potential exposures, access obstacles
2)Hazard evaluation – fire, EMS, hazmat, special rescue, etc.
3)Hazard size – what is the scale of the actual and forecasted problem
Incident building detail – building type, size, height, layout detail, occupancy, name, type of construction, age and general condition, and structural stability
4) fire conditions – what’s burning, size, location, products of combustion, amount and color of fuel smoke, run off
5) status of humans – condition, location, sanity, behavior, and general welfare of those visible to the incident commander – which way are the people running?
6) physical threats – bad guys, violence, disorder, weapons, gang activity, crime scenes
7) resource status – placement, use, and if Effectiveness of apparatus and activities of personnel
8) effects of operational action – what impact are incident operations having on solving the incident problem
While the incident is underway, the critical information factor management challenge for the incident commander is to create a system that effectively gathers reported information from
Owners/occupants, workers, managers
Decentralized units and sectors must be used as
Recon/information centers
Pre-incident plans are drawn under the best conditions but generally used
Under the worst conditions
A starting point for occupancy pre-– incident planning is in a valuation of the operational and outcome potential associated with buildings in and around the incident in terms of
Size, arrangement, hazards, built in fire protection
Particular emphasis with the pre-incident planning should be placed on
Serious potential life safety hazards, problems that are hidden, obstructions to access, and safety
Time moves forward in a
Predictable way
Standard conditions keep changing in predictable ways that are connected to that changing timeline. Using the standard scale of both where we are now, and what will happen in the future, becomes the basis for moving from
Reactive to proactive
Reactive = surprise, proactive = plan
Structure fires progress through fairly standard stages. The three standard parts of “standard” are
1) conditions = Critical factors
2) action = SOP’s/training/application/critique/revision
3) outcome = result action has on conditions
Virtually everything at the incident occurs along a timeline. The ——– must serve as the focal point to manage and Mark time for everyone else operating at the incident
Incident management team
Incident factors provide a checklist of the major topics involved in
Size up, decision-making, initiating operations, and review and revision
Incident factors are a list of the basic items that the incident commander must consider when evaluating tactical situation. Name them
Customer profile, fire, time, occupancy, non-fire hazards/problems, action, special circumstances, life hazard, exposures, building, arrangement/access, resources, personnel safety
Critical factors are critical because of their physical and tactical consequences. Therefore, a basic commands job is for the incident commander to first figure out
What is critical and what is not
Generally, the longer a critical factor goes without attention,
The more dangerous and difficult it becomes
Certain types of information have a much higher bearing and effect on incident outcomes, especially as they pertain to firefighter safety and survival. These significant pieces of information are best described as
Red flags
The inseparable partner of affected information management is simple, clear,
Balanced communications
The critical unknowns must become information targets for the incident commander, and many times obtaining that piece of unknown information becomes a specific assignment for
Operational/recon company or sector
The incident commander requires good information to make effective safety decisions. Good information emerges out of consistently starting operations with a standard evaluation system to determine the
Critical incident factors that are present
The incident commander must continually compare and balance –—
—–against possible benefit of current operations
Responder safety
The incident commander must continually operate in a manner that connects a standard response to a standard condition that attempts to create a
Standard outcome
The incident commander should be able to deal with how many pieces of info
5-6 pieces
Buildings that present huge life safety and fire problems that would create a major fire fight/rescue/hazmat/collapse, involving much of an areas resources for an extended period of time. Major loss in these places can have a significant community effect
Super weight
Large buildings that present significant fire and rescue problems requiring a long term, greater alarm, campaign length. Of operation for control. Examples include large open where houses, high-rises, Mills, and commercial occupancies
Heavyweight
Medium size buildings that present a low level fire/physical problems requiring routine first of arm tactics with predictable occupancy load outcomes, such as smaller stores, commercial, industrial, older strip malls, and garden apartments with connected multiple units
Middleweight
Single-family and small commercial risk risks typically controlled by small standard group of 3 to 4 units of responders. They present a relatively low fire problem but must always be approached in a manner that includes standard safety practices.
Lightweight
The majority of our repeating working incident business occurs in these buildings
Lightweight
Lightweight structures are controlled by how many units usually
3 to 4 units
This would be useful for a place that is not typical and could present a dangerous surprise to responders
Pre-incident plan
Effective commo procedures provide us with a practical set of
How to communication guidelines
An extremely effective training approach we use to develop effective communication skills is through
Tactical simulation
The fall guy for organizational problems often becomes
Communications
Multiple radio frequencies gives the incident commander the capability to maintain an ——- and to stay ahead of a changing incident
effective span of control
While the communication system involves lots of hardware and software, the most critical element continues to be the —— the humans who actually make the system operate
liveware
The major communication players include
1) dispatch
2) incident commander
3) command support staff
4) operating units
5) other agencies
Every command function depends upon effective
Communications
The incident commander operates on the strategic level in deals with instant valuation, decision-making, assignments, operational control, and revision to manage the overall
strategy and the action plan
The incident management system generally gives the first arriving company officer IC the option, based on incident conditions of operating outside the command post in an —– or —–or selecting a ——–position and staying inside the command post from the beginning of operations
investigation or fast action mode
command mode
The fast action mode gives the incident commander the capability to combine both – and – by using his/her portable radio to move around the incident site and still stay connected and in command
Action and command
Four basic forms of incident communications:
1) Face to face
2) Radio
3) electronic support
4) Standard operating procedures
To ensure that the message is completely and properly received by the receiver, the – model should be used. Before the messages sent the receiver must indicate that he/she is ready
Commo order
Sometimes just giving the occupancy name of well-known local places adequately describes all four (-, -, -, -) to homey responders, i.e. Ajax theater, North high, City Hall
size, height, exposures, occupancy
These procedures describe the communication rolls, functions, and approach of every operational level. These become the basis for the standard planning/training/doing/critiquing package that consistently creates both operational effectiveness and continuous improvement. Effective communication procedures provide us with a practical set of “how to” communication guidelines
SOP’s(Standard communication system element)
What personal communication techniques have a very direct effect on the quality of communication?
Voice levels, word choice, timing, tone, level of excitement, and degree of patience
Simply, if you can’t move important information (communications) or create effective action, don’t
push the button
Fast action command operations should not last long and are generally limited to the incident commander coordinating only how many units?
2 to 3 units
Standard communications between the incident commander and the sector officer are used initially to establish the sector and generally include a
location, function, objective, and the resources assigned to that sector
What type of communications usually occur among workers, team members, and sector officers within the work site?
Face-to-face communications
When should a different agencies decide how they will operate together at Showtime?
It is essential that all area resources get together way ahead of the incident
What is the best form of communications?
Face-to-face
This is the best communications form because the participants can combine a variety of verbal and nonverbal interpersonal methods. This form of communication is necessarily limited to the range of direct, up close, personal contact
Face-to-face
The advantage of this form of communication is speed and the ability to communicate with many different people located over a large area. The main disadvantage is it’s one dimensional characteristic – only voice
Radio
This form of communication creates a high level of predictability and confidence, eliminate a lot of routine traffic, and free communication space and time for more critical traffic
SOP’s
Describe the communications order model
To ensure that the message is completely and properly received by the receiver, the commo order model should be used. Before the message is sent, the receiver must indicate that they are ready. After a message is sent, the receiver must briefly restate the message to verify understanding
Sector radio reports to command should include:
1) position (where are you?)
2) progress (how are you doing?)
3) needs (resources and support) (what you need?)
4) PAR (are you OK?)
Radio messages sent to operating units must be
Task oriented, location-based, and indicate the operational objective
Once responders have received their initial assignment, e.g. “open the roof”, there is little need for them to initiate additional transmissions unless they
are faced with unexpected operational or safety problems, or barriers, or until the assignment is completed
Command/sectors must realize that the ability of working units to communicate is directly proportional to their
operating position
The incident commander should talk enough to support the current command function, trust the troops to do their jobs, and then
be quiet
Basic techniques that will improve fire ground communications:
1) Be sure, specific, and clear
2) listen critically
3) maintain self-control
4) avoid distracting mannerisms
5) prioritize messages
6) keep Messages task oriented
7) be supportive
8) follow the order model
