Unit 3: Operational Scene Safety Analysis Flashcards
Common Incident Safety Considerations
- Personnel (Are the personnel present appropriate for the incident?)
- ICS
- Communications
- Situational awareness (Be aware of your surroundings)
- No freelancing
- Rehabilitation
- Accountability systems
- Rapid intervention crews (RIC/RIT)
Special Considerations for Wildland Fire Safety Incidents
Weather impacts(temperature, humidity and solar radiation)
Wildland fuels potential varies by minute
10 Standard Fire Orders for Wildland Fires
- Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts
- Know what fires doing all the time
- Base actions on current and expected behavior of fire
- ID escape routes and safety zones, and make them known
- Post lookouts where there’s potential danger
- Be alert, keep calm, think clearly, act decisively
- Maintain prompt communication with your forces, supervisor and adjoining forces
- Give clear instructions and be sure they’re understood
- Always maintain control of forces
- Aggressively fight fire, ensuring safety first
Wildland Fires: “Watch Out” Situations
Developed by US Forest Service
Standardized conditions that may indicate safety issues
Any Wildland firefighter should be familiar with the 18 situations
18 “Watch Out”Situations
- Fire not scouted and sized up
- Country not seen in daylight
- Safety zones and escape routes not ID’d
- Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior
- Uninformed on strategy, tactics and hazards
- Instructions and assignments not clear
- No communication link with crew and supervisors
- Constructing line without safe anchor point
- Building fireline downhill with fire below
- Attempting frontal assault on fire
- Unburied fuel between you and the fire
- Can’t see main fire and not in contact with someone who can
- Location on hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below
- Weather becoming hotter and drier
- Wind increasing and/or changing directions
- Getting frequent spot fires across lines
- Terrain and fuels make escape to safety zones difficult
- Taking a nap near fire line
Wildland Firefighting: LCES
L - Lookout
C - Communicatios
E - Escape Routes
S - Safety Zones
Key Wildland Fire Concepts
- Greater human resource needs
- Greater logistical support needs
- Greater geographical area to monitor
- Unique safety concerns
- Requires unique ISO training
Considerations for Structural Fire Safety: Occupancy Considerations
Single family and multi family dwellings
Commercial structures
Industrial structures
Considerations for Structural Fire Safety: Construction Considerations
Single story
Multistory
High-rise
Below ground
Large footprint
Considerations for Structural Fire Safety: Construction Types
Fire-resistive
Non-combustible/limited combustible
Ordinary
Heavy timber
Wood frame
Considerations for Structural Fire Safety: Fire Progression
Current day vs legacy materials: current burns faster
Controlling airflow
Transitional attacks(starts outside and moves inside)
EMS Incident Safety Considerations: Highway Incidents
- Proper blocking and staging
- Roadway shutdown
- Proper lighting
- Proper reflective clothing
EMS Incident Safety Considerations: Types of Responses
- Gunshots
- Suicides
- Mass gatherings
- Active shooter
Technological Incident Safety
- Hazardous materials
- Confined space rescue
- Below grade/trench rescue
- High angle rescue
- Structural collapse operations
Potential Operational Modes
Offensive/defensive
Rescue mode
Transitional attack
Audible Indicators for ISO
Command presence
Clear communications
Decisiveness
Vocal inflection
Considerations of ISO for On Scene Arrival
Avoid tunnel vision
“10,000 foot look”
Scene organization and command presence
Immediate life safety issues
Face to Face Considerations for ISO
Meet with the Incident Commander (IC)
Maintain a supportive attitude
Gain situational awareness
Gain Situational Awareness: Priorities (LIP)
Life Safety
Incident Stabilization
Property Conservation
Gain Situational Awareness
Priorities (LIP)
Incident objectives
Strategies
Resource deployment
Command structure
Cold Control Zone
Contains command post and other support functions to control incident
Warm Control Zone
Outside the hot zone where personnel and equipment are decontaminated
Hot Control Zone
Hazardous area
Brings appropriate attention to all safety aspects of operations
Incident Safety Officer
The ISO reports to and supports the…
Incident Commander
The groundwork for proper safety management for an organization on scene are laid by….
Safety policies and procedures
The ultimate responsibility of safety on scene falls on…
The Incident Commander
Who serves as the eyes and ears of the IC on all matters dealing with scene safety
The ISO
Safety issues are typically identified during the development of the….
Incident Action Plan (IAP)
When is the IAP developed
While the IC implements initial objectives and strategies
A formal IAP is developed for implementation after
The initial operational period
The ISO must contribute to the IAP with regards to…
Safety related issues
The initial incident and strategies and the formal IAP MUST embody
Principles of safety
Safety Officer Responsibilities
- Ongoing assessment of hazardous environments (ICS Form 215A, Incident Action Plan Safety Analysis)
- Development of the Incident Safety Message (ICS Form 208, Safety Message/Plan)
- Coordination of multiagency safety efforts
- Action to ensure the implementation of appropriate safety measures
- Monitoring safety of incident operations
Assistant ISO
An individual appointed or assigned at an incident scene by the IC to assist the ISO at complex or technical emergency incidents
Situational Awareness
Paying attention to and understanding what is going on in the environment around you
The ISO must avoid the desire to engage in tactical control activities, because
Takes the ISO’s mind of the the task
Creates too narrow a focus
ISO continuously monitors the scene for….
- Standard outlying requirements of all personnel
- Rehabilitation process
- Continued use of respiratory protective equipment
- Use of proper PPE
- Compliance with organizational policies (monitor scene control, monitor accountability system, ensure rehab, crew rotation)
- Absence of freelancing
The key functions of ISO defined by NFPA 1521
To suspend, alter, or terminate unsafe acts or hazardous activities
IC must be notified of any action which may affect objectives and strategies
ISO Function: Suspend
To delay to allow proper safety measures or conditions to be achieved
ISO Functions: Alter
To change the activity being conducted in a way to allow the activity to be completed more safely
ISO Functions: Terminate
To stop an activity completely due to changing safety conditions or unsafe practices
Control Line
All constructed or natural barriers and treated fire edges used to control a Wildland fire
