Roll call or PAR policy

I posted this on another group and got no replies. I figured that I would try this one being it has the most members.

Does anyone have a policy (one that works) for conducting a roll call at a scene in the volunteer setting? I am not bashing anyone, I am just trying to find a system that works.

Here is why I ask. In this area the volunteers respond on their apparatus and in their personal vehicles. It is not impossible to have upwards of 50 firefighters from your department and only 4 pieces of apparatus plus the mutual aid companies on scene. Everyone hands in their accountability tag and goes to work. Assignments are given out to the companies and to firefighters arriving in their POV. We all know how manpower staging has its flaws. The accountability tags are usually not sorted until the accountability officer is assigned.

Now what if you have some type of event happens at the scene that would require you to account for everyone on the fireground.

I know, in my career department, that my crew is on the riding list, accountability tags are together and that crew stays together for the incident. So our roll call is pretty smple (ie. Accounability to E1. E1 accounted for on the first floor. Accounability to E2. E2 accounted for on the second floor. ect.).

Now given the scenario, what procedure do you use that could account for everyone within a reasonable amount of time to ensure you have to make a rescue not a recovery because of the time it took.?

I have been asking this question for a while now and nobody really has answered it. They do agree that it is a problem though. So let's hear what you all think.