Engine Company Riding Assignments

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Permalink Reply by John McManus on December 14, 2008 at 6:09pm

Here in the home world, riding assignments started with one officer and has spread to one of three shifts. At my station we have riding assignments for our quint company and medic company for both engine and truck functions. If we are both in house we have one of our medics jump over to the quint. Additionally, we have extended the assignments to dive/water operations, rural/wildland operations, and Cardio Cerebral resuscitation operations. The assignments make working at a busy central fire house with a lot of support apparatus a lot more manageable. I'll try to follow up with an attached form to illustrate better.

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Permalink Reply by Todd Trudeau on December 15, 2008 at 4:03pm

I agree with all the posts that use riding assignments and the statements about taking some of the confusion away on the scene. I've been trying to push for this in my department but always hit a road block with the officers. The usual story is we're to small of a department, we don't know who'll be responding or every scene is different. My thought is that if the responding members have a starting point of what is expected of them upon arrival, they will be better prepared to perform those jobs and any change from the norm would be easier to adapt to. It seems not having them leave more for the IC to filter through among everything else he's doing. Jobs wouldn't be missed or duplicated. All I can do is keep pushing and try to show the validity and benefits from having position assignments.

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Permalink Reply by John McManus on December 15, 2008 at 8:46pm

Todd, you can't push anything with a string.

If you are meeting resistance, you have to grow this idea in your own company first. Because you are working on a smaller department, you have the most to gain by having riding assignments. Fires simply do not care how many firefighters come to try and put them out. Less people means you have to be more efficient. Running back to the truck for tools is not terribly efficient.

At the very least, start with the idea that nobody walks away from the truck without A tool. Then work toward assignments.

mac


Todd Trudeau said:

I agree with all the posts that use riding assignments and the statements about taking some of the confusion away on the scene. I've been trying to push for this in my department but always hit a road block with the officers. The usual story is we're to small of a department, we don't know who'll be responding or every scene is different. My thought is that if the responding members have a starting point of what is expected of them upon arrival, they will be better prepared to perform those jobs and any change from the norm would be easier to adapt to. It seems not having them leave more for the IC to filter through among everything else he's doing. Jobs wouldn't be missed or duplicated. All I can do is keep pushing and try to show the validity and benefits from having position assignments.

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Permalink Reply by John McManus on December 20, 2008 at 12:18pm

Here is a typical setup for our central firehouse as promised. Note, there are only six names on the sheet for our house. The outlying station templates are included.

John McManus said:

Here in the home world, riding assignments started with one officer and has spread to one of three shifts. At my station we have riding assignments for our quint company and medic company for both engine and truck functions. If we are both in house we have one of our medics jump over to the quint. Additionally, we have extended the assignments to dive/water operations, rural/wildland operations, and Cardio Cerebral resuscitation operations. The assignments make working at a busy central fire house with a lot of support apparatus a lot more manageable. I'll try to follow up with an attached form to illustrate better.

Attachments:

• Station combo assignment working copy.xls, 26 KB

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Permalink Reply by AJ Pettis on January 7, 2009 at 5:49pm

Both our engine and our tower has riding assignments. This is used not only for accountability, but also you know what is going on when you get on scene. So instead of everyone getting off of the rig and just going to town and duplicating tasks, everyone is assigned to the job of the seat they are riding in. This also takes a load off of the officer in the way that they don't have a crowd of guys coming up to them and saying what do you want us to do, so now the officer can go about his 360 and come up with a plan. For example of our engine:

Nozzle seat- grab flashlight, radio, and appropriate line. Stretch line and flake to entrance
Back up- grab flashlight, radio, irons. Help flake line, assist with forceable entry and could be used as secondary officer on line
OVM- grab flashlight, radio, hook, halligan, ladders. Shut of utilities on 360, find fire window and wait for officers orders to vent, could also be used for VES
Control Man- flashlight, radio, hook. This is a junior position and either humps hose or sticks with officer
D/O- rig placement, set pump, secure water supply if 2nd engine isn't available, throw ladders

This works great for us. Just have to remember that this is useless unless your personnel know and understand their SOP's and their duties of every position on every rig. Hope this helps and good luck. Stay safe

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Permalink Reply by Nick Weiland on January 9, 2009 at 12:34pm

My station at work runs an engine co(3members) and ambulance(2members)
Engine=
Driver- drives, lays out, clear hosebed if nozzleman left any, secures supply, and pumps, also responsible for kinks up to the front door, then throws 1 or 2 ladders
Boss- TIC, small hook(on houses) or hydra ram for apartments and hi-rises. also on hi rises brings a 100' hose "rack"
Nozzle- makes the stretch, nozzle selection (fog or slug tip), hi rises brings 100' hose rack.
All memebers bring SCBA, Light, Radio, and a lot have rope(not mandated).

Ambulance= Per OSHA is the ''2 out'' unless not on the assignment, then the 2nd arriving rig is assigned ''2out''
Driver-Assist w/ the stretch and/or stretch's 2nd line.
Aid- OV, ladders (stretcher and aid bag to side A)
On a hi rise, the ambo takes aid bag, irons, and can to floor below the fire as the ''2out''


Now my opinion of an ideally set up Engine Co
Driver- see above
Boss- TIC
Nozzle-see above
B/u- assist w/line backs up nozzle
Door- irons and hydra ram (if no trk) accounts for kinks, chocks every door the hose passes, and humps hose as needed
Control- makes the call for which line, assist with line to front door, then humps hose a** needed, carries spare nozzle and water can, makes hose and riser connections on hi rise jobs

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Permalink Reply by jarad hall on January 13, 2010 at 7:41pm

I work as a career firefighter where our captain has assigned us riding positions and running with a volunteer company that does not have any thing like this implemented I have seen how much this works. I think that it greatly increases your effeciency on the fireground and now the officer has one less thing to worry about on the way and when we get there. I absolutely love the idea of having riding positions on the truck. I am looking to try to get my volunteer company to implement something like this. We run two engines and a tanker back home if anybody has thoughts on how to tailor these ideas to a rural department and ideas to get them in house it would greatly appreciated.

1631

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Permalink Reply by Larry Glover on January 13, 2010 at 8:16pm

You could try and put assignment cards with the seats. For example, if your seats are rear facing, place the assignment card on the back wall in front of the seat. The card will have the riding assignment for that particluar seat. This might work and it might not, depends on your manpower response. Good luck and let us know what you come up with.

Larry

jarad hall said:

I work as a career firefighter where our captain has assigned us riding positions and running with a volunteer company that does not have any thing like this implemented I have seen how much this works. I think that it greatly increases your effeciency on the fireground and now the officer has one less thing to worry about on the way and when we get there. I absolutely love the idea of having riding positions on the truck. I am looking to try to get my volunteer company to implement something like this. We run two engines and a tanker back home if anybody has thoughts on how to tailor these ideas to a rural department and ideas to get them in house it would greatly appreciated.

1631

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