Coffee Table Quick Tips: Vol. 2 - Issue 10

"The Rules of Going to War"

With the implementation of Incident Command (IC), the tone for operational success and the overall safety of the Officers and Firefighters working on scene can be determined with what resources are established from the start.

The fire service as a whole uses a plethora of abridgements as quick references and checklists to confirm that nothing gets missed in regards to setting up an incident. Company Officers and first arriving units utilize acronyms for size up, developing an Incident Action Plan (IAP) and even draw them up to memory for use during a MAYDAY situation.

Regardless of your opinion or personal use of acronyms, many have proven to be met with a positive outcome when used properly and used often.

For this week’s Coffee Table Quick Tip, we are going to briefly outline an acronym that was taught to me as part of the “rules of going to war”. The abbreviation A RULES WAR helps to ensure that all bases are covered in regards to requesting and assigning all of the much needed resources that need to assemble on scene for ultimate operational victory.

A RULES WAR

Additional Alarms: brings in sufficient manpower to the scene.

Rapid Intervention Teams (RIT): Firefighter safety is paramount.

Utilities: to control and alleviate services such as electric, gas and water.

Law Enforcement: to control both the crowd and traffic.

Emergency Medical Services (EMS): to triage or treat first responders or the patients on scene.

Safety Officer: to oversee fireground conditions, building construction and actions implemented.

Water Supply Officer: an essential person to oversee the securing of hydrants and or water holes.

Accountability Officer: to track location and duties of ALL personnel and apparatus on scene.

Rehab Unit: with sufficient manpower, rotating and rehabbing personnel operating is essential.

(Photo Credit: Patrick Dooley - www.squadfirephotos)

AB Turenne is a 25-year veteran of the fire service and is currently the Captain of Training and Safety with a career department in Middlesex County Connecticut. As a Certified Level III Fire Service Instructor, AB's training curriculum has proven to be conducive with the operational needs of those he teaches and in turn has improved the human capital knowledge of many. A graduate from the Master of Public Administration program at Anna Maria College, AB has continued his efforts in training and education by contributing to the Fire Engineering Training Community.