incident management

Situational Awareness Video

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This is a very good video put together by Peoria Fire Training.  The video details a strip mall fire on 99th Avenue just north of Peoria in Arizona.  Take a look at the video, share it with others, and take a look at some of the information below.

Situational Awareness and Decision Making

As firefighters we often face a multitude of decisions that need to be made at a moments notice.  This situations are very hard to prepare for on the spot, they must be churning in your mind before they happen.  Fundamentally what we do at a structure fire hardly ever changes.  However, the situation we are faced with is never the same.  We must rely on those fundamental play calls that every department should have down to a science.  Then when we encounter extraordinary situations we have the ability to audible to a solution.

So, if we have the plays mastered and we have rolled scenarios through our minds prior to the incident then our primary focus should be to recognize the blind side that can come at any moment.  All other functions on the fireground should be fluid and understood so that we remain open to audibles and call them when we need to.

Hats off to the Peoria Fire Department for sharing this information.  With training videos like these thousands of firefighters can learn from their experiences and recognize those red flags that are present on many of our day to day incidents.

Electrical Hazards

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As firefighters we respond to many incidents where down power lines become an issue.  This video is a reminder that power lines can energize fences, structural components, water, etc.  Always use caution around these lines and evaluate your incidents constantly.  At this recent mobile home fire; firefighters were performing an attack when the service line at the rear of the structure fell and began arcing against the mobile home.  This could have caused the entire metal framed mobile home to become energized.  All firefighters were notified on radio and face to face to ensure they were aware of the hazard.  This was already a defensive fire so it was decided to back away from the structure until the power company could safely disconnect the line.