Defining "Standby"for firehouse reporting - My Firefighter Nation2024-03-29T15:28:18Zhttps://my.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/defining-standby-for-firehouse-reporting?commentId=889755%3AComment%3A6051651&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI appreciate all the input. W…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-25:889755:Comment:60531582011-09-25T14:21:30.271ZRobert Venablehttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/RobertVenable
I appreciate all the input. We are going to use this info to formulate an sop/sog on this matterat our next officers meeting. This will definitely help us with the problem we are having and having a written policy will eliminate any guess work or interpretation that is going on now. Thanks everyone for the help!
I appreciate all the input. We are going to use this info to formulate an sop/sog on this matterat our next officers meeting. This will definitely help us with the problem we are having and having a written policy will eliminate any guess work or interpretation that is going on now. Thanks everyone for the help! Robert,
This is clearly an…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-25:889755:Comment:60530992011-09-25T13:52:32.400ZFETChttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/Bill72
<p>Robert,</p>
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<p>This is clearly an individual department / administrative decision. A decision that should factor in call volume, personal committment, time, and level of service coverage desired by the Fire Chief.</p>
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<p>Now here is my take - If individuals respond back to the station and do not make the apparatus because of the time, travel distance, work, etc. What benefit would it be to the community, if they were allowed to be released to go back to the area for which…</p>
<p>Robert,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This is clearly an individual department / administrative decision. A decision that should factor in call volume, personal committment, time, and level of service coverage desired by the Fire Chief.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now here is my take - If individuals respond back to the station and do not make the apparatus because of the time, travel distance, work, etc. What benefit would it be to the community, if they were allowed to be released to go back to the area for which it took so long to come from to begin with? Meaning overlapping calls, the next out apparatus response would be increased by many minutes.</p>
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<p>Now when I was a volunteer, if we missed the truck we were required to remain at the fire station in a state of readiness until the Incident Commander of the original emergency declared his call under control and placed sufficient equipment in service to respond "without delay" for a future call. Once this was done, the station coverage crew was allowed to sign out and be released. </p>
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<p>Like previously mentioned, some top responders on paper never go on an actual call but get the same credit as the one's who actually do all the work. My next thought is the top responder may have the absolute least amount of real firefighting experience. Then, if some know they are going to be immediately released, some could play the game to drag their feet and come in, sign in, then go back to whatever is more important to them.</p>
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<p>Like I said, your department administrator(s), like the Fire Chief, Chief Officer's, Fire Board, etc. need to create a policy on how they want the fire department to deliver service to the community. If two of you are discussing the interpretation of this now, then you are clearly lacking a clear and concise policy or procedure.</p>
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<p>FETC</p>
<p> </p> We had a guy that won top res…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-25:889755:Comment:60533502011-09-25T13:04:40.093ZJust Plain Craig Moyerhttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/JustPlainCraig
We had a guy that won top responder award 2 years in a row but never rode the engine once......
We had a guy that won top responder award 2 years in a row but never rode the engine once...... We define stand by as reporti…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-24:889755:Comment:60526272011-09-24T15:10:01.611ZAlan Ruferhttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/AlanRufer
<p>We define stand by as reporting to the station within 20 minutes of the intial page and staying until IC determines that you are not needed and releases you from the call. The 20 minutes encourages members that live out of town to respond to the station. Although they are not needed the majority of the time, their response has saved us a few times when our normal responders have been unavailable.</p>
<p>Hope his helps.</p>
<p>Al</p>
<p>We define stand by as reporting to the station within 20 minutes of the intial page and staying until IC determines that you are not needed and releases you from the call. The 20 minutes encourages members that live out of town to respond to the station. Although they are not needed the majority of the time, their response has saved us a few times when our normal responders have been unavailable.</p>
<p>Hope his helps.</p>
<p>Al</p> Standby for us would be to st…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-24:889755:Comment:60523772011-09-24T02:44:27.854Zashfirehttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/ashfire
<p>Standby for us would be to stay at the station to man any apparatus that didn't respond on the call or help the crew from another dept when they are sent to fill in from another county or state with info about the area. </p>
<p> Now if you are on standby you can't leave until your station's unit(s) are back in the station, ready for service like filling SCBA, replacing hose or cleaning apparatus or equipment and your name is on the station run sheet as a standby for credit by the officer in…</p>
<p>Standby for us would be to stay at the station to man any apparatus that didn't respond on the call or help the crew from another dept when they are sent to fill in from another county or state with info about the area. </p>
<p> Now if you are on standby you can't leave until your station's unit(s) are back in the station, ready for service like filling SCBA, replacing hose or cleaning apparatus or equipment and your name is on the station run sheet as a standby for credit by the officer in charge. </p> Well, there shouldn't be any…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-23:889755:Comment:60522492011-09-23T22:31:45.581ZAuxmanhttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/BlakeSasse
<p>Well, there shouldn't be any confusion within your department about it as there should be a policy in place so that there isn't any question. </p>
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<p>In my combo department we often get called out for alarms and usually the vols get to the station and remain there until the paid guys either say it is clear or we get enough of a crew to roll. We'll sometimes get called out to be on standby while the paid guys are all tied up at some other scene (usually a car accident) so that we…</p>
<p>Well, there shouldn't be any confusion within your department about it as there should be a policy in place so that there isn't any question. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>In my combo department we often get called out for alarms and usually the vols get to the station and remain there until the paid guys either say it is clear or we get enough of a crew to roll. We'll sometimes get called out to be on standby while the paid guys are all tied up at some other scene (usually a car accident) so that we cover the city while they're busy. If severe weather is on the way we'll often get called out to be on standby. On those night we only get "credit" for the initial callout no matter how many actual calls we go on after the initial page. Sometimes we get called out to fill in for one of the paid guys if he had to ride the ambulance in with a patient leaving one of the engines undermanned. </p>
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<p>But, in all cases, we all stay at the station until the situations that prompted the call-out is resolved. I suppose if we were there for a few hours and one of the guys had something he had to do, he would probably go home, but I haven't seen that happen. </p> Quick reply, dont have time.…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-23:889755:Comment:60518662011-09-23T21:24:33.054ZMoosehttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/Brian36
<p>Quick reply, dont have time.</p>
<p>A stand By is when one department is out to a large call and needs to have someone cover calls in their district AND be ready in case they need more help at scene. They call the mutual aid dept to stand by. I make the members of our department STAY at the station to get the credit. I couldnt stand it when guys came in, signed the book, THAN asked what the call was for ans when they heard they left and expected to still get credit...wrong.</p>
<p>For…</p>
<p>Quick reply, dont have time.</p>
<p>A stand By is when one department is out to a large call and needs to have someone cover calls in their district AND be ready in case they need more help at scene. They call the mutual aid dept to stand by. I make the members of our department STAY at the station to get the credit. I couldnt stand it when guys came in, signed the book, THAN asked what the call was for ans when they heard they left and expected to still get credit...wrong.</p>
<p>For someone to get stand by credit they need to physically be in the station and ready to respond to a call should another call be toned out for the mutual aid dept, or be ready to respond to the initial call for extra help. If you cant stay then technically you are not available for the call and you do not get credit. Thats just my 2 cents though!</p>
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<p> </p> At my all volunteer station i…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-23:889755:Comment:60517032011-09-23T17:34:09.847ZRobhttps://my.firefighternation.com/xn/detail/u_24c6l6pntccdh
<p>At my all volunteer station if a member responds from home (or is all ready at the station) and there is no seat for them on a vehicle, then they are listed on the call report under Standby at Station. This gives them the same credit point(s) as those who actually went to the scene. Our sog's say they must remain until everyone returns, however they may be allowed to leave early at the senior officers discretion. This works well for us because it balances members and the departments…</p>
<p>At my all volunteer station if a member responds from home (or is all ready at the station) and there is no seat for them on a vehicle, then they are listed on the call report under Standby at Station. This gives them the same credit point(s) as those who actually went to the scene. Our sog's say they must remain until everyone returns, however they may be allowed to leave early at the senior officers discretion. This works well for us because it balances members and the departments needs.</p>
<p>We staff 24hrs, but if a member sleeps through a call, then they do not get any credit (and must wash the rigs by themselves afterwards).</p> The problem we are having is…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-22:889755:Comment:60517662011-09-22T22:35:39.561ZJohn Crabbehttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/JohnCrabbe
<p><em>The problem we are having is the way individuals determine what standby means and not giving credit to personnel that come out for the call but are unable to make it on any apparatus. Some believe you should only get standby credit if you remain at the station for the duration of the call. Others believe just by coming to the station in an attempt to make the call that you should recieve credit.</em></p>
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<p>I figured this was a bit more about volunteers. On a FT dept we…</p>
<p><em>The problem we are having is the way individuals determine what standby means and not giving credit to personnel that come out for the call but are unable to make it on any apparatus. Some believe you should only get standby credit if you remain at the station for the duration of the call. Others believe just by coming to the station in an attempt to make the call that you should recieve credit.</em></p>
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<p>I figured this was a bit more about volunteers. On a FT dept we can get called to standby at another station or to more centrally locate due to an incident. If off duty and they need personnel to staff reserve rigs because of an incident, then we have it set up as a minimum 4 hour OT. If the incident is handled sooner, then OT crews will stick around up to the 4 hours.</p>
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<p>I can understand the issue on the volunteer side of things, too, but I do think you can also look to establish your own rules for a standby. When I did volunteer and someone didn't make the rig, they could sign in and get credit, but didn't have to stick aound. The issue also depends on the dept setup and so forth, not to mention the nature of the call. If the issue was a fire, then those who didn't make a rig out, would standby until the rig was back in service.</p>
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<p>So why not look into a compromise in establishing a rule, like a sign in/sign out and make a minimum call in time? For instance if you get a call and you get people showing up late to make a rig, then make it that they have to stay a minimum of an hour to get credit. If they can't stay an hour, then should they really receive credit for the call then? An average call takes about an hour, with paperwork, etc, etc, so if the call was over in the hour time frame, leave when the rig gets back, otherwise waiting an hour is not that big of deal to receive credit.</p>
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<p>If the call is a bit more involved, then the chief or an officer should be able to have those standing by to remain at the station if need be, otherwise, look to set a minimum time frame in order to receive credit for the call. This way it helps to curb those "screening" a call and happen to arrive "late" and just sign their name to get credit.</p> We are also a combination dep…tag:my.firefighternation.com,2011-09-22:889755:Comment:60517502011-09-22T19:10:23.818ZRobert Venablehttps://my.firefighternation.com/profile/RobertVenable
We are also a combination dept. The problem we are having is the way individuals determine what standby means and not giving credit to personnel that come out for the call but are unable to make it on any apparatus. Some believe you should only get standby credit if you remain at the station for the duration of the call. Others believe just by coming to the station in an attempt to make the call that you should recieve credit. We just want to get some input and come up with a clear definition…
We are also a combination dept. The problem we are having is the way individuals determine what standby means and not giving credit to personnel that come out for the call but are unable to make it on any apparatus. Some believe you should only get standby credit if you remain at the station for the duration of the call. Others believe just by coming to the station in an attempt to make the call that you should recieve credit. We just want to get some input and come up with a clear definition to make guidelines so there is no question on who should be recieving credit because there is a legal issue involved if someone gets hurt yet was not included in any report.