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Ten Minutes in the Street: “Dispatch to Chief..You’ve got Two Working Fires…”
Ten Minutes in the Street: “Dispatch to Chief..You’ve got Two Working Fires…”
It’s a weekday and a holiday…
The dispatcher gets a hold of you and informs you that you have companies working all-hands at two working fires; each one at different ends of the city.
Engine 21 is reporting a working fire and transmitting a second alarm at a Townhouse Fire with a report of a trapped occupant (HERE) and Engine 13 is transmitting a working fire at a large commercial building (HERE). You can tell by the transmissions, that both appear serious in nature and urgency. Greater alarm units and mutual aid companies are either enroute or are being dispatched. As you listen to the radio transmissions on the tactical channels both incidents are escalating in severity and magnitude.
As the Chief of the Department;
• Which alarm are you going to respond to, and why?
• If you’re not going to respond, why not and where are you going to go?
• With two major events transpiring simultaneously, as the Chief, what are the concerns and issues that you’d be thinking about?
• What information, if any would you be seeking and from who?
• What’s a stake, what’s your risk assessment of the incidents thus far based upon radio traffic? (read each scenario description, HERE and HERE)
Provides us some insights from a Chief Officer's perspective on what the concerns and issues are that would be going through your mind when confronted with such a series of events....
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Cole on
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Now, if I choose NOT to respond to either...as I have both Deputy Chiefs, and Battalion Chiefs at each job, I will then respond to the alarm room/dispatch center. There I can monitor radio reports through all channels, and coordinate the response and placement of companies, mutual-aid, and covering assignments. In most cases, that is the best place to obtain all the information and status reports, as well as inform dispatch personnel of any changes needed, without causing radio confusion. It will then become the command post, with each incident being sub-divided into separte operations.
The command post at communications center will serve to function as a unified command post as well, as in most cases two major incidents will indicate a major incident and effort by most communities and require the response and efforts of local and regional resources. The alternate could be fire headquarters.
The commercial fire, providing no major haz mat is involved, will depend less on aggresive, offensive operations, and companies will be required to work outside collapse zones, using master streams. Exposure protection is the priority, the fire will have to be contained, but extinguishment will not be a priority until all avaialbale resources are satisified for both incidents. This fire could, in theory, be allowed to burn, although somewhat slowed, and held in check.
The residential fire, with the potential for large loss of property, occupant displacement, and life hazards, will require the majority of resources. Wood frame construction' lightweight materials, and potential for heavy fire to involve exposures to the rear row units, flying brands may even spread fire to roofs accross the cul de sac, all pose potential for conflagration hazards. With the residential fire going to defensive, and the need to move large volumes of water, this fire would require the presence of the highest ranking authority, if the command/dispatch center is not the choice.
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