Opinions from Around the Country

Photo courtesy of Robbinsville Professional Firefighters IAFF Local 3786 @IAFFLocal3786

Bobby Halton and Bill Carey

We are reinitiating the Fire Engineering Roundtable column however it will be online on Fire Engineering and FirefighterNation. We have received a lot of interest in the last question and heard from many wanting to participate. This month’s question is:

“Upon arrival what is the most fundamental fireground responsibility as a crew, engine or truck?”

Mike Ciampo

The most fundamental responsibility for each firefighter to conduct when arriving on scene is to perform their own personal size-up.  Every firefighter, no matter if it’s from an engine or truck company, from their first run until their last, must conduct an immediate size-up of the conditions encountered so they’re able to perform their specific duties, tasks or tactics in a timely and safe manner.  If you can’t size-up the situation that you’ll face your bound to make a mistake and this could lead to the snowball effect, where one small problem leads to a larger problem.  Each firefighter must size-up the scene and pay close attention to the specific area where their actions are needed in according to the tasks that they are assigned.  In addition, all firefighters must continually size-up the scene and understand how it is evolving and how it may change their mindset and the tactics that they are performing.  You can’t be part of a knowledgeable engine or truck crew if you don’t learn how to perform a personal size-up at every emergency or fire scene.  

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