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Self dispatching
How do other fire departments deal with fire fighters that self dispatch to medical MVA's and fires. I know they mean well.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by T.J. on
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well they do both, they make it look good to the public but then just stand in the way once the rig shows up, it gets old for sure.
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Permalink Reply by Patrick Twohig on
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We dont allow freelancing at all, even the volunteers are required to come to the station and catch an apparatus. This prevents everyone showing up on scene and wondering if somebody remebered to getthe truck. Has happened in a town next to us that we had an automatic aid agreement with. 10 min after the cal we were the first fire apparatus in with 15 of thier own guys standing around. As aqllows there are exception to all rules, such as if you come up on the wreck on your way to the station, etc.
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Permalink Reply by Kenny on
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Well these are situations where most of the guys are younger or have little or no lives. Once you have some kids, 2 jobs and a wife with a list of honey doo's. The fact that you might get there and just sit as a R.I Team or get put to work for 1/2 an hours and then pack hose is boring to the guys with time under their belts. We are all getting older and the rules are getting harder, play by the rules and you will not get hurt. Anyone who rode on the tail of fire trucks and had roll up boots can relate to this.
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Permalink Reply by Mike on
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my department has an agreement with one of our M.A. departments, that if we hear a call that they are dispatched on and we have two crews in station. We can bid their call for an engine. This works great, counting the last time we did this they falled 2 calls at the same time. Which our engine handled. If their duty officer says no we don't go. most of the time they say yes. Their duty officer calls county for a dipatch of our engine. County then dispatches us so the computer aided dispatch system knows that our engine is out on call. This is a great agreement for low manpowered companys
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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on
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Interesting responses so far, and I have a couple of additions to my original post.
First, Ted brought up a good point about members from other FDs showing up at your scene. It depends on what the incident is; for example, we had an off-road rescue and a volunteer from another department showed up. I pressed him into service since what we needed were people to lift and carry a stokes basket out of the woods. If it were a structure fire and interior people were needed - no way am I going to allow members of other departments to go in, unless an officer from their department is on scene and certifies that the person is fully qualified.
The other point touched on is self-dispatching on department apparatus; this would be an absolute no-no for many reasons. Anyone caught doing this in my department without authorization from the chief would most likely regret the decision.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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This should no longer an accepted practice anywhere. Now coming across an accident scene or other type of incident can never be anticipated and it does happen and countless lives have been saved. But as a rule, and for obvious insurance, liability and common sense factors, if you are responding to an incident, it should be in an emergency response vehicle. To have a ton of vehicles showing up at an already congested accident scene for example, would make law enforcement folks go nuts.
Are there emergency response systems out there that encourage a multi-private vehicle response? Before anyone is allowed to drive Code 3, there has to be training and knowledge shared both by veteran drivers and law enforcement representatives. This is a huge responsibility and potential financial liability for the department or agency. If people can't see a fire truck, can they see a personal vehicle any easier?
This whole thing about driving fast, with lights and sirens is totally overrated. In many situations, just driving Code 2, for example on highway responses is actually safer and just as fast. People act funny when an emergency vehicle comes up behind them... Add high speed to the formula and the results could be fatal. We all want to come and play, it just has to be controlled by the Chief officer's who are responsible for the incident and responding personnel.
Keep in mind that this liability philosophy has had some significant outcomes. Two volunteer firefighters responded to a large wildfire on a remote unmanned division. Both of these firefighters were killed when the fire changed direction and the Incident Commander never even knew that they had "self dispatched". He was found liable for negligence reportedly and it sent shock waves through the federal management teams. Having personal liability insurance is now not that uncommon.
Having unaccounted resources responding to an incident is a past practice that has run it's course. It also could be the demise of smaller departments or townships that are challenged with current insurance rates as it is. What ever actions we take, we have to remember who we serve and that we have to be as cost effective and safe as possible when responding to the call...
The life we save may be our own... Mike from Santa Barbara
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