Safety Thought for the Day - Staging Prevents DIOs

"DIO" is a "Disfunctional Incident Outcome". A DIO can be something as mundane as two engines trying to lay in from opposite directions in the same street, or it can be something as severe as a LODD at hazmats, shootings, and other violent or escalating incidents.

Staging Prevents Funerals when you're responding to incidents with an expanding Hot Zone.

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Permalink Reply by Tom Ricotta on April 17, 2009 at 9:56am

Staging does help a lot, From accountability, to helping to prevent free-lancing. Then you can call in who you need as you need and as they are assigned. However it is only one piece of the puzzle. If you don't develop a pre-plan and know what will be required and from where, how do you know what to stage???

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Permalink Reply by Tony P on April 17, 2009 at 9:49pm

For large incidents we stage, smaller ones? Not usually.

Our normal method is for approaching appliances to either be told where to position and what to do as they are on-route, or for them to ask for instructions on the main fireground channel. If a fire is seen to be 'going' (what is called a working fire in North America I think) then the second in pumper will immediately run a feed into the primary pumper - they will then arrange a hydrant feed. In an area where there can't bee such standard and well-known tasks? Then staging would definiately help to minimise CF's.

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on April 17, 2009 at 11:00pm

Tony,

We run three engines (pumps), a truck, an ALS ambulance, and a battalion chief on structure fire alarms. If there's nothing showing...or if there's fire through the roof, the first engine and the battalion chief go to the scene, and the other apparatus stages one street (neighborhoods) or one block (less congested areas) away from the scene until they recieve an assignment. The first engine may establish its own water supply, or it may not. It's a situational choice by the 1st due officer. Regardless, the other apparatus don't try to all get on scene at the same time so that Command has time to make one decision at a time.

We've found that it prevents Command from sensory overload and it makes for better decisions when you only make one at a time.

We have well-known tasks, down to riding assignments by seat and what tools/hose are carried on what types of calls. We have a well-developed SOG book created by a committee chaired by Mick Mayers, and safety policies developed by our command staff and a very proactive firefighter committee. All of those help, but when 5 units get in Command's face at the same time, some of those units would be better served by taking a momentary "time out".

The other advantage to staggering arrivals by using staging is that you don't end up with the entire 1st alarm assignment exhausted after a 30 or 40 minute firefight in high heat/high humidity conditions like we have her for at least 4 months per year.

I'm not saying that your way doesn't work for you - obviously, it does. We've just found that our way works well for us.

Regards,
Ben

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Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on April 17, 2009 at 11:53pm

We have pre-plans, but not for every single-family dwelling. Staging gives the 1st-due engine officer time to find out what he has, develop a plan for attacking it, and then assign companies in a logical sequence.

It's amazing to see three engines crowd a dead-end street and block the truck a block away...only to have to move two of the engines after Command calls them and tells them to move out of the way.

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Permalink Reply by Tony P on April 18, 2009 at 5:51am

Your's sounds like a very good system Ben, designed to work and work smoothly! Ours does work for us, perhaps because of the geographic spread of vehicles? For instance, a going house fire in our own area at night will have our main pumper roll first, usually with our support truck 30 seconds or so behind it, our secondary pumper will roll third probably one to two minutes behind the primary. As any structure fire here will have automatic support from another Station (mutual aid) there will be another pumper rolling at about the same time as us - from a greater distance but still not far because we're in a suburban area. This support pumper usually arrives pretty well on the heels of the first, and will usually supply a BA crew as well as feed water into the primary. We rarely use aerials, we simply don't have many of them in the State! They seem to be in someone's too hard or too expensive bucket. Whatever.

I can see benefits in the staging conept, and it has been mentioned at my Brigade. Nothing has come of it yet. With the instance I described, we will know how many trucks will roll, so staging could work, during the day though we can never be sure how many of our own trucks can be crewed (full volunteer) so it could be counter productive. If the first pumper crew can see a large wuantity of smoke, it's likely that during the day further support will be requested - they'll arrive maybe ten minutes later, so wiil be able to supply fresh crew.

It all works. It's always interesting to hear different methods.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on April 18, 2009 at 6:12am

One of the most frustrating experiences I've had was when we responded to a call from the fire house during a monthly meeting. Everyone showed up at the scene at the same time; trying to do a size up, directing apparatus placement and personnel assignments simultaneously was quite challenging. Frustration set in quickly when other incoming officers countermanded the initial plan of attack. I think I used the term referred to by "strtcopr" quite forcefully on that occasion.

Great thought, Ben.