So Many Decisions

Decision Time!

This is an incident that could turn out to be very interesting.

This is going to address the use of back up lines and when they are deployed.

I had an interesting conversation about assignments, as you could tell from the previous post.

This discussion circled around the deployment of the second apparatus on the scene. This is not a metro response where engines do engine work and so on. Rather, this is where the second in unit is assigned upon arrival.

With this picture in mind, what does your second in unit do? Does it backup the first in crew with a hand line? Does it perform ventilation? Just where do you order this second in crew and what are the tactical priorities?

I believe that there is a time and situation for using the second in unit for a back up line, but not automatically just because they are the second unit there.

What do you think and why? You gave some great insight into run procedures, so I know there will be some great conversation on this one.

Stay low and be safe.

http://firefightersenemy.com

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Permalink Reply by Spanner 122 on June 8, 2010 at 4:41pm

Generally, for us, the second in crew will always back up the first in crew. Driver secures water supply if it has not already been done and the crew grabs a hand line and begins a primary search. Typically the first in crew is already in as fire attack. The fire is venting a bit at the roof, next in crew will be ventilation. Of course, we would have two crews running the initial assignment for residential alarms and the working fire call would have been put in upon arrival, or even based on dispatch information from callers, so our additional crews would be right around the corner.
We follow a pretty standard set of procedure for running assignments.