Many organizations across the country have scaled back their
automatic fire alarm response over the past 5 years. Many fire departments are
simply having a single engine respond to fire alarm calls, while others have
cut back the response to an engine and a truck. For the sake of this article,
we will not address Department of Insurance standards or the changing of these
standard to allow for the reduction in responding assets.
Why cut back the response?
Money. The number
one reason for trimming back the response on automatic fire alarm calls is of a
fiscal nature. The amount of money a fire department has in a budget year
dictates the allowable response at times. With many public safety organizations
feeling the brunt of the recession, responses have been scaled back to save
money. Personnel, fuel, equipment
maintenance, etc…. all costs money.
Complacency. Many
of the fire alarm calls in the United States each year are unfounded with no
emergency present. The majority are false activations.
Loss of focus. With
call volumes on the rise nationwide, cutting back on some of the incidents
companies respond to eases the load on the personnel. The few “working fires”
that morph out of an automatic fire alarm are forgotten when these types of
decisions are made.
Bandwagon Syndrome. Everyone
else is cutting back the response to fire alarms. Something must be wrong with
us if we don’t do it also. Right?
Safety. Why place
more trucks on the road responding to a call that most likely will turn out to
be false? It puts the public and the responders at risk.
What is wrong with trimming the response?
Firefighters operate in worst-case scenarios. Every incident
may be the “big one”.
Why do you monitor a home on a CO call? Simply because you
are treating it as worst-case scenario and ensuring that there is no hazards
present. When CO is ruled out, the incident is de-escalated. The same should be
true for fire alarm activations.
Fire alarm activations are structure fires until proven
otherwise.
The above statement is the bottom line. Our job is to treat
calls like the real deal until we; the firefighters prove there is nothing
emergent occurring. Trimming back the response does nothing but foster
complacency. One Engine Company responding to an incident that we know should
be treated as a structure fire creates a subconscious cues in the brain that
de-escalates the situation prior to arrival causing firefighters to treat the situation
with less efficiency. In addition, the scaled back response delays firefighters
from arriving with sufficient manpower on a working fire and create situations
that do not ensure rapid intervention is organized in a timely manner,
especially with a crew already on the scene going to work. In many locales
nationwide, there is also a time lapse from when the first engine arrives on
scene, declares a “working fire” to the time it takes for the appropriate
assets to be dispatched, to the time it takes the crews to respond.
One Engine Company or one Engine Company and a Truck Company
are not sufficient.
What is the solution?
The solution is to have enough resources dispatched that can
appropriately handle a “working fire” situation for a period of time while
other assets are dispatched and responding. A minimum of three engine companies
and a truck company is my recommendation for automatic fire alarms. It is a
scaled back response that ensures success on the first few minutes of a “working
fire” situation. The first due Engine Company and first due Truck Company
responds in an emergency response fashion. The other units respond in a non-emergency
fashion, however maintains their state of readiness (full turnouts, tools, game
plan, etc…) Here is how it breaks down…..
1st Due Engine Company (Emergent Response)-
Investigation, Fire Attack
2nd Due Engine Company (Non-Emergent Response
unless upgraded)- Water Supply, Second Hose Line.
3rd Due Engine Company (Non-Emergency Response
unless upgraded)- Rapid Intervention.
1st Due Truck Company (Emergent Response Assist with
investigation, Forcible Entry, Truck Company Operations if required)
Why should the truck company respond emergent? They are a
specialized unit that provides tactical support to the engine company to ensure
incident success. (Forcible Entry, Ventilation, Search and Rescue, Overhaul, Secondary
Egress etc…)
The fiscal impact of the above recommendation should not be
taken lightly; rather decisions should be made to reduce spending in other
non-essential areas so that incident response doesn’t take a direct hit.
The fire service needs to return to worst-case scenario mindset
and make decisions that ensure tactical success. Remember, the community is
counting on you to fix their problem and save their lives. Be smart with decision-making,
ensure tactical success, and do so while ensuring success of the business aspect
of the organization as well.
Be safe out there.