SIMPLIFIED SIZE-UP AND ACTION PLAN
BY JOHN B. TIPPETT, JR.
You?ve recently received your first promotion to lieutenant. Congratulations! You are now going to begin actually using the fireground decision-making process you?ve been observing and practicing in your mind. Over the years you have tried to glean as much information as possible and observe how your officers make critical fireground decisions. You marveled at how fluid the really seasoned leaders seemed to be in the tornado of confusion that greets first-arriving companies at working fires. You wonder, OHow will my decision-making process stand up under the pressure and scrutiny of the firefighters, fellow officers, and chiefs around me?O
Your strategic and tactical decision making is as untried as the gleaming white helmet and as stiff as the new white shirt you?re wearing. Just as you crawled before you walked and walked before you ran, taking small steps in the fireground decision-making foot race will help you develop into that long-distance, effortless decision maker you admire.
An organized, analytical approach to controlling a fire is necessary. Knowing the enemy, attacking its weaknesses, and protecting yourself are paramount to the successful extinguishment of any fire. The basic need of fire officers to organize the fireground has given rise to some excellent mnemonics and acronyms. ORECEO,O OLIPs,O OWALLACE WAS HOT,O and OCOAL WAS WEALTHO ?all help the fireground officer cover the necessary bases during the hectic and stressful first few minutes of a working fire.
A newly appointed first-arriving officer has an avalanche of stimuli to digest and react to on arrival. Experienced officers develop their evaluation skills through education, practice, and exposure to actual fireground situations. The new officer is often overwhelmed and forced to Ogo with the flowO until his skills sharpen. After attending a number of seminars, reading countless articles written by experienced fireground officers, picking the brains of officers I admire, and evaluating my own process, I?d like to suggest a mnemonic to help new officers cover the basics and become active (effective) fireground leaders more quickly.
OLOOREEO
The mnemonic OLOOREEO is a memory jogger that will help new officers, particularly truck officers, cover the basics on the fireground. It condenses size-up and action plan considerations into a simple format to get officers through those first fires. LOOREE helps officers move from the crawling to the walking stage of fireground decision making.
Truck companies, especially those staffed with fewer than four personnel, face a daunting task at the scene of a working structure fire. Add the ingredient of possibly trapped people, and the truck officer, driver, and third firefighter can quite easily be overwhelmed.
Lapping?taking a lap around the building?is the first step a truck officer must take after arriving at the scene. This critical act gives the officer a chance to evaluate conditions from a priority list of tasks that must be accomplished and to focus on the incident. Two sides of the structure are often visible from the cab on arrival; the officer, therefore, needs to check out only the other two sides after getting off the apparatus. The lap around the building doesn?t always require a physical hike completely around the structure. A complete circle is appropriate for single-family dwellings and small multifamily and commercial structures but inappropriate for high-rises, buildings in a row, strip malls, and enclosed malls. Seasoned officers use the time-saving step of observing as much as possible from several stationary points as opposed to doing a circumnavigation.
Observe conditions as you circle the building. Look for the following: obvious rescues; those people who have self-rescued; clues to the layout of the interior (doors, windows, stairs, fire escapes, vent pipes, exhaust fans, and so on); fire and smoke conditions (what currently is showing, where it looks like it?s going, what method and attack line are needed?or are being deployed?to control the fire); ventilation considerations (fire in the attic?open the roof; fire in the kitchen?maybe horizontal venting is enough); and access/egress concerns (what technique is needed to gain entry, what ladders must be placed to guarantee safe egress).
Obtain information from bystanders. Bystanders and passersby can be a good source of information as to the location of victims and the structure?s layout. Find out the following: where victims were last seen, if any cries for help were heard, and whether the structure is occupied. You can take this step before making observations, while making observations, or after completing the lap.
Report your point of entry to command in addition to Otagging inO at this entry point. This step is critical to fireground accountability and crew safety. Knowing who is in the occupancy and where they entered are invaluable pieces of information for the incident commander. If your truck company is using the Oinside/outsideO operations concept, entry information is crucial to the Ooutside teamO (or driver, if you operate with a three-person crew) for three reasons:
1. Knowledge that the inside team has entered the occupancy alerts the outside team that ventilation must be completed.
2. Knowing where the inside team enters gives the outside team and the rapid intervention company (RIC) a point of reference should the inside team get into trouble or need additional support.
3. Point of entry information also cues the outside team to cover the occupancy with ladders to ensure the inside team has a second means of escape.
Enter at a point that gives rapid access to victims. The principal function of a truck company?s interior team is search and rescue. Trapped victims have the best chance of survival when they are rapidly located and removed from harm. Information gathered during the first three steps of the OLOOREEO process enables you to rapidly complete the search and rescue assignment.
The successful vent-enter-search (VES) technique taught and used by the City of New York (NY) Fire Department is the perfect tactic when the victim?s location is known. VES involves entering those areas of a building (bedrooms in residential occupancies) where the potential for finding victims is great. Entry usually is via a window, which firefighters can reach using a portable ladder, aerial ladder, tower ladder, or fire escape. Personnel entering this window are never more than a few feet from the means of egress, which improves not only the victim?s chances of survival but also firefighter safety. VES is not without risk. The tactic is often carried out on the fire side of a hoseline, increasing exposure for the firefighter. Today?s protective envelope (helmet, hood, coat, gloves, pants, boots, and SCBA) allows firefighters to penetrate deeper into conditions that years ago would have been untenable. As experienced firefighters using VES or any other tactic that places you on the Ofire sideO of a hoseline, you must know the following: the limitations of the protective gear, your personal limitations, and new ways to interpret fire conditions. Pay close attention to the following:
1. Heat levels. If you are feeling an uncomfortable buildup of heat on the inside of your protective envelope, do not remain in the room?it is too hot. Uncomfortable heat levels are indicative of rapid, uncontrolled fire development. Exit before it is too late, and let the IC know you?re okay.
2. Smoke conditions. Shine your hand light around. The beam may not go farther than a couple of inches, but you will get a look at the smoke condition. Dense, roiling, hot smoke is a telltale sign that the fire is still in control of the building. Cover your search area quickly. Stay low. Don?t lose contact with the wall, the location of the exit, and your partner. Exit as soon as the search is completed.
3. Firefighting operations. You should have a fair idea of where the attack crews are in the building. If you move ahead of the engine crew or enter opposite them, your risk of getting hurt increases. Also keep in mind that entering opposite the engine crew makes your point of entry a ventilation port. Pay attention to the sounds of attack. Indications that an attack is underway can be felt and heard through the protective envelope. You can feel a pressure change around the hood area when a nozzle is opened. You can hear the crashing and hissing sound of the stream as it hits objects. You can feel through the hood the moist steam generated by the stream hitting the fire. Close the hallway doors of the rooms being searched to protect yourself from the steam created by a stream hitting the fire. Stay away from windows and doors when the attack is underway. Give the heat and steam some time to vent before you leave the room. As the temperature of the room stabilizes and the steam cools, exiting through the window will not be a painful experience.
Exit and report status to command. The IC?s job is among the toughest on the fireground. He is saddled with the safety of everyone on the scene. This burden can be backbreaking. The sooner the fire goes out and everyone is accounted for, the sooner the IC can relax. Until that point, his role is unenviable.
Reporting to command after exiting the occupancy gives the IC three important points of information. First, the IC knows the crew is safe. Second, the status of the assigned task is known (completed? uncompleted? and so on). Third, the IC can maintain an accurate inventory of resources and their status when this feedback report is given.
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Initial actions on the fireground make or break the operation. Once a firefighter makes rank, fighting fires is more than just a one-dimensional experience. New officers must develop tools to help them cope with the added responsibilities of decision making, crew safety, strategic planning, and tactical actions. It?s tough to remember everything on a good day, let alone when it seems that all the world is going to hell in a hurry. Firefighting experience is the best teacher but the least forgiving. The skills, memory joggers, and mental checklists developed early on are the building blocks to successful management of fireground operations. n
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Taking a lap on arrival is the essential first element for truck officers. You can circle the average single-family dwelling in a minute or less. Listen for reports from other companies at larger structure fires. Look for indicators regarding the location of fire, potential spread, victim location, floor plan, and hazards or obstructions. (Photos by Carlos Alfaro, Sr.)
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The color and density of smoke, visible fire, and force of the smoke and flames issuing from the structure tell mountains of information about the stage of the fire. Be observant. Form your action plan based on what you see. Fire will not always be visible on arrival. Poor lighting at night can affect your ability to see the “big picture.” (Photo at left by Ned Goren; photo at right by R. M. Clemens.)
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Enter the structure at a point that gives direct access to victims. Attempting to access the victim by fighting up the stairs and past a heavily involved room exposes firefighters to unnecessary punishment. Besides, there may not be enough time left on the victim`s survival clock. Directing entry into the room where the victim was last seen gives the victim the greatest chance for survival. Command`s (lower right of photo) knowledge of the rescue team`s point of entry is an absolute necessity for accountability and firefighter safety. (Photo by Carlos Alfaro, Sr.)
MNEMONICS AND ACRONYMS FOR EFFECTIVE FIREGROUND MANAGEMENT
The following are some of the most commonly used fireground mnemonics and acronyms that have been advanced over the years to assist the fireground officer in remembering sequences of operations. The original source is cited where possible.
City of New York (NY) Fire Department`s “COAL WAS WEALTH”
(Traditional 13-point size-up)
Construction
Occupancy
Auxiliary appliances
Life hazard
Water supply
Area
Street conditions
Weather
Exposures
Apparatus and manpower
Location and extent of fire
Time
Hazardous materials
“WALLACE WAS HOT” (“COAL WAS WEALTH” reordered)
Water supply
Apparatus and personnel
Life hazard
Location and extent of fire
Area and height of building
Construction
Exposures
Weather
Auxiliary appliances
Street conditions
Hazards
Occupancy
Time
Lloyd Layman`s “RECEO”
Rescue
Exposures
Confine
Extinguish
Overhaul
National Fire Academy`s Command Sequence “ISST”
Incident priorities
Size-up
Strategic planning
Tactical operations
National Fire Academy`s Incident Priorities “LIPs”
Life safety
Incident stabilization
Property conservation
JOHN B. TIPPETT, JR., is a 21-year veteran of the Department of Fire and Rescue Services in Montgomery County, Maryland, where he is a captain, station commander, deputy safety officer, and member of the urban search and rescue team. He is a state-certified Level II instructor, has an associate`s degree in fire science, and is working toward a bachelor`s degree in fire service management. He is a member of the IAFF and FOA.
