Assessment Center Strategy and Tactics: Engine Company Operations

BY MICHAEL TERPAK

An assessment center is an examination process designed to simulate situations that are common to the rank being tested. Each individual exercise is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal characteristics of an individual candidate in a given situation. Many within the promotional preparation field believe that the oral assessment center is the most efficient and effective means for evaluating a test candidate’s knowledge and is a true measure of the candidate’s abilities.

Candidates testing for a company officer position must possess a significant amount of information to do well on the promotional exam. Company officers need to be well versed in such areas of study as building construction, fire behavior, incident management, and engine/ladder company operations, to name a few. Students, especially new students, often can be overwhelmed not only by the vast amounts of information they need to study but also by the extent of the organization and preparation of the material necessary to ensure that they can adequately respond to any challenges that may be presented within an assessment exercise.

Oral assessment questions for the company officer generally are designed to evaluate the student in a number of task areas. Task responsibilities for the company officer can be extensive and vary between the responsibilities of an engine and a ladder company. As students begin their preparation, they need to be organized. Test candidates who scored well on their exam will often tell you that they had a flexible “game plan” or a strategy for answering test questions. When questions require a comprehensive response, students need to be able to not only adapt to the specific challenges presented in the exercise but also expand and elaborate on their response to ensure an adequate and thorough answer and to achieve the higher score. This article presents the student with a game plan for some of the company officer’s areas of responsibility.

ENGINE COMPANY RESPONSIBILITIES

Task-based responsibilities for the engine company officer within an assessment center exercise focus around eight primary areas (acronym WASS-POCC):

1. Establishing a Water Supply
2. Apparatus Placement
3. Hoseline Selection
4. Hoseline Stretch
5. Hoseline Placement
6. Hoseline Objective(s)
7. In Coordination with …
8. Providing a Progress Report to Command

Water Supply

Department procedure, assessment design, as well as scenario/exercise specifics often will dictate how to establish a water supply. What specifically is meant by this is that there often is more than one way to establish and deliver water at an incident/exercise, and the candidate may need to identify those options.

Tip:With that thought in mind, the test taker always needs to consider a number of factors and be prepared to organize his thoughts and responses for varying challenges.

Water availability is one of the first concerns within the water supply area of responsibility. For many, water supply is established from a domestic source, such as a nearby fire hydrant off a particular size water main. On many tests administered in the urban environment, test designers often provide this resource simply because of its general availability. This is not to say that the urban fire officer does not need to be concerned with the topic of water availability. Depending on the exercise and its design, assessment scenarios may present difficulties that require the candidate to seek out other sources. Some of the water availability options a candidate may have to identify could include a natural source such as a nearby river, lake, or stream; a tender/shuttle operation to and from the incident scene; and a relay—all in an attempt to deliver the required water to suppress the fire.

Candidates also may have to identify whether their responsibility is to distinguish between a primary and a secondary water source. Primary water sources are generally sought out by the first-arriving engine company and are nearest to the tactical/operating zone. If your assessment exercise places you as the first-arriving engine company officer, your response has to include how and where you would establish an efficient and sustained water supply close to the structure.

If the scenario is leading toward identifying a secondary water supply—water sources generally sought out by a second- or later-arriving engine company—the student must keep in mind that secondary sources could be established from a different and larger water main within the domestic water supply grid or could be, again, a potential drafting operation from a nearby river or lake.

To take this concept a bit further, candidates should also be aware of questions that may require addressing a third- or later-arriving engine company. These concerns arise primarily in a chief officer assessment, but if the scenario presents an incident with great potential and the exercise states that the chief officer is delayed, the first-arriving company officer must be prepared to assign all the necessary resources.

Tip: The point here is anticipation. Consider the potential fire growth, and demonstrate to the assessment team your ability to anticipate and plan ahead.

Apparatus Placement

Apparatus placement responsibilities for a first-arriving engine company can differ based on standard operating guidelines, assessment design, and scenario specifics. In an urban setting where buildings are closely spaced or attached, key responses for the first-arriving engine company can require that the candidate state that he would ensure that the apparatus would be placed “past the fire building.” In assessment center seminars, this is presented as a mandatory response in an answer key for private or multiple-dwelling exercises in a congested urban setting. Placing the first-arriving engine company past the fire building is a critical consideration in the situations outlined and has three distinct advantages assessors may be looking for:

• As the apparatus approaches and passes the building, it allows the officer to have a three-sided view of the building. This view will assist the officer with his on-scene size-up.
• Placing the first-arriving engine company past the fire building allows sufficient room for placement and use of the first-arriving ladder company. This is a mandatory response for scenarios that involve multifloor structures.
• Placing the apparatus past the fire building facilitates the stretching of the initial and any subsequent hoselines into the fire building. With the majority of hose stretches coming from the rear of the apparatus, it would only make sense to place the apparatus to assist with this operation, especially when staffing is at a minimum.

(1) Leave sufficient room for the first-arriving ladder company. (Photo by Robert Scollan, NJMFPA.)

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Hoseline Selection, Stretch, and Placement

Challenges associated with these functions, and related questions, are the direct responsibility of the company officer in an assessment center exercise. The size of the hoseline chosen, the number of lengths needed to get it to its intended objective, and the hoselines’ avenues of approach are all responsibilities of the engine company officer.

In this section, one of the first considerations for the engine company officer is to determine if the building has any auxiliary appliances. If the exercise design presents a building that contains a sprinkler system, a standpipe system, or both, the candidate must supply and augment the systems. Typically, most fire departments’ standard operating procedures dictate that the first-arriving engine company is responsible not only for starting the fire attack but also for supplying the building’s auxiliary systems. Although departments will vary based on the size of hoseline they use and which engine company is responsible for augmenting the system, when addressing the assessment board, the candidate should cite his department’s standard operating practices for this part of the assessment and must be sure to supply the building systems!

Research shows that for most departments across the country, hoseline selection options for structural fires, whether stretching from a standpipe riser or from the apparatus hosebed, generally are between the 1¾- and the 2½-inch hoseline. It is important to note here that each size hoseline has its limitations and capabilities. The test candidate must be able to identify and justify for an assessor why he is choosing a particular size of line for the test exercise/scenario.

Whether to use a 1¾- or a 2½-inch hoseline will be based on the scenario and its size-up factors. Factors such as the building’s construction, square footage, occupancy content, building setback, and the life hazard profile are just some of the size-up factors presented within a scenario that could influence hoseline selection. The information contained in “Hoseline Selection” on page 108 provides some helpful hints for determining when to use these sizes of hoseline.

Being able to “call the stretch” or identify how many lengths are needed to get the hoseline to its intended objective is, again, the responsibility of the engine company officer. For buildings set back from the street or an accessible area, as well as buildings that require long stretches up to the fire floor or floors above, the engine company officer must recognize the difficulty and explain to the assessor how he intends to overcome it. Two examples that quickly come to mind are the six- or seven-story apartment building with no standpipe system and the garden apartment complex set back and surrounded by decorative landscaping.

Example: Garden apartment complexes are often associated with buildings that have a significant setback from accessible streets and parking lots. Many buildings within these complexes have narrow walkways that lead to individual dwelling units that are most likely surrounded by sloped and decorative terrain. Although an individual scenario may outline what appears to be a room-and-contents fire that should be easily handled by a 1¾-inch hoseline, assessors may be looking for you to identify the distance of the intended hose stretch and then describe how you intend to overcome the associated concern of friction loss. In this example, the candidate should note that the commonly used 1¾-inch hoseline has limitations relative to the lengths of hose that can be stretched. Many fire service instructors will tell you that 300 feet, or six lengths, is the maximum number that could be factored into the hose stretch before friction loss starts to seriously affect the hoseline’s flow.

Tip: It is critical not only to digest the content of the scenario text but also to carefully review the scenario’s diagrams/photos, illustrations, and video simulations, if presented, for any useful information. Often, they present additional information that may not appear in the scenario text and, which by itself, could influence your response/answer. Some of the conditions often seen and used in preparation seminars include occupants trapped in windows, overhead wiring, additional water sources, and (often missed) building setbacks. A garden apartment scenario, for example, enables test developers to test knowledge, skills, and abilities not only in extended hose stretches but also in critically reviewing building preincident information, the diagrams. Take the extra time to review all the material given in your assessment exercise. There could be valuable points here.

Hoseline Objectives

Hoseline placement within an assessment exercise is dependent on the occupant life hazard and the fire’s location. Whenever an exercise involves a hoseline task, candidates will need to explain where the hoseline is to be placed, as well as state the hoseline’s objective. Hoseline placement and the required steps that must accompany an objective response will focus around the most important size-up factor—the life hazard presented in the scenario.

To give you a few examples to review, if you were presented with a fire on a lower floor of an occupied multiple dwelling, a critical response required from a test candidate would be to “place a hoseline into the interior staircase of the fire building to restrict fire from extending to the occupied floors above.”

In another example, a candidate may need to stress the need to “confine a fire that is exiting onto a fire escape with a trapped occupant above.”

And in yet another, a scenario could describe a fully involved structure where the first stretched hoseline may be needed to “protect the most severely threatened exposure building.”

In all of the examples cited, the occupant life hazard and the location of the fire dictated the placement of the initially stretched hoseline.

Coordination/Progress Reports

A conclusion statement for the engine company officer exam should explain how officers’ responsibilities fit into the larger fireground picture. The candidate might tell the assessors that all engine company operations would be in direct coordination with the ladder company’s operations. This is a necessary response component; it will be strongly reflected on an answer key.

Tip: Even though the candidates perform coordinated operations on the fireground on a daily basis back home, they cannot assume that they will be given credit for what may seem to them to be an “expected responsibility.” In an oral assessment exam, if you don’t say it, you won’t get credit for it.

It is also advisable for candidates to state within their oral response that they would periodically provide Command with progress reports. Chief officers have limited information as they supervise a division/sector or stand at the command post. The information relayed from the companies placed in and around the incident helps in the decision-making process, which in turn assists with overall management, accountability, and scene safety.

The statement that the candidate would “coordinate his operations with the ladder company and provide periodic progress reports to Command” is a simple, yet an effective, step that will enhance the technical score.

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The above acronyms and game plan are designed to assist students in preparing for the promotional exam for company officer. This information is considered the foundation of the engine company officer’s assessment. Alone, it is not enough. But, it is a good start.

Hoseline Selection

1¾-inch hoseline: This size hoseline is used primarily for residential building fires. Fires that involve room and contents within a private dwelling or a multiple dwelling will generally require the use of the 1¾-inch hoseline. But stating or just using that rationale is not enough. Assessors often want the candidate to justify or clarify his actions—specifically, why did you choose this size hoseline?

Consider the following as a guide (acronym COLS):

1. Compartmentalized areas/rooms generally associated with a private or multiple dwelling (large-square-footage homes may alter this thought).
2. Occupant life hazard and the need to get water on the fire as soon as possible.
3. Low to Moderate Fire Load generally associated with residential structures.
4. Speed and Mobility associated with the stretch of that size hoseline.

2½-inch hoseline: This size hoseline is chosen primarily for commercial building fires as well as for fires that involve residential and commercial office high-rises. Some departments will have the option of using a 1¾- or two-inch hoseline in a Class/Type 1 residential high-rise housing project. This type of occupancy has a design that may allow a smaller, more maneuverable hoseline. However, for our purposes, we will categorize the 2½-inch hoseline for fires that involve commercial structure and high-rise fires.

The following are justifications for selecting a 2½-inch hoseline (acronym POLLS FD):

1. Volume, Reach, and Penetration capabilities of a larger stream.
2. Large, Open floor spaces combined with high ceilings will allow for uninterrupted fire spread.
3. The Firefighter Life Hazard—large buildings can produce overwhelming fire conditions in a short time.
4. Heavy Fire Load generally associated with commercial occupancies.
5. Standpipe Operations.
6. Less Friction loss associated with the 2½-inch hoseline.
7. Defensive stream option/capability of the 2½-inch hoseline.

Hoseline Placement Guidelines and Objectives

 

HOSELINE #1—OFFENSIVE OPERATIONS

• Between the fire and any endangered occupants.
• To the building’s fire floor.
• To protect the building’s primary means of egress, the interior staircase.
• To protect firefighters involved in a search.
• To locate, confine, and extinguish the fire.
• A scenario-specific rescue.

HOSELINES #2 and #3

• Back up the members assigned to hoseline #1 to ensure their safety.
• Stretch to the floors above to check for fire extension.
• Stop fire extension into an exposure building (consider attached buildings with shared light and air shafts).
• Stretch to the floor below to check for fire dropdown.

Student note: Fire dropdown concerns are most notably in vacant structures, fires that extend to channel rails in multiple dwellings, and fires that involve stacked kitchens and baths in garden apartments.

HOSELINE #1—DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS

• To protect the most seriously threatened exposure.

Student note: Defensive hoselines are further influenced by

• The Life Hazard of the surrounding exposures.
• The Proximity of the surrounding exposures.
• The Construction and features of the fire building (i.e., shared light and air shafts).
• The Construction and features of the exposure buildings (i.e., brick vs. wood exteriors).
• The Wind speed and direction.

MICHAEL TERPAK, a member of the fire service for 32 years, has spent the past 28 years with the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department, where he is assigned as a deputy chief and citywide tour commander. Throughout his career, he has worked in the city’s Lafayette and Greenville areas with Engines 10 and 17, Ladder 12, and Rescue 1; was chief of the city’s 2nd Battalion; and was the former chief in charge of the Training Division. Terpak travels extensively around the country lecturing on fire/rescue and related topics and is the founder of Promotional Prep, a New Jersey-based consulting firm designed to prepare firefighters and fire officers studying for promotional exams. Terpak, who also has a B.S. degree in fire safety administration from the City University of New Jersey, is the author of Fireground Size-Up (Fire Engineering, 2002) and Assessment Center, Strategy and Tactics (Fire Engineering, 2008).