PREINCIDENT SIZE-UP: an important response tool

BY ERIC G. BACHMAN

Incident size-up is critical to emergency operations and a successful outcome. It includes analyzing existing factors and conditions and anticipating potential situations. These judgments will influence all aspects of fireground operations. Preincident size-up, not to be confused with incident size-up, is an important response tool. Whereas incident size-up occurs while en route to and during an actual emergency, preincident size-up begins before an emergency, during the preincident intelligence-gathering process. Preincident size-up is similar in that it also involves analyzing existing factors and potential situations; however, preincident size-up includes gathering information on a facility’s challenges, including access, layout, and specific hazards.

Reading a building before an emergency is as critical as assessing it when it is on fire. Building interpretation may be different during an emergency. Physical and psychological factors will contribute to misreading a building and the conditions present. Physical factors, including smoke, may inhibit an incident commander’s view of how a building is reacting to fire conditions. Psychological factors, including tunnel vision, may also influence how the conditions of an incident are read. Understanding a building or complex before an emergency is critical to an emergency’s outcome, especially with respect to the early commands that will set the tone for the remainder of the incident.

HISTORY

The lack of preincident size-up can contribute to increased fire loss and firefighter injuries and deaths. Learning the lessons of past incidents is a critical element in improving our service and increasing firefighter safety. In various technical reports published by the United State Fire Administration (USFA) and investigation analyses by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the lack of preincident planning (intelligence) and size-up were contributing factors in incidents in which there were firefighter and civilian fatalities.

• March 15, 1993–Pennsylvania. Two firefighters died at a structure fire after a floor collapse. One of the key issues identified in the USFA report was that no fire plan was available to assist in directing operations, and the complicated buildings presented unique problems that could not be visualized without a plan.
• January 5, 1995–Washington. Four firefighters died in a warehouse fire after a floor collapse. According to the USFA report, the responding units did not have a prefire plan of the building, which could have helped them interpret the building’s complex arrangement and might have allowed them to recognize that the fire was below the main-floor level.
• December 3, 1999–Massachusetts. Six firefighters died in a cold-storage warehouse fire. The NIOSH report indicated the need to conduct prefire planning so that incident commanders will have the information needed to make informed decisions.

And the list goes on. These examples are not meant to criticize or demoralize any department. If we do not learn from these tragedies, then we are doing a grave disservice to our community, our firefighters, and their families. Note also that numerous other factors contributed to the outcomes of these incidents.

PREINCIDENT INTELLIGENCE

Preincident intelligence involves more than just inserting a building floor plan in a map book, never to be looked at again until the big one occurs. It includes understanding how a facility’s orientation will influence emergency operations and identifying natural and man-made hazards that will affect operations, including access and apparatus placement. And, it includes potential incident commanders’ taking proactive steps to prepare contingencies and overcome identified hazards.

FACILITY ORIENTATION

Facility orientation goes beyond taking a tour and having a facility floor plan. It requires acquiring a genuine understanding of the facility’s internal language and orientation and translating them into fire service language. It entails determining how the facility language and orientation will affect your response. What do they really mean, or where exactly is the emergency? Understanding their language will enable your fire department to respond more effectively. Misunderstandings or miscommunications often result in confusion, frustration, and delayed operational implementation.

By definition, orientation means “one’s place and direction relative to one’s surroundings.” As this article will illustrate, incident/facility orientation may be realized from the perspectives of the fire department personnel and of facility personnel. The facility has its own direction and reference to its surroundings; the fire department has its own direction and reference to the facility and its surroundings. Often, these viewpoints contrast and contribute to misunderstandings and miscommunications that can delay and negatively affect operations.

COMPLEX ACCESS

Complexes can encompass a large area with multiple access points and multiple structures. Fire officials must know what access points to use for specific areas of a complex before an emergency arises. Being unaware of the most beneficial access and alternate access points can delay the response, may delay initiation of operations, and may cause confusion for incoming companies. As I outlined in “Preincident Intelligence: A Case History” (Fire Engineering, May 2000), the church complex involved presented access challenges to the local fire departments. Entrances and numerous parking rows were identified as access problems. The fire department worked to overcome the orientation problem through an internal reference system for the primary entrance points and numerous parking rows.

(1) The numbers on these exterior doors of a large industrial building are referenced to the interior operations behind them. (Photos by author.)

Access is the primary essential response factor. You must identify the access points and the easiest ways to access them. The more access points available, the greater the chance for miscommunication and misinterpretation among responding apparatus and misplacement of equipment, which could be a critical factor when there is limited apparatus access. It is also a very important consideration when positioning special service apparatus such as a truck company. If the truck doesn’t get in early, it doesn’t get in at all, leaving the incident commander with another obstacle to overcome.

ACCESS IDENTIFICATION

Identifying and illustrating access point references are helpful. You will be able to give precise instructions. The Lancaster General Hospital Health Campus, located in East Hempfield Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is one facility that illustrates how important it is to assign access reference numbers. This complex is comprised of six interconnected buildings. There are two complex access points from primary transportation corridors, which may be referenced by the roads’ proper names or assigned reference letters. However, accessing each building could be confusing. Limited space makes appropriate apparatus placement critical. Depending on the floor and area in which the emergency occurs, it may be beneficial to use an adjacent building’s access points. This may sound like simple common sense, yet in many areas with similar situations, you often find a long lineup of emergency equipment at the primary access.

FACILITY ACCESS

Once you get into a complex, where do you go? In large industrial buildings, exterior access can be limited. At many industrial buildings, not knowing what is behind door number one could be fatal, and what is behind door number two may not lead to the emergency or be beneficial to the tactical objective. Determine beforehand what is behind the exterior doors and the areas to which they lead. Labeling exterior doors with this information will permit quick access to the desired area. Instead of having to walk through hallways, rooms, and process areas to find the utility room, for example, knowing that the utility control room is behind door #24 will allow firefighters to immediately go through that door to the utilities area. You will need to work with the plant’s managers to obtain this information for your preplans.

(2) The compartment address of the occupancy is indicated on these rear strip mall doors.

Your preincident intelligence maps could include an index of exterior door numbers and their corresponding interior areas and operations.

Strip malls may also present access problems, especially at the rear of the complex. In many cases, rear doors are not marked, making it difficult to determine which door leads to which compartment. Labeling rear access doors at malls will benefit fireground operations (see photos 1 and 2).

If you have a strip mall or similar complex in your area, determine who the property manager is and respectfully request to have the rear doors marked. If you explain your reasons, most managers will comply with the request; it is not expensive to do. Be sure to ask that the numbers or labels be in sufficient contrast to the color of the door. Verify that all doors have been labeled. Sometimes, labels are placed on only one compartment access door even though the compartment may have more than one door. All the doors should be marked.

FACILITY ORIENTATION

Knowing where the emergency is located is critical. As elementary as this may sound, how many times in your career has the wrong information been disseminated? How many times has information been misinterpreted? What were the effects and influences on the outcome? Understanding basic facility layout and ascertaining facility orientation are critical.

(3) The main lobby entrance of the Woodcrest Villa retirement community. The Robin Ridge Wing is to the right of the lobby. The corridor at ground level is referenced by the facility as “second-floor level.” The fire department reference, however, is “first floor.” Photos 4, 5, and 6 illustrate the floor level variances between wings:

Woodcrest Villa, a retirement community in East Hempfield Township in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, is one of several rapidly expanding elderly communities in the county. It is currently made up of more than 400 apartment units in five multistory buildings. The site also has administrative, recreational, and dining service buildings. The facility is constantly undergoing new construction and expects to triple its size within the next 10 years.

(4) The Robin Ridge Wing (left) with the “second floor” connecting corridor to the Cardinal Wing (right).

The facility presents a landscape challenge, having been constructed into a hillside. Its layout poses variances in the number of stories of its wings. One wing may be four stories, another may be five stories, and another may be two stories. Although the height does not present a problem to the local fire department, the facility’s reference to each floor does. The main entrance, on the west side of the complex, is accessible at ground level. The main entrance is host to the lobby, re-ceptionist area, and the administrative offices. Each building is accessible through a common corridor from the main entrance lobby and has its own remote private access. The facility references the main entrance common corridor as the second-floor level. The second-floor-level reference remains consistent throughout the complex in regard to other wings.

The main lobby connects the Cardinal Wing (right) Common Corridor (circled), known as the “Second Floor Level”, to the Robin Ridge Wing (left). What the facility calls the Second Floor Level actually leads to the fourth floor level of the Cardinal Wing on the other side of the main lobby.

Because of the landscape disposition, however, an orientation challenge exists in other wings’ floor references. Some wings are five stories from the respective ground level. Depending on the wing, facility reference to the “second-floor level” could actually be the fourth-floor level aboveground on one wing and third-floor level aboveground of another wing. The fire department and mutual-aid departments must be well orientated to the facility level reference. The fire department must be able to translate the facility floor level reference to the fire department floor level reference at each wing and respond accordingly; otherwise, incident stabilization will be delayed, the incident may intensify, and firefighters and civilians may needlessly be injured or killed. If the facility reports an emergency on the second-floor level, it may actually be at the fourth-floor level (see Table 1). Therefore, it is imperative to translate the facility information into fire department language.

FACILITY AREAS

Understanding the facility’s language can be challenging. When obtaining orientation preincident intelligence information, ascertain if any areas have other names (alias or nicknames). If so, include them within your preincident training and intelligence program. Some employees may not even know the proper name of certain areas. During the excitement of a real emergency, will they remember to report the proper area name, or will they use the nickname? In a recent tour of a marine components manufacturing facility, the custom metal fabrication area was introduced to me as “The Hole” because of its surroundings and isolation in the building. In the case of a real emergency involving “The Hole,” would the caller (worker) report that the emergency is in the custom metal fabrication shop, as it is illustrated on the facility floor plan, or in “The Hole”? Understanding this basic facility reference will enhance your understanding of the emergency area and location.

ALARM SYSTEMS

Also consider alarm systems. They can be as much of a hindrance as a benefit, depending on how well the system can precisely identify activations. Many fire departments spend a great deal of time responding to and investigating false or malfunctioning fire alarm activations. Depending on the area of activation and how the alarm location transmission is disseminated, more time is needed to identify the troubled detector.

(5) The Eagle wing (right) with “second floor” connecting corridor to the Meadowlark Wing (top left). The center left building is the community center. The corridor leads to the Eagle Wing’s fourth floor and the Meadowlark Wing’s second floor.

Don’t overlook specifications on alarm systems during preincident intelligence information gathering. Alarm systems vary in their activation detail. Some systems are designed to indicate the specific detector activated. Others may provide vague activation information and may be contained within large areas that must be searched. Obviously, it is important that the most concise and specific area of activation be disseminated so firefighters can be directed to specific areas of a building. This can be very important, especially at large complexes. If you are told Zone 5 has activated, do you know where that is or what areas are covered within that zone? Or, if you are advised that the boiler room heat detector has activated, do you know where the boiler room is? As elementary as this may sound, many departments do not know their buildings, and alarm investigation is delayed.

(6) The opposite view of Photo 5–the Eagle Wing’s fourth floor (left) with “second floor” connecting corridor to the Meadowlark Wing’s second floor (right). Although the facility references the corridor, at ground level, as second-floor level, the fire department lists it as “first floor.”

Alarm zone delineation should be a part of your preincident intelligence program and should be included as part of any facility information media the fire department uses. Depending on the accuracy of the information disseminated, the fire officer may only be advised that Zone 4 is activated. That fire officer must know ahead of time where Zone 4 is and what it contains.

Understanding the orientation of a facility involves more than just having a floor plan. A facility’s reference to its layout and operations will not always coincide with a fire department’s frame of reference. Translating and applying facility language into fire service language is critical to operational effectiveness and the safety of occupants and firefighters. Facility hazards and other inherent challenges are demanding enough on the fire service. Simple tasks such as knowing how to access a facility should not be a distressing factor. The only way to determine how facility orientation will affect your operations is to go out into your community and target hazards and identify them. Other facility orientation factors may present challenges based on local conditions. Those listed above are only a few considerations in getting to know how and where to get to your facilities.

ERIC G. BACHMAN, a 20-year veteran of the fire service, is the former fire chief of the Eden Volunteer Fire/Rescue Department in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He is the hazardous materials administrator for the County of Lancaster Emergency Management Agency and public information officer for the Local Emergency Planning Committee of Lancaster County. He is registered with the National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualifications as a fire officer I, fire instructor I, hazardous materials technician, and hazardous materials incident commander. He has an associate’s degree in fire science and earned professional certification in emergency management through the state of Pennsylvania. He is also a volunteer firefighter with the Manheim (PA) Fire Department.