USING MISSION STATEMENTS IN THE FIRE SERVICE: DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR COMPANIES ARE DOING?
BY JOHN F. (SKIP) COLEMAN
We have been using the incident command system (ICS) for almost 10 years now and have watched the ICS evolve into a management tool that helps define roles and responsibilities at every incident to which we respond. We still need some work on the nuances of the ICS. We do not get multiple-alarm incidents frequently enough to allow our officers to get a view into the complexities of the command post. Chiefs still are leery of establishing the required sections at major incidents. Until frequency and familiarity replace skepticism and self-doubt, we may face a period of stagnation concerning the ICS.
THE BENEFITS OF THE ICS
The ICS has improved our operations at all emergencies. We use it at every incident to which we respond. It has done the following:
Made our officers better officers by forcing them to make multidimensional decisions at incidents. In the past, before the ICS, officers arriving first at an incident made mainly one-dimensional decisions that centered around their particular company and what “they” needed to do. Now, we require that our first-arriving officer remain out front, in command, directing incoming units and developing an initial operational structure for that particular incident.
Improved our ability to communicate with each other at incidents. We are required to inform others (Command or other section or sector officers) concerning our activities and observations. We have learned to say better, more focused things over the radio.
Provided clear guidelines relative to the number of subordinates that one supervisor can manage–often referred to as “span of control.” The accepted span of control at an emergency is one officer to no more than five subordinates. I had been to fires, prior to the ICS, at which one chief officer literally controlled and directed 10 to 20 companies or more. At one fire, more than 12 companies were on the roof venting a warehouse fire, and all of those officers and firefighters were under the direction of one chief.
Improved our ability to operate safely at incidents. There are built-in checks and balances within the ICS that provide for accountability and risk assessment.
Provided a system wherein focus is acceptable. Tunnel vision is no longer a bad thing in the fire service. In essence, the ICS provides a system within which the officer in charge gives a specific assignment and the officer assigned focuses or tunnels in on that assignment.
CONDITIONS LEADING TO MISSION STATEMENTS
As far as we in our department have come with the ICS, it was not all that smooth a transition from the “good old days” to now. We have had many setbacks along the way. Over the past 10 years, we have written and rewritten procedures concerning the ICS and its use.
Several years ago, we realized that we had a serious flaw in our system. It seemed that what we thought our crews were doing inside, after they had been given an assignment, was not always what they were really doing.
Another situation began to surface also. Crews were complaining that other companies were freelancing inside, even though they had been given specific assignments. Companies assigned to backup were putting out fire. Companies assigned to search were opening windows. There was no control. To be blunt, officers weren`t doing what we were expecting them to be doing. They knew how to do what we were asking; they just weren`t doing it. The transition from freelance to total control wasn`t all that smooth.
THE PROPOSED SOLUTION: MISSION STATEMENTS
After much complaining and many meetings, we came up with the idea of creating mission statements that would define the purpose for the sector assignment. Mission statements define a specific task a person or group of persons is sent to perform. I think of mission statements as the reason for which we exist.
In the late 1980s, it was fashionable for fire departments to create and display (on letterheads, business cards, and at the beginning of annual reports) their mission statement. Most used terms such as “to protect life and property” or “to provide fire protection consistent ….” Although at times wordy and a bit flowery, mission statements helped us to define our basic goals and the reasons we do what we do.
When we introduced the mission statements as they related to sector assignments, it was as though a lightbulb had gone on in our officers` heads. It became clear to the officers that when an assignment was made, it was their task to complete that assignment and they were not to focus on other aspects of the incident.
Remember that now tunnel vision is good. Think about it. If everyone at an emergency is given a specific assignment and each crew focuses on its particular assignment, you will have a controlled scene. Everyone knows what their specific task is. Everyone knows what has been assigned and what still needs to be done. Everyone knows what is specifically expected of them. The officer in charge (Command) can make specific assignments and assumptions concerning the incident in the knowledge that X, Y, and¥have been assigned and are being focused on by an entire crew(s).
Following are several of the more common mission statements we use and an explanation of each. The mission statements cover several types of incidents. Remember, the ICS should be used at all types of incidents.
Specific Mission Statements
The Mission of Command
The mission of Command is to coordinate the activities of emergency crews, making every effort to utilize accepted strategic concepts, to effectively protect life and property from the effects of fire and other emergencies.
Notice that “coordinate” is underlined. That is for one very basic reason. Command should not be a “hands-on” individual. I personally have been caught in this trap. Usually these incidents occurred when crew members had been injured at the scene. However, it is especially at these times when it is most important that someone stand back and focus on what needs to be done.
Command is a manager! His task is to stand back and focus on the whole (entire) incident. He must evaluate the needs of the incident by analyzing his own observations and the feedback he is receiving from his sector officers. His task is to create a plan of action (a “to-do” list if you will) and then to assign companies to handle their particular assignment. They have a focus at the incident (their assignment), and Command has a focus–the coordination of the activities of emergency crews at incidents to effectively protect life and property from the effects of fire and other emergencies.
The Mission of Attack
The mission of Attack is to coordinate fire suppression efforts by tactically placing and directing attack lines to seek out and extinguish all fire in the area assigned and to provide feedback to Command (and other assigned sectors).
First and above all, the last person whose hands I (as Command) want on the bail of a nozzle are those of the Attack Sector Officer. Notice that as with the mission of Command, the word “coordinate” is underlined. Command`s job is to focus on the whole incident. Attack`s job is to focus on the fire attack. I do not believe that an officer can effectively coordinate a fire attack while crawling on his hands and knees with a nozzle in his hand. I expect the attack officer to take his crew inside, locate the seat of the fire, and then have his crew knock down the fire. While the crew is getting hit in the face with steam and smoke, I expect the attack officer to be behind his crew (or maybe on occasion move ahead to the next room), looking out for them and thinking of what needs to be done next.
I hope you are picking up a pattern here:
Command should focus on the whole incident.
Sector officers should tunnel in on the task assigned.
Crews should do the work.
The Mission Of Backup
The mission of Backup is to protect the interior “working crews” (Attack, Search, and other interior firefighters) by pulling and strategically placing protective lines between the interior companies and obvious or potential areas of fire spread, and to ensure egress if retreat is necessary.
The last thing I want Backup to do is seek out and extinguish fire. The backup sector is the primary reason we created mission statements in the first place. Crews kept reporting that Backup was being used as a “second attack line” at fires. Stupid us! From the outside, we thought that the officer and crew assigned to backup were inside looking out for the interior crews.
Backup has one purpose in life–to watch out for the safety of the interior working crews. Backup cannot effectively watch out for the safety of interior crews if he is seeking out and extinguishing fire.
The Mission of Exposure
The mission of Exposure is to prevent the spread of and to extinguish any fire in the assigned area.
This will mean gaining access to the exposed building or area to check for and mitigate any fire spread into the assigned area or exposure. Note that Exposure is not expected to extinguish fire in the original fire building. The officer assigned to Exposure is expected to pull, stretch, and place a line of adequate size (normally a 212-inch) to cool the surface of the exposed structure (or area) below its ignition temperature. After this line has been placed, the officer must ensure that the interior of the exposed structure is checked for fire, smoke, or water damage.
VEHICULAR ACCIDENTS
The Mission of Patient Care
The mission of Patient Care is to provide for the emergency medical needs of victims in the area assigned. Patient care is probably the most assigned sector at a vehicular accident.
Patient care basically encompasses four areas:
1. Patient assessment. This includes basic triage if more than one victim is within your area of responsibility, to determine which victim is in the “most” need.
2. Immobilization/treatment.
3. Packaging. If a victim is to be transported, he must be properly “packaged.”
4. Transport. Finally, the victim will need to be transported to a health care facility for treatment.
The Mission of Extrication
The mission of Extrication is to coordinate the removal of victims who cannot be removed without mechanical aids. First, I want to say that I believe that the officer assigned to Extrication should not have the hydraulic spreader/cutter in his hand. Just as with Attack, I want the officer assigned to the extrication sector to focus on the extrication. To be effective, he should not be a hands-on person. He should stand back and ensure the safety of the extrication crew, the victim, and the areas to be opened (cut).
In my book Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer, I list the mission statements of the most frequently used fire and vehicular accident sectors. Mission statements have become a useful tool for our department. They are listed in an emergency procedures manual and included as study material on promotional tests. They provide an understanding between Command and sector officers at emergencies. They define the purpose for a specific sector or assignment. They provide focus and direction and should help avoid confusion at an emergency incident. n
 |
An exposure crew applying an exterior exposure line to an exposed roof. (Photo by Gerry Mazur.)
 |
 |
(Left) A sector officer does a “face-to-face” with Command to discuss safety concerns at a vacant industrial heat-treating plant. (Photo by Gerry Mazur.) (Right) Mission statements help this incident commander better manage crews at this vehicular accident. (Photo by author.)
 |
 |
(Left) The incident commander working at an apartment fire. He established a stationary command post at the front of the first engine on the scene. (Right) Backup pulls a 212-inch line at a structure fire. (Photos by Gerry Mazur.)
 |
A fire crew assigned to Patient Care. (Photo by author.)
JOHN F. (SKIP) COLEMAN has been a member of the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue Operations for 21 years and a battalion chief for the past 11 years. He has been an instructor at Owens Community College, one of Ohio`s largest community colleges, for more than 10 years. Coleman is also a contract instructor for the National Fire Academy`s Command and Control of Fire Department Operations at Multialarm Incidents course and annually conducts a course in incident command for industrial fire brigades at the Ohio State Fire School. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy`s Executive Fire Officer Program and is working toward his bachelor`s degree at the University of Cincinnati. He is the author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997).
