ACCOUNTABILITY
RANDOM THOUGHTS
Just what is this buzzword “accountability”?
Who is accountable to whom? Is this an upward moment, a downward charge, or just a horizontal communication gimmick? Does it describe an incident commander’s responsibility for the operations, safety, and wellbeing of all firefighters assigned to an event? Does it describe a firefighter’s relationship to the incident commander, one firefighter’s responsibility to another, or a fire department’s responsibility to the civilians it’s charged to protect?
The correct answer to this civil service-type question is, “All of the above.”
Today, at conferences and seminars, the word “accountability” has conic to be directly related to firefighter safety —in particular, just who has arrived at the emergency event. People have invented all kinds of gimmicks, from stick-on name plates to grease pencil writing boards. Mostly, they indicate to third parties merely who passed into the “danger zone” at emergency events, so we will know when everybody comes out.
However, it should be a lot more than that—“all of the above.” Accountability should begin with listing the riding positions on apparatus. The chart or “riding list” also should list the assignments or primary’ functions each firefighter is to perform on arrival at the fireground, depending on the tvpe and location of fire in different types of construction and occupancy at the time of the emergency. In addition, it should account for area(s) of operations depending on all of the above and influenced and shaped by the time (order) of arrival —secondarriving ladder truck and third-arriving engine company, for example.
The “Siamese twin” to listing members at the scene is training. If the incident commander is to be accountable for all. he or she must he familiar with all operating procedures of each type of unit. It is simply not good enough to know who is there! Each unit’s assigned location and the operational goals of each member arc vital to hold accountability for the firefighting effort and to answer for the whereabouts and ongoing safety’ of each member on the fireground.
Who is on the fireground? Your information-gathering technique depends on whether the operation is conducted by paid or volunteer fire departments. If paid, a riding list should be prepared at the start of the tour, at roll call, and adjusted throughout the assigned work shift to reflect any change in personnel or assignment no matter how momentary’ or temporary. I would always make three lists for my truck company— one on the dashboard for anyone to gather, one in my pocket to use in any manner after leaving the truck, and one for my chauffeur. The last, to me, was most important. That chauffeur was the best-thinking and most variable operator on the fireground (at least on my team). Depending on many and varying conditions on any fireground—coupled with his training and experience —the assignment sheet (accountability) would indicate to him just where each member would be operating and what additional information, tactical assistance, or equipment placement he could provide or have provided that would enhance the position or account for safety. (A portable ladder to the shaft window at the exact time it was broken from inside by the entry team assigned to search above the fire occupancy just because they were the second ladder company to arrive is pretty sophisticated accountability. But it was expected!)
In the volunteer sector, accounting for personnel is another problem. Who is on what truck? Who arrived before apparatus? Who arrived in their own vehicles? These are just some of the questions that can be answered only by having in place a system that accounts for personnel. Here is where Velcro® tags, the clipons, the magnetized sets of whatevers, and the grease pencils are needed most.
Accounting for assignments is another frustration for the volunteer. I had a great deal of luck with riding position assignments. The firefighter in a certain riding position was “accountable” for that assignment —and the tools that went with it. This is especially necessary’ for truck company arrivals.
WTio is accountable for accomplishing what? In most good departments, assignments of the first-arriving engine and ladder company are “automatically” expert, depending on training in size-up and tactical operations depending on strategy chosen. In great departments, this “automatic” expertise extends to the secondarriving engine and ladder companies. Communications is the enhancement trick here. In this department, the third engine is the one to stand by for orders—at routine operations in varied construction and occupancy loads, that is.
Continued on page 105.
Continued from page 106.
Each member of the team (apparatus unit) is expected to accomplish certain tactical goals depending on area of assignment and the size-up criteria already mentioned. The interior search team for the second truck company is expected to communicate with the extinguishment force on the fire floor, ascend to the floor(s) above, and immediately begin search in the direction of the secondary exit over the fire occupancy.
The second-arriving engine ensures water supply, ensures first handline position and operation, and should expect to stretch a second line to serve as backup to an overwhelmed line and/or to have enough hose to stretch and “make” the entire floor above the fire floor.
The third engine company can expect to do most anything and usually awaits orders. If a third line is to be stretched, this engine should be accountable to stretch to location by alternate means other than the stairs or halls that the first two lines used. Accountability.
The incident commander should know where to expect these units to be operating.
What people are working where? Now the riding list, or magnetized clipboard. If you know all the above, it is a matter of plugging in the names of the personnel assigned to various functions on each unit. I lere is where the accountability systems that have been adopted fall on their faces. As incident commander, I know where each unit “initially” was told or expected to go and perform, but I don’t know who is accomplishing the goals of the team.
Who are we looking for? During stress situations —partial collapse, flashover, or any other Mayday—it is important to know the name of the firefighter at the nozzle, at the rear of the structure venting from the fire escape, or at the roof attending to primary and secondary functions.
In short, when the fan is hit, who exactly are you looking for? Accountability of professional, expert adults!
Where are they likely to be? Here is where it all comes together. What was the assignment—primary, secondary—of the unit? W hat are the names of the team members? What are their assignments on the team roster? Now—what are the variables on the scene? What communications and reassignments were ordered? Plug that information into what happened, where it happened, and why — you then should know exactly who you are looking for and where they most likely will be.
I know you can “eat the big elephant of accountability” if you take little bites, but you have to know what the whole elephant looks like before you can begin to know where to take the bites!
