Question: Most of us realize that staffing is key to successful operations at fires. Some departments still struggle with the number of members on apparatus. If training is also key, should we train with one- and two-person companies?
Staffing issues have plagued the fire service over the past decade or so and, in my opinion, will continue to do so until we reinvent ourselves as a trade. This problem can be attributed to several things: a decrease in fire incidents; economic concerns; shrinking municipalitiesthe citizens we protect are moving to “the burbs”; increased use of fire protection “sharing” (mutual/automatic aid); and our continuous ability to keep responding and protecting despite the cuts. (Some of these influences are good thingsreduced fire rates, for example. Fire kills on average 1,500 children a year.) Until we as an industry find our new niche in the community, we will be faced with these reductions.
The staffing problem manifests itself in the area of fireground evolutions and training sessions. In most municipalities, fireground evolutions are based on four or more firefighters participating in the evolution. This number is even larger in some departments. How many departments can “split” their six-person truck company into different evolutions and tasks? Thirty years ago, a four-person parallel or right-angle ladder raise was the norm for most municipal departments. Many of us now do not have four-person truck companies on a regular, or any, basis.
The situation affects not only fireground evolutions of individual departments but also of departments that rely on mutual/automatic aid. If a neighboring community staffs its engine with three firefighters and decides to reduce staffing to two firefighters and your department relies on that department as its second- or third-due engine, your department now has decisions to make. How will that work at your next fire? Can you still rely on those engines for a quick water supply?
Regardless of the constraints, I believe we must respond and protect those who rely on us. We have done so for hundreds of years and must do everything to continue to do so.
John “Skip” Coleman recently retired from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue as assistant chief. He is a technical editor of Fire Engineering, a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board, and author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997) and Managing Major Fires (Fire Engineering, 2000).
Craig H. Shelley,
fire protection advisor,
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Response: Not all fire departments are fortunate to have full staffing in compliance with National Fire Protection Association recommendations. How, therefore, can they operate to maximum efficiency and increase their safety? Training!
I am in no way condoning inappropriate staffing levels; but, again, we are not all fortunate to have optimum staffing. It is one thing to arrive on-scene with limited staffing and operate in complete confusion and another to arrive on-scene and operate according to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and in a disciplined fashion. Again, training is the key.
A highly disciplined and well-trained unit can operate with maximum efficiency for its numbers. If we are sending our troops into battle without full resourcesi.e., full staffingthen the only way to help protect them is to ensure they are well protected with proper personal protective equipment (PPE), operate according to SOPs, and are highly and well-trained. If we look at the United States armed forces special operations teams, we can see their successes when operating with small groups. What sets them apart from their enemy? Training. We need to provide training to our responders whatever their staffing. If departments are responding with two- or three-person companies, these persons need to be trained to operate in a cohesive and safe manner.
Rick Lasky, chief,
Lewisville (TX) Fire Department
Response: As much as I’m a proponent of four-person staffing on engines, quints, and ladder trucks, I also realize that, depending on your situation, you may only be able to staff an apparatus with one, two, or three firefighters. That being said, we should always fight for better staffing. It’s hard for some people to understand just how much of a difference having a fourth person on an apparatus makes when operating at emergencies, especially at a structure fire. I have witnessed as a chief just how much of an impact having a fourth member on an apparatus can have. It’s something you have to see firsthand to understand completely.
It’s been said that publishing an article on how to train or work with fewer apparatus crew members would give ammunition to those people fighting adequate staffing on the other side in their attempt to justify why we don’t need the staffing we’re asking for. That could be true in some cases, but I think the argument also has to be made that if you can have only two or three people assigned to an apparatus, for whatever reason, you need to train these people to work within those staffing constraints in emergencies. Not doing so or burying your head in the sand for the sake of an argument for four-person staffing is dangerous.
The emphasis should always be on four-person staffing when you can pull it off, but if you’re going to run with two or three people, you need to train your people on how to operate within that system so they can do so safely. When only one person is assigned to an apparatus, it is even more critical that these firefighters train properly and have the SOPs to support that staffing situation so that they can operate safely on the fireground or other emergency site until enough personnel arrive on-scene. A department probably can’t do anything about one- or two-person crews, but it always has the ability to make sure that its personnel work as safely as possible.
Jeffrey Schwering, lieutenant,
Crestwood (MO) Department of Fire Services
Response: Training our firefighters to think on their feet has to be the most important thing all can do to enhance safety and survival on the fireground for everyone. We all understand that if adequate staffing is not present at a working incident, the incident outcome probably will not be a positive one. One- or two-person companies are behind the eight ball when they leave the house. I have experienced this as a volunteer and as a career officer.
We have an obligation to train one- and two-person companies. Training our firefighters is the key. All officers and members need to train on the basics every day. Regardless of the number of members on the apparatus, knowledge of fire behavior, building construction, reading smoke, the National Incident Management System, etc., will help the first-arriving firefighters to make educated and safe decisions and to know where to begin working a fire.
Although it is hard to imagine one- or two-member companies in 2008, many companies face this every day. In my area of the country, three on a company engine or truck is normal. The fire service must continue to move forward toward adequate staffing and continued training of all members, which can lead to a reduced number of line-of-duty deaths.
Gary Seidel, chief,
Hillsboro (OR) Fire Department
Response: As we are aware, it takes sufficient resources to manage the all-hazard response we provide to the communities we serve. Whether our response is to a high-rise, a single-family dwelling, a commercial or an industrial occupancy, a wildland fire, or a four-story apartment house fire, it is all about having adequate resources arriving in a timely manner with appropriate apparatus and adaptive crews to safely and effectively mitigate the incident. The same applies to any other incident to which your agency responds. Our best service delivery to emergency responses is not through a piecemeal approach.
It would be nice if every agency had enough fire stations geographically and demographically placed and a variety of apparatus staffed with equal numbers of personnel readily available to meet the needs in the all-hazards response arena. However, this is not to be.
I would look at several questions before I address the training issue:
- What relationship does the department have with the governing body?
- Has the department assessed the risks to the community?
- Has the department developed realistic plans?
- What is the desired level of service delivery to the community?
- What is the standard/duty of care?
- What is the vicarious liability to the department?
- What are the respondent superior issues the department faces?
- Does the department have the financial backing to support its service delivery model?
- Do the citizens really understand what they are getting?
These questions relate to the service delivery system and how department members should train. Training is not about numbers; it is about being prepared and equipped to safely respond and deliver a professional service and, hopefully, save a life. It is about being certified and qualified.
A department must train on tactics that are within its companies’ capabilities and must become proficient in them. This, however, will be a limiting factor for your department. One- and two-person companies must also train with the surrounding agencies that may be similarly staffed or, hopefully, have three, four, or five persons on an apparatus.
Bobby Shelton, firefighter,
Cincinnati (OH) Fire Department
Response: Training and staffing are the two keys to firefighter safety and survival. Having had the experience of working for career and combination departments, those two issues go hand in hand and are always major. A minimum of four-person crews makes fire department response more efficient, effective, and safer, which saves the municipality money in the long run. We should train according to the national standard.
NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, (2007 ed.) 8.5.7 states: “In the initial stages of an incident, at a working structural fire, a minimum of 4 individuals is required.” Also, two of those four individuals must be on standby. Section 8.5.12 states that no personnel, including the incident commander, safety officer, or fire apparatus operator, shall be assigned to stand by if abandoning critical tasks will jeopardize the safety and health of firefighters working the incident.
We should train to go to work with adequate staffing even if it is not available at the time.
Ron Hiraki, assistant chief,
Gig Harbor (WA) Fire & Medic One
Response: We operate with two members on an engine company and two members on the medic unit. Despite this, we have developed and written all of our engine company evolutions for three members. Normally, the engine company and the medic unit respond in tandem. On arrival at the scene, they can perform the three-member engine company evolution. If the medic unit is out of the station, another engine company or medic is usually not far behind.
Flexibility is an essential trait of being a good firefighter. Our goal was to define the tasks to be completed for an engine company evolution, and the appropriate sequence. We organized these tasks by position (e.g., officer, driver, nozzleman) best suited to complete them. This simple organization of tasks increases safety and efficiency because the officer has to give only one command and members aren’t standing around figuring out who will do what and bumping into each other.
The key is to have everyone learn the tasks each position must perform and the sequence of the tasks. That way, when there are only two members or a member has a problem or when the officer has to do “officer stuff,” the other members can help out. It might be more confusing if we developed and wrote our engine company evolutions for one, two, and four members. All members must train on all of the tasks that each position must perform and the sequence, and we must be flexible.
Randall W. Hanifen, lieutenant,
West Chester (OH) Fire-Rescue
Response: Training with one- and two-person companies is a must if this is how your department operates at scenes. With the decline in volunteer retention rates and citizens not wanting huge tax bills, the fire service is left with two options: respond with the resources available or not respond at all. The second option is not feasible; therefore, we must train how we will be expected to operate. Although I am not advocating violating the many safety standards that require the use of four firefighters, there are operations that can be conducted without actual entry, such as a transitional attack that starts defensive and progresses to offensive when sufficient personnel arrive. Departments that train with sufficient personnel but typically arrive with fewer will suffer at the scene, because officers will begin to improvise because of the change in staffing. If they are unfamiliar with the decisions that need to be made because of a shortage of personnel, serious safety issues could arise. Second, departments that cross-staff vehicles should train with the different configurations that could arrive at a scene. This will enable all personnel to become familiar with the limiting factors present based on the given staffing. Failing to train with the given number of personnel available is equivalent to training a probationary firefighter to ventilate the roof with a chainsaw and then giving him only an ax when he arrives at the scene.
Richard Wilson, lieutenant,
Bartlett (IL) Fire District
Response: How many of these companies are on duty at a time? If we have only one company of two, I would say no if we can muster up two firefighter companies. No training is ever lost, no matter how small. The only aspect needing attention is availability for the next incident if you are trying to complete a drill on NFPA 1410, Standard on Training for Initial Emergency Scene Operations, (2005 ed.). The time to break down and return to service would be the only hangup. If management has no problem with response times, train away. Safety for all personnel is the most important thing to remember. Train like it is the real incident with two members first in, two out, water supply with two firefighters (rural operations included), and laddering a building or completing a rescue. Some questions I would raise: Would you have to make an interior attack with just two people? Who else is coming to the incident? How far away are they? Remember the two-in/two-out policies. Let’s work smart.
Gregory P. Perricone,
deputy chief instructor,
Suffolk County (NY) Fire Academy
Response: Is there any such thing as a one- or two-person company? Can one or two persons perform the functions that should be done by four or five? I think it is impractical and unrealistic to train individuals or pairs of individuals to act as independent fire companies.
However, I do understand that many paid and volunteer departments have staffing shortages. How do we overcome this obstacle? Not by training firefighters to work in smaller groups. We train them to work with larger groups composed of their mutual-aid companies or departments. By entering into memorandums of understanding or mutual-aid agreements, neighboring departments/companies would train and turn out together. It is a paradigm shift that could work.
Signers to these agreements would retain control of their personnel and equipment while providing substantial staffing on the fireground.
Recently in Suffolk County, a call for a smell of gas at a major university brought as many as five neighboring departments to the scene. Some of these units arrived with two to three personnel onboard. By pooling the available personnel, we identified the odor without putting the first-due fire department in a precarious position. Could you imagine the horror if that incident commander hadn’t called for help and there had been an explosion?
Now imagine that same scenario where only two firefighters respond, enter the building, and experience a gas explosion. Who would be there to rescue the rescuers? Firefighting is dangerous enough. Two-person engine companies are a disaster waiting to happen.
Brian Zaitz, firefighter/paramedic,
Metro West Fire Protection District,
Wildwood, Missouri
Response: We all known the motto “Train like you fight,” with which I totally agree, especially when discussing drilling related to staffing. I work for a fire district where three-person engine and truck companies are the standard. Our current preferred operating methods (POMs) and training exercises are developed around this staffing level. Although it would be great to have four or five firefighters on the truck, it is not a reality for most fire districts and departments. Training and POMs should reflect district staffing. For example, our first-due fire training uses all three positions. The officer is responsible for conducting a 360; performing outside ventilation, if possible; and reporting back to the front. The firefighter deploys the attack line and performs initial forcible entry and awaits the officer. The chauffeur operates the apparatus and secures a water supply. This POM or training would not be applicable as it is written to a department that has two or four firefighters assigned to the apparatus. POMs and training need to reflect realistic staffing levels.
Todd Ungar, lieutenant,
Willoughby (OH) Fire Department
Response: There are many ways to train with one- and two-person crews. At the very minimum, SCBA and personal protective equipment (PPE) donning and doffing proficiencies, basic pump and ladder operations, and familiarization with the response area can be covered. I’m also assuming that companies with this level of staffing are probably supplemented by off-duty, part-paid/volunteer, or mutual-aid response at the emergency scene. In this case, there must be a general level of knowledge of that company’s response district. Basic walkthroughs of buildings, familiarization with standpipe and hydrant locations, and general preplanning of operations can be done with one- or two-person crews. These crews, although short-staffed, will still set the pace for the initial response. There should also be some effort to train with surrounding companies or departments; they may be in the same situation, and training with them would further improve operations at emergencies.
Mike Newbury, captain,
St. Louis (MO) Fire Department
Response: We train to prepare for emergencies, to gain experience, to gain knowledge, and to gain a point of reference so we can adjust our actions in the real-world scenarios (i.e., if we train to lead a line off in one way, we should do it in the same way at a fire scene, making allowances only for obstacles and hazards particular to the fire scene and not present during training). The closer we can simulate a real scene when training, the better and more safely we can operate at a real emergency scene.
The problem with one- and two-person companies is adhering to the two-in/two-out rule, RIT, and other best practices put in place for firefighter safety. More specifically, if your department does not have the budget or will not pay for full companies in combination departments, does not have the volunteers available for a training session in volunteer departments, or commonly responds with one- or two-person companies, how do you comply with the two-in/two-out rule and RIT requirements?
If your answer is to group enough one- and two-person companies together to have the personnel to cover these requirements and institute the incident command system (ICS), obviously you should train with your surrounding companies and practice the methods you will use to cover the things you need at an emergency scenewater supply, attack team, RIT, search team, second line, ventilation team, and ICS, for example. So if this is your plan, train with one- and two-person companies with the intent of merging multiple companies into teams that cover all of the above.
If your answer is, “We just don’t have the personnel for all that stuff and never will, so we should train with what we have,” I suggest you adopt the first answer and train with the surrounding companies with whom you will work at a real emergency scene and develop a flexible SOP with the surrounding jurisdictions to merge your companies and theirs into teams with enough personnel to cover ICS, RIT, two-in/two-out, firefighter accountability, and so on. Why? Safety first. These things have become standards to help keep firefighters alive and unhurt.
If you are in a situation in which you must rely on one- and two-person companies, it will take some practice (training) to get multiple one- and two-person companies on the same page before having to work at a real emergency. Joint training sessions will help create that template on how to organize and command a scene and to determine who will operate in what capacity.
As an example, Pumper 1, the first on-scene, will do water supply (driver/engineer) and initial ICS and size-up (second firefighter on pumper 1); Pumper 2 will lead off the attack line with its two firefighters; and Pumper 1’s one firefighter will be the initial RIT. The next-arriving company will be Ladder 1 and will do ventilation as a two-person team. When the next-arriving company arrives, the two firefighters will become permanent RIT. This may sound rigid, but if all you have are one- and two-person companies, multiple one- and two-person companies have to work together for safety’s sake.
Jessie Rosewall,
assistant chief-paramedic,
River Delta (CA) Fire District
Response: I work for a small part-time paid and volunteer fire department in California that runs about 380 calls a year within a 32-square-mile radius. We train just as if we were on a callwith two-person engine companies relying on mutual aid. If we have more than two on an engine, we put the firefighters in a support mode. If we have enough to run full training, we run as if they would be our second-in equipment or our mutual-aid response.
As we figure it, most people have about 30 minutes of good work time before they become too fatigued to work and pose a danger to themselves and others. When we run training, we keep this in mind.
Jay Wieners, chief,
Lake Hiawatha (NJ) Fire Department
Response: Obviously, staffing is a key factor in any firefighting operation. We not only have to accomplish several tactical objectives at most incidents, but we must also accomplish them in a coordinated fashion and in compliance with the two-in/two-out standard. For most departments, staffing is a major issue. Personnel in paid departments are often cut to the bare minimum, or less, by town hall number crunchers who see the fire department as an expense, not an emergency service. In volunteer departments, staffing is often a crapshoot, especially during daytime hours. With this being our reality, training is an issue in two regards.
First, firefighters must train under realistic conditions similar to those they will face on the fireground. We are setting ourselves up for failure when we drill with a four-person hose team and have only a two-person team in a real situation. The same holds true for other operations. We have to train with the personnel we will have at a real incident.
Second, we must train firefighters in the SOPs to be followed to accomplish tactical objectives in a coordinated manner. Most importantly, firefighters must be trained in the procedures to be followed when they don’t have enough resources on-scene to commence an offensive operation. It must be engrained in our firefighters that they are not obligated to get themselves killed or injured by engaging in a firefight they cannot win.
Paul J. Urbano, captain,
Anchorage (AK) Fire Department
Response: Staffing is a key to successful operations, but training is, too. Unfortunately, the firefighters in the cab are limited in what they can do regarding staffing deficits.
What they can do is train. Even with one- and two-person companies, they can still get in the cab and out in the street. In fact, they have even more of a reason to train. Developing proficient fire companies is critical to their success; therefore, they must adopt best practices that improve teamwork while increasing their margin of safety.
Unfortunately, inadequate staffing is dangerous and can force us to start normalizing operations. Some operations require three firefighters to safely accomplish the task; however, when you have two firefighters, you figure out a way to do it. That’s when bad things can happen.
Most of the time, we make it work. The dangerous part of making it work is that it gives us a false sense of security. Just because it worked this time doesn’t mean it’s a best practice and will work the next time. Staffing and training are crucial to successful operations at fires and other emergencies. Our chiefs must fight, even when it’s unpopular with their bosses, for our safety by advocating adequate staffing and facilitating realistic and relevant training.
Firefighters must train every shift. Additionally, firefighters should get involved with their communities by educating the citizens on the importance of adequate staffing and how it impacts their safety as well as ours.
Mark Cleck, captain,
Hagerstown (MD) Fire Department
Response: Our department is predominantly career, supplemented by volunteer personnel. Three of our five engine companies, two ladder companies, and a citywide personnel response unit are staffed with two career personnel 24/7; two remaining engine companies are staffed with an operator only. A captain and a battalion chief are assigned to each shift, and our minimum staffing, excluding the shift commanders, is 14. Box alarm assignments consist of three engine companies, two ladder companies, the utility, and shift commanders.
A number of tasks must be accomplished on the fireground in a short time. There are little time and limited human resources to organize and deploy crews of more than two people to accomplish critical tasks in the initial stages of an incident. Departments that find themselves in a personnel crunch must develop ways to effectively deploy firefighters in a safe and timely manner in the early stages of the incident. Our department has taken steps through training to develop a system that helps to ensure firefighter safety and effective operations.
We use NFPA 1410 as the basis for our fireground operations training. The standard allows for the basic evolutions to be adapted to local conditions, including the number of personnel completing the operation, and is used as an acceptable gauge for company-level performance during initial fire operation training.
Tony Tricarico, captain,
Fire Department of New York
Response: Absolutely not! It has been proven that a one-story, wood-frame, single-family dwelling fire will require the measurable services of 20 firefighters. That’s the minimum. It cannot and should not be done with fewer. If you try to work this fire with fewer, something has to suffer. What will it bethe water supply, command, vent, search, rescue? How much can any two or three people do at a working structural fire? How long will it take to get the required number of firefighters on-scene to properly and safely mitigate the incident?
It is unfortunate that the bean counters will attempt to keep the fire department numbers low to save money, but when they are needed and a death occurs, the finger pointing beginsfirst at the chief in charge, then at the operating procedures, and then at anyone in the fire service they feel can be hung out to dry. The blame is not directed at the people in charge of the purse strings; they deflect this responsibility.
How can anyone staff an apparatus with two people and tell the community that it is safe? Perhaps, we can get a bunch of apparatus on-scene in a relatively short time, but if you do not have the personnel to accomplish the needed tasks, the community and the firefighters suffer. It’s all smoke and mirrors.
These basic firefighting tasks cannot be done as quickly, as safely, or as effectively when we do not have the proper number of firefighters responding to match the required tasks. Remember, the firefighters, not the bean counters, are going into these dangerous conditions and risking their lives. You can get away with reduced staffing, and all will go well for awhile; but when the mud hits the fan and you need the people on-scene, it will be too late.
And, if I may take a quote from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) rules: A “willful violation” is one in which OSHA’s requirements are consciously or voluntarily disregarded. A “serious violation” is one in which the employer should have known that by violating the law, its actions or failure to take action could cause death or physical harm to its firefighters.
Maybe if we hold the bean counters responsible, we can get all fire department staffing to where it should be.
Frank J. Colelli, captain,
Montgomery Twp. (PA)
Department of Fire Services
Response: Properly trained staffing is the key to safe and successful operations at a fire or an emergency scene. Ours is a small combination fire department staffed with three career personnel working Monday through Friday from 0730 hours to 1730 hours. We run a three-person squad company that is supplemented by volunteer firefighters.
I feel it is crucial to train like you fight, and sometimes that means limited staffing. We conduct NFPA recommended annual drills and reduce the personnel for the drills to the number with which we would arrive at an emergency scene. It is crucial to train on stretching a handline with two people if that is the number you arrive with at a fire. I do not agree with this practice, but we take a realistic approach to our training program.
B. Keith Singles, firefighter,
Hampton (VA) Fire Department
Response: Up until about six years ago, we operated with one- and two-person companies. We responded with two on some engines and two on each ladder; one firefighter responded on the rescue truck. Today, we have beefed up all companies by at least one and sometimes two firefighters.
Back when we had one- and two-person companies, we trained with those numbers. It went pretty well, because most of us came to work in the early 1980s, when the staffing was that short and we learned from the “old guys” that that was the way they did it. We were fortunate enough not to lose anyone in a real situation that taxed our personnel at the “big one” and survived the bread-and-butter fires that came along. In the past, the training division would set up scenarios for the one- and two-person crews to practice their skills just to see how well some did. There was some friendly competition among some of the companies to see which one had the fastest time.
This also worked in the fire house when the alarm came in to respond to a structure fire; to get enough people to the scene, we dispatched three engines along with the ladder and rescue truck. I can even remember at some fires the battalion chief’s getting his hands dirty fighting the fire. We’ve all had our shortage of firefighters at the fire or during training but have managed to compensate for that and are still able to function as a well-oiled machine. Hopefully, in the near future, all fire departments will have more than enough firefighters respond on the apparatus to get the job done safely.
Jim Duffy, shift commander,
Wallingford (CT) Fire Rescue
Response: Training is one of the most important ingredients for firefighter safety. Firefighters must train for and with the number of firefighters with which they are going to arrive on-scene. If they train with four when they are actually going to show up with two or three on the rig, fatal mistakes could be made. This is not to say that understaffing should not be eliminated nationwide, but we must be judicious in publishing in our trade magazines articles that show how to do things with less than proper staffing; the politicians could use these articles to reduce staffing by stating that XYZ Department does the same job with only two personnel or, God forbid, one assigned to its truck company. Train like you play, and play like you train. Do what you need to do to keep your firefighters safe.
Jake Waldschmidt,
firefighter/paramedic,
Kenosha (WI) Fire Department
Response: Absolutely! Training makes us better at what we do. The number of people participating doesn’t make the training; the quality of the training is what matters. Efficient training is vital to being successful on the fireground.
Multicompany training allows crews to work together and get to know each crew’s strengths and weaknesses. It also allows the fire department to solidify fireground operations and SOPs and to try out new firefighting concepts. When staffing levels are one- or two-person crews, training determines what initial fireground operations can and should be done prior to the arrival of additional resources. This is especially true in the volunteer and combination departments, where they are routinely waiting for additional personnel to arrive on-scene. These training sessions can cover a number of topics, such as firefighter safety and RIT, initial hoseline selection and placement, and the way you are going to ventilate the building. Scenario-based training can also be used effectively with the above topics.
Training allows us to maintain and improve our competence in our firefighting skills. It keeps our minds and hands sharp. It should never be passed over or pushed to the side because of the staffing levels. We need to do more multicompany training, not less. We need to improve our firefighting skills every day we come to the firehouse.
Rick Mosher, lieutenant,
Merriam (KS) Fire Department
Response: Being a fully developed suburb in the shadow of a large city brings challenges. We have the run volume of the larger city with reduced staffing. Our fire department has grown from 16 to 22 career firefighters over the past 10 years. The increase in staffing allows our department to staff a truck company and our engine company. This increase has not come without challenges; our daily staffing is three shift members on each company. When the overtime budget is expended and vacation, sick, or personal days occur, we reduce staffing on the truck company to two members. This presents a challenge when responding to most alarms with the truck.
I am a strong advocate of NFPA 1710 four-member staffing on fire companies, and I can accept three-member staffing in the short term. However, after repeated attempts to hire three additional shift personnel, I have come to realize that in the short term we must train our firefighters with reduced two-member staffing on the truck company. With this in mind, we have aggressively trained our members to operate with reduced personnel. We have covered and trained extensively on vent-enter-search (VES) and single-member ground ladder operations.
We have taught our company officers tactical decision making and to add additional fire apparatus to the box alarm ticket to overcome the shortfall. For some critical situations, we trained our members to combine the engine and truck company and address the most critical task as a combined company. We are trying to do more with less; however, firefighter safety is our number-one concern.
We have taught our members the “risk a little to save a little” theory. Turning a blind eye to reduced staffing will lead to an increase in firefighter injuries. You must know in low staffing situations what your capabilities are. The only way to determine your fire company’s limitations is by conducting training drills. You must train your members to be safe and successful.
One of my favorite quotes is from the late Chief Tom Brennan: “One or two firefighters on a fire truck is lunacy. Take a city bus; it’s quicker.” Train your members for the worst-case scenario in the low personnel situation, and continue to pursue better staffing for your fire companies.
Kai W. Rieger, captain,
Jackson Township (OH) Fire Department
Response: It is imperative that we train to the same staffing levels to which we normally operate. In the volunteer sector, we have more leeway with company personnel levels, since the staffing levels can change hourly. In the career sector, staffing remains more of a constant.
If we have one- or two-person companies, we must train the same way. We can determine our real strengths and weaknesses during drills. Incident commanders need to know how long it will take to get attack and backup lines in place. Stretching lines around corners, up stairways, and down halls is extremely time consuming with one- or two-person companies. Command staff and company officers must realize this; training drills will demonstrate how long it will take. Training will also show how long it would take one- or two-person companies to search a private dwelling or an apartment building. This real-world staffed training will let incident commanders know what to expect when tasks need to be completed.
We can work on problems encountered during training and make adjustments accordingly. To train with four- or five-person companies and then respond to incidents with one- or two-person companies is a recipe for disaster. Incident commanders must know the realistic strength of their army and the parameters within which they can operate.
Vance L. Duncan III, deputy chief,
Erie (PA) Bureau of Fire
Response: Some departments (career, combination or volunteer) still struggle with the number of members on apparatus. Training is the key. Since one- and two-person companies are responding to emergencies, they must be efficient, effective, and safe in their operations.
Since a community can provide only a level of emergency services for which its residents are willing to pay, many communities can staff only one- and two-person companies. This level of staffing severely limits the operations at an emergency scene for those crews and also places them in much more danger because of their limitations.
Some of the duties these crews may complete prior to the arrival of additional personnel include the following:
- Size-up of the situation and establishment of command.
- Securing an adequate and reliable water supply (hydrant, drafting site, nurse tenders, etc.).
- Preparing for defensive operations (exposure protection, blitz attack/master stream operations, flying brand control).
- Preparing for offensive operations (extend and position attack lines from the apparatus while waiting the arrival of additional apparatus and personnel wearing all of their personal protective equipment).
- Immediate rescue of entrapped/endangered persons by placement of ladders to windows, balconies, porches, and roofs. Also positioning and setting up of aerial devices can be accomplished for rescue.
- In the case of hazardous materials/terrorist acts, the crew can deny access to the area and set up for mass decontamination of affected persons.
Remembering to pace yourself, moving with a common goal in mind, and having the equipment and tools properly located on an apparatus can make a short-staffed crew more efficient, effective, and safe. Until these short-staffed companies are upgraded to at least four-person crews, they must complete their tasks as safely, proficiently, and productively as possible.
Skip Heflin, captain,
Hall County (GA) Fire Services
Response: In our department, all members are dual-role, cross-trained in fire and EMS. We provide advanced life support transport as well. Our minimum staffing is two firefighters/engine and two firefighters/medical unit, with four firefighters per station. That would be the typical staffing in a station with an engine and a medical transport unit; staffing in stations with a squad or ladder would have more personnel. Our training centers around the typical response we put on the type of incident. In-service training done in the station is written around the minimum staffing available in the station, just as it would be on the station’s first-in arrival at a fire.
When conducting multicompany drills at our fire academy, we typically have no more than two stations per drill at the same time. That is mainly a logistical issue, not necessarily a staffing issue. We feel training that does not represent real-world conditions is unrealistic and sets up the company for failure. By practicing “train like we play,” we are preparing our members for real-world conditions. Our training does not focus on one-person companies at all. We are working toward three members per engine company; keeping up with retirements and attrition is a challenge for our department.
