“TO-DO” LISTS ENHANCE INCIDENT MANAGEMENT
BY JOHN F. (SKIP) COLEMAN
Items similar to those shown on the list at right can be found on the calendars and in the organizers and computers of fire officers across the country. They constitute the “to-do” list, an organizing aid used by individuals from all walks of life–from corporate presidents and CEOs to firefighters to office workers to homemakers. To-do lists serve as reminders of “things” that you want to accomplish over a specified period of time.
I have discovered that something as basic and fundamental as a to-do list has been a valuable tool for organizing my duties at emergencies. Although the time span at an emergency may be different from the usual daily or weekly schedule of calendars and planners, the concept is the same.
Before I share with you how to-do lists can help at all emergencies, I want to make an important statement: It`s okay for the first officer or chief on the scene to walk up to an incident with a clipboard in his or her hand! There! I`ve said it. It`s out in the open. Fifty years ago, firefighters were teased if they wore a “chemox” or “all-service” mask into a fire. When I came on, most firefighters were judged not by their knowledge and ability but by how soon they could take off their mask at a fire. Things change. NFPA 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program–1992, and common sense have made the use of SCBA at a fire acceptable.
After I joined the fire service and had enough confidence to start to observe others, I noted that chiefs walked up to a fire with nothing but a radio in their hands. Any chief who took a clipboard was ridiculed behind his back: “Chief Smith is a clipboard chief. He needs paper to track three crews at a bedroom fire!” Now, with what the standards, common sense, and the incident command system require of the individual running an incident, it only makes sense to walk up to an incident prepared–with something to write with, and on.
Forcing yourself to carry a clipboard with you as you prepare to take command of an incident will help improve your performance in three ways:
1. It reduces your opportunity to become a “hands-on” manager at the incident. The function of anyone who takes formal command of an incident is to command, not to participate manipulatively. It seems that if you have something in your hands and they are not free, your desire or need to help stretch line, kick in doors, or grab a nozzle for exposure protection is greatly diminished.
2. You maintain focus. The incident command system (ICS) has certainly helped officers control incidents. One of the reasons for this is a newfound ability to focus on specific responsibilities. Before the ICS, officers, and even chiefs, responded to an incident and often operated with little or no direction from the individual in charge (if there was an individual in charge). Some-times, initial direction was given (“Take a hydrant,” “Set up a monitor in front,” or “Set up a ladder pipe”), but after that evolution was completed, freelancing became the norm. Whatever an officer saw that needed to be done, he did.
On the surface, I suppose that does not seem to be a bad thing. However, incident command has shown me that if companies are given a specific assignment to accomplish and then are required to inform the officer or chief in charge when that activity has been completed, control of the incident is better maintained and the incident is better managed and more organized. You (as Command) focus on what needs to be done. You assign available crews and then let them focus on their specific task. Everyone has a job, a focus, and a specific purpose at that particular incident.
By your maintaining a clipboard in your hand and avoiding hands-on participation in the incident, you are allowed better focus on the incident as a “whole,” and isn`t that the reason the chief (or officer in charge) is on the scene?
3. You create a place for organizing the incident and have the benefit of built-in “memory joggers.” (Have you ever gone back to quarters after a fire and discovered after starting your reports that you forgot to get the owner`s phone number or to record the serial number of the clothes iron that started the fire?) Make yourself some incident worksheets. There are many examples of them around. Take what you like from each, and then design your own on your PC. (That`s how the sample presented above was created.) Some battalion chiefs in my department use it; others have adopted their own.
The memory joggers you incorporate in these forms can cover construction type, available apparatus or units, sprinkler and standpipe notations, tactical and strategic reminders, and so on. Mine even includes areas for writing down the name of the structure`s owner and the occupant and whether the detectors went off. Doing this helps you to be a little more organized at an incident. And better organization leads to better-run incidents.
SIZE-UP AND TO-DO LISTS
Size-up is defined as a rapid evaluation of the conditions that exist at the scene of an emergency. Textbooks address a litany of items that can or should be considered as part of size-up. These factors range from preplans and topography to the color of the smoke observed. When I refer to a size-up, I first like to train my officers to “look at the picture” in front of them and to ask themselves, “What needs to be done first?”
This is situational. The picture in front of you will change from incident to incident. At a fire, items that will stand out when you look at the picture in front of you will include the amount of fire; the location of the fire; the amount, color, and force behind the smoke; the actions of civilians; the presence of downed power lines; and so on. At a vehicular accident, items that will stand out when you look at the picture in front of you will be the number of vehicles involved, the condition of the vehicles (are they upright or on their sides or top?), the extent of the damage to the vehicles, the condition of the occupants and bystanders, whether liquids are on the pavement or ground, the presence of downed wires, and so on. Once you look at and process the picture in front of you, you can proceed to the next step in establishing an effective to-do list–reviewing your priorities.
INCIDENT PRIORITIES AND TO-DO LISTS
Every incident is different–from fires to ill persons to vehicular accidents to water rescues. Not only are incidents in general different, but so are those within the same category. For example, conditions vary from fire to fire, including fires that occur in the same structure.
Even priorities–the items that Com-mand (the individual in charge of the incident) should always consider and review at every incident–are situational. These four priorities, in order of importance, are as follows1:
Firefighter safety. At any incident, any time, the first question the first officer on the scene should ask himself is, “Can we safely participate in this incident at this specific time?” If the answer to this question is “Yes,” the officer can move to the next priority. If the answer is “No,” he has two options: (1) change conditions, or (2) wait until conditions change themselves.
Civilians call us to an emergency to solve a problem. It may be a fire, an ill relative, a faulty motor giving off sparks or smoke, or a host of other emergencies (real or imagined). To help them solve their problem, we must never take actions that would allow us to become part of that problem. If we respond to a fire and one of our own becomes trapped or injured, we will immediately place that “brother” above the situation. That is a fact of life. However, when that happens, we have failed the civilian requesting our help. In essence, we have become part of the problem and not part of the solution. We may have to take risks on occasion. There will be fires that may require us to extend ourselves and do “things” we normally would not have our members do. However, those instances should be the exception and not the rule. If we can`t operate in a manner that makes us part of the solution, then we become part of the problem and have failed the people who look to us for help.
Civilian safety. Once we have determined that fire crews can effectively operate, we next need to provide for the safety of civilians (victims and bystanders). A primary search should commence when it rises to the top of Command`s incident to-do list. This may be the first item on the list or the last. However, at any structure, a search needs to be done. Bystanders and onlookers need to be kept from harm. That`s part of Command`s “focusing” on the “whole” incident. Command needs to stand back and look at the entire scene, bystanders and all. By focusing on the whole, all aspects of the incident are addressed.
Stop the problem. After the safety needs of crews have been addressed and all savable victims have been or are being attended to, our next concern at a structure fire is to stop the problem. In textbooks that I read while on my way up the promotional ladder, the term often used was “confine, control, and extinguish.” If the incident is other than a structure fire, say a vehicular accident, our concern might be to extricate trapped victims or pull protective lines for “flash fire watch.” If the incident is a service call to check for a smoke odor in a basement, we would find the source and eliminate the problem. Except for a basic EMS (emergency medical services) or ALS (advanced life support) incident that is completed once the civilians have been addressed, this step should apply in some form in almost every incident.
Conserve property. Salvage and overhaul are concerns in this phase. Except for structure fires and a few specific forms of service calls, such as frozen/burst water pipes or sprinkler heads or to remove smoke due to a faulty furnace or careless cook, this phase may not be applicable at all incidents. However, if we respond to a vehicular accident involving minor injuries to victims and no fluid spills from vehicles, we can probably put a firefighter without dirty turnout gear on in the car to do C-spine immobilization and avoid damaging the rear seats. Likewise, there is no need to “pop” a door if it can be opened by hand.
The first two items listed (provide for firefighter safety and provide for civilian safety) should be considered at every incident to which you respond and should be part of the size-up/prioritization process.
MAKING YOUR TO-DO LIST
To review, you are the first officer to arrive at the scene of an emergency. You have “looked” at the picture in front of you and made a few observations: Light smoke coming from the second floor of a vacant house. Looks like rubbish in a bedroom. You`ve had previous fires here. It`s 12:30 p.m. on a Saturday morning in July. Next, you rapidly review Command`s list of priorities:
Firefighter safety. We can enter safely and knock this fire down. Remind the crews to take it slow.
Civilian safety. The house is vacant. There are several onlookers, but they are back out of harm`s way. You`ll need a primary search, but not right now. Even though the structure is vacant, vagrants or homeless people–or even the individual who started the fire (either accidentally or intentionally)–could be inside.
Stop the problem. Get in and put out the fire.
Conserve property. This is a vacant house with previous fires. Crews will not cause any unnecessary damage, but they need not be overly concerned with opening up to check for extension. All the windows and doors are wide open and have been for weeks.
This rapid review only took a few seconds to perform. Most factors that need to be considered are quite obvious. We now know several key things about this incident: There is a fire on the second floor of a vacant house. Crews can enter and mow this fire down with relative ease. Civilian safety is not a high concern. If we get in quickly, we can stop the fire from spreading into the structure before it can travel throughout the house. Finally, property conservation is not a great concern. Based on these “knowns,” we can next create a list of what needs to be done to put out this fire and ensure that it is completely out. At this incident, my to-do list would look something like Figure 1 on page 116.
SCENARIO
The following fictional scenario illustrates how Command used his to-do list.
Your engine company is dispatched to a single-family structure fire in the center of the city. Two more engines, an aerial truck, a heavy rescue squad, and a battalion chief are also dispatched. Response time for all units should be no more than four minutes.
On arrival, you find a two-story occupied home with heavy fire in the rear of the second floor. It is 0344 hours. All occupants are reported out on your arrival. Units responding are Engine 5 (your engine), 6, and 7; Truck 5; Squad 1; and Battalion 1.
Looking at “the picture.” Heavy fire is coming from the rear of the second floor. Occupants in front of the structure tell you that “everyone is out” and that the fire is a second-floor bathroom. It doesn`t appear that the fire has entered the attic yet. You review your priorities:
Firefighter safety. We can enter and operate safely.
Civilian safety. We have a report that everyone is out. Onlookers are no problem.
Stop the problem. Get in and put out the fire. If this is accomplished quickly, most other problems will diminish or disappear.
Conserve property. Ventilation and salvage are concerns at this occupied home.
The initial to-do list. At this fire, your to-do list should look like Figure 2 on page 116. Your assignments should follow this list as long as you observe no changes or receive no information that would alter or affect the priority of the items on the list.
ASSIGNMENTS FROM THE LIST
Now that you have a plan of what assignments you would like to make based on the information you have at this time, you next need to make assignments based on your list.
You have two units already on the scene–the remainder of your crew in a 1,500-gpm engine and the truck. The first assignment should be:
Command to Engine 5: You`re Attack.”
Followed by
Command to Truck 5: You`re Ventilation.
Now, with these two assignments made, you can remove those two items from your list. Your updated list should look like Figure 3 on page 116.
You still have things on your list, but no one is on the scene to be assigned. I do not advocate giving assignments to units that are not on the scene. We all know that fires can be very dynamic. What is No. 1 on your list at this time may drop to No. 2 or 3 or even lower if the fire should take an unexpected turn or if you are provided with information that you didn`t have a few seconds earlier.
Let`s say as an example that you assign the remaining items to units still responding:
Command to Engine 6: You`re Backup. Squad 1: You`re Search. Engine 7: Check for extension.
As soon as those words leave your mouth, you see Squad 1 pull up to the scene. You do not see Engine 6 or 7 yet. You have two crews working, one inside on the fire and the other about to start a PPV fan at the front door. You still have no backup line inside. Safety! Should you reassign Backup to Squad 1? Does that make you look as if you are in control of the incident or just reciting a list of things that need to be done? Wait! Make assignments when units are close enough so you can see the unit number on the apparatus.
Squad 1 pulls up.
Command to Squad 1: You`re Backup. Squad 1: Okay on Backup.
Truck 5 reports that the fan is operating and the smoke is venting out the bathroom window.
Command to Truck 5: Start salvage on Division 1. You`re Division 1 Salvage. Truck 5: Okay on salvage.
Engine 6 turns the corner and reports on the scene.
Command to Engine 6: You`re Search. We have a report that everyone is out.
Engine 6: Okay on search.
Now, your list looks like Figure 4 on page 117. You have only one item left on your list. In a few seconds, Attack reports the fire is knocked down.
Command OK – Change your designation to Extension and also start to overhaul after you locate the area of origin.
All items on your list have been covered. There are still things left to do: talk to the occupants about the cause of the fire, insurance, smoke detectors, and temporary housing. Lines will need to be picked up, SCBA bottles changed, and so on. However, the big items with which responding companies help Command are all being addressed by the crews you assigned in the order in which you assigned them and are based on your plan. You`re in control!
I do not put numbers on the items on my list. I just write the assignments I want to make in the order I want them to be made (see Figure 5 on page 117).
Updating your list. Nothing is forever or etched in stone. Your to-do list is only as good as you are and the information you have on hand. There will be times when you will have to edit your list, such as when you are notified that victims have been found, there are multiple fires, poor tactics have permitted the fire to extend to other areas of the structure, apparatus fails or breaks down, equipment fails, or personnel are injured. It`s not a sin to have to update a list for reasons that are due to “unknowns” (not to indecision, premature assignments, or poor tactical and strategic decisions based on “known” facts).
Moreover, unless you have already given out the assignment, no one but you need know that your list has been changed. If changes need to be made in a unit`s assignment, notify that unit over the radio and have it repeat back over the radio its new assignment.
Update your list often. Look at your list. Look at the picture in front of you. Ask yourself, “Is the item on top of my list really the most pressing problem at this incident?” If the answer is “Yes,” assign it as soon as a unit is on the scene or becomes available. If it is not the most pressing problem, look at the picture again and figure out what needs to be done next.
INCIDENT WORKSHEET
Track the assignments of on-scene units on an incident worksheet. Record and track initial and subsequent assignments. Who did what at a fire, in this day and age, is vital information; you may want to obtain it at the incident instead of trying to obtain it months later. What confidence do you instill in your officers and firefighters if you have to go to them and ask, “What did you do at that fire?”
I`ll close my remarks on to-do lists with a story from the past. My father (and others who remember) tell the following stories of Fire Captain Stewart, assigned at old 8`s station. “He was a hell of a fireman,” my dad would say. He was one of the first black firefighters to reach the rank of captain in the Toledo Fire Department. The story goes that Captain Stewart never buttoned his fire coat on the way to a fire if he was going to be the first one on the scene. When he arrived at the fire, he would slowly step off his pumper and stand there, slowly and methodically snapping the snaps on his fire coat in silence, staring at the fire. Once, an impatient firefighter summoned the courage (Captain Stewart was large and a man of a few words) to ask him why he always buttoned his coat after he got to the fire. “I`m thinking about what needs to be done, Son,” the captain replied.
Captain Stewart was looking at “the picture” in front of him and creating his list of “what needs to be done.” Although the term was probably nonexistent back then in the early 1960s, Captain Stewart was making his own to-do list. n
Endnote
1. The four priorities of Command from Fire Command, Alan V. Brunacini. 1985. National Fire Protection Association Publications, 4.
To-Do List
Meet with chief about training program for re-cruits.
Pick up monthly report for review.
Drop car off at shop after work.
Make appointment with state director for Monday.
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A chief officer discusses a vacant house fire with an officer. What items would you put on your to-do list at a fire like this? (Photo by Gerry Mazur.)
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What items would you put on a to-do list for a car fire such as this? (Photo by Tom Jaksetic.)
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An officer (clipboard in hand) records information and reviews assignments on his incident worksheet. (Photo by author.)
n JOHN F. (SKIP) COLEMAN has been a member of the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue Operations for 21 years and has been 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.
