OPS01

Mutual Aid/Assistance Response

Standard responding Mutual Aid/Assistance manpower should consist of no less than 4, and no more than 8 Interior Firefighters per apparatus requested.

1. In the event the requesting Incident Commander (IC) is looking for a maximum amount of support personnel (8) on the responding equipment, the IC should add "manpower" to the request.

2. When possible, the department requested for Mutual Aid/Assistance should respond only the equipment requested.  However, when seating capacity is insufficient for the personnel requested, an additional piece of apparatus, such as a squad or rescue truck, may also respond.

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OPS02

Chief Officers Responding on Mutual Aid

1. Departments responding Mutual Aid/Assistance, may also send one Chief Officer as part of the responding company, in addition to the Apparatus/Company Officer.

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OPS03

Radio Channel Response

1. Apparatus responding to a Mutual Aid Fill-in will remain on Channel 5.

2. When responding to the scene, apparatus will switch to the appropriate working channel.

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OPS04

Personnel Accountability

Scope:  

Monroe County Fire Chief's Association and the Monroe County Safety Officers Association development of a county-wide standard for the use of accountability systems at mutual aid incidents.  This standard does not dictate what accountability system an individual department uses, but, provides a guideline for individual systems to meet so that they may be compatible during mutual aid incidents.  This standard will state some minimum requirements but should be usable for both one and two tag systems.  This standard will also provide some definitions of terms and their suggested uses.

ASSUMPTIONS:  

This standard is based on the following assumptions:

1)         The Incident Commander (IC) is ultimately responsible for the safety of the firefighters under his/her command, and should assign sectors and tasks accordingly.

2)         The Incident Command System is in use.

3)         Sectoring or sector officers are in use.

4)         The IC may not know who each sector officer is, but must know where each sector officer is working and what they are doing.  The IC may not know where each crew is working specifically but must assign crews to a sector officer.  The IC cannot possibly know where each individual firefighter is working.

5)         Sector officers must know their expected duties as given by the IC, and what crews have been assigned to them to carry out those duties. The sector officer may not know the individual members of those crews but must know where the crews are working and the progress they are making.

6)         Crew leaders must understand the orders given by the sector officer.  They must also know the capabilities of their crew and the whereabouts of the individual members of their crew at all times.  The crew leader must report progress and conditions as they change to the sector officer.

7)         The individual firefighter must understand the orders given by the crew leader.  The firefighter must know the importance of working together as a crew and, understand that the crew leader must know where he/she is at all times.

DEFINITIONS:

EVACUATE - Term used to initiate the orderly withdrawal from a structure or area, unless preceded by the word Emergency.

MAYDAY - Term used to indicate actual or imminent danger to firefighter life or safety.

EMERGENCY EVACUATION - Term used to initiate the immediate withdrawal from a structure or area due to an actual or perceived danger to firefighter life or safety.

EVACUATION SIGNAL - Three 5 second blasts on the air horns by designated fireground units.

ROLL CALL/ P.A.R. - The checking of firefighters against their accountability tags to determine safety and whereabouts.

URGENT - Term used to relay information concerning serious conditions and to clear radio channels as needed.

REQUIREMENTS:  

Firefighter identification tags do not have to be identical between departments but must conform to these guidelines:

1)         Each tag must have the Fire Department’s name on it.

2)         Each tag must have the firefighter’s name on it.

3)         Each tag must be color-coded green or lime yellow for interior; red or orange for exterior.

4)         Each tag must be able to be grouped together and each group must be easily mobile.

5)         Each group of tags must have a unit number attached to it.

USAGE:

Crews arriving at the scene of an incident are to take their group of tags to the IC or the sector officer designated by the IC (i.e. safety officer, accountability sector or division sector).  In the event that a roll call needs to be taken, crews are to report directly to the IC or his designee (i.e. sector officer).  In the event that a particular crew is performing a crucial task and unable to leave their assignment for the roll call (i.e. covering exposures, FAST teams, etc.), the crew leader is to radio the crew’s status or send a runner for that purpose.  In the event that a crew or firefighter cannot report to their sector officer, they are to report to the nearest sector officer they can find, who will then report their condition to their original sector officer.  When crews leave the sector for any reason (i.e. rehab, staging, new job assignment, etc.), they are to collect their tags and take them to the new sector.

Any time a crew leader or sector officer needs to report a serious fire ground condition, they are to use the term “Urgent”.  For example, “Rear Sector to Command, Urgent”. At this point, all radio traffic should clear the channel for the proceeding message.  For example, “Command to all companies, clear the channel.  Rear Sector go ahead.” This term should only be used in serious situations and should not be used lightly.

Any time a firefighter or crew becomes injured, lost, or otherwise in need of emergency help, they are to radio their situation using the term, “Mayday”.  Once again all other radio traffic should clear the channel for the proceeding message.  Depending on the situation, the IC may chose to move the incident to another channel so the Mayday can have a clear channel.

Any time the IC or a sector officer need to immediately clear the fire building or area because of an imminent hazard (i.e. collapse, flashover, etc.), an “Emergency Evacuation” should be declared.  Once an “Emergency Evacuation” is declared to the radio dispatcher, a 3 to 5 second alert tone should be sounded on the fire ground channel and the dispatcher should repeat that an “Emergency Evacuation” has been declared. The IC may then, at his/her discretion, designate units to sound the “Evacuation Signal”.  At this point, all crews working in the fire building or area should assume their safety is in danger and immediately exit by any means possible and report to their sector officers for a roll call.  If any firefighters or crews appear to be missing after the roll call, contact should then be attempted by radio and the FAST team notified.  A second roll call should then be taken and the FAST team deployed if the firefighters or crews are still missing.  Firefighting operations may still need to occur and crews should be re-deployed only after sector officers have completed both roll calls and can reaffirm the integrity of the crews.

Any time the IC needs to change fire ground operations (i.e. offensive to defensive) and needs to remove crews from the fire building or area, they should notify the radio dispatcher.  The dispatcher should then sound a 3-5 second alert tone and repeat that all units are to evacuate the building or area.  At this time, all crews are to orderly exit the building or area, and report to their sector officer for a roll call. Only after a successful roll call should the operational changes take place and crews be redeployed.

Roll calls should also be considered throughout a prolonged incident to monitor crew safety and integrity.  Sector officers should verify crews’ activities (approx. every 20 minutes) either by an actual roll call, or a visual and/or radio check.  This may be accomplished personally, by radio contact with crew leaders, or using assistants (i.e. safety officers).

At the termination of an incident or the closing of a sector, a final roll call of all firefighters in that sector should occur.  At this time tags will be returned to individual firefighters as they return to service, or they will be passed onto another sector officer responsible for their additional duties.  

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OPS05

Firefighter Evacuation

1. The Battalion will follow to the current Monroe County Protocol.

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OPS06

Room Searched Tag Colors

1. Departments will use orange colored doorknob tags and will advise nursing homes and other multiple occupancies, such as hotels, to use the green colored tags.

1. It is recommended that the green tags be one inch longer than the single-knob FD tags.

2. Use of the single-knob or double-knob tags is at the discretion of each department.

3. Imprinting of tags will be at the discretion of each department.

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OPS07

Electrical Connections

1. To achieve 110 VAC appliance compatibility within the Battalion, each department will carry a set of standard 3-prong male and female electrical adapters.

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OPS08

Large Diameter Hose Couplings

1. For Mutual Aid incidents, each department using 5" hose should also have available, a 4" to 5" locking Stortz adapter and a 5" to 2-1/2" swivel female.  

2. It is also recommended that Battalion departments carry them to ensure compatibility with any department in the County or City of Rochester.

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OPS09

Helmet Marking

1. It is recommended that 3^rd Battalion departments in order to differentiate Recruits, Exterior and Interior Firefighters, use the following color scheme: 

   1. Orange for Recruits

   2. White for Exterior

   3. Lime-green for Interior Firefighters.  

2. Colored reflective tape should be placed on each firefighters helmet.  

3. Recruits may also be issued orange helmets.  

4. Lime-green reflective tape, absent of any other colored reflective tape on any colored helmet except an orange helmet, shall indicate an Interior Firefighter.  

5. Lime-green reflective tape with a minimum of one strip of white reflective tape on each side of a non-orange helmet shall indicate an Exterior Firefighter.  

6. Lime-green reflective tape with a minimum of one strip of orange reflective tape on each side of a non-orange helmet shall indicate a Recruit.

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Copyright © 3rd Battalion Line Officers Assoc.  All rights reserved.
Revised: January 25, 2006