MILWAUKEE FIRE DEPARTMENT Operational Guidelines Approved by: Chief Mark Rohlfing 2012 FORWARD The purpose of these operational guidelines is to make clear expectations for company performance, safety, and efficiency, eliminating the potential for confusion and duplication of effort at the emergency scene. It is understood that extraordinary situations may dictate a deviation from these guidelines. Deviation can only be authorized by the officer/acting officer of an apparatus or the incident commander. Any deviation must be communicated over the incident talk group. The following guidelines are meant to clarify best operational practices for the MFD. They are not intended to be all-inclusive and are designed to be updated as necessary. They are guidelines for you to use. However, there will be no compromise on issues of safety, chain of command, correct gear usage, or turnout times (per NFPA 1710). These operating guidelines will outline tool and task responsibilities for the specific riding positions on responding units. While the title of each riding position and the assignments that follow may not always seem to be a perfect pairing, the tactical advantage of knowing where each member is supposed to be operating at a given assignment will provide for increased accountability and increased effectiveness while performing our response duties. Within the guidelines, you will see run-type specific (and in some cases, arrival order specific) tool and task assignments. On those responses listing a ‘T (or R)’ as the response unit, the Company will be uniformly listed as ‘Truck’ for continuity. The riding positions are as follows: ENGINE RIDING POSITIONS OFFICER HEO NOZZLE FF BACKUP FF TRUCK RIDING POSITIONS OFFICER HEO VENT FF FORCE FF SAFETY If you see something that you believe impacts our safety, it is your duty to report it to your superior Officer immediately. If, in the course of carrying out an assignment, the situation deteriorates or changes in such a way as to affect your safety, immediately retreat to a more tenable atmosphere and report the hazard to your superior Officer. If an Incident Safety Officer orders you to stop what you are doing based on an assessment of the conditions, stop and report it to your superior Officer immediately. In all cases, the rig should be used as a barrier between the flow of traffic and where fire or EMS crews are, or will be, operating. This means coordinating with law enforcement to use the rig, along with cones, to shut down all or part of the roadway. Seatbelts must be used at all times when a department vehicle is in motion. Reflective safety vests must be worn any time a company is operating on a roadway or in a vehicle traffic area, except during firefighting operations or while in the hot zone of a vehicle extrication. CHAIN OF COMMAND & COMMUNICATIONS You report to your superior Officer, period. Any orders coming from an Incident Commander to HEOs or FFs are to come through your respective Company Officer. If, in the course of carrying out your assignment(s), you are directed by another Officer (Company or Chief) to do something else, advise them that you are already carrying out an assigned objective. In an extraordinary situation requiring immediate attention (FF trapped at window needing ladder rescue, etc.), report the change or delay to your superior Officer as soon as is practical. Keep in mind that any deviation must not delay hoselines getting into operation, as this single action will reduce and/or eliminate most other hazards. Let your superior Officer know any time you complete your assignment(s) and/or change your location. Input of later arriving Bureau or recall staff personnel must be approved and transmitted through the Incident Commander & Operations Chief via the established Chain of Command. FIREFIGHTING ENSEMBLE Per MFD documentation, full firefighting ensemble is considered to include: bunker pants with suspenders, bunker coat, boots, SCBA w/ facepiece, hood, helmet (with Company front piece), gloves, and safety glasses (carried in pocket). On runs requiring respiratory or thermal protection, members are required to be wearing all of the above items. RECEIPT OF ALARM AND TURNOUT TIME Upon receipt of an alarm in quarters, the member nearest the CAD shall receive the alarm and all members shall respond quickly to the rig. Response time from quarters should be consistent and swift, regardless of the time of day or type of call. Companies should have no trouble turning out from quarters within the industry-accepted standard prescribed in NFPA 1710 (60 seconds for EMS responses and 80 seconds for fire/special operations responses) from the time the alarm tones sound. MILWAUKEE FIRE DEPARTMENT Operational Guidelines Approved by: Chief Mark Rohlfing 2012 1.0 – ALARM (Alarm Sounding) Units Dispatched: E + T (or R) GENERAL Alarm Sounding responses have the potential to become one of the most dangerous responses for urban firefighters. The frequency with which they are transmitted (and found to be False Alarms) has the ability to dull Company urgency or situational awareness. All such responses should be regarded as potential working fire incidents until a thorough investigation proves otherwise. Always anticipate a working fire and operate accordingly. Residential alarms generally are easier to investigate as the structure size is relatively small and there is usually visual access that can be gained, if even from a ladder. If no smoke is visibly apparent, contact MFD Dispatch for keyholder information. Whether or not smoke is observed in or from the building (and attempts to gain access via the doorbell, door knocking, or keyholder fail), forcible entry is indicated. By declaring a False Alarm, the Officer is declaring with no equivocation that there is no emergency at the given location. To declare a False Alarm without a complete investigation places the Officer, the Department and the City at great potential liability. If the distinct odor of burnt food is noted on the exterior of the building, consider bringing the multi-purpose dry chemical extinguisher in case it is a Class B stovetop fire. Do not rely on occupant reports that the fire is ‘out.’ Always perform a professional and thorough investigation. Multi-family dwelling alarms can be problematic in that the building size is larger and some annunciator panels do not indicate the specific location of the alarm in a clear or understandable manner. A thorough interior investigation is indicated as large buildings can hide large amounts of smoke, and the sheer size of many buildings can make pinpointing the cause of the alarm difficult. If the annunciator panel gives a clear alarm location, focus the investigation on that location while remaining vigilant of the conditions on the floors below that location. Every floor must be investigated and cleared by responding companies through a coordinated effort. Be sure to chock exterior and interior lobby/foyer doors as they are usually self-locking. Do not rely on occupants, police officers, or passersby to hold or secure doors in the open position. It is important to note that any door through which a hoseline (charged or uncharged) will pass must be chocked open to prevent delays in water and to facilitate rapid egress should interior conditions deteriorate. Commercial buildings or large institutional buildings (schools, nursing homes, high- rise residential & high-rise commercial, etc.) also require a thorough investigation. Many times, a building superintendent or security guard is present and can verify the status of the building and provide access as needed. In cases where no keyholder is available and the building is secured, attempts should be made to locate a KnoxBox to access the interior (check the run sheet for KnoxBox information). If visual access cannot be gained to all areas of the building, forcible entry is indicated. If an exterior sprinkler system alarm gong is activated, forcible entry is indicated. This indicates a positive waterflow somewhere in the system, the most serious cause of which would be a sprinkler head activated due to a fire. As you are investigating, listen and feel sprinkler risers as you pass them; often, you can hear a humming sound and feel a vibration if the riser is flowing water. This will help you locate and isolate the location of the activated sprinkler(s). Although you can certainly shut down the flow of water from a sprinkler head, using door chocks or sprinkler tongs, never shut down the building’s sprinkler system in full. When using elevators to investigate an alarm sounding on an upper floor of a high-rise building, the elevator should be placed in Firefighter Mode. Stops should be made every five floors to ensure elevator control. At these stops, shine a flashlight up the shaft to inspect for the presence of smoke. Firefighters should exit the elevator five floors below the reported alarm location and ascend via stairs the rest of the way, giving a cursory check of each floor for smoke/fire conditions and taking note of the floor layout. Any time access to a building is obtained via forcible entry, request “10-53 for forcible entry” via MFD Dispatch, so that the Milwaukee Police Department can secure the building upon our departure. Further, if on arrival, evidence of a break-in is found, use caution and request 10-53 for investigation. If proven to be a False Alarm, MFD companies shall not deactivate any alarm systems. This is the building owner’s responsibility. ENGINE OFFICER Tools: Full PPE with SCBA, portable radio, flashlight, TIC, halligan tool Duties: Initiate Command, direct apparatus placement, V-Tac, begin size up and investigation HEO Tools: Full PPE, portable radio Duties: Engine and pump operations NOZZLE Tools: Full PPE with SCBA, portable radio, axe, door chocks Duties: Standby with HEO ready to lay hoseline if needed BACKUP Tools: Full PPE with SCBA, portable radio, water extinguisher, flathead axe, door chocks, CO detector Duties: Investigate with Officer On arrival at ALARM assignments, care should be taken to size up conditions on the exterior of the building and to place the Engine appropriately.