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April-May 2004 |
The Role of the Incident Commander at Structure Fires
I was fortunate enough to have met a few of old my college professors for breakfast recently. These gentlemen all have graduate degrees in fire-ground tactics. They earned their degrees on the streets of Chicago. Please do not misunderstand me. I am an advocate of formal education in the fire service, but there is no substitute for experience. The best leaders are those individuals who possess both qualities. The point I am trying to make is that we occasionally tend to overlook these individuals as a source of information in our profession. We cannot afford to learn from our mistakes. We must learn from the mistakes of others and share that message.
As we started to get caught up on what was happening throughout the department, I started to add up all the years experience at the table. I was the baby at the table with over 24 years on the job. These five men averaged 35 years of street experience each. That is 175 years of good fire-ground experience. These individuals are humble and talk about how they learn each and every day they go to work. They are also very dedicated to training. Remember, there is good experience and bad experience. If you approach your career one day at a time and do not apply what you have learned, that is bad experience. If you take what you learned today and apply to the next worker, that is good experience. The most dangerous individual I have ever met in our profession is the individual who feels he has seen it all and knows everything there is to know about fire-ground tactics. This individual will get someone hurt, and he should have retired long ago. Stay clear of these egomaniacs. They are just as dangerous as the building you are about to enter and the fire you about to fight.
As we started to passionately discuss fire-ground tactics, the role of chief officers as incident commanders came to the forefront. We discussed the current Incident Command System, Incident Management System, National Incident Management System and Unified Incident Command. A question was tossed out on the table. Why are incident commanders starting to place themselves further away from the fire? (While this not the practice on the Chicago Fire Department, it has gained acceptance in other departments.)
There is a disturbing trend in the fire service that is starting to gain a foothold and is now becoming a standard for incident commanders on the fire ground. That trend is placement. Where do you as an IC place yourself on the battlefield? Currently there are two widely accepted practices for placement of the IC — one is the traditional placement in Sector 1 (usually the front of the building) and the other is in a command vehicle or location separate from the incident.
The IC must establish a command post at the fire, more often than not in Sector 1. In order to successfully mitigate the fire you must see the fire, use your senses and relay on your experience. You must also be flexible. What I mean is that the front of the building may not always be the logical place for the command post. Use common sense (there’s a thought for the fire service). Place yourself in a position that will allow you to take in the maximum amount of information. This cannot be accomplished from a remote location or a command vehicle.
A structure fire is three-dimensional. It is a destructive force that will consume everything and everybody in its path if it is not stopped. A simple, yet effective, tool is the “B.A.G.” method. Where has the fire Been? Where is it At? And where is it Going? Ask yourself these simple questions at your next worker, and you might be surprised at the answers you give yourself. These simple questions cannot be answered from a command vehicle or command post that is remote to the incident. You must be able to read the building, read the fire and also read the smoke. In order to do these basic tasks as the IC, you must be in a position to see what is happening. You must recon the building (walk around the building; your feet are not encased in concrete). You must also be able to hear and smell the fire. These two senses will give you wealth of information. The fire ground is busy and loud place. There are times when a “face-to-face” with sector chiefs and company officers is the preferred method. This cannot be accomplished from a remote location or a command vehicle.
I realize that we have sector chiefs and safety officers at most of our structure fires. Remember, part of their mission is to assist the IC. As the IC, you are still responsible for the entire incident. That includes the safety of the troops. The best decisions made on the fire ground are those that are based on the most accurate information at hand. This cannot be accomplished from a remote location or a command vehicle.
The fire ground can unravel quickly when things start to go wrong. When that happens, the IC must become rock solid in the decision-making process, not become overwhelmed and lock up. If the IC locks up, there will be a natural evolution of leadership that takes place regardless of rank. This will happen. I have witnessed it.
Remember, high-rise fires are different animals, as are haz-mat, WMD and terrorist incidents.
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