Baltimore County Fire Department MAYDAY Procedures

Vocabulary terms and operational definitions from the Baltimore County Fire Department Standard Operational Procedure (S.O.P.) regarding MAYDAY Procedures (Tactical Operations #09).

MAYDAY

A special term used to notify the Incident Commander that fire service personnel are lost, trapped, or in need of immediate medical assistance in life-threatening conditions.

Tactical Operations #09 Objective

To provide a uniform means of notifying the Incident Commander that one or more Fire Service personnel are lost, trapped, or ill in a life-threatening environment.

LUNAR

An acronym utilized for reporting information during a MAYDAY: Location, Unit Number, Name, Assignment, and Resources needed for rescue.

Personnel Accountability Report (PAR)

A report given by a company officer or member indicating whether the officer or member has visual contact with the remaining members of their crew.

Emergency Button

A button on a portable radio that, when activated by a unit on location, is treated as a MAYDAY until proven otherwise.

PASS Device (MAYDAY Activation)

A device activated manually and intermittently for at least 1 minute to establish a distress signal vs. a pre-alert for inactivity when personnel cannot communicate via radio.

Location (LUNAR)

The 'L' in the LUNAR acronym, representing the specific area where the distressed personnel are situated.

Unit Number (LUNAR)

The 'U' in the LUNAR acronym, identifying the designated number of the radio or group declaring the MAYDAY.

Name (LUNAR)

The 'N' in the LUNAR acronym, identifying the fire service personnel who are in need of assistance.

Assignment (LUNAR)

The 'A' in the LUNAR acronym, designating the task or role the personnel were performing at the time of the distress.

Resources needed for rescue (LUNAR)

The 'R' in the LUNAR acronym, specifying what equipment or assistance is required to facilitate the extraction of trapped or lost personnel.

Dispatch

A response to a MAYDAY where ____ assigns either a second alarm or an additional alarm to provide available resources for the Incident Commander to deploy.

MAYDAY Operator

A specific operator assigned by Dispatch to monitor the Talkgroup during a MAYDAY event.

Brief Progress Reports

Periodic updates provided by Command to Dispatch during a MAYDAY event, including information on RIT operations.