CHAPTER 1 - THE FIRE SERVICE AUDIO BOOK

Introduction to the Fire Service

  • Becoming a firefighter requires rigorous training, both physical and mental.
  • Fire suppression involves complex skills and knowledge.
  • Joining the fire service means joining a tradition of community protection.
  • The course aims to provide a solid foundation for preserving lives and property.

Course Objectives

  • Understanding the duties and responsibilities within the fire service.
  • Achieving personal satisfaction through accomplishment.
  • Following guidelines to become a proficient firefighter.
  • Understanding the organization and chain of command.
  • Reviewing the history of the modern fire service.

Firefighter Guidelines

  • Be Safe: Prioritize safety for yourself, your team, and the public.
  • Follow Orders: Respect the experience and training of supervisors.
  • Work as a Team: Recognize the importance of coordinated efforts.
  • Think: Make informed decisions that can save lives.
  • Follow the Golden Rule: Treat everyone with respect and consideration.

Mission of the Fire Service

  • The primary mission is to save lives, protect property, and the environment.
  • This is achieved through prevention, education, suppression, and rescue activities.
  • Mission statements vary but maintain the core focus on public safety.
  • Example: "The Phoenix Fire Department is committed to providing the highest level of public safety services to our community…Our members will prevent harm, survive, and be nice."

Culture of the Fire Service

  • Culture is defined by shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices.
  • Key values include:
    • Courage: Physical, moral, and mental strength.
    • Honor: Ethical and moral behavior.
    • Duty: Adherence to procedures and best practices.
    • Respect: Admiration for abilities and achievements.
    • Integrity: Accountability and responsibility.
    • Character: Emotional, intellectual, and moral qualities.

Moral Courage

  • Taking action despite doubts or fears.
  • Requires deliberation and careful thought.
  • May involve physical risk or unpopular decisions.

Firefighter Qualifications

  • Good health and physical condition are essential.
  • Assertiveness in dangerous situations and maturity to work in a team are needed.
  • A desire to learn, practice, and apply skills is crucial.
  • Firefighters must adapt to evolving knowledge and technology.
  • Training and performance qualifications are specified in NFPA 1001.

Age and Education Requirements

  • Minimum age of 18 (or 21 in some career departments).
  • Valid driver's license and clean driving record.
  • No criminal record and drug-free status.
  • High school diploma or equivalent is generally required.
  • Additional courses are often needed for promotion.

Medical and Physical Fitness Requirements

  • Medical evaluation to identify potential risks.
  • Successful completion of a drug screening test.
  • Medical requirements are specified in NFPA 1582.
  • Physical fitness requirements ensure strength and stamina.
  • Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT) is widely used.

Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT)

  • Developed by IAFF and IAFC.
  • Consists of eight scenarios completed while wearing a 50-pound vest.
  • Scenarios include:
    • Stair climb with a 25-pound simulated hose pack.
    • Ladder raise and extension.
    • Hose drag.
    • Equipment carry.
    • Forcible entry.
    • Search.
    • Rescue.
    • Ceiling breach and pull.
  • Completion time limit: 10 minutes and 20 seconds.

Emergency Medical Care Requirements

  • Understanding of infection control procedures.
  • Ability to perform CPR, control bleeding, and manage shock.
  • Certification as an Emergency Medical Responder, EMT, AEMT, or Paramedic may be required.

Testing and Interview Requirements

  • Application processes vary by department.
  • Typically includes a written exam and an oral interview.
  • Written exams assess communication skills, mathematics, and mechanical aptitude or fire/EMS knowledge.
  • Oral interviews evaluate the ability to think clearly and follow instructions under stress.

Roles and Responsibilities of Firefighter I and Firefighter II

  • Training and performance qualifications are detailed in NFPA 1001.

Firefighter I

  • Properly donning and doffing PPE.
  • Hoisting hand tools using ropes and knots.
  • Using communication protocols.
  • Operating SCBA.
  • Responding on apparatus to emergency scenes.
  • Establishing and operating safely in emergency work areas.
  • Forcing entry into structures.
  • Exiting hazardous areas safely as a team.
  • Setting up and using ground ladders.
  • Attacking vehicle, exterior Class A, and interior structure fires.
  • Conducting search and rescue.
  • Performing ventilation.
  • Overhauling fire scenes.
  • Conserving property with salvage tools.
  • Connecting to a water supply.
  • Extinguishing incipient Class A, B, and C fires.
  • Illuminating emergency scenes.
  • Turning off utilities.
  • Combating ground cover fires.
  • Performing fire safety surveys.
  • Cleaning and maintaining equipment.
  • Locating information in departmental documents and SOPs.
  • Operating as part of a team.

Firefighter II

  • Performing scene size-up.
  • Determining the need for ICS.
  • Arranging and coordinating ICS until command is transferred.
  • Preparing reports.
  • Communicating the need for assistance.
  • Coordinating an interior attack line team.
  • Extinguishing ignitable liquid fires.
  • Controlling flammable gas cylinder fires.
  • Protecting evidence of fire cause and origin.
  • Assessing and disentangling victims from vehicle accidents.
  • Assisting special rescue team operations.
  • Performing fire safety surveys.
  • Presenting fire safety information.
  • Maintaining fire equipment.
  • Performing annual service tests on fire hoses.

Public Interaction

  • Firefighters interact with the public at incidents and during station visits.
  • They should provide assistance and fire safety information.
  • Positive public relations and educational messages are crucial.

Roles within the Fire Department

General Roles

  • Firefighters perform various tasks, from hose line placement to fire extinguishment.
  • They generally do not have command functions unless temporarily promoted.

Common Positions

  • Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator (Engineer/Technician): Responsible for safe apparatus operation and pump/aerial device setup.
  • Company Officer (Lieutenant/Captain): Leads the company, manages personnel safety, and develops firefighting strategy.
  • Incident Safety Officer: Monitors operations for unsafe practices and has the authority to halt activities.
  • Training Officer: Updates firefighter training and coordinates training programs.
  • Incident Commander (IC): Manages all incident operations and focuses on overall strategy.
  • Fire Marshal: Administers fire protection and life safety codes.
  • Fire Inspector: Inspects businesses and enforces public safety laws and fire codes.
  • Fire Investigator: Investigates fire causes and may have police powers.
  • Fire and Life Safety Educator (FLSE): Educates the public about fire safety and injury prevention.
  • 911 Telecommunicator: Takes calls, dispatches units, and provides emergency medical information.
  • Emergency Vehicle Technician: Repairs and services fire and EMS vehicles.
  • Fire Police Officer: Controls traffic and secures the scene.
  • Information Management (Infotech): Manages computer and networking systems.
  • Public Information Officer (PIO): Serves as a liaison between the IC and the news media.
  • Fire Protection Engineer: Reviews plans and ensures fire suppression and detection systems meet codes.

Specialized Response Roles

  • Require specialized training.
    • Aircraft or Crash Rescue Firefighter (ARFF): Handles aircraft fires and extrication at airports.
    • Hazardous Materials Technician: Manages chemical spills and leaks.
    • Technical Rescuer: Trained in structural collapse, trench rescue, swift water rescue, confined space rescue, and high-angle rescue.
    • SCUBA Dive Rescue Technician: Performs water rescue and search operations.
    • Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Personnel: Provide prehospital care.

Levels of EMS Training

  • Emergency Medical Responder (EMR): First to arrive, provides initial medical assistance.
  • Emergency Medical Technician (EMT): Provides basic emergency care (oxygen, bleeding control, CPR, AED).
  • Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT): Performs advanced life support procedures (IV therapy, cardiac rhythm interpretation).
  • Paramedic: Highest level of training, performs advanced life support (IV therapy, drug administration, cardiac monitoring).

Working within the Community

Community Risk Reduction (CRR)

  • A comprehensive approach to prevent or mitigate loss of life, property, and resources.
  • Differs from traditional fire prevention by addressing all hazards.
  • Involves six basic steps:
    1. Identify risks.
    2. Prioritize risks.
    3. Develop strategies and tactics.
    4. Prepare the CRR plan.
    5. Implement the CRR plan.
    6. Monitor, evaluate, and modify the plan.

Identifying and Prioritizing Risks

  • Risks are factors that could lead to an emergency.
  • Data sources: Records Management System (RMS) and Geographic Information System (GIS).
  • Prioritize based on severity, frequency, duration, likelihood, and departmental capacity.
  • Consider vulnerable populations and high call volume areas.

Strategies and Tactics

  • Utilize all available community resources.
  • The five E's of fire prevention:
    • Education: Changing behavior through teaching.
    • Engineering: Using technology to improve safety.
    • Enforcement: Using codes to maintain safety.
    • Economic Incentives: Providing financial motivation.
    • Emergency Response: Ensuring a well-trained response force.

Risk Assessment

  • Identification and prioritization of potential risks.
  • Steps 4-6 involve developing and implementing the CRR plan.

Educating the Public

  • Identifying hazards and understanding how to rectify them.
  • Conducting fire and life safety surveys in private dwellings.
  • Looking for fire hazards and non-fire safety hazards (poisoning, slips, drowning, burns).
  • Precautions: enclosing pools, securing furniture, storing medicines safely, ensuring handrails, limiting water temperature to 120∘F120^{\circ}F, (49∘C)(49^{\circ}C).
  • Explaining the reasons for recommendations and answering questions.
  • Checking for smoke alarms, carbon monoxide alarms, and fire extinguishers.
  • Emphasizing the importance of keeping ignition sources away from combustibles.
  • Recommending ABC-rated fire extinguishers in kitchens.
  • Ensuring proper inspection of fireplaces and chimneys.

Home Fire Safety Surveys

  • Conduct in a systematic fashion, inside and outside the home.
  • Ensure the house number is visible from the street.
  • Check each room for fire hazards.
  • Stress the importance of using power strips with circuit breakers.
  • Help occupants identify escape routes.
  • Explain the need to clear junk from storage areas.
  • Store gasoline and flammable liquids in approved containers outside.

Emphasis on Education

  • Stress the importance of smoke alarms, home exit plans, and fire drills.
  • Provide educational materials on safety issues.
  • After the survey, file a report and discuss hazards with the company officer.

Residential Smoke Alarms

  • Single-station smoke alarms are common.
  • Can be battery-powered, hardwired, or both.
  • Building codes require hardwired, interconnected alarms in new construction.
  • NFPA 72 recommends replacing all smoke alarms after ten years.
  • Recommend additional smoke alarms to improve protection.

Types of Smoke Alarms

  • Ionization Alarms: Detect invisible products of combustion (fast-burning fires).
  • Photoelectric Alarms: Detect larger, visible particles of smoke (smoldering fires).
  • Recent studies indicate both types are acceptable.
  • Combination alarms are also available.
  • NFPA recommends using both ionization and photoelectric alarms or combination alarms.

Proper Installation and Maintenance

  • Test smoke alarms monthly.
  • Change alkaline batteries every six months.
  • Replace all smoke alarms every ten years.
  • Clean smoke alarms regularly.

Working with Other Organizations

  • Fire departments interact with various organizations (EMS, law enforcement, utility companies).
  • Unified Command System (ICS) eliminates multiple command posts and ensures cooperation.
  • Other organizations: Salvation Army, Red Cross, government agencies.
  • Communications centers maintain contact lists.

Fire Department Governance

  • Governance relies on regulations, standards, policies, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
  • Regulations are developed by government organizations.
  • Standards are issued by non-governmental entities (NFPA, ICC).
  • Policies provide guidelines for actions.
  • SOPs provide specific information on how to accomplish tasks.
  • Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) may vary due to circumstances.
  • SOP manuals should be organized and updated regularly.

Organization of the Fire Service

Company Types and Apparatus

  • Each company has its specific job at an emergency scene.

  • Engine Company: Secures water, deploys handlines, conducts search and rescue, and extinguishes fires.

  • Truck Company: Forcible entry, ventilation, roof operations, search and rescue, and ground ladder deployment.

  • Rescue Company: Rescues victims from various situations (fires, confined spaces, trenches).

  • Wildland/Brush Company: Responds to vegetation fires.

  • Hazardous Materials Company: Controls scenes involving hazardous chemicals.

  • EMS Company: Provides medical care and transports victims.

  • Quint apparatus: Has five functions:

    • pump
    • water tank
    • fire hose storage
    • aerial
    • ground ladders.

  • Mobile water supply apparatus: Transports water to remote emergency scenes. This apparatus is also refgerred to as a tanker or water tender.

Other Views of Fire Service Organization

  • Staffing: Career, combination, and volunteer departments.
  • Function: Training division, truck companies, hazardous materials squads.
  • Geography: Fire stations distributed to ensure rapid response times.

Chain of Command

  • Firefighters report to a lieutenant, who reports to a captain, who reports to a chief.
  • Battalion chiefs coordinate multiple fire companies.
  • Assistant/division chiefs manage functional areas.
  • The fire chief has overall responsibility for the department.
  • Adhering to the chain of command ensures tasks are carried out uniformly.

Source of Authority

  • Fire service draws its authority from governing entities.
  • Firefighters are civil servants working for taxpayers.

Basic Principles of Organization

  • Paramilitary style of leadership.

  • Four basic management principles: discipline, division of labor, unity of command, span of control.

  • Discipline: Guiding firefighters.

  • Division of Labor: Organizing an incident into smaller tasks.

  • Unity of Command: Each firefighter answers to only one supervisor.

  • Span of Control: The number of people one person can supervise effectively (3-7).

History of the Fire Service

Ancient Times

  • Community efforts to suppress fires date back to the Roman Empire.

  • Augustus Caesar created the Familia Publica, a fire department composed of 600 slaves.

  • The corps of Vigils was established with 7,000 free men responsible for firefighting, prevention, and inspections.

The American Fire Service

  • Important lessons have been learned from tragic fires.

  • The first documented structure fire in North America occurred in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.

  • In 1630, Boston established fire regulations.

  • The first paid fire department was established in Boston in 1679.

  • Benjamin Franklin started the first volunteer fire company in Philadelphia in 1735.

Historic Fires and Their Impact

  • Great Chicago Fire (1871): Led to strict building and fire codes.

  • Peshtigo Firestorm (1871): Prompted communities to improve fire safety measures.

  • Iroquois Theatre Fire (1903): Resulted in mandatory upgrades for theaters (exit lighting, sprinklers, fire alarms).

  • Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911): Paved the way for stringent fire codes and proactive legislation.

  • Coconut Grove Fire (1942): Nightclub regulations were put under the microscope.

  • Our Lady of the Angels School Fire (1958): Led to substantial changes in school safety (alarm systems, fire drills).

  • Beverly Hills Supper Club Fire (1977): Triggered requirements for automatic sprinklers and fire alarm systems.

  • MGM Grand Hotel Fire (1980): Was the catalyst for Nevada to update the fire codes.

  • The Station Nightclub Fire (2003): Led to tighter codes for assembly occupancies and the prohibition of festival seating.

Building Codes

  • Building codes were developed in ancient Egypt.

  • Colonial communities had few building codes.

  • Today's codes govern construction materials and require built-in fire prevention measures.

  • U.S. building codes are developed by the NFPA and the ICC.

Training and Education

  • Firefighter training has evolved from basic strength and endurance to formalized training, safety, and judgment.

  • Modern firefighters use high-tech equipment (thermal imaging devices, SCBA).

  • Continued education is essential.

Certification

  • Certification makes training usable across agencies.

  • National organizations (PROBoard and IFSAC) accredit certification systems.

Fire Equipment

  • Equipment has evolved over time.

  • Colonial-era firefighters had buckets, ladders, and firehooks.

  • Hand-powered pumpers were developed in 1720, and steam-powered pumpers followed in 1829.

  • The internal combustion engine in the early 1900s revolutionized the fire service.

Municipal Water Systems

  • Municipal water systems provided large quantities of water.

  • Frederick Graff, Sr., developed the first fire hydrants in 1817.

Communications

  • Fire wardens, night watchmen, and fire towers were used to alert citizens.

  • Telegraph fire alarm systems were introduced in the late 1800s.

  • Today, pagers, two-way radios, and cellular telephones are used.

  • Computer-aided dispatch facilities have improved response times.

  • Voice amplification systems, SCBA alarms, and PASS devices have enhanced safety.

Paying for Fire Service

  • Fire insurance companies were established to help victims.

  • Municipalities began assuming the role of providing fire protection.

  • Today, fire protection is funded through tax dollars, contracts, and fundraising activities.

Fire Service in the United States Today

  • According to the NFPA, there were 1,160,450 local firefighters in the U.S. in 2015.

  • 30% are career firefighters, and 70% are volunteers.

  • There are approximately 30,000 fire departments.

Types of Fire Departments

  • All career: All members are paid, full-time firefighters.

  • Combination: Includes paid, full-time firefighters, and on-call firefighters or volunteers.

  • Mostly volunteer: More than half of the members are volunteers, but they include paid, full-time firefighters.

  • All volunteer: All members are volunteer firefighters.