Here’s today’s Safety Week tip:
Determine the Occupant Survival Profile
Our goal is to save lives, but search efforts must be based on the potential to save lives. No action plan can be accurately developed until we first determine if the occupant can survive the fire conditions before rescuers reach them AND remove them.
One essential component in the size-up process is to determine if any occupants are trapped and can they survive the current and projected fire conditions.
Let me repeat: Our goal as firefighters is to save lives, and the fire service has a long history of aggressive search and rescue operations as an initial priority of first-arriving fire companies. However, history (and firefighter fatalities) also reflects that firefighters are exposed to the greatest risk of injury and death during primary search and rescue operations. If survival is not possible for the entire extraction period, a more cautious approach to fire operations must be taken. Fire control should be obtained before proceeding with the primary and secondary search efforts.
NO GO: If the occupant(s) cannot survive the search AND rescue event, do not commit. Obtain fire control before searching.
For more on Safety Week, including ideas for how your company/department can participate, visit: www.SafetyandHealthWeek.org.
