It’s third and six and your favorite football team is down by three points. The offense is outside field goal range and needs to convert the first down. The coach and the team must decide on a strategy and turn to their playbook. Should this be a passing play, or a running play? Once the play is decided, they must work as a team to execute to garner the necessary yardage to get to the next set of downs, or even go for a score. While the deciding factors vary, successfully achieving that first down happens well before the start of the game. It takes hours of practice, coordination, film study, and communication to ensure these plays succeed when it counts.
This idea can be applied to the fireground. Having an initial strategy and plan is essential to the success of any incident. The first 10 minutes of an incident can dictate the next 10 hours. Providing an appropriate response and size-up, establishment of command and tactical objectives with strategic oversight, and using priority objectives, will set your crews up for a successful outcome.
When you arrive at the station in the morning, is there a plan of where you are riding? Are you responsible for developing that plan? Once assigned to an engine, ladder, rescue, battalion, or ambulance, do you have a riding assignment and understanding of what you will do on the fireground or on EMS calls or do you wing it and hope for the best? Further: Does your department have a plan on larger-scale incidents of what each apparatus will do in their order of arrival, by function? Do companies speak the same language and have a clear understanding of the initial objectives?
Two specific items are frequently identified as critical failures in after-action reports: communication and lack of command and control. Inside these broadly identified issues, you will see that specifically accountability and confusion on radio traffic or assumption of tasks being accomplished as common themes.
To that end, departments must consider the development, practice, and implementation of a playbook and effective communication with the use of common terms. This will help reduce confusion, ensure the tactics of the initial-arriving companies are met, and facilitate the appropriate and prompt mitigation to our most serious incidents.
To be clear, this is not a novel concept. The United States military employs initial plans and standardizations through Naval Air Training and Operating Procedures Standardization (NATOPS). There are several fire departments across the country that use variations of initial assignment responsibilities, manuals, guidelines, or playbooks to give the initial guidance/plan. Those departments typically pair them with their response matrix. In Northern Virginia, agencies have developed NOVA Manuals for each type of incident to allow the surrounding 16 jurisdictions to respond similarly and speak the same language. The Kansas City (KS) Fire department has recently published the Low-Rise Manual to give guidance to responses to those types of incidents.
Lately, the Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Department (VBFD) has developed a command simulation program that has improved our command boards, apparatus tracking, accountability, communication, and common language, and has facilitated the development of response playbooks.
Command Simulation Training and Lab
With the vision of improving our command and control throughout the department the Virginia Beach Fire Training Bureau in partnership with the multimedia shop and communication and technology bureau were able to leverage technology and computer programs to enhance regular training and develop a command simulation lab. The use of existing space and, in some cases, existing equipment allowed us to practice simulated incidents at the fire training center, virtually or at the station level.
As time went on, we converted space into a classroom/command sims lab and used additional skill rooms and the use of our current battalion vehicles with command boards to give a real-life feel to the training without making it feel like an assessment center or a testing process. This area and delivery model continues to be enhanced with the addition of tablets and subject matter expert facilitators for each room/apparatus.
Command Boards
A total review of the VBFD command boards continues to be evaluated to try and improve our ability to operate and track personnel and apparatus at an incident. The original VBFD command board started as an initial “white board” or dry erase board with some initial tactics. Over the years It has developed into a magnetic board with an outline that can be used on anything from a vehicle accident to a single-story residential to a high-rise fire. Moreover, we have developed initial-arriving boards that are on every frontline apparatus. We are now developing an in-cab board that mirrors the larger command board in the rear of the vehicle.
Through monthly training with each shift’s battalion chief (BC) and assistant chiefs (ACs), we found that the use of a similar board operated in the same fashion provided a consistent accountability, so much so that it reduces the need to ask questions. Additional-arriving officers can easily glance and see where units are located and track to see where they have been. Additionally, the board identifies roles and responsibilities of additional-arriving chief officers and the need for command aides. If a chief does not have an assigned aide, then the BC or AC will assist with tracking, ensuring accountability, and communication on working incidents. In cases where the initial incident commander (IC) has a good handle of the incident and tracking, it allows the secondary BC to be pushed forward as a division or group supervisor. The command boards continue to be reviewed and updated with a goal of moving towards a more digital platform that can integrate with our computer aided dispatch system.
Playbooks
The next natural progression was to develop an initial-arrival plan. With the requirements of the number of firefighters needed for an effective response force (ERF) the VBFD and many departments have modified and improved the number of apparatus responding on these critical incidents. For example: on a high-rise fire, the initial response calls for one AC, two BCs, six engines, three ladders, a rescue company, one safety officer, an EMS supervisor, and one ambulance from our partners in Virginia Beach EMS. That’s a lot of units and people to manage. As such, the first playbook was built following our guidelines for a high-rise fire. From there, subsequent playbooks were developed for our most critical incidents.
Each apparatus is designated a task based on order of arrival and the need of the incident. The priorities of life safety, rescue, and water on the fire are at the forefront of these initial assignments and at no time should these tasks override the critical thinking of the arriving officers or ICs. Furthermore, all these assignments represent functions that typically have to be addressed at sometime during the incident. Most if not all these tasks were already being accomplished prior to the written playbooks. However, the lack of communication and understanding of order of arrival sometimes allowed for duplication of assignments or, worse, the assumption that an assignment was being completed when it was not.
Through the work of a number of firefighters, officers, and chief officers, additional playbooks were developed for residential, rural residential, commercial, multifamily, and vehicle extrication incidents. A command sims team was developed to try and get members of the department operating on the same page, especially important given the number of personnel who are new to the department as well as personnel working across shifts.
The playbooks were then paired with simulations that match each playbook. Battalions and company officers were invited on a bi-monthly basis to practice these playbooks at the unit and command level. The training and command sims teams captured both the successes and the areas that needed to be improved on and passed that information on to the shift commanders, with the intent they would go to the stations and practice these same scenarios with the crews on shift.
Common Language
One of the biggest fireground failures is the lack and confusion of proper communication. To that end, and following terms approved by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the department came up with a specific lexicon to follow. This allows us to meet benchmarks, objectives, and strategies without repeating radio traffic due to a misunderstanding of language. One common misconception was the use of “fire out” versus “fire under control.” NFPA defines fire out as the point in time when there is no longer any sign of active combustion. Fire under control is fined as the point in time when a fire is suppressed and no longer threatens destruction of additional property. In other words, the fire cannot be out and you are checking for extension, but you can have the fire under control. We found several other key terms to better define and add to this common terminology. These concepts are similar to how the National Incident Management System understands apparatus and what function and capability that apparatus is bringing to the scene.
An overview and video with an interactive slideshow and attachments were sent out to the department via our learning management system. Each shift was asked to review and then provide feedback. This allowed us to make changes to some of the language, with some common terms remaining but others being changed. One great example is our department was using “fire out” and then checking for extension rather than “fire under control”. Our 360 reports were being completed but not communicated very well. Therefore, language was provided on what to report, particularly on structure type, if it different than the front of the building, and building hazards. This has yielded improved walkaround reports, roof reports, and the like.
Order of Arrival and Assumption of Command
Through many rounds of training and on-the-job training, we found that the communication of order-of-arrival assignment in accordance with the playbook allows for a more efficient scene, improved communication and accountability for the initial IC and the arriving BC who will assume that command. While this is still something our department is working on improving on a consistent basis, it is something that is essential to managing the number of apparatus and personnel coming to the scene whether you have a large or smaller department.
Next, the assumption of command over the radio allows for improved tracking of units and confirmation of their assignments. The arriving BC will contact Command and advise the IC that he is on the scene, confirm the assignments and any outliers, and then assume command, noting the location of that command.
An example:
Battalion 3: “Battalion 3 to command. Engine 16: Command, go ahead. I am arriving on the scene. I copy you (Engine 16) are in the offense mode on floor two. Ladder 16 is with you conducting a primary search. Engine 18 is the second-due engine and has your water supply assisting with the primary attack line. A 360 was completed, no changes no hazards. If that is correct, I will assume command on side Alpha at my vehicle.”
Engine 16: “That’s correct”
The initial feedback was this was a lot of information on the radio. However, through practice, we found that this traffic was being communicated over the course of time, to confirm these locations. Additionally, this information confirmed and provided the additional arriving apparatus the current location and tasks of units on the scene. With continued practice this is becoming more common and radio traffic becomes more effective and efficient.
Moving Forward
The next phase of command simulation training will be to continue to practice and develop playbooks on special operation incidents, ranging from flammable/gas leaks, marine responses, Mayday, and mass casualty. We have had some of our regional departments as well as departments outside the area visit and participate in the training, which we hope leads to those agencies developing similar modalities and playbooks to ensure our regional response and automatic aid is better coordinated. Similarly, we have already partnered and are now training with other public safety agencies, including Virginia Beach EMS and our Virginia Beach Emergency Communications Center, by having dispatchers actually participate in the simulations to ensure we are all operating on a the same page.
So, does your department have riding assignments, initial plans, and/or playbooks? These efforts can start small with a plan for your apparatus and team by identifying roles on the scene of various incidents, both fire and EMS alike. Next, translate this into an operational plan and assignment on the fireground and language that everyone in your department, system, or region can clearly articulate and understand. As with any good sports team, practicing this through a variety of mediums from in the station to developing a command simulation lab and holding regular training will only make us more prepared and ready to perform when it’s game time.
REFERENCES
First Alarm Assignments – VBFD Playbooks V8. Virginia Beach (VA) Fire Department.
NFPA Glossary of Terms. https://www.nfpa.org/downloadable-resources/definitions/nfpa-glossary-of-terms
Michael Carter is a 23-year veteran of the fire and emergency medical services and is the battalion chief of training with the City of Virginia (VA) Beach Fire Department. He holds a bachelor’s degree in EMS management and a master’s degree in public administration, and is working on a Ph.D. in public administration. He is a graduate of the Virginia Chief Officer Academy and the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program. He was one of the first to be credentialed as a Chief Medical Officer, now Chief EMS Officer, from the Center of Public Safety of Excellence.
