Imagine for a minute that you’re a chief officer; perhaps you already are. Now ask yourself this question: If a mayday was called while I was commanding a fire, what would I do? This is not a theoretical question, nor is it one in which your answer should wax philosophically about changing the incident action plan to a high-priority rescue effort, altering the strategy or any number of other generic answers. My questions: What specific steps are you going to take, what order are you going to take them in and why?
Several recent incidents highlight the weaknesses of teaching firefighters to call a mayday without providing an equivalent amount of training to command officers in how to react specifically to the mayday with a defined set of actions. There’s nothing more painful or gut-wrenching than listening to the audiotapes of firefighter fatality events in which there’s an absolute disconnect between those in peril (firefighters) and those responsible for bringing them home alive (command officers).
The intent of this article is not to point fingers; my department is as likely as any to struggle with a mayday event. Rather, I’d like to provide individuals in command of a fire with a simple set of procedures to follow in reacting immediately and automatically to a mayday call.
Command’s Role
Thankfully, maydays are relatively rare. Although the number of maydays has increased over the past 5 years, it’s most likely the result of better training firefighters to call for help when they’re in trouble. The majority of command officers will serve an entire career in the fire service and never experience the challenge of actually commanding an event involving a firefighter rescue.
Similarly, the overwhelming majority of commercial airline pilots will not have to pilot an airplane in imminent danger of crashing. Nonetheless, every time they leave the ground, they must be prepared to react correctly to an event that places the lives of passengers and crew in immediate danger. The time to determine their preparedness is not when the plane is in a nosedive.
Command fire officers must be likewise prepared. The fireground presents a congested, dynamic, taxing situation that requires concentration and focus, regardless of the time of day or weather conditions. Distractions are common and threaten to undermine the incident commander’s (IC) ability to remain aware of the most important (among many important) priority: the safety of operating personnel. The competent command officer will not view a mayday as a possibility but as a probability, requiring constant training and preparation. The reader should recognize that their ability to correctly apply the principles contained herein is based entirely on training for such an event through repetition in a scenario-based environment.
To be effective in the event of an actual mayday, such drills must be practiced again and again. It’s the responsibility of the individual to seek out such professional development opportunities, rather than sitting idly by waiting for the organization to provide or mandate the training.
Essential Steps
Following are several critical steps for command officers to follow in the event a mayday is called:
1. Control the radio. Upon determining that a mayday situation exists (by radio message, incomplete PAR or an activated PASS alarm), the IC must gain control of the radio frequency–immediately–by announcing: “Command to all units on the fireground, mayday has been called. All units–immediate radio silence!”
This action is essential to maintaining control of the incident and ensuring a clear and open line of communication between command and the firefighter(s) in trouble. Failure to gain control of the radio immediately leads to the absolute eventuality that a critical piece of information will be missed. Gaining radio silence allows command to obtain vital information (location, unit, name, assignment/air, resources needed: LUNAR) and conduct a PAR; it also permits the rapid intervention team (RIT) to monitor the radio frequency for pertinent information.
2. Send the RIT. Although sending in the RIT may appear automatic, it’s a step that must be announced over the radio for several reasons. It alerts the trapped/missing firefighter that resources are being deployed; it also alerts all other members on the scene that the RIT is going to work and they should be prepared to support the RIT. Note: As soon as the RIT is deployed, call staging and request an additional RIT. Numerous studies have revealed that it will require at least 12—16 firefighters to rescue a single trapped member.
3. Request help. The simplest and most direct way to accomplish this task is to predetermine what “help” will consist of when you notify your communications center that you’re dealing with a mayday event. For example:
“Battalion Chief 2 to Communications, we have a mayday on the 4-16 box.”
“OK Battalion 2, we acknowledge your mayday; we’re sending the next alarm.”
Pre-determining the resources to be sent (in addition to those on location) allows the IC to remain focused on the decisions required to rescue the firefighter(s) without having to decide what additional help is required.
Some departments and jurisdictions have created RIT task forces. These provide an excellent example of “pooling resources” under a common goal. Regardless of the name, radio designation or type of resources, call for help early. On-scene resources will be consumed at an incredible rate and command may find themselves alone in the middle of the street, looking around for help.
4. Give one part away: the fire or the mayday. The overwhelming majority of ICs believe they’re prepared for a mayday event. They are not.
The simple truth: There’s nothing in the collective set of experiences in commanding fires that translates into commanding a mayday event. Unless there has been training in the specific steps to take, ICs will invariably continue to combat the fire even as they believe they’re addressing the mayday. Recent incidents confirm this.
Given the overwhelming number of decisions that must be made in the first moments of a mayday, effective ICs must give one piece away–the fire or the mayday. Attempting to command both will result in neither being addressed effectively. The fire will get worse, and the lost or trapped firefighter(s) will die. It’s just that simple.
The simplest solution to this challenge: Routinely manage all incidents with two command-level officers. In Anne Arundel County, the first-arriving officer takes command and the second-arriving chief officer becomes responsible for logistics. In some jurisdictions, the second-arriving officer becomes the support officer or senior advisor. Regardless of the name, the concept is the same: Two command officers working as a team creates a layer of safety to trap, mitigate or avoid mistakes and avert disaster.
Training Is Mandatory
Training is the key to successful resolution of a mayday. Like the commercial airline pilot who must recertify emergency procedures in a flight simulator on an annual basis, so too should command officers “recertify” their ability to react immediately and correctly to a mayday event. This applies at all levels of any fire department–firefighters, company officers and chief officers.
If a mistake is to be made, make it in the training world and not the real one. Mandatory training for all officers, especially command officers charged with implementing mayday procedures, must include an opportunity for application of written procedures. Without such an opportunity for training, the procedures are as useless as words on a page.
This article isn’t intended to provide a comprehensive plan of action for maydays, but rather a series of initial actions in the first 5 minutes that may mean the difference between life and death for a firefighter. There is much more to consider; take the time to learn. Good luck and stay safe.
