1 the history and orientation of the fire service
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The History and Orientation of the Fire Service
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Objectives (1 of 4)
• Describe changes in the fire department from the colonial days to the present.
• Describe the four basic principles of organization of the fire department.
• Define the chain of command as it applies to a fire department.
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Objectives (2 of 4)
• List the different types of fire department companies and describe their functions.
• Describe the roles of fire fighters within the fire department.
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Objectives (3 of 4)
• Describe the fire department’s regulations, policies, and standard operating procedures, and how they apply to the fire fighter.
• Locate information in departmental documents and standard operating procedures.
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Objectives (4 of 4)
• Define the roles and responsibilities of Fire Fighter I and Fire Fighter II.
• List five guidelines for successful fire fighter training.
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Introduction
• Becoming a fire fighter is not easy.
• Fire fighters are challenged both physically and mentally.
• Fire fighter training will expand your understanding of fire suppression.
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Fire Service in the United States
• About 1.1 million fire fighters
• Approximately 30,000 fire departments
• 75% of career fire fighters serve communities of 25,000 or larger
• Half of volunteers serve rural areas of population 2,500 or smaller
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Fire Statistics for the United States
• 401,000 residential fires in 2002– Average of 46 per hour
• 2,695 residential fire fatalities in 2002– Average of one every 195 minutes
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History of the Fire Service
• Romans created first fire department, the Familia Publica.
• First paid department in the U.S. was Boston (established in 1679).
• Ben Franklin started the first volunteer department in the U.S. in Philadelphia in 1735.
• Citizens kept fire buckets to assist with fire suppression.
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The Great Chicago Fire
• Began October 8, 1871• Burned for three days• Damage totals:
– 2,000 acres burned– 17,000 homes destroyed– $200 million in damage– 300 dead– 90,000 homeless
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The Peshtigo Fire
• Flash forest fire occurred at same time as the Great Chicago Fire
– “Tornado of fire” 1,000' high and five miles wide
• Deadliest fire in U.S. history– 2,200 dead– 2,400 square miles of forest land burned– Several small communities destroyed
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• Colonial fire fighters had buckets and fire hooks.
• Hand-powered pumpers developed in 1720
• Steam-powered pumpers developed in 1829
Fire Equipment (1 of 2)
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Fire Equipment (2 of 2)
• Present-day equipment:– Single apparatus used for several
purposes
• Fire hydrants developed in 1817
• First public call boxes developed in 1860
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• Fire wardens and night watchmen used during colonial period
• Telegraph alarm systems developed in late 1800s
• Present day:– Hardwired and cellular telephones– Computer-aided dispatch facilities
Communications (1 of 2)
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Communications (2 of 2)
• Fireground communications
– Early days: Chief’s trumpet (bugles), now a symbol of authority
– Present: Two-way radios
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Building Codes (1 of 2)
• History of Building Codes– Egyptians used codes to prevent collapse– Colonial communities had few codes– Early construction in U.S. was primarily wood– Boston required non-combustible roofs (1678)– Present codes address construction materials
and “built-in” protection
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Building Codes (2 of 2)
• Codes and standards are written by national organizations.
– NFPA
• Volunteer committees research and develop proposals.
• Most codes today are consensus documents.
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Paying for Fire Service
• In early times, insurance companies paid fire departments for service.
• Career departments are generally funded through local tax funds.
• Volunteer departments are funded by:– Donations– Tax dollars
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Training and Education
• Originally, little was required beyond muscular strength and endurance.
• Requirements have increased as fire suppression has become more complicated and technical.
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Organization of the Fire Service
• Source of authority– Local governments– Sometimes from state and federal governments
• Fire chief accountable to the governing body
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Basic Principles of Organization (1 of 3)
• Unity of command– Each fire fighter answers to only one supervisor– Establishes a direct route of responsibility
• Span of control– Number of people one person can supervise
effectively
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Basic Principles of Organization (2 of 3)
The organization of a typical fire department.
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Basic Principles of Organization (3 of 3)
• Division of labor– Organizing an incident by breaking down overall
strategy– Makes individual responsible for completing the
assigned task– Prevents duplicate job assignments
• Discipline– Guidelines that a department establishes for fire
fighters
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Chain of Command (1 of 4)
• Structure for managing the department and the fireground operations
• Ranks may vary by department, but the concept is the same
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Chain of Command (2 of 4)
• Lieutenant– Responsible for a single company on a single shift
• Captain– Responsible for company on his/her shift and for
coordinating company’s activities with other shifts
• Battalion chief– Coordinates activities of several companies in a
defined geographic area
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Chain of Command (3 of 4)
• Assistant or division chief– In charge of a functional area within the
department
• Chief of the department– Overall responsibility for administration and
operations of the department
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Chain of Command (4 of 4)
• Used to implement department policies
• Ensures that a given task is carried out in a uniform manner
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Company Types (1 of 3)
• Engine– Secures water
source, deploys handlines, conducts search-and-rescue operations, and puts water on the fire
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Company Types (2 of 3)
• Truck– Specializes in forcible
entry, ventilation, roof operations, search-and-rescue operations above the fire, and deployment of ground ladders.
• Rescue– Rescues victims from
fires, confined spaces, trenches, and high-angle situations
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Company Types (3 of 3)
• Wildland brush– Dispatched to wildland and brush fires that larger
engines cannot reach
• Hazardous materials– Responds to and controls scenes involving spilled
or leaking hazardous materials
• EMS– Respond to and assist in transporting victims to
medical facilities
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Other Views of Organization
• Function– Bureau or office– Apparatus type
• Geography– Departments and stations are responsible for
distinct geographic areas
• Staffing– Department must have sufficient trained
personnel available
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General Roles within the Department (1 of 2)
• Fire fighter• Driver/operator• Company officer• Safety officer• Training officer
• Incident Commander• Fire marshal/
inspector/investigator• Fire and life safety
education specialist
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General Roles within the Department (2 of 2)
• 9-1-1 dispatcher/ telecommunicator
• Apparatus maintenance personnel
• Fire police
• Information management
• Public information officer
• Fire protection engineer
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Specialized Response Roles
• Aircraft/crash rescue fire fighter
• Hazardous materials technician
• Technical rescue technician
• SCUBA dive rescue technician
• EMS personnel– EMT-Basic– EMT-Intermediate– EMT-Paramedic
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Regulations, Policies,and SOPs (1 of 3)
• Regulations– Detailed rules that implement a law passed by a
governmental body
• Policies– Outline what is expected in stated conditions– Issued by a department to provide guidelines for
its actions
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Regulations, Policies,and SOPs (2 of 3)
• SOPs:– Provide specific information on actions that should
be taken to accomplish a task– Ensure that all members perform a task in the
same manner– Provide a uniform way to deal with situations– May also be called standard operating guidelines
(SOGs)
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Regulations, Policies,and SOPs (3 of 3)
A sample Standard Operating Procedure.
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Working with Other Organizations
• Fire departments need to interact with other organizations in the community.– Law enforcement– EMS– The military
• Incident Management System (IMS)– Unified command system– Means to control multiple agencies at an incident
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (1 of 5)
• Don and doff personal protective equipment properly.
• Hoist hand tools using appropriate ropes and knots.
• Understand and correctly apply appropriate communication protocols.
• Use SCBA.
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (2 of 5)
• Respond on apparatus to an emergency scene.
• Force entry into a structure.
• Exit a hazardous area safely as a team.
• Set up ground ladders safely and correctly.
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (3 of 5)
• Attack a passenger vehicle fire, an exterior Class A fire, and an interior structure fire.
• Conduct search and rescue in a structure.
• Perform ventilation of an involved structure.
• Overhaul a fire scene.
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (4 of 5)
• Conserve property with salvage tools and equipment.
• Connect a fire department engine to a water supply.
• Extinguish Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D fires.
• Illuminate an emergency scene.
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (5 of 5)
• Turn off utilities.• Perform fire safety
surveys.• Clean and maintain
equipment.• Present fire safety
information to station visitors, community groups, or schools.
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter II (1 of 2)
• Coordinate an interior attack line team.
• Extinguish an ignitable liquid fire.
• Control a flammable gas cylinder fire.
• Protect evidence of fire cause and origin.
• Assess and disentangle victims from motor vehicle accidents.
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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter II (2 of 2)
• Assist special rescue team operations.
• Perform annual service tests on fire hose.
• Test the operability of and flow from a fire hydrant.
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Fire Fighter Guidelines
• Be safe.
• Follow orders.
• Work as a team.
• Think!
• Follow the Golden Rule.
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Summary (1 of 3)
• The fire service traces its roots back to Roman times.
• The U.S. fire service goes back to the colonial days.
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Summary (2 of 3)
• Most departments employ a chain of command.
• Regulations, policies, and SOPs provide uniformity and consistent performance.
• Fire departments need to work with other organizations to get the job done.
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Summary (3 of 3)
• Remember the five guidelines:– Be safe.– Follow orders.– Work as a team.– Think!– Follow the Golden Rule.
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