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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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