Chapter 23

Firefighter Survival

Introduction• Survival dependent on:

– Prevention through readiness– Training on firefighter emergency procedures

• Factors that help prevent emergencies:– PPE; task accountability; fitness for duty– At an incident: deliberate actions (or inaction);

attention to hazards– Attention to team continuity, orders,

communication, rapid intervention planning, rehabilitation

• Must have a planned systematic process for self-rescue or rapid intervention in emergencies

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Incident Readiness• Incident readiness is a mental process that

answers a few questions:– Am I in a position to respond?– Is my personal protective equipment available?– What is my relationship to the response?– Physically can I respond?– Mentally, can I check out my current thoughts and

focus on response?

• Ensure the “system” is assembled and ready for response

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Personal Protective Equipment

• PPE is the first thing to put on for protection– Last thing to use for protection

• In many departments, firefighters check all ensembles at beginning of every shift

• Time spent donning gear before arriving at incident is well spent– If seatbelts cannot be worn, better to don PPE at

incident

• Following an incident, gear may need to be decontaminated

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Preparing PPE for Readiness• All clothing materials are dry.• All PPE is present and positioned so that it

may be donned rapidly.• Essential pocket tools are available and in

working order.• Alternative PPE items are appropriately

packed and ready for use.• Additionally, firefighters should check

protective equipment assigned to their riding position

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Personal Accountability• Three types of accountability:

– Passport– Tag– Company officer

• No freelancing• Relationship to response:

assignments and personal size-ups• Perform as trained• Know your strengths and weaknesses

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Figure 23-2 Accountability systems take on many forms—firefighters must know how to check in.

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Figure 23-3 Firefighters achieve mastery of tasks through repeated training. Mastery reduces the chance of injury.

Fitness for Duty• Mental fitness

– “Check out” of the environment, “check in” to size-up

• Physical fitness and wellness– Cardiovascular conditioning – Core strengthening– Flexibility improvement– Resistance training– Nutritional balance– Hydration maintenance

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Energy and Rest

• Safety directly affected by energy potential and rest a firefighter has stored

• Be attentive to energy and rest levels• Communicate rehabilitation needs to

an officer

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Safety at Incidents• Roughly half of all duty-related injuries and

deaths happen at incident scene• Individual injured failed to “see” events that

lead to injury• Injuries and death occur when firefighters

allow urgency to override judgment• Firefighters can prevent injury and death

through mental and physical actions• Team continuity

– Team must exercise guarded judgment when completing a task

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Figure 23-6 Team continuity reduces the chance for injuries.

Team Procedures for Incidents

• Utilize an incident command system (ICS)

• Work together and remain intact• Look after each other • Prevent freelancing

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Figure 23-5 Freelancing is eliminated and incident success is gained when specific tasks are assigned to teams of two or more firefighters operating from a single incident action plan.

Orders/Communication• Incident commander responsible for

assembling incident action plan (IAP)– Implemented by teams performing tasks– Tasks assigned to organized teams in the form of

orders– Team responsible for carrying out the order

• Providing updates on a regular basis• Relay information about hazards

• First arriving teams perform prescribed tasks– They must know tasks, tools required, and safety

considerations

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Figure 23-8 Practicing good reporting habits enhances communications.

Risk/Benefit• Risk/benefit: an evaluation of the potential

benefit of a task in relationship to hazards• Basic guidelines:

– Take significant risk to save a known life– Take calculated risk, and provide additional

safety, to save valuable property or reduce potential for injuries

– Take no risk to save what is already lost– Retreat to defensive position when conditions are

deteriorating quickly

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Figure 23-9 Solid risk/benefit analysis means taking no risk for that which is already lost. (Courtesy of Richard W. Davis)

Personal Size-Up• Size-up: continuous situational

awareness and mental evaluation process

• Stay aware of:– Established work areas– Hazardous energy– Smoke conditions– Escape routes– Air management

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Rehabilitation• Stress and overexertion are leading causes

of injury and death– Key concern is controlling heat stress

• Rest achieved during crew rotation– Sit down; allow medical personnel to do vital sign

check; mentally disengage from the event

• Active cooling reduces core body temperature

• Water vital to peak operation of body systems

• Best nutrition: 30/30/40 balance

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Figure 23-11 Rehabilitation should start well before a firefighter is thirsty or tired. Failure to rehabilitate “early and often” opens the door to injury.

Rapid Intervention Teams• Rapid intervention team (RIT) rescues

firefighters in an emergency– Goal is to avoid need for rapid intervention

• Two-in/two-out rule provides for immediate intervention if needed

• RIT should have no other assignment– Consists of well-trained, experienced firefighters

• Other firefighters should not abandon previous assignments until reassigned

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Table 23-1 RIT Responsibilities Checklist

Firefighter Emergencies• When emergency presented,

firefighter must rely on instincts and training

• Study procedures for rapid escape– For declaring a Mayday for lost and

trapped situations

• Survival includes processes for rescue of trapped and lost firefighters– Also long-term mental survival

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Declaring a Mayday• Specific procedures for declaring any

mayday developed at local fire department level

• Declaring a mayday:– Transmit over radio “Mayday” three times

followed by ICS assignment– Wait for an acknowledgement – Once acknowledgement made, report nature of

mayday, current location or last known location– Manually activate PASS device

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Rapid Escape• Evacuation signals: repeated air horn blasts;

special radio tone followed by evacuation order

• Rapid escape steps:– Preplan the escape– Immediately report need for rapid evacuation– Acknowledge rapid evacuation or escape signals– Rapidly escape– Report successful escape

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Figure 23-12 Rapid fire spread and partial collapse are likely to trigger the need for rapid escape.

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Figure 23-13 A PAR is a personnel accountability report organized to check the status of all crews working an incident. PARs should take place every half-hour or after an evacuation or any firefighter emergency.

Lost, Trapped, and Injured Firefighters

• When firefighting, crews may be placed in environments they have never been in before– Potential to be trapped or lost during

assignment• Low-air situations:

– Good SCBA air management provides margin of safety

• Enter, work, and egress before warning device activates

– Low-air warning while in IDLH environment warrants immediate communication

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Lost, Trapped, and Injured Firefighters (cont’d.)

• Entrapment:– First step is to get assistance– Activate PASS device and declare

“Mayday”– Follow up with other noise-making

activities• Be careful not to use up excess energy

– Size up and develop a plan– Attempt self-extrication

• Planned and systematic23.30

Lost, Trapped, and Injured Firefighters (cont’d.)

• Lost/disoriented firefighters:– Firefighter or team must report that they are lost– Mayday should be transmitted over the radio– Manually activate PASS devices– Take deep breaths and calm down– Take inventory of surroundings

• Establish direction, door and window locations, potential paths

– Maintain radio contact with RIT members

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Lost, Trapped, and Injured Firefighters (cont’d.)

• Injured firefighters:– Firefighters must trust RITs– RIT activated when firefighter found to be

trapped or injured– If team in proximity aides firefighter,

communicate this– Firefighters not on the RIT or in the

vicinity should resist the urge to rush in and help

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Figure 23-14 A serious firefighter injury or fatality will cause significant incident stress. Focus and use of RITs will minimize unnecessary risk during firefighter rescue and help maintain incident control.

Post-Incident Survival• Post-incident thought patterns:

firefighter’s mind relaxes as adrenaline fades– Responsible for many injuries and deaths

• Critical incident stress (CIS): incidents that lead to long-term mental and health issues

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Post-Incident Survival (cont’d.)• Post-incident thought patterns

– Inattentiveness as soon as order given to “pick up”

– Take a time-out and have everyone gather for incident summary and safety reminder

– Fatigue and mental drain unavoidable chemical imbalance

– Important to stay alert and pick up signs of potential injury

• Take steps to “survive” without injury

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Post-Incident Survival (cont’d.)

• Critical incident stress– Firefighters expected to tolerate incident stress – Some events trigger significant emotional

response• May not always be external• Many firefighters harbor the reaction internally

– CIS exhibited in many ways– “Survive” CIS by critical incident stress

management (CISM)• Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD)• “Defusing” in a peer environment

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Figure 23-16 Signs of critical incident stress are natural following “trigger” incidents.

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Figure 23-17 Critical incident stress management sessions can be (A) informal such as a “defusing” or (B) formal such as a process that includes peer support and mental health professionals.

(A) (B)

Lessons Learned• Firefighter survival dependent on:

– Incident readiness and safe operations– Appropriate preparation and response to

emergencies

• Safe operations dependent on team continuity

• Emergencies require firefighter to practice clear and concise approach

• Survive long term through understanding of post-incident thought patterns and stress

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