Page 24 - UFRA Straight Tip Spring 2021 - Volume 22 Issue 2

Tips for Effective Fireground Radio Communications
FIRE TACTICS
“Career Fire Fighter Dies in Heavy Smoke on Second Floor of a Residen- tial Structure – Texas”
“Two Career Fire Fighters Die in a Rapid Fire Progression While Search- ing for Tenants – Ohio”
“Career Probationary Fire Fighter Runs Out of Air and Dies in Com- mercial Structure Fire – Michigan”
“A Career Lieutenant and Fire Fighter/Paramedic Die in a Hillside Resi- dential House Fire – California”
“Nine Career Fire Fighters Die in Rapid Fire Progression at Commercial Furniture Showroom - South Carolina”
The preceding titles are just a few of the titles of National Institute
for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that I recently reviewed to explore the relation of communications and fireground line- of-duty deaths (LODDs). The executive summaries of these reports in- cluded the following as some of the contributing factors to the LODDs:
• Ineffective fire command communications and progress reporting
• Poor fireground communications
• Ineffective communications
The executive summaries made these key recommendations:
• Ensure that fire departments responding to mutual aid incidents are equipped with mobile and portable communi- cations equipment that are capable of handling the volume of radio traffic and that allow communications among all responding companies within their jurisdiction.
• Ensure that all firefighters communicate fireground observa- tions to incident command.
In other words, a “failure to communicate” is more than an iconic line from the movie Cool Hand Luke. Communication failures on the fire- ground lead to inefficient, ineffective, and dangerous operations. There are occasions that we can communicate “face to face”; however, we are
most often conversing between command and interior crews or between crews within a division or group.
Here are some tips for effective radio communications:
• Radio traffic on the fireground should be clear, calm, concise, and confident. This goes for both sides of the communication. If the incident commander (IC) and the interior crews both exercise these traits, stress levels and ef- fectiveness will increase. Think before you key up the mic! Rambling, nervous, or timid (or shouting) transmissions don’t do anybody any favors.
• When operating in a forward position on the fireground, standardize your radio traffic by providing Command with CAAN (conditions, actions, air, and needs) reports. This re- port should communicate what you have, what you’re doing, what the welfare (air) of your crew is, and what you need. CAAN reports provide the IC with the necessary information in a concise, organized format to make appropriate decisions.
• NIOSH repeatedly recommends that ALL personnel inside an immediately dangerous to life and health (IDLH) environ- ment have an assigned portable radio. In September 2003, NIOSH released the document “Current Status, Knowledge Gaps, and Research Needs Pertaining to Firefighter Radio Communication Systems,” where on page 13 it states: “It is
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