Page 10 - UFRA Straight Tip Spring 2023 - Volume 24 Issue 2

Building an Effective Fireground Organization Part 2:
Having a Good Structure
Kevin Ward has been in the fire service since 1977 and has served as the fire chief of Layton City since 2004. Prior to this appointment,
he progressed through the ranks from firefighter/paramedic to bat- talion chief with the Chandler Fire Department in Arizona. He holds
several NWCG qualifications, including ICT3 and structure protection specialist. He has been an instructor for UFRA’s Command Training Center since its inception. Chief Ward is currently president of the Utah State Fire Chiefs Association.
In Part 1 of this series, we covered the importance of utilizing the proper span of control as an incident commander (IC). Organizing resources most efficiently allows an IC to direct an operation within the param- eters of a decentralized command through divisions and groups. Arrang- ing resources into divisions (geographical) or groups (functional) allows supervisors in the forward positions to direct the personnel assigned to them to accomplish the tasks required by the incident objectives.
Let’s look at this from a practical standpoint on a single-family resi- dential fire. With the IC in a remote stationary location, we’ll assume a command transfer has occurred. The IC can now place that first-arriving engine officer in a forward position as an Interior Division supervisor and “feed” the resources needed to accomplish standard actions such
as fire attack, search, and (often neglected) salvage operations based
on needs. I am a fan of using Interior Division, as it gives the forward position supervisor the direction of all activities inside. Other groups or divisions that may be routinely utilized are RIC (RIT) Group, Ventilation Group, Roof Division, or Medical Group. Some ICs may use Fire Attack Group, which may work well under certain circumstances. The IC needs to remember that if the group is designated and assigned Fire Attack,
that’s their single role. Other assignments need to be made, such as a company or companies to perform a search.
Building the organization on the fireground will be dictated by the size of the structure and the complexity of the fire conditions. Even though we are utilizing a single-family dwelling in these examples, a larger home may require the establishment of a Division 2 (second floor) or a Base- ment Division. Exterior operations on a fully involved structure may call for the use of a Charlie (or another side) Division for exposure protec- tion based on required resources.
Effective tracking of the resources and assignments given can be ac- complished by utilizing a standard ICS “box” structure such as that shown in Figure 1.
An alternative way of tracking resources and their assignments is utilizing T Boxes. These add clarity by establishing the location/ position of the apparatus, the assignment designation, what is to be accomplished, and who the current supervisor is. Figure 2 is an ex- ample of a T Box utilized to track the Interior Division (with “ME51” circled as the supervisor).
In T Boxes, additional units can be added, crews can be removed when rotating to rehab, and a new supervisor can be circled. A separate T Box is used for each division or group.
These are a couple of ways to effectively track resources when utilizing a tactical worksheet. A tactical worksheet serves as an essential “checklist” to ensure that the Incident Action Plan (IAP) objectives are being ac- complished.1 From the time the US Army Air Corps developed the first aviation checklist in 1935 until today, flying safely from point A to point B has been possible because flight crews use checklists. ICs can take the same approach by utilizing a tactical worksheet/checklist to properly structure their fireground operations.
1. See Kevin Ward, “What Do I Need to Do Next? Using Tactical Worksheets/Checklists for Safe and Efficient Operations,” Straight Tip, Fall 2016.
8 | UFRA Straight Tip
FIRE TACTICS