Volunteer Firefighting SOGs and SOPs

Every department needs to have a document with the rules governing the department, and no matter whether you call it bylaws or a constitution, the principles are the same.  

As I sit here in the cold, rainy, unpredictable weather of Connecticut, I cannot help but look forward to the next ‘Cruisin for Solutions’… We had a great week of fun and sun, oh yeah, and we learned quite a bit from each other.  

Today’s vehicles pose many new dangers for First Responders.   

  

Helicopter was summoned because one of the "mechanisms" of the accident suggested a probability of serious injury of more than 20%  

One of the 2008 presidential candidates has a slogan of "change," and that's exactly what's happening with the fire service. We are all about to see major changes in our standard operating procedures, our apparatus and in general the way we do business.  

You go to a fire in a garden apartment. You have fire showing from the terrace level with extension to the floor above. The chief tells you, "Engine One, you are the Division One Supervisor. You have Engine Two and Truck One in the division with you." You acknowledge the transmission and then get to work stretching a line. What did you just say yes to?  

The firefighter fell from a bridge after losing balance; the NIOSH fatality report makes scene lighting recommendations  

  

Layoffs of 16 firefighters and seven paramedics could triple EMS response times; overburdened firefighters face greater risk at fires  

Two firefighters were not wearing face pieces at the time of their deaths in a mobile home fire; SCBA did not have PASS devices  

  

He was operating an aerial ladder platform when his head was pinned between the top of the station bay door and the platform railing  

The bus also struck several emergency cones and an apparatus parked at the scene; the report highlights upstream traffic control  

Crews struggled to locate a trapped firefighter; more than an hour and a half passed before they realized another was missing  

  

Firefighters used a positive pressure ventilation fan and should have asked the utility company to immediately cut power, investigators say  

Firefighters acting without their full crew and accountability problems contributed to the deaths of two Buffalo firefighters, a report found  

Two firefighters were killed during interior operations; investigators found a complete 360 degree size-up was not conducted early  

  

  

A girl died after paramedics refused to take her to the hospital in the first of two visits to her home after she had breathing problems  

Two firefighters were killed and 115 firefighters suffered a variety of injuries in the 2007 fire; no water supply for over an hour  

  

  

Volunteer fire departments by nature have good times and bad. We have times when we pack the truck like a clown car, and times when we respond with just a driver. Often, our lean times are during daylight hours, which also tend to be our busiest times.  

With all the dangers we face daily as volunteers, it really saddens me to see line of duty deaths responding to, or from an incident. We always believe that it may be the fire that is going to get us, when to often motor vehicle incidents claim the lives of our brethren.