usually coupled with a lack of knowledge of
where companies are operating as well. That
leads to unnecessary additional alarms.
The best plan to eliminate the “Rehab gone
wild” issues is to establish a formal Rehab
Division with EMS and Chief Officer (Division
Commander) support in a place that is
conducive to good accountability…. in other
words, make the Rehab area “accountability
friendly.” What this means is to designate Rehab
in a place that can be accessed directly from the
Command Post. Whether Command provides
cones and barrier tape, big bright lights, or
another mechanism, all players will know where
Rehab is and can get there and back to the
Command Post easily. The final piece of the
accountability puzzle is to ensure that companies
go from the CP directly to the Rehab via a
designated route and back to the CP via that
same route when rehab has been completed.
The third bullet in the slide shows the NJ
guideline on rehab: 15 minutes after two
cylinder uses. Whether this becomes reality or
not is a function of whether Command has done
his / her job. If there is no one to replace the
companies going to rehab, either fire control
(and the building) will be lost or the members
will be on the third and fourth cylinder and risk
fatigue injuries. A proactive Incident
Commander should have relief on the scene so
that those using the second cylinder are
guaranteed not only 15 minutes, but closer to 25
minutes to rest.
The last lines refer to the self-discipline of the
company. Mechanisms such as Rehab tracking
at the CP will tell Command and the
Accountability officer who is due back at the CP
and when. If that mechanism is not in place, it
must be up to the Company Officer not to abuse
the Rehab policy.
Properly established and enforced Rehab
policies are often the glue that holds together
the accountability system during multiple alarm
operations. Failure to address accountability in
your Rehab policy or set it as an expectation with
not only the Command level, but also the
operational level, sets the stage for
organizational chaos, often at the worst
time…..when the incident is escalating.
Quote of the day: Always be yourself, unless
you be a firefighter. Then always be a firefighter.
Questions, comments, column suggestions,
kudos, or criticism – email is
[email protected]
Tune in with me and Chief Jim Duffy from
Wallingford, CT to Fire Engineering Blog Talk
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from the Street. Our next show is July 24, 2017.
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