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The History and

Orientation of the Fire

Service

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Objectives (1 of 4)

• List five guidelines for successful fire fighter training.

• Define the roles and responsibilities of a Fire Fighter I and a Fire Fighter II.

• Describe the roles of fire fighters within the fire department.

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Objectives (2 of 4)

• Describe the four basic principles of organization of a fire department.

• Describe a fire department’s regulations, policies, and standard operating procedures, and explain how they apply to the fire fighter.

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Objectives (3 of 4)

• Locate information in departmental documents and standard operating procedures.

• List the different types of fire department companies, and describe their functions.

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Objectives (4 of 4)

• Define the chain of command as it applies to a fire department.

• Describe changes in the fire department from colonial days to the present.

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Introduction

• Training to become a fire fighter is not easy.

• Fire fighters are challenged both physically and mentally.

• Fire fighter training will expand your understanding of fire suppression.

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Fire Fighter Guidelines

• Be safe.

• Follow orders.

• Work as a team.

• Think!

• Follow the golden rule.

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General Qualifications (1 of 3) • Age requirements

– Most departments require that candidates be between the ages of 18 and 21.

• Education requirements– Most departments

require a minimum of a high school diploma or equivalent.

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General Qualifications (2 of 3)

• Medical requirements– Medical evaluations are often required before

training can begin.– Medical requirements for fire fighters are

specified in NFPA 1582, Standard on Comprehensive Operational Medical Program for Fire Departments.

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General Qualifications (3 of 3)

• Physical fitness requirements– Physical fitness requirements ensure that fire

fighters have the strength and stamina needed.

• Emergency medical requirements– Departments may require fire fighters to be

certified at the first responder, Emergency Medical Technician Basic, or higher levels.

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (1 of 5)

• Properly don and doff personal protective equipment.

• Hoist hand tools using appropriate ropes and knots.

• Understand and correctly apply appropriate communication protocols.

• Use self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA).

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (2 of 5)

• Respond on apparatus to an emergency scene.

• Force entry into a structure.

• Exit a hazardous area safely as a team.

• Set up ground ladders safely and correctly.

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (3 of 5)

• Attack a passenger vehicle fire, an exterior Class A fire, and an interior structure fire.

• Conduct search and rescue in a structure.

• Perform ventilation of an involved structure.

• Overhaul a fire scene.

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (4 of 5)

• Conserve property with salvage tools and equipment.

• Connect a fire department engine to a water supply.

• Extinguish Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D fires.

• Illuminate an emergency scene. • Turn off utilities.

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter I (5 of 5)

• Perform fire safety surveys.

• Clean and maintain equipment.

• Present fire safety information to station visitors, community groups, or schools.

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter II (1 of 2)

• Coordinate an interior attack line team.

• Extinguish an ignitable liquid fire.

• Control a flammable gas cylinder fire.

• Protect evidence of fire cause and origin.

• Assess and disentangle victims from motor vehicle accidents.

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Roles and Responsibilities ofthe Fire Fighter II (2 of 2)

• Assist special rescue team operations.

• Perform annual service tests on fire hose.

• Test the operability of, and flow from, a fire hydrant.

• Assist visitors to the fire station and use the opportunity to discuss fire safety information

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General Roles Within the Department (1 of 2)

• Fire fighter

• Driver/operator

• Company officer

• Safety officer

• Training officer

• Incident commander

• Fire marshal/inspector/investigator

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General Roles Within the Department (2 of 2)

• Fire and life safety education specialist

• 9-1-1 dispatcher/telecommunicator

• Apparatus maintenance personnel

• Fire police

• Information management

• Public information officer

• Fire protection engineer

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Specialized Response Roles

• Aircraft/crash rescue fire fighter

• Hazardous materials technician

• Technical rescue technician

• SCUBA dive rescue technician

• EMS personnel

• EMT-Basic, Intermediate, and Paramedic

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Working with Other Organizations (1 of 2)

• Fire departments need to interact with other organizations in the community.– Law enforcement– EMS– The military– Other state agencies

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Working with Other Organizations (2 of 2)

• Incident command system (ICS)– Unified command

system– Controls multiple

agencies at an incident

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Fire Department Governance (1 of 3)

• Regulations– Detailed rules that implement a law passed by

a governmental body

• Policies– Outline what is expected in stated conditions– Issued by a department to provide guidelines

for its actions

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Fire Department Governance (2 of 3)

• SOPs– Provide specific information on actions that

should be taken to accomplish a task– Ensure that all members perform a task in the

same manner– Provide a uniform way to deal with situations– May also be called standard operating

guidelines (SOGs)

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Fire Department Governance (3 of 3)

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Organization of the Fire Service Company Types (1 of 3)

• Engine

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Company Types (2 of 3)

• Truck– Specializes in forcible

entry, ventilation, roof operations, search and rescue, and deployment of ground ladders

• Rescue– Rescue victims from

confined spaces, trenches, and high angles

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Company Types (3 of 3)

• Wildland/brush– Four-wheel drive

vehicles

• Hazardous materials– Scenes involving

spilled or leaking hazardous materials

• EMS– Assists in transporting

to medical facilities

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Other Views of Organization

• Staffing– Department must have sufficient trained

personnel available

• Function– Bureau or office– Apparatus type

• Geography

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Chain of Command (1 of 4)

• Structure for managing the department and the fire-ground operations

• Ranks may vary by department, but the concept is the same

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Chain of Command (2 of 4)

• Lieutenant– Single company on a single shift

• Captain– Company on shift and for coordinating

company’s activities with other shifts

• Battalion chief– Coordinates activities of several companies in

a defined geographic area

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Chain of Command (3 of 4)

• Assistant or division chief– In charge of a functional area within the

department

• Chief of the department– Overall responsibility for administration and

operations of the department

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Chain of Command (4 of 4)

• Used to implement department policies

• Ensures that a given task is carried out in a uniform manner

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Source of Authority

• Source of authority– Local governments– Sometimes from state and federal

governments

• Fire chief accountable to the governing body

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Basic Principles of Organization (1 of 3)

• Discipline

• Division of labor– Organizing an incident by breaking down

overall strategy– Makes individual responsible for completing

the assigned task– Prevents duplicate job assignments

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Basic Principles of Organization (2 of 3)

• The organization of a typical fire department

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Basic Principles of Organization (3 of 3)

• Unity of command– Each fire fighter answers to only one

supervisor.– Establishes a direct route of responsibility

• Span of control– Number of people one person can supervise

effectively

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History of the Fire Service• Romans created first fire department, the

Familia Publica.– First paid department in the United States was

Boston (established in 1679)– Ben Franklin started the first volunteer

department in the United States in Philadelphia in 1735.

– Citizens kept fire buckets to assist with fire suppression.

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The Great Chicago Fire• Began October 8,

1871• Burned for three days• Damage totals:

– $200 million in damage

– 300 dead– 90,000 homeless

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The Peshtigo Fire

• Flash forest fire occurred at same time as the Great Chicago Fire– “Tornado of fire” 1000' high and 5 miles wide

• Deadliest fire in U.S. history– 2400 square miles of forest land burned– 2200 dead– Several small communities destroyed

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Building Codes (1 of 2)

• History of building codes– Egyptians used codes to prevent collapse.– Colonial communities had few codes.– Early construction in the United States was

primarily wood.– Boston required noncombustible roofs.– Present codes address construction materials

and “built-in” protection.

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Building Codes (2 of 2)

• Codes and standards are written by national organizations.– National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

• Volunteer committees research and develop proposals.

• Most codes today are consensus documents.

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Training and Education• Originally, little was

required beyond muscular strength and endurance.

• Requirements have increased as fire suppression has become more complicated and technical.

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Fire Equipment (1 of 2)

• Colonial fire fighters had buckets and fire hooks.

• Hand-powered pumpers developed in 1720

• Steam-powered pumpers developed in 1829

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Fire Equipment (2 of 2)

• Present-day equipment– Single apparatus used for several purposes

• Fire hydrants developed in 1817

• First public call boxes developed in 1860

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Communications (1 of 2)

• Fire wardens and night watchmen used during colonial period

• Telegraph alarm systems developed in late 1800s

• Present day– Hardwired and cellular telephones– Computer-aided dispatch facilities

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Communications (2 of 2)

• Fire-ground communications– Early days: Chief’s

trumpet (bugles), now a symbol of authority

– Present: Two-way radios

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Paying for Fire Service• In early times,

insurance companies paid fire departments for service.

• Career departments are generally funded through local tax funds.

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Fire Service in the United States

• About 1.1 million fire fighters

• 75% of career fire fighters serve communities of 25,000 or larger.

• Half of volunteers serve rural areas of population 2500 or smaller.

• Approximately 30,000 fire departments

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2005 Fire Statistics for the United States

• 396,000 residential fires – Average of 45 per hour

• 3,030 residential fire fatalities – Average of one every 173 minutes

• 3,675 people died • Every 20 seconds a fire department responds to a fire• Estimated 31,500 fires intentionally set structure fire • 801,000 outside fires in the United States

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Summary (1 of 3)

• Remember the five guidelines:– Be safe.– Follow orders.– Work as a team.– Think!– Follow the golden rule.

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Summary (2 of 3)

• Fire departments need to work with other organizations to get the job done.

• Most departments employ a chain of command.

• Regulations, policies, and SOPs provide uniformity and consistent performance.

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Summary (3 of 3)

• The fire service traces its roots back to Roman times.

• The U.S. fire service goes back to the colonial days.