CHIEF 8

Being a volunteer fire department means that each emergency will be responded to by different people, depending on who is available in the area at the time of the call. Each emergency is mitigated by an Incident Commander, the one person that all personnel on the emergency scene report to for assignments. The Incident Commander or (IC) is typically an officer of the department.

Another integral part of emergency response is the relay of a “size-up” – which means that the first member on the scene reports over the radio important information, such as in the case of a house fire, the type of building, the construction type, the number of stories, and where the fire is at. This gives responding units an idea of where they will most likely need to go and what type of equipment they will need on the scene before they get there. This helps all of our resources to be used where they are needed the most from the very beginning of the incident.

Sometimes the first-arriving engine may be the first fire department entity on the scene, which means that several minutes have probably passed since the call was initially dispatched. With this in mind, our department felt it would benefit the community we serve to staff a Command unit every night – the officer assigned to this unit would be able to arrive on most emergency scenes much earlier than the first engine and be able to establish the Incident Command System from the very beginning.

This in turn allows for an organized and controlled incident, which helps us operate safer and utilize our resources to their fullest potential. With this in mind, the department purchased Ford Expedition and equipped it with  radios, cell phone, flashlights, Command work sheets, Lap Top Computer with the capability of on scene High Speed Internet, medical equipment, maps, fire department pre-plans, and other tools that will assist our Incident Commander.

The result: Chief 8. This unit is staffed with one fire department officer each night, Monday through Sunday.