Standard Operation Guidelines? HELP NEEDED

[winfieldff20]

I need some help setting up Standard Operation Guidelines for a small Volunteer Dept. can anyone advise where to start or would someone share theirs so I could get and idea where to start thanks, in advance for your help,stay safe.

[tripperff]

UH OH!!!!!!

Sounds like the OSHA man stopped by. Do you need SOG's for ALL Emergency Activities? If so I know I can help with a few I wrote for my FD. If it's just a few things let me know which ones you need some help with. I got ideas for some of mine from the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs website, but that was a while back.

http://www.nysfirechiefs.com/

Another place to look is the Firemen's Association of the State of New York:

http://www.fasny.com/

Or the State Office of Fire Prevention and Control:

http://www.dos.state.ny.us/fire/firewww.html

Your FD's insurance carrier should be able to help some as well, I know ours helps out a lot.

[winfieldff20]

My dept only provides Fire protection and basic rescue, No EMS. We have an 20 year old set of by laws that need updated bad.

[mtnfireguy]

http://www.vcos.org/resources.asp

[mcaldwell]

I didn't see where you are from, but for a basic Canadian set (about 50 misc WCB approved SOG's), you can try:

http://www.bcfirefighter.com

You have to register to reach the administration section, but it's free, and they are a good start. Just make sure you tweak them for your area, and keep them reasonable. Nothing is more frustrating than getting cited by WCB/OSHA for not following your own SOG.

[Dalmatian90]

Keep 'em clear.
Keep 'em simple.
Keep 'em relevant.
Keep 'em local.

Start with the basics.
-- Chain of Command
"During Emergency Incidents in the absence of the Chief, his authority is delegated, in order, to the:
Deputy Chief
Assistant Chief
Captain
Lieutenant

In the absence of any officer, the Member with longest seniority on scene shall be the acting officer-in-charge.

A senior member or officer is expected to take command from a subordinate member or officer as soon as practical, but not before holding a briefing with them on the situation."

-- Apparatus Response Order & Minimum Staffing (to various incidents)
Structure Fires, Our District: Engine w/ full crew or 3 minutes, Tanker w/2 or 3 minutes.

Structure Fires, Mutual Aid: Tanker w/2, Engine w/full crew, use discretion based on situation when to respond understaffed.

Trees & Wires: Service w/2, No Lights or Sirens.

-- Arrival & Default Apparatus Placement
Units should radio "On Scene" approximately 1/4 mile out to give the Officer-in-Charge time to give them special instructions.

Auto Accidents:
Engine shall stop short of scene to protect the scene from on-coming traffic.

Tanker shall setup on opposite side of scene to protect from traffic on that side. Engine should radio the Tanker and advise them if they can procede through scene, detour around, or if need be Engine can call mutual aid if that's most practical to protect the other side.

Any members responding in POV shall park those on the same side of the road as the incident.

As a reminder, everyone needs to be aware of hazards, especially damaged poles & blind corners.

===========
You start with the basics like that. Neat thing is, you've probably got a lot of those in your head. Now the difficult part -- write them down clearly.

It would be a poor chief who issued an order, "Vent the second story window. Take the 24' extension ladder from Engine 1, use three people to raise it to just under the window sill. Take the axe from Engine 1, have someone in a SCBA climb that ladder, and ventilate the window by breaking the lower right hand corner first and working his way around. Make sure you clean out the sash. Leave the ladder there in case someone needs to bail."

A Chief should issue an order like, "Vent the Second Story." It's up to his men & officers to have the training and knowledge already of how to do it.

The problem I have with many "SOPs" I see is there so detailed, they're actually text books. I don't know anyone whose expected to score 100% on a test. Keep those detailed procedures, and through them in your training logs.

But keep your standing orders -- and that's what most people think of when they think "SOP" "SOG" "What-have-you" -- fairly simple. People are expected to remember orders, and follow them, and it's not fair to hold them to hundreds of pages.

Write as much as you like, it won't guarantee you keep out of court. If you have simple orders, it's much harder to say you didn't perform as expected. It's also harder to hide behind subsection C of paragraph 3 of SOP 98, rev IV to explain why you didn't do something to the Chief if you just have simple written orders.

Matt