Incoming Mutual Aid Companies

[HFD23 37]

M/a

[x635 4,066]

SOP's need to be followed, it's unsafe to have engines racing to the scene to NOT be FAST. 60's CAD has geographical capabilties, the 3 closest engines to the incident should be the engine companies, the fourth closest the FAST. The officer on the incoming unit should call the IC on the tactical freq to request placement and instructions, thats providing the IC is able to answer you. If not, go to preplans and SOP's, something an MDT system would make that kind of information easy to reference

[BFD1054 1,552]

I must say that it is great to know that M/A companies are there to back you when you need it. However, like many of said, we must stick to some basic rules and follow directions. We are a small dept. and with that said, we do not have a truck company, so we rely on other depts. We work very well with our surrounding depts. and usually do not run into a problem. If the officer or driver (of the M/A unit) has any clue, than they usually know the right time to get on the air and request info on staging and such. We do not usually run into problems as far as apparatus blocking up the road, but personal vehicles become a problem. We also have our 1st due FASTeam which is set up in the CAD at 60 so that when our IC requests a team, they know who we want. I must say, from my experience with our choice FASTeam, i have not seen any problems. And the same FASTeam that we use, the entire tri-village uses, so i have seen first hand how they operate. They assemble their crew and at the proper time while en-route request directions/stagging info and they follow those exactly how we want. When they show up, we can be confident that they have a full Team who are well trained and experienced, but also that they are smart enough to know that if their Eng. isn't being utilized for firefighting op's, they stage it at a proper location. I do have to add though, sometimes the un-expected can happen in the world of firefighting, as we all know. As you guys have said, the problem is when the "3rd" or "4th" due actually becomes the 1st or 2nd due and so forth. I actually saw a case not to long ago, where this same FASTeam resonded to a 10-75 and to their surprise became the 2nd due Engine. They were able to assemble a crew quickly and the call was actually not far from the district line, so as they arrived they were informed that they were the 2nd Eng on arrival and were told to hit a hydrant and lay in. It worked out great because they layed in and their driver pumped the Engine, while the Team grabbed their gear and did their thing. But i have also seen plenty of times where fire scenes look more like a fire apparatus showroom, with Engines, Trucks, Rescues and everything else just everywhere with no particular purpose. Thats why communication is everything, without it, a scene can become chaos in no-time. If the 1st due Eng. goes directly to the scene, followed by the 1st due truck, now the 2nd due Eng. has to hook up and lay in and manuver around everything and it can be a pain. Thats why the IC needs to not only know what hes got, but needs to also think of what may be coming in (M/A, FAST, etc.) and properly place apparatus. BFD1054

[Oswegowind 17]

Mutual aid is good, when the agency receiving the m/a respects the other agency and their personnel and knows when to utilize such and how.