Companies common to most fire departments include; (1) Engine company: An engine company is responsible for securing a water source, deploying handlines, conducting search-and-rescue operations, and putting water on the fire. (2) Truck company: A truck company specializes in forcible entry, ventilation, roof operations, search-and-rescue operations above the fire, and deployment of ground ladders. They are also called ladder companies. (3) Rescue company: A rescue company usually is responsible for rescuing victims from fires, confined spaces, trenches, and high-angle situations. (4) Brush company: A brush company is dispatched to woodland and brush fires that larger engines cannot reach. (5) Hazardous materials company: A hazardous materials company responds to and controls scenes involving spilled or leaking hazardous materials. (6) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) company: An EMS company responds to and assists in transporting medical and trauma patients to medical facilities for further treatment. EMS personnel often have medications, defibrillators, and other equipment that can stabilize a critical patient during transport. (pages 8–10)
2. Regulations are developed by various government or government-authorized organizations to implement a law that has been passed by a government body. Policies are developed to provide definite guidelines for present and future actions. Fire department policies outline what is expected in stated conditions. Policies often require personnel to make judgments and to determine the best course of action within the stated policy. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) provide specific information on the actions that should be taken to accomplish a certain task. SOPs provide a uniform way to deal with emergency situations. They are vital because they enable everyone in the department to function properly and know what is expected for each task. (page 8)
3. The four basic management principles utilized in most fire departments are: (1) Unity of command; (2) Span of control; (3) Division of labor; (4) Discipline (page 12)
4. Common and/or specialist positions a fire fighter may assume in his or her career as a fire fighter include (Students should include ten of the following): (1) Fire fighter: The fire fighter may be assigned any task from placing hose lines to extinguishing fires. Generally, the fire fighter is not responsible for any command functions and does not supervise other personnel, except on a temporary basis when promoted to an acting officer. (2) Driver/operator: Often called
an engineer or a technician, the driver is responsible for getting the fire apparatus to the scene safely, as well as setting up and running the pump once it arrives on the scene. (3) Company officer: This is usually a lieutenant or captain in charge of a team of fire fighters. This person is in charge of the company both on scene and at the station. The company officer is responsible for initial firefighting strategy, personnel safety, and the overall activities of the fire fighters on their apparatus. Once command is established, the company officer focuses on tactics. (4) Safety officer: The safety officer responds to scenes and watches the overall operation for unsafe practices. He or she has the authority to stop any firefighting activity until it can be done safely and correctly. (5) Training officer: The training officer is responsible for updating the training of current employees and for training new fire fighters. (6) Incident commander: The incident commander is the individual responsible for the management of all incident operations.
(7) Fire marshal/fire inspector/fire investigator: Fire marshals inspect businesses and enforce public safety laws and fire codes. They may respond to fire scenes to help investigate the cause of a fire. (8) Fire and life safety education specialist: This person educates the public about fire safety and injury prevention, and presents juvenile fire safety programs. (9) 911 dispatcher/telecommunicator: From the communications center, the dispatcher takes the calls from the public, sends appropriate units to the scene, assists callers with emergency medical information, and assists the incident commander with needed resources. (10) Fire apparatus maintenance personnel: Apparatus mechanics repair, service, and keep fire and EMS vehicles ready to respond to emergencies. (11) Fire police: Fire police are usually fire fighters who control traffic and secure the scene from public access. Many fire police are sworn peace officers as well as
fire fighters. (12) Information management: “Info techs” are fire fighters or civilians who take care of a department’s computer and networking systems. (13) Public information officer: The public information officer serves as a liaison between the incident commander and the news media.
