Randolph Palmer In nearly all National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reviews, command or difficulty with the command is referred to as a place in want of development in the event of a hearth or other catastrophe. But we seem to be transitioning far away from greater formal command vehicles. Instead, the general assets of an enterprise and its trendy operating methods generally dictate a vehicle’s design. For example, I recently noticed a big hearth branch displaying off its new command vehicle, wherein rescue ropes and numerous hand tools had been packed into the cubicles of a pickup truck’s shipment bed. I have also seen some command vehicles that don’t have a conventional command board, which has been unusual for years.
The IC’s Job Is Complicated
The Incident Commander coordinates the sports at a fire or emergency scene and enhances general safety by implementing an incident motion plan (IAP). The IAP can be as easy as remembering that the first engine to reach an automobile fireplace ought to extinguish the blaze. The plan may also be more complex, concerning a place command organizational shape incorporating a community disaster. The IC is aware of the first IAP. Often, there is no want for a greater complex IAP that will utilize many Incident Command System (ICS) 200 series bureaucracy.
Ninety-nine percent of the activities that the everyday IC responds to are never written down in a proper IAP. But all and sundry who has ever been the first operational IC at a main occasion is aware that the earlier an IAP is tracked and written out, the quicker the chaos is introduced under management. Any ICs who have encountered hours of chaos from an escalating disaster without a formal IAP will inform you that their consolation level with the IAP manner and the ICS 2 hundred series bureaucracy turned poor due to the absence of everyday use. The 2d part of the IC’s activity is to music the gadgets from a command vehicle. While Type 1, 2, or three incident management teams (IMTs) effortlessly technique loads of units at an event, the first IC to reach is regularly alone or has an aide who is attempting to arrange and procedure the other arrivals while also growing early responsibilities for a couple of devices as extra data at the scene is accrued.
Depending on the alarm card and dispatch machine, monitoring devices could be as smooth as shifting gadgets on a laptop screen to the proper location in the organizational chart within the ICS 207 or 203. On the alternative stop of the spectrum, the IC might be looking to parent out who and what next alarms require and inquiring about men’s or women’s gadgets. Hopefully, first responder businesses have frolicked inside the making plans phase and created standardized alarm cards. However, even if alarm cards are designed, maximum ICs still ask the dispatcher what units have been dispatched and then move them via staging and into assigned regions. Beyond the second alarm, it is hoped that a staging officer has been assigned to process and song new gadgets’ arrivals.
Additional Command Resources
The first automobile to reach the scene must have the speed, equipment, and equipment deployed quickly. If the 1/3 alarm summons a command vehicle large enough to hold all the phase chiefs and command a body of workers, a battalion car with forty square feet of the whiteboard may be overkill. However, suppose you depend on a regional command unit that requires you to name in responder personnel, get to the command car’s place, and pressure it to the incident scene. In that case, you can want better provisions in your operations than just a small, pocket-length command board. Meanwhile, it’s widely understood that IMTs work from mounted centers and feature many sources; there’s the initial operational period when the first IC to respond has to create an easy transition to a proper command group. Research in catastrophe response has proven that if a catastrophe is prepared from the beginning, control of the event is far advanced to one that is poorly or insufficiently managed.
Types of Command Vehicles
It seems that we’re heading in the direction of using non-command vehicles in many regions. Some responder agencies design vans that haul ropes, non-public flotation gadgets, water cans, and air packs. While battalion commanders have numerous obligations, their vehicles should have a good enough command area. Several vehicles — automobiles, SUVs, vehicles, and trucks — are usually used as command vehicles for battalion chiefs or shift captains. Each car has benefits and downsides. So, it’s essential to understand each car type to ensure that resources are properly used.
Cars
For many years, sedans were the best vehicle used as command motors. Most of the system had to be saved within the trunk. Today’s vehicles are frequently Ford Focus fashions or other mid-length vehicles. However, motors with big trunk space no longer exist because car manufacturers have deserted them and prefer SUVs. Today’s vehicles have little space to carry gadgets and informational products, such as pre-incident plans. Command boards are small to fit into the trunks of these motors. If the different gear is taken, the logistics of retaining doubtlessly contaminated tools away from passengers is compromised. If a vehicle is used as a command car, it’s beneficial to maintain a clipboard in the front seat or use it on the trunk’s lid. Space is constrained while the IC stays inside the automobile, so the handiest clipboard can be used. As a result, statistics past the first alarm can be hard to song and write down. Any inclement climate will bog down operations if the trunk lid is used.
Trucks
Trucks are available in many versions, with functions and a work mattress attachment, a cab with a slide-out tray, or, occasionally, four doorways. While the work bed attachment appears extra suitable for a miniature rescue truck, it may allow multiple command employees to workstations across the vehicle if designed successfully. A slide-out tray inside the command automobile provides a useful floor for several responders to work with masses of space. When the IC remains inside the cab, there is more workspace than in an automobile. However, space remains restrained to approximately a foot square because radios and computers are mounted within the center of the cab’s front, restricting the work location. This small workspace could imply tracking no longer tons extra than a first alarm or, in all likelihood, a 2nd alarm.
SUVs
Full-size SUVs allow for tremendous command modules with mobile radios inside the rear. They can also include storage drawers for plans and other paperwork. One of the most important restricting factors of the SUV is the shortage of a slide-out tray that would collectively allow several people to paint. Smaller SUVs have very little room for command boxes and conversation devices.
Vans
A van has tons greater workspace. Vans with windows are a perfect workspace for more than one commander. Full-size desks, computer video display units, and different gadgets can be built into this car. A van is ideal for a commander’s vehicle in a large town because its arrival at a catastrophe scene frequently suggests more than one alarm. The biggest disadvantage is the price. A geared-up van runs into the $ hundred fifty 000 to $200,000 variety. Most departments would suppose this is too much to spend thinking about how frequently massive-scale activities happen in their place.
The most critical aspect of selecting an incident command car is to remember your barriers. For example, don’t assume that you can run a 4-alarm fireplace and defensive-making plans from the front seat of a small automobile, except you could include manner operations, planning, and logistics concurrently. Some groups often get the attitude that they best have small events and frequently experience problems operating large occasions with their setup. Ensure the command car you select may be true enough to meet your developing wishes.
