For those of us that work in a Northern Virginia Fire Department, you should be well aware of the NOVA Regional Operations Manuals. These are the manuals that provide operating and tactical guidelines for emergency incidents. These manuals are written by a committee of representatives from fire departments in the Northern Virginia area. See below for an excerpt of what their activities entail:
* Develop uniform incident management and command systems and procedures.
* Develop uniform operational and response procedures that provide for shared use of special emergency response teams, equipment assets, and other regional resources.
* Standardize fire, EMS, and emergency service policies, procedures, apparatus, and equipment whenever and wherever feasible.
These links will allow you to download five documents that are "cheat-sheets" from the following manuals; Single Family, Townhouse, High-Rise, Strip Shopping Centers and Garden Apartments.
These “cheat-sheets” are a great resource to use while preparing for a promotional exam. They are another tool for 5 minute drills with your shift. It is our hope to have these mass produced and laminated in a 5x7 format that can be kept in your rigs if you choose.
I know what some of you are thinking, “these are stupid because the members should know what their assignments are….” We feel these sheets will prove to be helpful whether studying for an promotional exam or responding to a call at 3AM and maybe having a hard time remembering your assignment on a certain call.
If you have any items to add or to make any changes so these can be more user friendly please let us know. As always your feedback is welcome. Ron Kuley 26/A
http://firetactics.net/StripShoppingCenter.pdf
http://firetactics.net/TownHouse.pdf
http://firetactics.net/SingleFamily.pdf
http://firetactics.net/HighRise.pdf
http://firetactics.net/GardenApartments.pdf
2 comments:
For those who may be criticizing the idea of quick reference guides or action lists, and insist that we should all know our policies and procedures, I agree to a point.
Gone are the days when one could keep everything they learned in their head for quick recall.
Lets face it, the fire service is a highly dynamic environment. There are so many policies and procedures compared to the handful departments used to work under years ago. We have specialized in so many arenas that you would think we lack most in our bread and butter strategy and tactics. These seem to be the types of incidents we make most of our mistakes, the simple fundamentals.
I think it is wise to have quick reference resources, like lists and cheat sheets readily available to refresh your brain when need be. They become an easy reference guide that we are more likely to pick up and read more often than searching for and reading the original SOP or manual. Granted, they do not take the place of the actual policy, its just a tool.
I congratulate those who are able to keep everything neatly stored in their brain hard drives until the moment they need it, but I'd venture to say there are at least an equal number among us with short term memory or difficulty in storing new information, especially if they have been storing input on their hard drives for over 20 years already. Remember, some of these folks really have forgotten more than others know.
Everyone is different and learns different. Their 100% may not look the same as yours, but its still 100%. Any tool that works for us should be considered.
Be Safe!
Here's a novel idea! Write the manuals so that units have the same assignments regardless of the type of call they are responding to, with the exception of maybe a high-rise. Example, first engine always does - x, y, and z. First truck always does - x, y, and z. For one the manual(s) could be much more condensed and certainly less confusing. Suggestion to the authors, write the manuals so the "average" person riding in the front seat can be successful. I'm all for cheat sheets, but first we need to ask - are the manuals written correctly and are the assignments as efficient as they can be. Simplification is the key!
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