SOG

[Mungo]

Our department is currently going through some major changes of operation. We have seen the need for more SOG's in our department for incidents involving rescues from extrication to confined space to haz-mat incidents. Our current SOG's have not been updated since the early 1980's. We would like to see some other departments SOG's in this area to try to get an idea how to tailor ours to our needs. If you could send a hard copy to us, it would be greatly appreciated. If you could help in anyway please e-mail me at mungo@strnt.net and I will send the address to mail the copy too. We greatly appreciate any help that we receive.

[tydon]

I am in the midst of writting a complete set of SOG's for our deaprtment.
If your department has a set of training manuals that you adhere to, your SOG's should reflect what is taught in those manuals.

SOG's are to tell the guys what must be done not how to do them.

Also, keep your guidelines non- difinitive, allow for judgement decisions by the officer in charge of the incident to stand in a court of law, if he reacted with sound judgement.
What I mean is, do not limit your officers to one and only one way to skin the proverbial cat! sorry cat lovers.... NOT!

We have been mandated by our provincial workers compesation board to come up with written procedures, for all fire departments, not a bad idea but I don't recall doing an auto extrication on an industrial site. I have done them on a highway when I was a municipal volunteer.
That's the trouble when you work with two departments.

Any way, keep your guidelines in conjuction with your training program, if you are lucky enough to have one, and keep them as vague as possible.

Gerald.