Mayday Procedures

[LT FL]

I am looking for SOPs on what situations warrant a Mayday call, not just the RIT response to a mayday. If anyone has these, I would be interested to get a copy.Thanks.

[jbaw12]

What constitutes a Mayday? I always tell my guys that there is one important thing that they leave the fire ground with! Their life!! A mayday is a very serious subject. Are you having a problem with your SCBA? Requires a Mayday. If you are trapped, requires a Mayday. Don’t wait until it’s too late to call for help. Give the RIT team a fighting chance to get to you!!

[fire69dawg]

Basically what the MAYDAY call will do is let everyone on the fireground know that something is wrong. This should trigger everyone, but the IC and RIT team(s) to switch to stop all radio traffic and switch to a different channel.

There are numerous situations to be listed for using a Mayday call, but it boils down to each department, and most of all each individual. I don't think you want to limit someone as to when they can use a Mayday and when they can't.