First Alarm Assignment

[BrianMacc]

Canadian Brothers and Sisters:
This question is for career departments.
I would like to know what your First Alarm Assignment is for a reported structure fire in your city? What I am looking for is the total number of firefighters on the first alarm. It is important that your answer reflect the actual first alarm assignment and not subsequent requests for help.
I would also like to know what is your minimum daily manning to get a percentage of your on duty personnel that responds to the initial alarm.
Many thanks, here in Moncton we respond with 9 firefighters out of 21 on duty on the first report of a structure fire. This info is for a project i'm doing re NFPA 1710. Thanks again.
Brian

[Smoke286]

Hey Brother, I was up your way at Memramcook for the conference last month.
Our first response for structure fires within the city is 2 pumpers an aerial and a rescue,
I Capt + 1 Driver + 2 F/F per pumper
1 Lt + 1 Driver for Aerial devices
1 Lt + 1 F/F Paramedic per Rescue

For a grand total of 12

In cases of fires in the downtown core(100+ yr old 3 story attached housing), with smoke showing on arrival the OIC will immediatly call for a third pumper plus a snorkel and the pick up from central, all of which will add 5 more personel but useually will not arrive till about 20 minutes after the initial call.

I've seen fires where more units were dispatched, but its very rare usually if they need more personel after that they will call in overtime or start rotating stations to the fire in order to provire fresh personel.

[EngineCO415]

Brother, nice to hear that you are getting the ball rolling on NFPA 1710, just to respond to your question on a first alram we have respond :

Southside

2 pumpers with the minimum of of a driver, officer, and one FF (6)
1 Rescue with a officer and a driver (2)
1 ladder with only a driver (1)
1 chase vehicle(platoon capt.) (1)

for a total of 10 people on the inital alarm. this is at min. manning. If we are lucky we might get 4 on each pumper for a total of 12.

Now the northside of the city is a little different. On the first alarm the have :
1 tanker with a driver and an officer (2)
1 quint with 1 driver , officer, and 2 FF's (4)
1 ladder with 1 driver (1)
1 chase vehicle with the platoon capt. for a total of 8. i have scene it as low as 5 on the initial alarm on the north side.

As you can see we aren't even close to the standard and are running skeleton crews that isn't very safe. I wish you the best of luck and i hope i was of some help to your question.

[Smoke286]

Its nice to hear from some of my fellow Atlantic firefighters on here, best of the season to you and yours

How about some other Depts?

[Smoke286]

BTW Engine, welcome to the forum

[BrianMacc]

Thanks brothers
Smoke, I hear a good time was had by all in Memramcook!!!
And Engine, I met a couple of your brothers in St-John recently at a Hazmat seminar, nice people.
A small part of my question is unanswered...what is your daily minimum manning?
Again thanks and have a quiet holiday season.
Brian

[Smoke286]

Sorry Brian, Minimum manning here is 35

[KevMuskoka]

Here in Vaughan Ontario, minimum to a reported structure fire is:

2 Pumpers
1 Rescue
1 Aerial

All Pumpers/Aerials have minimum staffing of 1 Captain, 1 Driver and 2 Firefighters. The Rescue has a mim. staffing of 1 Captain, 1 Driver and 1 Firefighter but usually has 2 Firefighters.

As for minimum for the City, 32 for 6 stations (8 trucks).

Kevin
Dispatcher Vaughan Fire & Rescue Service

[Firelover]

Hey all,

I'm in Dieppe & we respond to first alarms as medical calls, so Fire calls come in as a Engine, Tanker, Aerial, Rescue & mutual aid if required. So I guess the minimum that we get is 3 full time members & the rest is volunteers that come in.

[Smoke20286]

Hey Firelover, visited Dieppe a couple of months ago, met a couple of your paid guys. Nice little town reminds me a bit of the suburb where I live, except for the french thing of course.

[Firelover]

Right on! Glad to hear you liked it! It's an awesome place to live! We finally got recognized as a city & we are amoung the fastest growing places!

[CommDiva]

Here in Mississauga we have a similar response as Vaughan.
2 pumpers (driver/Captain/firefighter or 2 or 3)
1 Aerial (as above)
1 Squad (as above)
1 DC

so the minimum # of firefighting staff on scene would be:
10 firefighters

Kev from Muskoka....give my regards to Scott R. Tell him Lilith says Hi!!

[BrianMacc]

CommDiva
I don't quite understand how your numbers add up to ten. Could you elaborate please. From what you posted, do you run with 2-man engines or ladders? Or is the minimum a 3-man engine/ladders? Is the squad manned the same as the others(3 men).
And, what is your daily minimum manning citywide?
Many thanks
Brian

[resqtek]

First alarm here consists of:
2 pumps (captain,driver,2ff's on each)
1 aerial (LT and driver)
1 Rescue (LT and driver)
1 district chief and driver

14 ff's total including chief

If the call is downtown, first alarm consists of:
3 pumps(5 ff's on 2, 4 ff's on third)
2 aerials
1 rescue
1 hazmat (LT + 1)
2 district chiefs and drivers

26 ff's total including chiefs

Minimum daily staffing for the city is about 240 ff's.

[Smoke20286]

Cool restek, 26 bodies would be sweet

[CommDiva]

BrianMacc....

Minimum staffing is 3 per truck...so 3 on the Pump/Aerial/Squad and the DC. I think I added it up wrong (probably way too late at night), with 2Xp, 1Xa, 1Xs plus the DC, that would be 13!

First alarm in for HiRise fire/Hospital fires is 3 pumps/1 aerial/1 squad and the DC.

Minimum staffing per shift (can't call it manning anymore, now that we have 9 women on the trucks!) would be: 27 trucks X3= 81 F/F plus 3 DC's and one Platoon Chief. We don't take trucks out of service when we're down staffed, would call in on OT if it were that bad.

Cheers

CommDiva