Not all departments have a chief officer arriving on the scene first, and issuing commands and direction. In many cases the officer on the first engine or truck takes command and sets the foundation for the rest of the operation.
In some departments the first officer can arrive in his personal vehicle. Placement of the first piece of equipment is vital to how we attack the fire and how the investigator begins to read the fire spread.
Some of you might wonder what does it matter about the first vehicle