Baltimore firefighters finding fully involved structures -- occupied or vacant -- will conduct only exerior operations.
Interior firefighting will only be conducted under certain circumstances such as an actual sighting of a person, according to a policy sent to all personnel this week
The memo comes as the department prepares to honor Lt. Dillon Rinaldo who along Firefighter Rodney Pitts III perished while battling a row house fire.
Interior fire attacks on confirmed occupied dwellings are permitted but only after a complete 360 size-up has been completed, a battalion chief has conducted a comprehensive risk/reward analysis, and determined the structure is stable.
Chief James Wallace said some parts of the memo are new while others a just a reminder.
"When we respond to calls, we want them to evaluate the environments that they respond to and we want them to use critical thinking," he told a reporter.