This column is authored of behalf of the Plumas County Fire Chiefs Association (PCFCA) by Tom Forster. He serves as the volunteer Fire Chief for Plumas Eureka Fire Department, part of the Plumas Eureka Community Services District, and as Secretary/Treasurer/Webmaster for PCFCA. Special thanks go to Plumas News for their ongoing support of this public education effort since 2009.
The American Fire Service is complex, and loaded with acronyms that are a special language for firefighters. It can be hard for the layperson to understand why things are done the ways they are, or what is even being discussed.
For example, on a recent fire there was "automatic aid" from several fire departments sending "Type I Engine companies", and a "support team" for "rehab" and filling "air bottles". The "IC" managed the incident and also requested the "Mutual Aid" "Strike Team." The fire was extinguished by firefighters wearing full "structural PPE" including "SCBA's", and a "TIC" was used along with multiple "attack lines". "LDH" was used for the water supply. Tactics including "2in/2out" and "RIT" were used, and "dispatch" also requested an ambulance with a "Medic" and "EMT" standby. Get all that? Probably not, unless you are a firefighter.
Read this column to learn about and understand your local fire service.
Select topics of interest under the menu.
The American Fire Service is complex, and loaded with acronyms that are a special language for firefighters. It can be hard for the layperson to understand why things are done the ways they are, or what is even being discussed.
For example, on a recent fire there was "automatic aid" from several fire departments sending "Type I Engine companies", and a "support team" for "rehab" and filling "air bottles". The "IC" managed the incident and also requested the "Mutual Aid" "Strike Team." The fire was extinguished by firefighters wearing full "structural PPE" including "SCBA's", and a "TIC" was used along with multiple "attack lines". "LDH" was used for the water supply. Tactics including "2in/2out" and "RIT" were used, and "dispatch" also requested an ambulance with a "Medic" and "EMT" standby. Get all that? Probably not, unless you are a firefighter.
Read this column to learn about and understand your local fire service.
Select topics of interest under the menu.
