commentary firegeezer on 27 Jun 2007 10:22 pm
Charleston Comments - The Incident Command
WHILE WATCHING THE VIDEOS of the Sofa Center fire in Charleston, one of the things that many firefighters noticed was an apparent absence of an Incident Command System (ICS). What immediately jogged it into focus was the picture of the Fire Chief standing in front, talking into a portable radio. There were no aides, no support staff, and no designated command post.
Perhaps these basic parts of a command structure were there and just didn't appear on the video. But the Charleston Post & Courier did an investigation and found out that there really was no viable ICS incorporated into the Charleston FD’s standard procedure.
In an interview with the Assistant Chief, the Post & Courier reported that he, as incident commander, entered the fire building several times with the firefighters. He also said that his actions were in accordance with CFD’s training and procedures.
The Fire Chief says that he does not even know if his department's policies align with federal and state guidelines. Chief Thomas said Garvin acted in accordance with departmental firefighting policy, which allows the fire scene commander to actively participate in fighting a fire. "He can get into the fire," Thomas said. He said doing so does not compromise his commander's ability.
It will be interesting to see if the investigation of this fire is able to produce a set of those guidelines. Two years ago the State Governor ordered all fire departments to see that their policies were in line with the National Incident Management System. If Chief Thomas doesn't know what the NIMS is, then it follows that he ignored the Governor's orders.
Does the Charleston Fire Dept. ever have drills designed to test their command system? Several other of his public statements indicate a severe shortcoming with their operational command. If you haven't yet read the story from Sunday's Post & Courier, I urge you to do so now. It is HERE. What type of ICS does your department have? What do you think about it now? Do you train regularly with it? Use the Comments section to tell us what you use and any thoughts you may have about this situation.And while you are here, take a moment to participate in our poll. It will be open for 72 hours.
