6742 Ch 17 PowerPoint

1. Fire Department Incident Safety
Officer
Third Edition
Chapter 17 — The ISO at Training Drills and Events

2. Knowledge Objectives (1 of 2)
‣ List four safety-minded values that should be
present for training drills.
‣ List four nonincident events that can benefit from
the assignment of a separate, dedicated safety
officer.
‣ Describe the pre-event planning issues that a safety
officer should cover with an instructor-in-charge.
‣ Define shadowing and describe how it is part of a
three-step approach to new ISO training.
‣ List the three training/exercise steps that should
take place prior to a full-scale drill for non-fire-
agency participants.

3. Knowledge Objectives (2 of 2)
‣ List at least seven items that should be included in a
safety officer–prepared, predrill written safety briefing.
‣ Describe the pros and cons of a no-notice drill, and list
several guidelines that can be established to make a
no-notice drill safer.
‣ Identify the steps that can be taken to reduce
liabilities associated with live-fire firefighter training
events.
‣ Define the instructor ratios and assignments that are
mandated for live-fire training events.
‣ Describe the makeup of a live-fire training safety
team.

4. Introduction: Practice Makes Perfect?
‣ Training drills are opportunities to set a positive,
safety-minded approach that we use for actual
incident response
‣ The training practice has to do with in-context drills
or evolutions as opposed to classroom lessons and
skills introduction
‣ The “safe environment” for discovery and improving
weaknesses continues to be misapplied

5. The Need for a Safety Officer at a Training Drill
(1 of 3)
‣ Training should be approached with a safety-minded
value system that includes some key overhead
commitments:
‣ Safety of participants trumps performance
expectations
‣ Train in accordance with established SOPs/SOGs,
national standards, and best practices
‣ Train in environments that can be quickly controlled
‣ All participants are empowered to stop unsafe acts

6. ‣ Activities that benefit from a separate SO include:
‣ Live-fire training
‣ Full-scale drills involving multiple companies
‣ Multiagency drills
‣ Non-fire training evolutions involving some
degree of inherent risk
‣ Nonemergency planned event
The Need for a Safety Officer at a Training Drill
(2 of 3)

7. ‣ Assignment of a separate SO
‣ For live-fire training,
assignment of a separate,
dedicated SO is mandatory
according to NFPA 1403
‣ Some state and local laws
require that a dedicated SO
be assigned for firefighter
live-fire training drills
Courtesy of Clallam County Fire District 2
The Need for a Safety Officer at a Training Drill
(3 of 3)

8. General Safety Officer Functions at Training Events
(1 of 4)
‣ The functions of the SO at a training event can be
similar to those at an actual incident
‣ Using the hazard MEDIC mnemonic to remind the SO
of his or her functions is, for the most part,
applicable
‣ Applying the MEDIC at a planned event means that
some functions can be addressed prior to the actual
training:
‣ Evaluation (E) of environmental conditions
‣ Development (D) of preventive measures

9. ‣ Safety officer pretraining planning
‣ SO assigned to a training activity should invest in
some preplanning to help ensure a safe,
accident-free event
‣ SO and IIC should discuss and agree on the following:
‣ Training description and objectives
‣ Minimum personal protective equipment (PPE)
required
‣ Rehabilitation needs
‣ Conditions that would terminate the training
‣ Communication methods and the signal used to
stop the training
General Safety Officer Functions at Training Events
(2 of 4)

10. ‣ Safety officer pretraining planning
‣ SO should also tour the drill site and evaluate the
hazards that are present
‣ Drills conducted in places other than a known fire
department facility require time to survey, evaluate,
and prepare
‣ Many issues can be addressed by simply flagging
or zoning the hazard using marking tape
General Safety Officer Functions at Training Events
(3 of 4)

11. ‣ Training new safety officers
‣ Step 1: Introductory training
‣ Classroom training
‣ Front-loading and learning assessments
‣ Step 2: Shadowing
‣ A trainee closely observes experienced mentors
‣ Step 3: Coaching
‣ Places the trainee in the hot seat to perform ISO
functions
‣ Mentor becomes a watchful supervisor
General Safety Officer Functions at Training Events
(4 of 4)

12. Specific Safety Officer Functions at
Drills
(1 of 4)
‣ Multiagency drills
‣ Predrill preparation
‣ General training and stakeholder preparation steps
needed to prepare for a full-scale, multiagency
drill:
‣ Initial indoctrination and classroom training
‣ Table-top drill
‣ Functional drill
‣ Full-scale drill

13. ‣ Multiagency drills (cont.)
‣ As the date of the full-scale drill approaches, the
designated SO may have to do the following:
‣ Evaluate props
‣ Deliver written predrill safety briefings
‣ Sign off on developed scenario and response plans
‣ Recruit assistant safety officers (ASOs) to help ensure a
safe and successful event
‣ Of particular importance is the predrill safety
briefing
Specific Safety Officer Functions at
Drills
(2 of 4)

14. ‣ Multiagency drills (cont.)
‣ Drill-day issues
‣ Weather-related problems
‣ Traffic congestion and apparatus movement
‣ Failure to rehabilitate (overexertion and strain/sprain
prevention)
‣ Overzealous actors and/or responders
‣ Control zone discipline problems
‣ As with incidents, the SO should address
postincident responsibilities
Specific Safety Officer Functions at
Drills
(3 of 4)

15. ‣ No-notice drills
‣ A controversial doctrine among fire service officers
‣ Some argue the only way to truly evaluate firefighters
is to observe them acting spontaneously
‣ Others contend that no-notice drills undermine the
learning process and emphasize “sneaky testing”
‣ A middle ground is that the no-notice drill is merely a
way of observing firefighters doing what they do
‣ With pre-established guidelines, the no-notice drill can
a successful, safe, and minimal-stress training tool
Specific Safety Officer Functions at
Drills
(4 of 4)

16. Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(1 of 9)
‣ NFPA 1403, Standard for Live Fire Evolutions,
addresses the inherent dangers and risks associated
with live-fire training
‣ Major topics covered within the standard include:
‣ General requirements
‣ Acquired structures
‣ Gas-fired live-fire training structures
‣ Non-gas-fired live-fire training structures
‣ Exterior live-fire training props

17. ‣ Safety officer liabilities at live-fire training events
‣ Failure to follow a recognized standard is likely to be
viewed as negligence in the eyes of a judge or jury
‣ The path to minimizing SO injury-and-death liability
can be found by following some simple guidelines:
‣ Know the content of NFPA 1403
‣ Ensure that the IIC is adhering to its planning,
preparation, and delivery requirements
‣ Participate in the planning and preparatory activities
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(2 of 9)

18. ‣ Safety officer liabilities at live-fire training events
(cont.)
‣ The path to minimizing SO injury-and-death
liability:
‣ Perform the SO live-fire training functions with due
diligence and good intent
‣ Don’t hesitate to intervene if you judge something to be
unsafe or a potential for injury exists
‣ Consider becoming credentialed as a live-fire training
instructor
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(3 of 9)

19. ‣ Safety officer focus areas for live-fire training events
‣ Building preparation
‣ Buildings designed for live-fire training have
minimal safety hazards that require SO evaluation
and intervention
‣ Acquired structures require much more SO
evaluation
‣ Site inspection worksheet
‣ Live-fire evolution checklist
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(4 of 9)

20. ‣ Safety officer focus areas
for live-fire training events
(cont.)
‣ Instructor issues
‣ Instructors need to be
assigned to directly
supervise the following
using a maximum of a
1:5 ratio © Kim Fitzsimmons. Used with permission.
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(5 of 9)

21. ‣ Safety officer focus areas for live-fire training events
(cont.)
‣ Instructor issues
‣ No fewer than one instructor in a position to
directly supervise the following:
‣ Each functional crew (e.g., attack, ventilation,
search)
‣ Each backup line
‣ Outside students (uninvolved or staged students
awaiting rotation)
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(6 of 9)

22. ‣ Safety officer focus areas for live-fire training events
(cont.)
‣ A fire control team must be established
‣ Making rehabilitation provisions available for all
participants is the responsibility of the IIC
‣ Instructor rehab is often overlooked and is
important due to the potential for elevated core
temperatures and dehydration from repeated
exposure to the live fire
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(7 of 9)

23. ‣ Safety officer focus areas for live-fire training events
(cont.)
‣ Safety team establishment
‣ The safety team typically comprises:
‣ The designated SO
‣ Experienced interior standby team including an
officer, nozzle person, and door control person
‣ An outside building monitor who is dedicated to
evaluating structural issues, smoke flow paths, and
fire behavior
‣ An ignition officer and fuel shut-off/preparation
officer
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(8 of 9)

24. ‣ Safety officer focus areas for live-fire training events
Safety Officer Functions for Live-Fire Training
(9 of 9)