Why Fire Preplans Are Critical for All Fire Response
Pre-incident planning, also known as a fire preplan, is a proven method of mitigating risks, enhancing firefighter preparedness, and improving the overall efficiency of emergency responses, resulting in better protection of people and property.
Benefits of a Fire Preplan
Having a fire department preplan provides substantial return on investment. A preplan contains detailed information about a building, including layout, critical access points, exit routes, and potential hazards. Allocating resources to ensure these specifics are ready to go and organized in a preplan long before an emergency occurs helps firefighters reduce response times, make informed decisions, coordinate efforts, and execute timely strategies during operations. Not only does this keep firefighters safer, but it contributes to a more efficient and coordinated emergency response, ultimately minimizing the impact of the incident and improving the overall safety of people and property, which has the added benefit of contributing to public confidence and the community’s sense of security.
Additionally, the efficiencies gained from well-prepared preplans can lead to cost savings in resources and equipment, and can even potentially prevent more extensive and expensive firefighting operations.
The Risks of Not Having a Fire Preplan
Without a fire preplan, the risks in an emergency situation escalate and potential harm, injury or damage are more likely to occur, not only to the building but also to members of the public and to responding firefighters.
Risks to People and Property
If responders don’t have a fire preplan to reference, they can face delays and challenges that lead to increased response times and reduced effectiveness in managing the incident. This can result in members of the public being unnecessarily injured and a higher likelihood of significant property damage.
Risk to Firefighters
A preplan provides the specifics of a building. Without one, firefighters are more likely to be injured since they will be unfamiliar with the structure, its potential hazards, and its emergency exit routes.
Injuries to firefighters result in significant costs to the fire department, such as medical expenses, rehabilitation, and potential disability benefits. There are also indirect costs related to lost productivity and the need for temporary recruitment of replacement firefighters. Prevention and reduction of risk through proper training and safety measures, like preplans, is crucial to mitigate these financial burdens.
Launching a Fire Preplan Program: 10 Key Steps for Fire Chiefs
By methodically following these 10 steps, a fire chief can successfully launch and sustain a fire preplan program, enhancing their department’s preparedness and response capabilities.
- Assessment: Evaluate the current state of preplanning within the department. Identify strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement.
- Budget: Allocate resources, including budget and personnel, to support the ongoing development, maintenance, and improvement of the fire preplan program, using findings from the assessment.
- Training: Provide necessary training for personnel involved in creating and using preplans to ensure everyone understands the importance and procedures.
- Technology integration: Explore and invest in technology that facilitates preplanning, such as digital mapping tools, software, and communication systems.
- Collaboration: Foster collaboration with relevant agencies, building owners or management, and other stakeholders to gather comprehensive information for preplans.
- Standardization: Establish standardized procedures for creating, updating, and using preplans to maintain consistency and effectiveness.
- Pilot program: Begin with a pilot program to test the effectiveness of the preplan and make adjustments as needed.
- Community awareness: Educate the community about the benefits of fire preplans and even potentially involve them in the process for public buildings.
- Feedback loop: Establish a feedback mechanism to continuously improve the preplanning process based on real-world experiences and changing conditions.
- Regular review: Schedule regular reviews and updates of preplans to ensure information remains accurate and relevant.
About the Author
Paul Martin has devoted his career to public safety. He has helped departments across North America through his work with hardware and software Public Safety Leaders. He is currently the founder and President of APX Data, a company devoted exclusively to helping fire departments modernize their fire prevention, response and fire investigations through the use of mobile technology. APX Data was first to market, introducing smart mobile applications to the fire service in 2013. APX has validated information on over 140 million structures in its database for all of the U.S., and is growing serving fire departments across the 50 states. To talk to Paul, please visit us at apxdata.com or contact us at 1-888-240-0591.
