Chief Tom Scully and the folks at the Wilmot VFD in Wilmot, New Hampshire hosted our 16-hr Practical Applications of Incident Command for Small Town and Rural FDs Seminar this past weekend. The program was attended by officers and members of the Wilmot VFD as well as some of the surrounding towns. The focus of the weekend was to review the basics of incident command as well as the strategies and tactics associated with varous type of structure fire incidents as well as other types of incidents commonly experienced in the small town and rural settings.
Seminar participants had an opportunity to be unit officers and incident commanders on a variety of incidents - a shed fire, house fire, chimney fire, MVC with rescues, church fire, restaurant fire, hardware store fire, etc. And...everyone did a really nice job and improved their own personal abilities in terms of gaining control of an incident scene.
Instructors for the weekend seminar were Shane Darwick and Mark Davis. The hosts provided great logisitical support and the lunch food was superb - which is ALWAYS important at a FD training event!
Battalion Chief (Retired) Shane Darwick reviewed the principles of incident command with the class. Key points included the use of tactical work sheets, the use of divisions and groups, and the importance of a "command presence."
The seminar was hosted by Fire Chief Thomas Scully and the Wilmot Volunteer Fire Department.
Participants operate at the scene of a kitchen fire in a farmhouse. Scene size-up and a good on-scene report are an important part of initiating the incident command process.
Crews operate at a basement fire in a church. The Water Supply Group was important in most of these scenarios because of the rural nature of each incident.
A pre-arrival shot of a chimney fire with extension into the walls.
The "Monkey Vest." As Incident Commander, there are many monkeys on your back - Safety Officer, Water Supply, EMS, etc. Until you assign someone to a function in the incident command system, you - the IC - own that role. We use this IC Monkey Vest to help the IC assign roles at an incident. Plus - it provides a little bit of humor in the class.
Participants handle a 4-vehicle MVC with multiple patients in an MCI type of incident.
The final scenario of the weekend seminar involved fire in a downtown restaurant with multiple rescues to be made on upper floors.
