Multi-Company Placement Part 4

In our last several articles, I provided an overview of some basic principles of multi-company placement considerations. Those basic principles can be briefly summarized as follows:

The first officer on-scene of an incident is the incident commander and is responsible for developing a plan and communicating that plan to additional resources, if necessary.
Until relieved of command responsibility, the first-in officer is responsible for considering both engine and truck company responsibilities, and directing proper apparatus placement, if necessary.
Additional resources that are responding to an incident should not approach from the same direction (if possible), and should stay back in an uncommitted position unless a specific task has been assigned.

When considering the concept of multiple companies (i.e., engine and truck companies) being able to work together in an effective manner and at the same incident, adherence to these principles is mandatory as proper apparatus placement does not automatically or accidentally happen. As truck company placement can be limited by numerous factors, let’s consider key placement considerations:

PLACEMENT

Assuming a responding truck company can effectively spot at an incident, placement is normally dictated by the following factors:

INCIDENT PRIORITIES

Does the immediate and/or future incident priorities (in concert with the type of truck company being utilized) require a truck be used as an elevated master stream appliance, provide access to the upper floors or the roof of a multi-story building, operate as an initial engine company, or simply used as a resource for tools and equipment? Remember, it is the responsibility of the first-arriving officer to consider both engine and truck company responsibilities, and ensure that the proper placement of apparatus will provide the opportunity to use their capabilities in the most effective manner.

FUNCTION

Engine and truck companies are commonly classified as follows:

Triple – Consists of hose, water, and pump.
Truck – Consists of an aerial device (for this article, the term aerial will include aerial ladders and platforms), full compliment of ground ladders, tools and equipment.
Quint – Consists of an aerial, pump, water, hose, and a full complement of ground ladders.

When engine, truck, and/or quint companies are responding to an incident, incident priorities in concert with the functional capability of on-scene apparatus will determine placement as follows:

Engine Company First On-Scene

Nothing showing

The initial engine company should spot for possible future operations (hose lines, defensive operations, etc) while conducting an investigation.

Fire showing

The initial engine company should spot for effective fire extinguishment, but leave appropriate room for a company with an aerial, if necessary.

Truck Company First On-Scene

Nothing showing

If an aerial will not be necessary, spot the truck away from the building to allow the first-arriving engine to spot for potential use of hose lines.

Fire showing

If an aerial is necessary, spot for appropriate aerial use. The first-arriving engine company can pull additional hose if necessary (definition: “the address of the building belongs to the truck company”).

Quint Company First On-Scene

Although the initial placement of an engine or truck company (single purpose apparatus) is relatively uncomplicated, the placement of the first-in quint apparatus can be challenging due to the following factors:

Quint apparatus can be used as an engine and/or truck company.
Normally, a quint officer must select either engine or truck operations due to common staffing levels of 3 or 4 personnel. This type of available staffing dictates that only one basic operation (engine or truck) can be initially accomplished. This problem is further complicated by the common firefighter characteristic of, if given a choice, most firefighters will choose hose lines and the placement of water on a fire over ladders and other similar fireground logistical functions. Without strong officers, this is the prime reason why quad-quint apparatus are often ineffective as a multi-purpose company.

When Quad-Quint Apparatus First On-Scene

Nothing showing

If later-arriving apparatus have an aerial and an aerial is not necessary, spot and operate as an initial engine company. If an aerial is necessary, spot as an initial engine company, but leave room for later arriving aerial apparatus.
If later-arriving apparatus do not have an aerial and an aerial is not necessary, spot as an initial engine company. If an aerial is necessary, spot so the aerial can be utilized. This concept places the primary focus on positioning the apparatus to use the aerial, which may necessitate positioning the apparatus out of a prime position for potential use of hose lines.

Fire showing

If later arriving apparatus do not have an aerial and an aerial device is not necessary, spot as an initial engine company. If an aerial is necessary, spot as a truck company but operate as an initial engine company. This concept allows a quint to provide an initial attack line for the fire, and an aerial for use by later-arriving companies. As an example, assume a working fire in the interior of the structure and fire attack in concert with roof ventilation is necessary. The first-arriving quint would be positioned so the aerial can be used. With a staffing of three, the engineer can raise the aerial to the roof and then provide proper water pressure to the officer and firefighter who will advance the initial attack line. The next-arriving company can use the aerial for roof ventilation operations.
If later-arriving companies have an aerial, spot as an initial engine company, leaving appropriate room for the company with the aerial, if aerial operations are necessary.