LAS VEGAS FIRE & RESCUE
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
OPERATIONS - TRAINING / Live Fire Training RequirementsReviewed Date: / 5/2012
Effective Date: / 6/18/2012
Supersedes: / New / SOP / 803.00 / Page 16 of 20
IV. INTRODUCTION
A. Purpose: The purpose of this procedure is to establish standard guidelines for conducting structural training fires while complying with NFPA Standard 1403 Standard on Life-fire Training Evolutions, 2012 edition. All live fire burn training will be conducted with a completion of the LVFR Burn Plan that follows NFPA 1403.
B. Scope: This procedure applies to all Las Vegas Fire & Rescue (LVFR) employees.
C. Author: The Deputy Chief over Operations, or designee, shall be responsible for the content, revision, and review of this standard operating procedure.
V. RESPONSIBILITY
A. It is the responsibility of all LVFR personnel to read, understand, and comply with this procedure.
B. It is the specific responsibility of the incident commander or the highest-ranking supervisor/crew member operating on the fire training ground to ensure all personnel are following this procedure.
VI. POLICY
A. It shall be the policy of LVFR to provide realistic fire ground training under actual fire conditions for recruit and uniformed firefighters while providing high levels of safety and minimizing risk to firefighters.
VII. PROCEDURES
A. PERMITS
1. The Las Vegas Fire & Rescue holds an exemption under the Clark County Air Quality Regulation Section 42.1.3-Open Burning that allows the fire department to burn under the following conditions:
a) Where a fire is set by officers of governmental agencies, in performance of their official duties or for the purposes of training and instruction of firefighting and fire rescue personnel.
2. The instructor in charge or his/her designee shall be responsible for making the following contacts at least one week prior to the burn.
a) Clark County Air Quality 455-1646;
b) Las Vegas City Manager 229-6501; and
c) Lied Animal Foundation 524-0269/741-4278 (Jared Henley, Facility Mgr).
3. The instructor in charge or his/her designee shall be responsible to email the following:
a) Fire chief;
b) Deputy chiefs;
c) Administrative secretary to the fire chief;
d) Public education/information officer (PEIO); and
e) Lied Animal Shelter.
4. The instructor in charge or his/her designee shall also be responsible for contacting the FAO Supervisor (229-0407), Battalion One (229-0001), FS8 (229-0208), and the Lied Animal Shelter prior to lighting the burn and then again at the conclusion of the burn.
5. Documentation of the above contacts should be recorded on the LVFR Burn Plan.
6. All structural off-site burns require an asbestos survey in compliance with the Clark County DAQEM Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management Dust Control Permit for Construction Activities.
7. The asbestos survey must follow specific guidelines and in addition include sampling of all materials, which are determined by the inspector to be suspect for asbestos. This may include roofing components, ceiling tiles and finishes, flooring or interior and exterior textures wall treatment layers including but not limited to stucco and paint. Metals, wood, and glass are recognized as having no potential for asbestos.
8. If asbestos is determined in any layer of materials, in concentrations greater than 1%, the structure/house may not be used for any type of live burn or destructive training.
9. If the building is found to be free of asbestos materials (less than 1% by layer), a record of that survey shall be provided by the owner and a copy shall be retained by the training center for proper archiving and retention.
B. COMMAND
1. A battalion chief and/or fire captain shall be designated as incident commander and will assume the command function.
2. A command post shall be established and positioned to afford maximum visibility of the structure, operating companies and fire conditions.
C. COMMUNICATIONS
1. Command is responsible for establishing radio communications with each company officer or training staff personnel involved in the drill. Channel assignments must be coordinated with the FAO and all companies involved. Companies operating at the training fire will continuously monitor the assigned radio channel. All radios will be checked for proper functioning and correct channel prior to initiating training fire operations.
D. Divisions, groups, branches
1. To eliminate confusion, and provide adequate scene control, all personnel operating within the fireground perimeter shall operate under the direction of division/group supervisor or branch director. The fireground perimeter shall be defined as the hazardous are surrounding the burn structure and shall be determined by command.
2. The following groups shall be established on all structural training fires:
a) Interior/Fire Attack- A company directing interior suppression activities.
b) Exposure- When exposures are present, a staffed, charged hose line will be positioned to protect exposed property. More than on hose line (and therefore, more than one group or division) may be required depending on the exposures present.
c) RIT- Provide a staffed, charged, RIT line for each fire attack team, in position to assist in fire extinguishment and rescue of interior personnel. The Rapid Intervention Team (RIT) shall consist of a minimum of three firefighters. Experienced personnel shall be in charge of each RIT unit. The RIT shall be positioned in a ready state near the interior/exterior point of entry.
d) Rehab- All personnel not assigned to other groups or divisions will be under the direction of Rehab. A Rehab area will be established in a location that reduces congestion around the fire building.
e) Safety- A safety officer will be assigned at all structural training fires and will assume the safety officer responsibilities. The safety officer will monitor personnel and fire conditions, and work with command to ensure all safety procedures are complied with, and that risk to personnel is minimized.
f) Other groups- Other groups may be established as necessary to control training/fire control operations and to minimize risk to firefighters.
E. SAFETY
1. The safety officer shall have full authority to intervene and control or stop any aspect of the operations when in his/her judgment; a potential or real risk to personnel exists. He/she will not be assigned other duties that would distract from his/her safety responsibilities.
2. Additional safety officers may be assigned to the training fire if conditions dictate. Responsibilities of the safety officer(s) will include but not be limited to the prevention of unsafe acts and elimination of unsafe conditions.
3. Personnel acting as instructors will be responsible for the direct supervision of assigned students/personnel and their safety and welfare, including the prevention of unsafe acts and the elimination of unsafe conditions.
4. All firefighters involved in structural training fires shall have received training to the meet the performance objectives of Firefighter I, NFPA 1001 in:
a) forcible entry;
b) protective breathing apparatus
c) fire hose, nozzles and appliances
d) fire streams
e) ladders
f) ventilation
g) rescue
h) safety
i) fire behavior
5. No personnel shall be permitted to act as a victim(s) during live training fires.
6. To reinforce safety procedures, a protective clothing and equipment inspection shall be conducted on all firefighters immediately prior to engaging in suppression activities. The inspection shall ensure that all clothing and equipment is serviceable and worn in a manner to provide the maximum personal protection.
7. The safety officer will be responsible for completing the safety checklist prior to initiating the training exercise. This list is included in the LVFR Burn Plan document.
8. One person on the scene shall be designated as an accountability officer and will assume the accountability functions.
9. To enhance accountability and to improve tracking of firefighters in the Hot Zone, the incident command tracking worksheet shall be used. The Passport System may be used as well.
10. Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) shall be used at the following accountability benchmarks:
a) Upon entering the structure;
b) Any report of a trapped or missing firefighter;
c) Upon exiting the structure;
d) Sudden hazardous event;
e) Change from offensive to defensive strategy; and
f) At the discretion of command.
11. Required fire equipment and companies
a) Two separate sources of hydrant water supply shall be established (two engine companies minimum). The water supply shall be test flowed by the forward pumper to ensure adequate water supply of a minimum of 500 gallons per minute (gpm).
b) All fire attack hose lines shall be supplied by one pumper. The RIT unit backup hose line shall be supplied by a second pumper. All hose lines will be flow tested to confirm a minimum of 95 gpm.
c) An ALS rescue shall be on scene prior to the start of the training fire.
d) Access to the scene shall be controlled to permit emergency access to and from the site.
e) All apparatus will be appropriately placed or staged in accordance with the LVFR operations procedures.
12. Starting the fire
a) The use of flammable or combustible liquids, as defined in NFPA 30, shall be prohibited for use in the live-fire training evolutions.
b) Only Class A materials shall be used in live-fire training.
c) The ignition process will be conducted under supervision of the Safety Officer.
d) Command shall assign an Ignition team of two experienced firefighters to initially ignite and then maintain the fire sets.
e) The Ignition team shall also regulate the fuel load for each evolution to maintain a tenable atmosphere inside the training fire rooms.
f) The RIT unit shall be in place with a charged hose line prior to ignition.
13. Burn plan (or attack plan)
a) The Incident Commander shall develop a burn plan based upon information obtained during the pre-plan and building preparation stages.
b) The burn plan shall specify, at a minimum:
(1) Points of ignition;
(2) Amount of fire load;
(3) Position of entry attack lines;
(4) Position of RIT units; and
(5) A Rescue Plan.
c) All personnel involved in the drill shall be instructed on each element of the Burn Plan prior to igniting the structure and shall receive a walk-through briefing of the building prior to each training fire. An evacuation plan and signal shall be reviewed and agreed upon.
14. Re-use of live training fire building
a) The building will be re-inspected by the safety officer for structural integrity and for any hazards or unsafe conditions prior to each additional training fire in the structure.
F. Records and reports
1. The following records and reports shall be maintained on all live-fire training for two years:
a) An accounting of the activities conducted;
b) Roll call of all participants, including the safety officer and other support personnel;
c) Documentation of unusual conditions or events encountered;
d) Any injuries and treatment provided;
e) Copy of Facility Burn Use Agreement signed by the property owner;
f) Copies of all permits, releases, or other documents relating to the training fire; and
g) Records of critiques.
G. Off-Site Training Burns
1. Preplanning
a) The incident commander of the drill will conduct an initial inspection of the training fire site. If the building appears acceptable, he/she will make an appointment with the safety officer to inspect the building.
b) Single-story structures shall always be considered fire choice when selecting training in interior firefighting operations.
(1) Two-story structures will only be considered when the building has been inspected thoroughly by the safety officer and incident commander.
(a) Both officers must agree that the building is structurally sound for training burns. Adequate egress/access points on the second floor must be readily available.
c) The incident commander coordinating the training fire will inspect the building with the safety officer.
(1) The building must meet fire safety and structural integrity criteria before approval to conduct a training fire is given by the safety officer.
(2) The safety officer shall have full authority to deny approval if the building is determined unsafe. Buildings incapable of withstanding exposure to fire conditions shall not be used.
(3) Structures with bars on windows or doors that cannot be removed shall not be used.
d) Traffic control will also be a factor for consideration in approving live structural training fires.
(1) Approval will not be given where traffic cannot be effectively controlled or re-routed.
2. Building preparation obtaining permission and permits.
a) The incident commander coordinating the live structure burn shall be responsible for obtaining all releases, permits and other approvals and releases relating to the training fire. They shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:
(1) Confirm a clear title on property;
(2) Obtain written permission from the building owner;
(3) Verify ownership of the selected building;
(4) Obtain documented proof of cancellation of insurance on the selected building;
(5) Obtain approvals from the appropriate agencies (DAQEM, SNHD, FAO);
(6) Obtain approval of the Deputy Chief over Training, or designee;
(7) Obtain approval of safety officer; and
(8) Obtain asbestos survey report.
(a) If asbestos is found, the structure will not be considered for training burn or any other type of training activity.
3. Notification of training fire activities
a) Before conducting structural training fires, the following notifications must be made:
(1) FAO- location, time, type of burn, companies being utilized;
(2) Obtain permission to burn of the appropriate agencies (DAQEM, SNHD);
(3) Occupants of adjoining properties, as appropriate;
(4) PEIO;
(5) Deputy Chief over Operations;
(6) Deputy Chief over Training;
(7) Battalions Chiefs;
(8) Safety Officer.
4. Pre-training fire checklist
a) Make appropriate contacts to conduct the burn (DAQEM, SNHD, FAO);
b) On-site building inspection by the safety officer;
c) Building structure was analyzed for structural integrity;
d) Exposures evaluated;
e) Special hazards considered;
f) Access to site and all side of the building adequate;
g) Water supply from hydrants/adequate;