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Welcome to PFD Operations!
Risk Management Statement:
- We will begin our response on the assumption that we can protect the lives and property.
- We will risk our lives a lot, if necessary, to protect savable lives.
- We will risk our lives a little, and in a calculated manner, to protect savable property.
- We will not risk our lives at all to protect lives or property that are already lost.
District Commander Concept
Incident Management System
Passport Accountability System
Computer Aided Dispatch
The District Commander Concept
In 1983, the Phoenix Fire Department implemented a unique and innovative approach to managing "field operations". It was recognized at that time that the traditional "shift" system for Chief Officers handicapped the communication and coordination of programs between shifts, and the processing of documents. To solve this problem, District Commanders (Deputy Chiefs) were placed on a 40 hour work week, and assigned a geographic area of the community. The District Commander concept has been a constantly evolving management system ever since.Today, the Department operates with nine District Commanders. Each has an office located within the district, secretarial staff, payroll clerks, and three shift Battalion Chiefs. Each district manages 4-8 fire stations and approximately 250 personnel.
The District Commander concept also allows the Department to utilize a "cost center" approach in managing the budget. Each District Commander (and other sections) develops his/her own annual budget and is responsible for managing the budget. All District Commanders initiate the appropriate forms for purchasing supplies, equipment, etc. They receive monthly runs that allow them to track expenditures, including pay, overtime, commodities, etc. Other sections of the Department assign specific officers within each district to serve as liaisons in addition to their regular duties. There is a District Training Officer, EMS Liaison, Urban Survival Officer, Alarm Room Liaison, Safety Officer, and a Fire Prevention Officer. These liaisons assist the District Commander in coordinating the delivery of services to his/her district.
District Commanders report to the Assistant Chief of Operations. Each Deputy Chief responds to all working first alarm or greater incidents in his/her district during work day hours. To provide after-hours and weekend coverage, a "Duty Deputy Chief" concept is used. The Duty Deputy Chief responds to large scale incidents and may assume the Incident Commander position.
Incident Management Systems
The Phoenix Fire Department was an early implementor of the Incident Management System. Starting in the mid 1970’s the Department began the design and implementation of its Fireground Command System. The system concentrated on an incident management system for the urban fire service. Following the original system for structural fire application, the system design expanded to include emergency incidents.Chief Alan Brunacini authored a book entitled, "Fireground Command" that was published by the National Fire Protection Association, which also produced a slide and video training program. Fireground command quickly became a very popular incident management system for the fire service.
The Department was also an early innovator of incident simulation systems. The first system was designed in 1974. A revised model is presently installed in the Department's training academy and is utilized for training on a weekly basis. The simulator uses slides, projects smoke and flame on a screen, and includes a communication system. Facilitators can build and extinguish fires on the screen depending on the application of tactics by the incident commander.
In July 1990, the Department joined a national effort to merge Fireground Command and the Incident Command System. The result of this merger, called the Incident Management System, has been adopted by the Phoenix Fire Department. The system is reflected in the Department's Standard Operating Procedures.
The Department also hosts an annual Incident Management System Symposium. This popular symposium attracts several hundred fire officers from throughout the country and world each fall. The theme of this seminar is the application of the Incident Management System to emergency incidents.
Passport Accountability System
In the spring of 1991, the Department initiated a major research and development project to develop and enhance the fireground accountability system. The Department, for years, had utilized a fabric velcro name tag system for accountability. Two name tags were attached to the collar of the "bunker coat" and were turned in to a Lobby Sector Officer. The system was typically used only for "special hazards" events such as confined space, high rise, etc., and not on a routine basis.The new system, called the PASSPORT system involves a plastic card, called the passport, that carries the name tags of firefighters assigned to each company. This passport is managed by the Company Officer and is turned in at the point of entry to the hazard zone. The hazard zone is defined as any area requiring breathing apparatus.
The system is designed to be implemented on all working fires on a routine basis. The system allows for an escalation at major incidents to include Accountability Officers at points of entry to assist Sector Officers. The system is simple to implement and use, yet maintains a very accurate accounting of all firefighter locations within a small geographic area of the incident, and can identify a delayed or missing firefighter.
PFD Regional Dispatch of 19 Fire Departments
In 1994 the Phoenix Fire Department implemented a major enhancement of its Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) System. The CAD II Project added many new features to a system that was in operation since 1982.
An Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) System using Satellite technology is an integral part of the Dispatch System. The AVL System is able to continuously track the exact location of all emergency vehicles, thus allowing the dispatch of the closest, most appropriate, apparatus to the incident. A wall-mounted video display screen in the center allows dispatch personnel to monitor unit status and location of all vehicles in the system.
Presently, the CAD II System is integrated with an enhanced 9-1-1 telephone system, and has developed into a regional dispatch center. The Phoenix Fire Department dispatches for 18 other Fire Departments in the 478 square miles of the Phoenix Metropolitan area through automatic aid agreements. This has greatly enhanced the delivery over 200,000 emergencies annually.
Avondale Buckeye Buckeye Valley Chandler Daisy Mountain El Mirage Glendale Goodyear Guadalupe Laveen Peoria Phoenix Sun City Sun City West Sun Lakes Surprise Tempe Tolleson
The system design includes mobile computer terminals on over 300 fire and EMS vehicles, and monitor/printers in fire stations, and administrative locations.
The Regional Dispatch Center was relocated in 1996 to the present site of the Fire Department Operations Center. The Center is equipped with a state of the art phone and radio system that enhances the CAD II Dispatch System.
The Center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and utilizes a call-loading principal staffing. The minimum number of personnel on duty at any one time is 7; a typical shift staffs 13. High activity periods will result in up to 18 consoles being staffed, with additional personnel serving as runners, and in a relief capacity. Each shift is assigned a supervisor, an Emergency Medical Dispatcher-Lead, a medical dispatcher, and at least five dispatchers filling the roles of incident takers, dispatchers, or tactical radio operators. Most shifts are 8-hour days, with 2 days off on a rotating basis. Several personnel are on four 10-hour shifts to assist in covering the busier times. All dispatchers are certified Emergency Medical Dispatchers through the Phoenix Fire Department and Phoenix College.
One of the great advantages for all the cities that are part of the regional dispatch operation is the fact that they are dispatched as if they were a single fire department. Territorial lines are not recognized. The closest appropriate unit to any emergency situation is dispatched without regard to city boundaries. It is automatic-aide at its highest level. All members of this regional dispatch consortium have agreed to follow the same policies and procedures for dispatch protocols and emergency scene operations. Often, various departments are found "working together" on the same incident. The Incident Management System is designed to fully integrate and support this mix of fire departments during incident operations. The Phoenix Dispatch Center also enjoys a long history of providing medical self-help pre-arrival instruction over the telephone. This is a formalized and structured process assigned to the incident takers. These dispatchers provide emergency medical instructions over the phone while fire department units are enroute to the scene. Many lives have been saved over the past two decades.
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