Transforming Fire Safety Science into Fire Department SOGs/SOPs
The implementation of research into operating procedures takes time and effort. It is always interesting to learn how this process plays out and how departments are using the tactics and insight gained from our research in their mission to protect life and property from fire. Recently we heard from Chief Scott Thompson of the Colony Fire Department in Texas as they revamped their standard operating procedures to include terms such as door control, flow path, transitional attack, and VEIS with an emphasis on coordination. Simple changes such as categorizing a truck firefighter as the “outside control” vs. the “outside vent” have a large impact on how firefighters operate at a structure fire.
The reworking of operational procedures is only the first of many steps to initiate the process of change. Colony Fire Department officers had to agree on the changes, and get buy-in from their firefighters before beginning a six-month training period on the revised procedures and before putting the new strategies and tactics into practice on emergency incidents.
Chief Thompson says “This impacts every aspect of what we routinely do on fire events. We have made modifications to how we fight fire, ventilate, search, and our overall priorities on the fire ground. This is without a doubt the future of firefighting.” We applaud the chief and his entire organization for recognizing the need for change and implementing it.
Since their adoption of these procedures on January 1, 2014, Chief Thompson believes “the changes have caused us to re-focus on our fire operations and an increased level of ownership of tasks and techniques.”
A special thanks to Chief Thompson for allowing us to share his new procedures with everyone as an example of how research by the Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI), part of UL Research Institutes is impacting the fire service.
