Tactics- building side A, B, C, etc.

[norcalbusa]

I hear this fairly often while scanner, mostly fire but sometimes LEO, its clear they have a scheme to ID any building side. So what's the details/what side is A, B, C?

Let me guess at one- A faces the street?

 

[W6KRU]

I hear this fairly often while scanner, mostly fire but sometimes LEO, its clear they have a scheme to ID any building side. So what's the details/what side is A, B, C?

Let me guess at one- A faces the street?

Your guess is correct. The back side is C. Do you want to make a guess at B and D?

 

[norcalbusa]

See, I was thinking A was A, but the rest would depend on how many sides the building had- so the system would work on any building/just go clockwise or counter clockwise...

No guts, no air medal- how about the left side (facing the structure) is B?

 

[W6KRU]

See, I was thinking A was A, but the rest would depend on how many sides the building had- so the system would work on any building/just go clockwise or counter clockwise...

No guts, no air medal- how about the left side (facing the structure) is B?

You got it. That is the way it was explained to me when the FD was working a small foliage fire across the street from my house.

 

[jayro1273]

I run for a fire dept. in N. W. Ohio We use the A-B-C-D system for identifying the sides of the structure. A is facing the street, then go clockwise. We are taught that in Fire school as well. That system works very well. It is supposed to be a standard system across the U. S.

 

[jhogan928]

you would be correct. A side is the street side or starting point and it continues clockwise from there with the B side and so on. Some Fire departments also use numercals starting with 1 for the A side.

 

[norcalbusa]

Gotta love this intwerweb thing huh?

 

[jcpd9720]

From what I understand, the letter system is the approved NIMS standard. Some agencies can't let the "we've always done it that way" mentality go, and have stuck with doing numbered sides. Building side designations, and 10-codes, are proof that some people can't handle someone moving their cheese ;-)

 

[canav844]

From what I understand, the letter system is the approved NIMS standard. Some agencies can't let the "we've always done it that way" mentality go, and have stuck with doing numbered sides. Building side designations, and 10-codes, are proof that some people can't handle someone moving their cheese ;-)

Don't you love the NIMS approved "plain language" codes and acronyms?:lol:

Time to get out your FAAT book! (a great resource for more acronyms and terms if you're so inclined to keep it on hand)

 

[ddoorman]

In all my years of scanning I have never run across this. Must say it makes alot of sense and I continue to learn something new every day. Just one question: What do they do if the structure is circular?

 

[norcalbusa]

I imagine treat as if it was rectangular. Street facing-ish = A, and so forth.

I've heard law enforcement use the same A-B-C-D descriptions and know of Tactical teams borrowing the traffic guy's Lidar to shoot measurements for their drawings. They can map the exterior dimensions, window locations etc in a few drive-by's.

 

[Bill28227]

In Charlotte, NC we use the A B C D terms but they are called Divisions. It is often heard that flames are showing in Division B or there is a hotspot in the AB corner.
Bill

 

[benbenrf]

Front, Back, Left, Right ......... makes sense to everyone - if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[W6KRU]

Front, Back, Left, Right ......... makes sense to everyone - if it ain't broke don't fix it.

Actually it's front, left, back, right.

 

[benbenrf]

Actually it's front, left, back, right.

Fair enough ......... but everyone knows the front from the back, and the left from the right - I think there is actually less chance of confusion arising using teminology everyone is familiar with.

The ABCD terminiology I think is too frought with the potential for misundertanding - last thing you want when it comes to fire and other rescue scenarios.

 

[norcalbusa]

Perhaps the confusion exists at homes that the "front" doesn't face the street? Long, twisty driveways. Or maybe office buildings that don't face the street, as in an office park or multi structure setup?

 

[n5usr]

I was just thinking about a fire I heard a week ago, the "A" side wound up being the *back* - I presume because that's where the IC was (the fire was in a pile of tires on the backside of a large building) when he started making crew assignments. (One of the chiefs - he was first on scene as well.)

So my first thought was, "is it normal for the street side to be "A" just because that's normally where IC is?" But then I remember there was some confusion for several of the crews as to which side was what, because they were basing sides off "A" being street side.

So did the IC for that fire make a mistake and not want to change midstream? Or is it just so normal for IC to be "out front" that it's common to make the assumption "A" is "front"?

 

[norcalbusa]

Good point. Maybe the dealio is "A" is the side the first in/IC sets up?

We officially have a mystery!

 

[W6KRU]

Which is it?

Front, Back, Left, Right ......... makes sense to everyone - if it ain't broke don't fix it.

OR

Fair enough ......... but everyone knows the front from the back, and the left from the right - I think there is actually less chance of confusion arising using teminology everyone is familiar with.

The ABCD terminiology I think is too frought with the potential for misundertanding - last thing you want when it comes to fire and other rescue scenarios.

 

[ibagli]

Fair enough ......... but everyone knows the front from the back, and the left from the right

For most houses, yes (although there are lakefront homes I can think of where the front faces the water and the back faces the street, which is an avenue for confusion), but not every building has a clear "front" and "back" (and by extension left and right). My town has a courthouse, for example, that has four almost identical sides. There are several of those cookie-cutter pharmacy/convenience stores that have the main entrance on a corner of the building.