Fire Fighting Scanner Question

[MrBarbecue]

Last night, 3/17, I caught a 2 alarm house fire being fought in Salem,OR.
It was great hearing the reports from the interior firefighters back to the command car.
About 13 minutes into this live drama, fire dispatch comes on the air and says,"Command, you are 13 minutes into the incident." Can someone please explain why they would be keeping track of the time for the incident? Is there some time point that they would call another alarm?

The newspaper report this morning says it took the fire department about 20 minutes to control the fire. Would this be the reason?

I would appreciate any insight. Thanks!

 

[Colin9690]

Here in columbus they announce it every 1/2 hour until the chief marks situation all-clear and contained. They might keep track of the time of the incident because of possible building collapse or a "flashover", which is when ALL the contents of the building ignite or explode.

 

[rdale]

It serves several purposes - 1) you don't keep a good track of time when fighting a major fire, so this reminds the chief to bring in additional units and/or give a break if it's been to long. 2) They need to do an occasional PAR (Personal Accountability Review) to make sure everyone knows where the people they are responsible for are at.

 

[Jay911]

I'm a dispatcher for my city fire service. We give a "15 minute notification" on any incident where SCBA would be used. This is given, as the name implies, 15 minutes after the arrival of the first truck. As others said, there are a couple of reasons for this.

One - Within 15 minutes of attacking a fire, the incident commander should know if he is going to make it offensive (and try to put out the fire), defensive (to contain the damage to the building in question), or call for greater alarms, to get additional help to the scene.

Two - Firefighters' air packs contain, at best, 45 minutes of breathing air. This is not a set time; in my other job as a volunteer firefighter, I've seen folks suck a 45 minute bottle down in 20 minutes. It all depends on the amount of work being done and the physical fitness of the firefighter. In any case, at the 15 minute mark, the first-in crews should be completing their tasks and/or on their way out. The "SCBA Control" officer - whose duty it is to keep track of who has gone in the building, and how long he or she has been in - and how many times in, etc - needs this information to do his job.

 

[MrBarbecue]

Thanks for the valuable insight

Thanks to each of you who provided some great insight and answers to my question. I truly appreciate the responses. Now I'll know more of what's going on at a fire or similar incident.

It's amazing to be able to hear the firefighters inside the structure with my RS Pro-95. Best scanner I've ever had.

God bless you fire fighters and dispatchers!

Bruce