Fire Investigator Answers Questions About Number of FF Needed to Fight a Fire, Response Time and Other Topics

By Lisa Nadile

NFPA regularly receives media calls about NFPA 1710, Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, and Carl Peterson, NFPA\’s assistant director of the Public Fire Protection Division, is often on the phone with journalists clarifying the standard\’s requirements and helping them understand how the fire service works.

\"Faces_of_fire_2010\" Celebrating his fortieth year at NFPA, Peterson has been a fire investigator, software developer, and staff liaison, to name just some of the posts he\’s held. But to a man whose uncle, father, and grandfather were all volunteer firefighters-which meant Peterson\’s been chasing fires as long as he was old enough to walk-he has kept the safety of the fire service his first priority. Currently, Peterson is serving as staff liaison to the technical committee responsible for NFPA 1710. He stresses the use of this document as a tool for promoting effective communications between fire departments and the communities they serve. This standard directly affects the wellbeing of the fire service by addressing issues of staffing and deployment of resources.

LN: What are the most frequently asked questions for this standard?

CP: The majority of questions focus on two issues. One is staffing. How many firefighters should there be on a piece of fire apparatus? That question is easy to answer: For an engine company or ladder company, a minimum of four firefighters. For special service vehicles, the standard states the apparatus must be staffed with the appropriate personnel to accomplish the tasks that the company will be expected to perform in a safe manner.

The second issue is response time. How quickly should the apparatus and firefighters get to the incident? NFPA 1710 says that the first company apparatus with appropriate staffing needs to arrive within a travel time of four minutes and that all companies assigned on the first alarm must arrive within an eight-minute travel time. The standard gives companies another minute for turnout time, which is the time to receive the alarm at the station, identify where they are going, get their protective clothing on, get on the apparatus, and start moving.

However, as I talk to reporters, I explain there is another minute in the whole equation, and that is the alarm handling or dispatch time. That time comes from NFPA 1221, Installation, Maintenance, and Use of Emergency Services Communications Systems. It says the dispatch center has to be able to process the call and notify the appropriate companies in one minute 95 percent of the time.

From the public\’s perspective, there is a potential of six minutes from the time they dial 911 until they have a fire truck in front of their house.

LN:  Why was the number of firefighters required for the minimum staffing for engine and truck companies set at four?

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