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In emergency operations, the Gravenhurst Volunteer Fire Department follows an internationally recognized organizational structure. This method is known as the Incident Management System (IMS) or Fire Command System. The basis for the system is that for any incident there is only one person in charge, and that person shall be called "Command". All the strategic decisions made about an incident are made by Command. Command uses the information he receives from all sources in determining the overall plan and course of action. All actions undertaken by the firefighters are approved and coordinated by Command. This eliminates "freelancing" on the fireground and increases safety. All communications at the scene, whether they be updates or requests for resources, all go through Command. Command follows a set of predetermined benchmarks in checking the progress at an incident. These benchmarks determine the focus of the operation at any given point in time. In the example of a house fire, Command’s priorities rest with life and then property. His tactical priorities are rescue, fire control and property conservation. Each priority has to be dealt with in order. At the end of each priority is a benchmark that serves to identify when one aspect of the situation has been resolved. In rescue the benchmark is ALL CLEAR which tells us a primary search of the building has been completed and no people are still inside. UNDER CONTROL is the benchmark for fire control and tells everybody that the fire can be put out with the equipment, manpower and resources that are on the scene. LOSS STOPPED is announced when any further damage to the building or its contents has ended. At this point actions turn to cleanup and investigation. To perform the actual job of firefighting, or doing the work at the scene, Command delegates specific jobs and goals to the captains. This is called sectoring. Sectors can be made up of geographic areas (i.e. front of the building, back of the building, upstairs, basement) or they can be tasks (i.e. fire attack, rescue, salvage etc.) The Gravenhurst Volunteer Fire Department generally sectors by task. In charge of a sector is a captain who directs the members of his company (firefighters) in the performance of the job or goal that has been set out by Command. When assigned a task, the captain drops his usual call sign, and takes the call sign of the task he has been given. For example, Delta arrives on the scene and is ordered by Command to take his company inside to search for people still inside and remove them if they can. Delta drops the call sign "Delta" and becomes "Rescue". He will keep this call sign for the duration of the incident or until his company is re-assigned. For the dispatcher, IMS makes life much easier. All communications from the scene go through Command, so the dispatcher only talks to one person, not twenty. Command talks to dispatch and to four or five captains who are looking after sectors. The captains only talk to Command and to the four or five firefighters who are members of his company. Confusion is minimized and increased productivity and safety are the benefits.
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