Welcome to the FFCC Policy & SOG Page
Welcome to our series of resources for SOG and policy development.
Latest news related to fire department SOG’s and policies (click on title to go to story)
Standard Operating Procedures: The First Step to a Safer Fireground
Watertown Fire Department Adopts New Operating Procedure
Ottawa Fire Services Establishes Operational Guide for First Arriving Company Officers
No Religious Bias in Fire Department Email Rule
Model SOG templates
Modeled after the Fire Drill of the Week format, these feature a template for department’s to utilize in developing their own policies and SOG’s. With an emphasis on critical firefighter safety topics, we hope that these will be a valuable resource for our readers.
Each policy/SOG template includes:
- Color coding using the red-yellow-green system
- The Gordon Graham risk and frequency classification
- Some include a link to a custom report related to firefighter safety developed by the National Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System
- References and resources
Red-Yellow-Green color coding
One method of classifying department policies and SOG’s is the red-yellow-green color coding system. The color code can either be at the top of the document, the color of the paper (although red is a tough color to read from) or the color of the tabs in the policy manual. Examples of what would be in each category include:
- Red – includes emergency operations, emergency vehicle operations, civilian evacuation, roadway safety, MAYDAY, SCBA, RIT and related topics. Essentially anything that during an emergency could get a firefighter or a civilian injured or killed.
- Yellow – these are the tasks that we do a lot (high risk and high frequency) and the ones that are high risk and low frequency but give us time to think. Personnel policies including drug testing, sexual harassment, and report writing would be in this category.
- Green (or white)– these are the tasks that create a low opportunity for any of the above areas of concerns or exposure. Examples include the uniform or grooming policy, shift scheduling, or daily station duties. Round figures, 80% of your fire departments policies will be on white paper.
Risk and Frequency classification
Anyone familiar with FFCC’s co-founder Gordon Graham will also be familiar with his risk and frequency classification system. Basically it organizes any task or in this case policy/SOG topic into one of 4 classifications:
- High Risk/High Frequency
- High Risk/Low Frequency
- Low Risk/Low Frequency
- Low Risk/High Frequency
A good introduction to this system can be found at: GREFS_NPCCR
National Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System
In conjunction with some of the policy/SOG templates related to firefighter safety, is a link to a custom near-miss report on that topic. This great additional resource is being developed by the great folks at the National Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System.
Near Miss Reports
Near_Miss_Report_-_Emergency_Evacuation
10-06 - Response to Violent Incidents
09-11 - Personal Protective Clothing-Equipment
09-09 - Rapid Intervention Team
09-08 - Initial Rapid Intervention Crew
09-05 - Lost-Trapped FF - Self Survival Actions
References and Resources
Each template will also include appropriate references such as NFPA and OSHA standards and other resources for you to use in developing your own policies.
SOG resources from other fire departments
Several outstanding resources exist on the internet through fire departments and other organizations placing their policies and SOGs on line. The following departments have their policies and/or SOGs available for download from the internet:
Sizeup & Transitioned Fire Attack
Columbus Div. of Fire (OH)
Vacant Structure Policy
NIOSH firefighter fatality reports
The NIOSH firefighter fatality reports provide an opportunity to learn from these tragic events and help prevent future similar events. On area too commonly identified in these reports is the lack of establishing good, solid SOG’s and then training on and enforcing them.
The following is a list of NIOSH fatality reports where SOG’s are identified either as one of the factors in the fatality or as a recommended improvement. Clicking on the title will take you directly to the document which can be downloaded.
Volunteer fire chief struck and killed on interstate highway while directing traffic – Pennsylvania.
Career captain dies conducting roof operations at a commercial structure fire – Pennsylvania.
Volunteer fire fighter dies in tanker crash en route to grass fire – Indiana.
Volunteer firefighter dies after being ejected from front seat of engine – Virginia
Career captain injured in aerial ladder collapse – Pennsylvania
4 Career Fire Fighters Killed and 16 Fire Fighters Injured at Commercial Structure Fire – Texas
Lieutenant suffers fatal heart attack during a fire in a commercial structure – New York
Career firefighter dies after falling from aerial ladder during training – Florida
Career firefighter dies in church fire following roof collapse – Indiana
SOG's
Initial Company Actions - Confined Space Checklist
12-03 - SOG Philosophy and Definitions
12-02 - Development of policy and SOG
12-01 - Policy-SOG Program
10-11 - Confined Space - First Arriving Companies
10-09 - Trench Collapse Checklist
10-09 - Trench Collapse - First Arriving Companies
10-03 - Incident Scene Rehabilitation
09-10 - Personnel Accountability System
09-07 - Self Contained Breathing Apparatus
09-06 - Apparatus and Vehicle Operations
09-04 - MAYDAY - Command Actions(2)
09-03 - Emergency Evacuation(3)
09-02 - Traffic Safety Vests-New
08-12 - Backing of Apparatus-New
08-11 Seatbelts-New
Notification
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