Purpose:
To establish a guideline for the safe and proficient use of district fire
apparatus. Being approved as a
driver for apparatus has responsibilities in addition to being an active
firefighter. In addition, the
purpose is to establish guidelines for firefighters to train on operating fire
district apparatus. Maintaining
safe operation of the fire apparatus while training for approval or maintaining
competency for an approved driver. The
guidelines are not intended to replace Section 5 of the District Rules and
Regulations. On the contrary, this
guideline is to supplement the section.
Procedure:
Only authorized drivers and
supervised trainees may operate district fire apparatus.
To be authorized to drive the apparatus, Company members must be approved
by the Board of Fire Commissioners for each piece of apparatus.
Prior to being recommended by the Chief for approval, candidates must
meet the requirements specific to the apparatus as stated in the District Rules
and Regulations where experience with driving, pump operation, 4 wheel driving,
etc. is mentioned in the requirements. This
will be left up to the discretion of the District Training Chief.
This decision will be based on information such as experience as an
active member of the fire company and driving experience with other fire
companies.
It is recommended that
drivers review the operation of the pumps and equipment and conduct road tests
for practice and continued familiarity in driving.
In the absence of an
officer, the driver is responsible for the apparatus and the personnel riding
it. It is the driver’s responsibility to make sure that all firefighters are
seated in proper locations before moving the apparatus.
All personnel riding on the apparatus shall use safety-restraining
devices. Personal protective
equipment shall be donned before getting on the apparatus.
All drivers are to respond
to the fire station upon receiving an alarm, unless they know that all required
apparatus have responded.
Apparatus equipped with air
braking systems, shall have a minimum of 90 psi of pressure in the air system
before moving.
All apparatus should exit
the building at a slow idle. Drivers
must be aware of anybody crossing in front of the door opening. All apparatus
must come to a FULL STOP before entering Myers Corners Road.
When backing a vehicle, the
driver shall use a firefighter as a spotter to assist the driver in backing up.
In vehicles equipped with a rear-mounted camera, the driver shall check
to see that the area directly behind the apparatus is clear.
Use of the camera shall not be considered a replacement for using a
spotter.
Following all emergencies,
road tests, driver training, etc. it is the driver’s responsibility to insure
the apparatus is clean, re-fueled and ready to respond to an alarm.
Apparatus should be re-fueled if the apparatus is below ľ level.
To remain an approved driver
on any piece of apparatus you must demonstrate proficiency in the operations of
all the apparatus that you are qualified on.
Dutchess County Department
of Emergency Response (Dutchess 911) shall be notified when any apparatus is
taken “out of service” for maintenance or repair.
Equipment shall only be taken out of service by an officer of the
department. Apparatus are not taken
out of service for driver training, obtaining gas, or drills unless deemed
necessary by the officer in charge of the drill.
When responding to an alarm,
if the information received through dispatch deems the emergency to be
immediately threatening to life or property, the apparatus shall respond Code
Three. This means use of all
warning lights and sirens. Drivers
shall observe speed limits consistent with safety considering traffic, weather,
and road conditions. Special care
shall be taken when approaching intersections, all warning lights and siren
shall be operating with apparatus kept under control at all times.
At no time shall the apparatus be driven faster than the state speed
limit of 55 mph. Drivers should be
aware of the potential dangers of driving Code Three.
When additional information is received indicating that there is not an
immediate threat to life or property then, the driver shall proceed to the
incident Code One. Code One is
considered “normal driving” with no lights or sirens.
Code One is for all other situations not requiring a Code Three response.
While driving in Code One mode, the driver must obey all traffic laws.
Officers should not drive
any fire apparatus to an emergency if there is an approved driver available.
If an approved driver is not available, the officer shall use discretion
on the amount of wait time before they drive to an emergency.
In general, this decision shall be based on potentially critical life
safety conditions known at the time of dispatch.
Drivers should know the
location of the incident and which apparatus is to respond based on the
information known.
It is recommended that,
whenever possible, apparatus shall not leave the fire station when responding to
an alarm with driver only.
When responding to an
emergency, the first responding apparatus shall try to call out for as many
responding as possible.
ON SCENE
Only the first piece of apparatus (not including chief’s cars) shall call on scene and give a brief progress report to Dutchess 911 unless the Incident Commander prior to the apparatus arrival has already given a progress report. No other apparatus shall call on scene.
On return to the “in
service” status, the driver shall inspect the apparatus and equipment.
Any serious faults should be immediately made known to the Chief.
In the absence of the Chief, the officer in charge shall carry out
necessary repairs or make note of such repairs to the Career firefighter.
Dutchess 911 must be
notified of all apparatus returning to the “in service” status.
Command or the apparatus may do this.
When calling Dutchess 911, notify them of as many apparatus returning to
“in service” as possible.
It shall be the
responsibility of the driver for the safe placement of the apparatus at the
scene of an incident. If there is
no officer to guide the placement of the apparatus, then the driver shall
determine the best place. It is
recommended that all apparatus and personal vehicles park on the same side of
the road so that access may be left for other vehicles approaching the scene.
In the case of a roadway incident, the apparatus should be parked in a
fend off position to protect the emergency crews from traffic.
The driver who operates the
first engine to arrive on scene of an alarm is to establish command if there is
no officer on scene and follow the guidelines set forth in NK-304 Incident
Command System.
All drivers shall stay with
their apparatus and keep track of what equipment has been removed at an incident
scene.
All approved drivers shall
immediately inform the Chief of the Department in the event their New York State
driver’s license is suspended or revoked for any reason.
Upon such suspension or revocation the approval to drive shall
automatically be revoked. The member shall not drive any fire district vehicle until
reinstated by the Board of Fire Commissioners.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Chief and Asst.
Chief’s may use their vehicles for personal business; however, they may not
leave the county without prior approval of the Board of Fire Commissioners
unless it is for official district business.
All other fire district apparatus are not to leave the district without
prior approval of the Board of Fire Commissioners with the exception of calls
for mutual aid assistance. In the
case of drills with neighboring fire departments, a Chief Officer must be
notified. At no time shall both
tankers leave the district for a drill. One
must always be in service in the fire district.
Any member who wants to be
an approved driver for any piece of apparatus must make a request to the
District Training Chief or District Asst. Training Chief and receive approval
before training may begin.
Driver
training of apparatus shall occur in the following order:
There will be no driver
training after 10:00PM, unless authorized by a chief officer.
Driver training in 4-wheel
drive is to be done by individuals only during their initial training or when
authorized by one of the District Chiefs.
It shall be done on a prescribed route and never during darkness.
To begin training and become an approved apparatus driver, the trainee must meet the requirements set forth in Section 5, paragraph 50.032 of the District Rules and Regulations. This section covers the age and course requirements necessary to drive each type of apparatus.
The Driver Training disclaimer must be signed and dated prior to receiving approval to begin training from the District Training Chief or District Asst. Training Chief.
The period of training for a
candidate before being approved is the time to get familiar with the apparatus
and the equipment on it. At a
minimum, trainees are required to train a minimum of 10 hours, however, trainees
are expected to take the time necessary to be comfortable operating the
apparatus before taking their road test. In
the case of engines and tankers, time should be equally divided between each
apparatus since each drives and pumps differently then the other.
Before being approved,
drivers shall be familiar with the apparatus assignment to alarms so that the
right apparatus may respond to the alarm.
Trainers must be approved by
the District Training Chief to be authorized as a qualified Driver Trainer.
A qualified driver may not always be qualified as a Driver Trainer.
At a minimum, the requirements to be a qualified Driver Trainer will be:
1.
Trainers shall have at least one-year experience as an approved driver on
the apparatus being used.
2.
Trainers must be making the minimum requirements set forth in the
District Rules and Regulations Section 6, paragraph 60.170 to be considered for
qualification as a Driver Trainer.
3.
To remain a qualified Driver Trainer, the minimum requirements set forth
in Section 6, paragraph 60.170 must continue to be achieved.
The Driver Training
disclaimer must be signed and dated prior to receiving approval as an approved
Driver Trainer from the District Training Chief.
The trainer must notify the
District Training Chief or District Asst. Training Chief of an apparatus going
out driver training prior to the occurrence.
The notification should include the plan of the training, for example,
will off-road training be involved and where.
Prior to leaving the
apparatus bay, it shall be marked on the apparatus status board that the piece
of apparatus is out on driver training and the trainer/trainee.
Discretion shall be used on driver training and road tests during
inclement weather.
Prior to, and directly
after, driver training the apparatus must be inspected for any damage or lost
equipment. If damage has occurred
during a driver training exercise it must be reported to a chief officer
immediately.
Upon completion of the training exercise, the apparatus must be cleaned and refueled.