Clear policy. Written for the firehouse, by the firehouse.

Who’s in charge, how command is established, when it transfers, and how orders flow through the chain.

How you track who’s on scene, who’s operating where, and who’s accounted for — every minute of the call.

What every role — firefighter, officer, IC, radio — does the second a Mayday is declared.

Dedicated crew standing by to rescue a trapped or lost firefighter. When it’s required, how it’s staffed.

Minimum staffing before entering an IDLH atmosphere. Federal OSHA law — not optional.

When interior attack is indicated, when defensive is required, and who makes that call.

Risk-benefit framework for staying outside: master streams, collapse zones, fire building management.

How searches are assigned, conducted, and marked. Includes VES (vent-enter-isolate-search) criteria.

Positive pressure, horizontal, vertical — coordination with interior crews, timing, and anti-ventilation.

Hydrant operations, tanker/tender shuttle, drafting, rural water supply establishment.

Crew recovery on scene — hydration, vitals, rest cycles, medical monitoring, return-to-duty criteria.

What gear, when it’s required, inspection, cleaning (decon), retirement and replacement.

Use, inspection, fit testing, air management, low-air emergencies, buddy breathing.

Annual hours, recert cadence, new-hire onboarding, officer development, documentation.

Annual physicals, fit-for-duty, mental health support, cancer screening, behavioral health.

On-scene gear decon to reduce carcinogen exposure. Plus post-incident cleaning and laundering.

Zero-tolerance policy, reporting chain, investigation process, non-retaliation.

Exposure prevention, post-exposure protocol, notification, hepatitis B immunization.

START / JumpSTART triage methodology, MCI levels, sector framework, and hospital coordination.

Selecting, marking, and operating a safe HEMS landing zone; aircraft communications and patient handoff.

Driver qualifications, response speeds, intersection procedures, backing, due regard. Top killer of firefighters.

What gets inspected, how often, who signs, what triggers taking a rig out of service.

Everyone, every trip, every time. Simple rule, saves more lives than most tactical SOGs.

Channel assignments, plain language, tactical benchmarks, Mayday priority, dead-air procedures.

What your department can and cannot do at a hazmat incident. Knowing your limits is the whole game.

Rope, confined space, trench, structural collapse — awareness level and when to call for a team.

LCES, structure triage, shelter deployment, when to disengage. More relevant every year.

What you keep, how long, in what form. Incident reports, training records, exposure reports, apparatus logs.

Progressive discipline, grievance process, appeal rights, documentation.

What members can post, what they can’t, on- and off-duty. HIPAA, scene photos, department-identifying posts.

Who talks to press, what they say, when they say it. Plus social media during a major incident.