Skip to content
Tailboard
SOG-110Command & SafetySOG

Mayday Procedures

Declaring, receiving, and managing a Mayday at any incident.

Read before using

This is a template. It is not your department's policy.

Tailboard templates are drafted as generic starting points aligned to national standards. They are nota substitute for your department's own review or for adoption through your Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). For topics carrying significant exposure (use of force, medical scope, civil rights), route through qualified counsel before adoption.

Every placeholder marked [BRACKETED] must be completed before adoption. Every section must be reviewed against your department's staffing, apparatus, water supply, EMS scope, geography, and the specific laws of your state. What applies to a career department in a city may not apply to a volunteer department in a rural jurisdiction, and vice versa.

Standards, regulations, and best practices are updated regularly. Verify the current edition of every standard cited before adopting this document. Once adopted, this document becomes your department's responsibility — not Tailboard's.

Safety-critical topic.

This template covers a life-safety topic. Content draws from NFPA, OSHA, and post-incident investigation findings (NIOSH FFFIPP). Review carefully with operational officers before adoption — errors in policies of this type are the most common finding in firefighter fatality reports.

Want this tailored to your department?

Open it in the Policy Builder. Answer a few questions about your staffing, apparatus, and conditions — we'll adapt every section to match.

Number

SOG-110

Version

1.0

Last reviewed

2026-01-01

Next review

2026-07-01

Summary

This guideline establishes the procedures every member follows the moment a Mayday is declared. A Mayday is a declaration that a firefighter is lost, trapped, down, or in imminent peril. It is the highest-priority radio traffic on the fireground. Every member is authorized and expected to declare a Mayday when criteria are met.

Definitions

Mayday
A declaration broadcast by any member in imminent peril. Supersedes all other fireground radio traffic.
LUNAR
Location, Unit, Name, Assignment/Air, Resources needed. The required Mayday report content.
RIT
Rapid Intervention Team. The pre-assigned crew standing by to effect firefighter rescue.
PAR
Personnel Accountability Report. A confirmed count of all members assigned to the incident.

Purpose

To provide every member of [DEPARTMENT NAME] a clear, memorized procedure for declaring a Mayday, and every member of an incident organization a clear procedure for responding to one. Hesitation kills. This guideline exists to remove hesitation.

Scope

Applies to all members of [DEPARTMENT NAME] at every emergency incident, training evolution, and mutual-aid operation where a member may become lost, trapped, or otherwise in imminent peril.

When to Declare a Mayday

Declare a Mayday immediately under any of the following conditions. Do not wait to self-resolve, do not wait for permission, do not wait to be certain.

  • Lost, disoriented, or separated from your crew inside an IDLH atmosphere.
  • Trapped, pinned, or entangled.
  • Fallen through a floor, roof, or to another level.
  • Caught in a flashover, collapse, or rapid fire progression.
  • Low-air emergency (bottle at or approaching vibralert activation) with no clear exit.
  • Injured or incapacitated and unable to self-rescue.
  • Witnessing any of the above happen to another firefighter.

How to Declare a Mayday

  1. Activate your PASS device (if not already activated by lack of motion).
  2. Transmit on the assigned fireground tactical channel: "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday."
  3. Pause for acknowledgment from Command.
  4. Once acknowledged, transmit your LUNAR report: Location (where you are, floor, side, reference point), Unit (company designation), Name, Assignment/Air (what you were doing, current air level), Resources needed (specific — "need a crew with a hoseline on the second floor, Side C").
  5. If conditions permit, attempt self-survival actions (control your breathing, activate flashlight, make noise, move toward a window or known exit, manage air).

When a Mayday is Received

Incident Commander

  • Acknowledge the Mayday immediately by radio.
  • Direct all units not directly engaged in the rescue to maintain radio silence.
  • Switch the incident to RIT operations: activate RIT, call for additional resources (additional alarms), and establish a dedicated rescue branch or division.
  • Request PAR from all units.
  • Continue fire suppression operations in parallel with rescue — do not cease offensive firefighting if it is what is protecting the trapped firefighter.
  • Notify dispatch to start a Mayday incident clock and escalate resources per the department's Mayday resource matrix.
  • Assign a Safety Officer to the Mayday incident if not already in place.

All Other Units

  • Maintain radio silence on the fireground channel unless you have critical information about the Mayday.
  • Continue your assigned work unless redirected. Do not self-deploy to the Mayday location.
  • Prepare for PAR when called.

RIT

  • On Mayday declaration, the RIT deploys without waiting for additional orders if location is known.
  • Maintain radio contact with Command and with the trapped firefighter if possible.
  • A second RIT is requested immediately to back up the first.

Dispatch

  • Record Mayday timestamp and start a continuous elapsed-time announcement at agreed intervals (e.g., every 5 minutes).
  • Dispatch additional resources per the pre-established Mayday matrix without waiting for specific request.
  • Notify chief officers, health & safety officer, and designated staff per department notification protocol.

Communications Priority

  • Mayday radio traffic supersedes all other fireground communications.
  • If a firefighter cannot transmit due to conditions or a failing radio, PASS activation alone is treated as a Mayday until accounted for.
  • Command may order a channel change to a dedicated Mayday channel to preserve tactical comms; this decision is made only after initial Mayday information is received.

Termination of Mayday Status

  1. Mayday is terminated only by the IC, only after the affected firefighter is accounted for, extricated to a safe area, and evaluated by EMS.
  2. Termination is announced by radio on the tactical channel.
  3. A PAR is conducted after termination.
  4. The incident is subject to a mandatory post-incident review regardless of outcome.

Training Requirements

  • All members receive initial Mayday training during onboarding and annual refresher training thereafter.
  • Training includes hands-on Mayday declaration, LUNAR reporting, self-survival skills (consumption management, reduced-profile maneuvers, wall breaches, window bails with a hose), and SCBA entanglement drills.
  • IC / Company officer training includes receiving a Mayday, conducting PAR, and managing dual fire/rescue operations.
  • Training is documented in each member's training record with date, instructor, skills covered, and competency verification.

Post-Incident Review

Every Mayday incident — actual or training — is debriefed. The review covers: circumstances leading to the Mayday, adequacy of the declaration, effectiveness of the response, communication quality, and lessons to be integrated into training and tactical doctrine. A written report is maintained in the department's incident review file indefinitely.

References

  • NFPA 1407Standard for Training Fire Service Rapid Intervention Crews
  • NFPA 1500Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety, Health, and Wellness Program
  • NFPA 1561Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management System and Command Safety
  • IAFF / IAFC Fireground Survival ProgramCurriculum reference for self-survival techniques
  • Project MaydayResearch and doctrine on Mayday prevention and response (projectmayday.net)

Adapt this template

Before this template becomes your department's policy, review the following items and adjust accordingly. Anything else that does not match your operation should be updated as well.

  • Confirm your department's LUNAR (or GRAB-LAP, or other) reporting acronym — stay consistent with your mutual-aid partners.
  • Update the Dispatch section with your actual dispatch center's Mayday protocol.
  • Add a department-specific Mayday resource matrix (typically: additional alarm, additional RIT, medical/ambulance, chief, PIO, chaplain/CISM).
  • Align this guideline with your RIT SOG — the two must reference each other and not contradict.

Adoption signature

Adopted by (Name, Rank)
Signature
Effective date
Next scheduled review

Before adoption checklist

  • ☐Replace [DEPARTMENT NAME] throughout the document.
  • ☐Complete every [BRACKETED] placeholder.
  • ☐Confirm the current edition of every cited standard.
  • ☐Check against your state statutes and state fire marshal rules.
  • ☐Route for chief review. Topics with significant exposure (use of force, medical scope) also go through qualified counsel.
  • ☐Confirm alignment with any mutual-aid agreements.
  • ☐Schedule a training plan for the new policy before effective date.
  • ☐Announce adoption in writing to all members. Archive the prior version.
  • ☐Set the next review date — annually at minimum.