Minneapolis FD Procedures and Notes
What are the two different types of tones that precede the dispatch?
The two tone (Beep-Bo-Beep-Bo) is for medical runs
The mono tone (Beep-Beep-Beep) is for fires, crashes & rescue
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After every dispatch they give a box number, like "Box 312 Alpha", what does that mean?
The first number corresponds with which district and what battalion chief the incident is in.
Chief 1 – Downtown, near-north Mpls (around 394)
Chief 2 - Southwest Mpls
Chief 3 – South, southeast (U of M area) Mpls
Chief 4 – Northeast/North Mpls
The second two numbers are which engine company's home area it's in. The letter at the end
refers to which sector of the engines response area it's in.
So "Box 312 Alpha" means, 3rd District (Chief 3), Engine 12's home area, and zone A within Engine 12's area.
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How many people ride on the fire truck and what do they do?
In a perfect world you would have 4 firefighters per engine, unfortunately with budget cuts and staffing shortages, Mpls has been running with 3 persons per engine and 4 per ladder truck.
1 Driver (the FMO), also controls the pump and monitors water pressure and amount remaining.
1 Captain - the person in charge
1 Firefighter – the person who does all the work J
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How many rigs respond to a fire?
For a residential fire alarm:
One engine
For a commercial fire alarm, or a report of smoke with no fire:
"Initial Response" (used to be called a "modified assignment") – 2 engines, 1 ladder, 1 battalion chief.
For a confirmed fire, flames seen:
"1st Alarm Assignment" (used to be called a "full assignment") – 3 engines, 2 ladders, 1 battalion chief, Rescue 1, "ISO" (Incident Safety Officer), Salvage (Air Supply), "1050" or "Car 50" (Arson Investigator).
2nd Alarm – 2 engines, 2 ladders, Mobile Command truck, Deputy Chief
3rd Alarm – 2 engines, 1 ladder
4th Alarm - 2 engines
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What happens at a fire scene? How do they know "who does what"?
1 - The first arriving engine on site ("1st in")
A – Captain radios in a "size up": type and size of structure and if there is smoke or fire showing. This captain assumes duty as "IC" or Incident Commander. The IC is in-charge of everything that happens until they are relieved by the Battation Chief.
B – The firefighter pulls a "tank line", this is a 1 ¾" diameter hose line made up of 5 * 50' sections. This is usually enough hose line to get from the street in to the front door and into the house. The captain goes in with the firefighter to assist and supervise.
C – The FMO turns on the water, ("charges the line"). The FMO needs to keep track of how much water they have in the tank and how much they are putting out through the hose and how long it will be until the next engine arrives with more water. They need to be careful they don't run out of water with people still in the building and the fire still going. The engines generally have 500 gallons of water on board, which is good for about 5 minutes depending on the pump pressure out.
2 – The second arriving engine
A – The firefighter and captain jump out and attach a 4" large diameter hose from their truck to the 1st-In-Engine (the "supply line").
B – The FMO drives up to the nearest hydrant and connects their engine's 4" line to the hydrant, the water then gets pumped out to the 1st-In-Engine's tank via the supply line.
C – The firefighter and captain pull a second set of hose off of the 1st-In-Engine and bring it up in to the building (the "backup line"). If there is still heavy fire, then they will charge that line too.
3 – The third arriving engine
A – Assumes RIT team duty (Rapid Intervention Team). The firefighter pulls a set batch of equipment off of the 1st-In-Engine's rig, including; O2 bottle and mask, stokes basket, medical bags, C-collar bag, etc. Primary job is firefighter rescue in case any FF's inside get into a problem. Secondary job is to treat any victims that have been brought outside.
4 – The 1st arriving ladder
A - Starts doing "Primary Search" for victims on the fire floor and floor above fire. They also pull extension ladders off and prop them against any 2nd or 3rd floor windows to provide emergency egress in case of problem. They also start doing ventilation as directed by IC. Knocking out windows and if needed, cutting holes in roof or walls to vent out smoke and heat.
5 – The 2nd arriving ladder
A - Starts doing "Primary Search" for victims in basement and floors under fire floor. Also do ventilation as directed by IC.
6 – Battalion Chief
A - Takes over as Incident Commander from the 1st in captain.
7 – Rescue One
A - Does whatever work as directed by IC, assists with ventilation and searches.
8 - Incident Safety Officer (ISO)
A - A new position that Mpls started following the FF fatalities in Massachusetts and Keokuk, Iowa. The ISO's job is to keep track of who is inside and assist the IC with coordinating safety and par checks.
9 – Salvage/Air Supply
A – Has spare air bottles, gatorade and extra (dry) gloves (very important in winter fires).
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