By Healthcare Facilities Today

Understanding what is front of mind for first responders can help facility managers better prepare for what will happen in the event of an emergency. When firefighters arrive on the scene of a structure fire, they will first prioritize life safety, then extinguishing the fire and lastly property preservation, says a column in the NFPA Journal.

These considerations are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as often the primary tactic in preserving life safety is extinguishing the fire. The considerations made and the strategy taken during a fire response are tracked on site by an incident action plan. The incident commander will assess the scene upon arrival and judge the threat level to the firefighters before proceeding. If there is too great a threat to the first responders, response activities will be limited to defensive strategies. Most often, however, the incident commander will adopt an offensive strategy, deploying teams accordingly as they arrive on site.

Facility managers should be aware that incidence response strategy is constantly reassessed, but its foundation is information gathered during pre-incident planning. Facility managers can work with their local fire department to make them aware of potential hazards in their facilities, such as stored chemicals or photovoltaic systems, well ahead of an incident.

Read the column.