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Escape Routes 2

 

Continued from: Escape Routes Part 1 (Take 5@2)

 

Escape routes are the paths available to firefighters from their current location when exposed to danger to an area free from danger. There should always be more than one escape route available to firefighters.

Escape routes are probably the most elusive component of Lookouts, Communications, Escape Routes, and Safety Zones (LCES). Their effectiveness changes continuously. As firefighters work along the fire perimeter, fatigue and spatial separation can increase the time required to reach the safety zone.

The most common escape routes (or part of an escape route) include the fireline. On an indirect or parallel fireline, situations become more complex. Unless safety zones have been identified ahead, as well as behind, a firefighters’ retreat may not be possible.

  • Discuss how you would judge the effectiveness of an escape route. Have you ever timed yourself using an escape route?
  • Describe an instance when you were uncomfortably distant from your escape routes.
  • Describe a method you have used to communicate the location of an escape route to your crews.

 

Also see: Escape Routes Part 3

 

Category
Operational Engagement
References
"LCES and Other Thoughts" by Paul Gleason
10 Standard Firefighting Orders, PMS 110
18 Watch Out Situations, PMS 118
10 and 18 Poster, PMS 110-18


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NWCG Latest Announcements

2024 Week of Remembrance

Date: June 27, 2024
Contact: 6 Minutes for Safety Subcommittee 

As we approach the 2024 Week of Remembrance (WOR), June 30 to July 6, we dedicate this time to thoughtfully reviewing and recognizing the events of the 2018 Mendocino Complex. As such, this year’s theme of “Learning From the Mendocino Complex” embodies a longstanding hallmark of WOR, honoring through learning.

Throughout the week, our energy will be directed toward fostering generative conversations in briefing rooms and at tailgates.

References:

6 Minutes for Safety - 2024 Week of Remembrance

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Updated NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment, PMS 236

Date: June 24, 2024
Contact: Incident and Position Standards Committee 

The June 2024 update of the NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment, PMS 236, is now available to meet the current needs for incident management typing.

The NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment should be used to evaluate firefighter safety issues, assess risk, and identify the appropriate incident management organization based on incident complexity. Assessing risk, determining incident complexity, and identifying an appropriate incident management organization is a subjective process based on examining a combination of indicators or factors, which can change over time.

References:

NWCG Wildland Fire Risk and Complexity Assessment, PMS 236

Operations Branch Director (OPBD) Next Gen PTB Available

Date: June 10, 2024
Contact: NWCG Feedback 

The NWCG Position Task Book for Operations Branch Director (OPBD), PMS 311-109 is now available for use within the OPBD position qualification pathway. As part of the transition to Complex Incident Management (CIM), the OPBD Next Gen PTB was developed and the position qualification pathway updated.

More information about the Next Gen PTB format can be found on the NWCG Position Task Book webpage.

References:

Operations Branch Director Position Page

Operations Branch Director Next Gen PTB

NWCG Position Task Books

Updated NWCG Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management, PMS 902

Date: June 5, 2024
Contact: NWCG Incident Business Committee 

The 2024 revision of the NWCG Standards for Interagency Incident Business Management, PMS 902 is now available. The uniform application of interagency incident business management standards is critical to interagency fire operations. PMS 902 assists NWCG agencies in constructively working together to provide effective execution of each agency's incident business management program.

References:

PMS 902