Intent

Examine the inception, utilization, and complex interconnectedness of Lookouts, Communications, Escape Routes, and Safety Zones (LCES), the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders, and the 18 Watch Out Situations.

Facilitator Preparation

• Suggested activity includes watching the LCES module (above), Standard Firefighting Orders, and Watch Out Situations videos then facilitating the discussion for all three modules.
• Review the videos and module tools.
• Consider additional activities and discussion questions pertinent to the location and agency.

Facilitating the Discussion

• Show the video.
• Facilitate a small or large group discussion using the selected discussion questions.

Discussion Questions

1. The Standard Firefighting Orders were first developed in 1957. The recommendation in the original report states that the Fire Orders “are to be committed to memory by all personnel with fire control responsibilities.” What do you and your crew/unit do to help each other remember and understand the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and 18 Watch Out Situations?
2. Originally, there were 13 Watch Out Situations, then five were added in 1987. If you could add one more Watch Out, what would it be and why?
3. The 10 Standard Firefighting Orders, 18 Watch Out Situations, and LCES are just three of the many tools firefighters must use to manage risk and make decisions. What other tools might you use, and where can you find them?
4. Many of the official risk management and decision-making tools firefighters use today were first developed by personnel in the field. Does your module, crew, or team utilize any other tools that were created internally?

Resources

• Publication: Incident Response Pocket Guide (IRPG), PMS 461
• Document: 6 Minutes for Safety – Origin of the 10 and 18s
• Document: LCES and Other Thoughts by Paul Gleason
• Document: The 10 Standard Firefighting Orders and 18 Watch Out Situations: We Don’t Bend Them, We Don’t Break Them…We Don’t Know Them (article is on page 29).

Additional Video Information

• This video is also available as a download (zip file, size 607 MB) with .srt file for closed captioning (you may need to right click and Save As). For information on how to add closed captioning to a video, see this how-to page.
• Note: For Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, right click the word download and select Save Link As; for Internet Explorer (IE), right click and select Save Target As.