West Florence Fire Rescue
Standard Operating Guidelines
SOG-308, Burn Building
I. Purpose
The purpose of this procedure is establish standard guidelines for conducting onsite live fire training evolutions in the West Florence Fire Department burn
building. All burns shall be conducted in accordance with NFPA standard 1403
and all West Florence Fire Department rules and regulations.
II. General Usage
Any fire department member or outside agency wishing to use the burn building
shall obtain permission from the Training Officer or Fire Chief.
The time and date of the training drill shall be scheduled a minimum of ten (10)
working days in advance. Drills involving West Florence Fire Department training
shall always have first priority.
An officer representing West Florence Fire Department shall be on site for any
live fire drills involving the facilities or burn building. This Officer shall have the
authority to terminate any and all activities due to conditions that endanger
students or that may cause damage to training props.
Burn buildings have been designed specifically for the purpose of repeated live
fire training evolutions and include safeguards that only become unacceptably
hazardous through misuse and neglect.
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Standard Operating Guidelines
SOG-308, Burn Building
III. Command
The Incident Command system shall be used during all training evolutions. One
(1) officer/instructor on scene shall be designated as the Incident Commander
and will assume all Command functions.
A Command Post shall be established and positioned to afford maximum visibility
of the structure, operating companies and fire conditions.
IV. Communications
The Incident Commander shall be responsible for establishing radio
communications with each company officer/instructor involved in the drill.
Communications equipment shall be provided by the agency conducting the drill.
All radios shall be checked to ensure proper operation and correct channel prior
to initiating operations. No drill or training exercise shall be conducted without
proper communications.
V. Sectors
To eliminate confusion and provide adequate scene control, all personnel
operating within the fireground perimeter shall operate under the direction of a
sector officer.
The following sectors shall be established on all burn building fires:
Interior Attack Group - staffed by a company officer/instructor shall direct all
interior suppression activities.
Search Group - staffed by a company officer/instructor shall direct all search and
rescue operations within an assigned division.
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Standard Operating Guidelines
SOG-308, Burn Building
Rapid Intervention Crew - this position shall be manned by experienced
firefighting personnel (not recruit firefighters or students).
Rehab - Shall be set up away from burn building and staffed by at least one (1)
medically trained personnel. Water, drinks and food if needed, shall be provided
by the agency conducting the drill.
Safety - The safety sector shall monitor personnel and fire conditions, and works
with command to ensure all safety procedures are complied with, and risk to
personnel is minimized. The safety officer shall have the authority to stop any
and all operations due to unsafe conditions or actions. The safety officer shall be
assigned no other activities.
VI. Safety
Company officers or instructors shall be responsible for the direct supervision of
assigned students/firefighters and their safety. This includes the prevention of
unsafe acts and the elimination of unsafe conditions.
The officer/instructor student/firefighter ratio shall never exceed 4 to 1.
Command shall assign an accountability officer to ensure the tracking of all
personnel operating within the training area.
No personnel shall be permitted to act as victim(s) during training fires.
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West Florence Fire Rescue
Standard Operating Guidelines
SOG-308, Burn Building
VII. Resources
The agency conducting the drill or exercise shall provide all required personnel.
The agency conducting the drill or exercise shall provide all required apparatus,
equipment, and supplies to conduct the drill or exercise.
VIII. Burn Building Preparation
All students/firefighters shall be given a walk through tour of the building before
operations begin. All doors and windows shall be checked and operated prior to
any live fire conditions to ensure proper and safe operation. The burn building
shall be left in a safe condition upon completion of each evaluation. Debris
hindering the access or egress of firefighters shall be removed before continuing
operations.
The use of flammable or combustible liquids, as defined in NFPA 30 shall be
prohibited.
Only class A materials shall be used in live fire training. A charged and manned
hose line shall be in position to provide protection for the fire starter. The fire
starter shall be a trained firefighter in full PPE/SCBA and shall operate under the
direct supervision of the safety officer.
The ignition of the fire shall be coordinated through Command so the burn rooms
do not become overheated before attack teams make entry.
For initial operations the fire pit shall contain no more than two (2) bales of straw
and two (2) pallets. Additional straw and pallets can be added as needed to
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Standard Operating Guidelines
SOG-308, Burn Building
maintain fire and smoke conditions. A water can shall be used to control the fire
growth rate and to wet the straw down to aid in smoke production.
The safety officer shall at no time allow fire conditions that endanger students or
that could damage the structure.
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