NFPA Standard 1710:
Organization and Deployment of
Fire Suppression Operations, EMS
and Special Ops
The Right Description
Economic Pressures
Bring Tough Questions
• Decision makers expect efficient and effective
operations
– Hold Fire Chief accountable for department
performance even with cuts in budget
– Generally have no problem asking leaders to do
more with less
– Specific Data often necessary to answer their
questions
Economic Pressures
Bring Tough Questions
• Reporters ask questions in their words and in
their frame of understanding
– Hold leaders accountable to their positions (eg. Chief)
– Expect leaders to answer their questions quickly and
succinctly in words they understand
• They report the words you say regardless of whether they
really understand their meaning
• Many times they don’t even write or say them the way you
did
Answering the Tough Questions
• Typically say what comes natural based on frame
of reference and industry vernacular
– Compliance with the 1710 standard
– Staffing
– Cuts
– Brownouts
– Company Closure
– Station Closures
Answering the Tough Questions
Think about the message you want to
communicate
– What are you trying to say?–
– What do you WANT to say?
Compliance with the 1710 standard
• What does that mean?
Answering the Tough Questions
Compliance with the 1710 standard
• What does that mean?
• Can you answer YES or NO?
• If you say YES--- what does that mean?
• If you say NO--- what does that mean?
Purpose of 1710?
The purpose of this standard is to specify the
minimum criteria addressing the effectiveness
and efficiency of the career public fire
suppression operations, emergency medical
service, and special operations delivery in
protecting the citizens of the jurisdiction and
the occupational safety and health of fire
department employees.
Scope of 1710?
• The requirements address
functions and objectives of fire
department emergency service
delivery, response capabilities,
and resources [capacity].
Compliance with 1710?
Redirect question to your message
 Within the standard there are performance
objectives
Crew size by company
Assembly of ‘Full Alarm’
Response performance
Compliance with 1710?
Redirect question to your message
 Within the standard there are performance
objectives
Crew size by company
 ENGINES – Minimum 4
 TRUCKS – Minimum 4
 AMBULANCES- minimum relative to service
provided
Compliance with 1710?
Redirect question to your message
 Within the standard there are performance
objectives
Assembly of ‘Full Alarm’
 EFFECTIVE FIREFIGHTING FORCE
 15-17 Firefighters for LOW HAZARD
Compliance with 1710?
Redirect question to your message
 Within the standard there are performance
objectives
Response performance
 Call Processing – NFPA 1221- 60 sec 90%
 (90 sec 99%)
 Turnout – 80 Seconds Fire and Special Ops
 60 Seconds EMS
 Travel Time – 240 sec. first engine
 480 sec. for full alarm
Compliance with 1710?
Redirect question to your message
 The standard applies to LOW HAZARD not all
hazard levels.
 Clarify LOW HAZARD – residential structure, no
more than 2000 sq ft, two story single family,
no basement, no exposures
 Does not include schools, hospitals, malls,
manufacturing, high rise commercial
/residential, etc…
 What structures are in your community?
Compliance with 1710?
Redirect question to your message
 Industry Standard (National Standard) – sets
the FLOOR not the ceiling.
 The objectives are the MINIMUM necessary
for SAFE, EFFICIENT, and EFFECTIVE
response.
Comparables
Reporters always ask for Comparables
“What other cities meet NFPA 1710?”
 See List of Top Metropolitan Cities by
population
Fire Service Deployment: Assessing
Community Vulnerability
White Paper …
used to inform
policy.
Fire Department Core Values
Protect lives, property, and the environment
through preparedness, prevention, public
education, and emergency response with an
emphasis on quality services, efficiency,
effectiveness, and safety.
Matching Resources to Risk
If fire department resources (both mobile and
personnel) are deployed to match the risk levels
inherent to hazards in the community, it has
been scientifically demonstrated that the
community will be far less vulnerable to
negative outcomes in…
• firefighter injury and death
• civilian injury and death
• property loss
The Need for Hazard Risk Assessment
• What’s in your Community?
• When deciding the resources
(personnel and equipment)
needed to respond to emergency
events must consider the
outcomes
– Firefighter injury and death
– Civilian injury and death
– Property loss (and the environment)
Explain to Reporters that Fire Service
Leaders are Faced with Decisions
• Decisions must be based on understanding of
– relationship between community hazards
and associated risk,
– basic emergency response infrastructure,
including fire department response
capability
– outcomes of emergency incidents
Final Comments to
Decision-Makers and Reporters
Economic Challenges are Driving Dangerous
Decisions
Forcing decisions to cut fire department
resources faster than we can evaluate their
impact
Cuts can leave a community without sufficient
resources to respond safely and effectively