FIRE TACTICS AND PROCEDURES November 3, 2003 SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND (SOC) SUPPORT LADDER COMPANIES 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Special Operations Command (SOC) Support Ladder Companies have been formed to augment the Special Operations Command in a variety of rescue and haz-mat incidents. Each SOC Support Ladder Company is assigned a utility-type truck (Support Vehicle). 1.2 The SOC Support Ladder Companies purpose is to assist in detecting the presence of hazardous materials, including chemical warfare agents and radioactive materials. They can assist in determining the perimeter of a contaminated area as well as establishing decontamination of civilians and emergency responders. They assist in performing search, rescue and removal of victims from hazardous material areas, collapsed structures, confined spaces, and entrapments either above or belowground. 1.3 They are not capable of identifying many materials, which will require the advanced skills and equipment of a Hazardous Materials Technician Unit (HMTU) or Haz-Mat Company 1 (HMC1). 1.4 They are intended to: A. Enhance the capabilities of first arriving units at a variety of special incidents. B. Augment SOC units at large-scale, single incident events (e.g., collapse). C. SOC Support Ladder Company Support Vehicles can be activated for dealing with multiple limited scope incidents (e.g., stuck elevators, investigation of large numbers of Class 3 alarms, minor auto accidents, water leaks and other non life threatening emergencies) during large-scale disasters (e.g., citywide blackout, hurricanes or storms that cause widespread damage). During responses of this type, the Support Vehicle will be designated as a Rapid Response Unit (See Section 8.). D. Provide disaster response capability in the event of multiple catastrophic incidents. The possibility of several large-scale disasters within the city could rapidly exhaust the availability of SOC units. When assigned, SOC Support Ladder Companies can provide additional capabilities to begin critical tasks. 1
2. RESPONSE TO ALARMS SOC Support Ladder Companies shall respond as follows: 2.1 In addition to the assigned first alarm and Special Operations units, the nearest available SOC Support Ladder Company shall be dispatched in response to the following types of alarms: confined space rescues, collapses, trench cave-ins or other reports of persons buried, suspended scaffold emergencies. When assigned to respond as a SOC Support Ladder Company, the unit shall respond with their regular apparatus and their support vehicle. 2.2 The nearest available SOC Support Ladder Company shall be special called to other types of emergencies when the assigned Rescue and Squad companies are unavailable. In this event, the dispatcher shall also special call the next closest available Rescue and Squad Companies. 2.3 Additional SOC Support Ladder Companies may be special called by an Incident Commander to emergencies to assist a Rescue, Squad or Haz-Mat Company. 2.4 SOC Support Ladder Companies will respond to weapons of mass destruction event to assist the Rescue, Squad or Haz-Mat Company operating as part of the Emergency Response Plan. 2.5 SOC Support Ladder Companies shall not be special called to fires in lieu of calling a Rescue or Squad company. 2.6 SOC Support Ladder Companies shall not be special called to a haz-mat incident in lieu of a Hazardous Material Technician Unit or Hazardous Materials Company 1. 3. SOC SUPPORT LADDER COMPANY TRAINING AND DESIGNATION 3.1 SOC Support Ladder Companies receive 40 hours of Hazardous Materials training. SOC Support Ladder Companies are trained and certified to operate in Level "A" and Level "B" Chemical Protective Clothing (CPC) and can perform required decontamination of members or civilians. Members successfully completing the course will be designated as Hazardous Materials Technician I. These members are not trained or equipped to perform mitigation activities such as leak stopping, neutralizing or overpacking a product unless requested to assist an HMTU or HMC1, or as part of a "Hammer Team". When assisting an HMTU or HMC1, they will function only under the direct supervision of the HMTU or HMC1 officers. When functioning as part of a "Hammer Team" they will operate under the direct supervision of a Hazardous Materials Technician II, and will only perform the functions they have been trained to perform. (All members are trained and expected to be able to perform certain specific mitigation efforts as part of their duties e.g., control of natural gas leaks from service systems and appliances, fuel leaks at oil burner incidents or gasoline/diesel fuel leaks at transportation incidents.) 2
3.2 SOC Support Ladder Company personnel have received training in Confined Space Rescue, High Angle Operation, Collapse Rescue Operations and Trench Rescue. This training, in addition to the special equipment provided, will allow the units to conduct initial rescue operations within specific limitations. The training will not allow them to conduct complex entries into confined spaces. Their training is compatible with that received by the members of Rescue and Squad companies so that when these units arrive on the scene, they will be able to build on the work already begun by the SOC Support Ladder personnel. 3.3 Squad & Rescue company personnel all receive at least 80 hours of training in hazardous materials, including techniques for taking offensive action to mitigate problems. These members are designated as Hazardous Materials Technician II. Members assigned to HMC1 receive hundreds of hours of training, and are designated as Hazardous Materials Specialist I or II, depending on the levels of training completed. 3.4 SOC Support Ladder firefighters will not be used to meet minimum Haz-Mat Technician staffing levels in Squad Companies or Haz-Mat Company 1. These units require staffing with Haz-Mat Technician IIs or Haz-Mat Specialists as appropriate for each type unit. 4. STAFFING 4.1 To operate as a SOC Support Ladder Company, the unit shall be staffed with a minimum of one trained officer or acting trained officer and at least three trained firefighters. If possible, four trained firefighters will be provided. To perform a hazardous materials entry, the Incident Commander will ensure two entry members, two backup members and sufficient decontamination personnel are assembled prior to entry. Members will only perform functions they have been trained to perform. Members who have not been trained to perform a certain function will not be permitted to attempt such task. 5. DESIGNATED SPECIAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT LADDER COMPANIES The following units are designated as SOC Support Ladder Companies: Manhattan Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island L-1 L-27 L-131 L-117 L-77 L-7 L-42 L-132 L-121 L-79 L-14 L-46 L-146 L-126 L-25 L-47 L-169 L-136 L-50 L-175 L-152 L-47 L-170 L-144 L-50 L-175 L-150 L-152 Rev. 08/11/05 3
6. EQUIPMENT 6.1 Each Special Operations Support Ladder Company is assigned a utility type truck (Support Vehicle) identical to a CPC truck, but equipped with additional rescue and Haz-Mat equipment. The unit will respond with their regularly assigned apparatus and the Support Vehicle when assigned to SOC support duties. Support Vehicle Equipment List contained in Hazardous Materials 10, Addendum 1. 7. OPERATIONS SOC Support Ladder Companies are trained and equipped to begin operations at the following types of incidents and shall be guided by the following operating guidelines. 7.1 High Angle Responses-Suspended Scaffold Emergencies Operations shall be conducted in accordance with Training Bulletin- Emergencies 4, Suspended Scaffolding Emergencies. SOC Support Ladder Companies shall utilize the 1/2" kernmantle rope issued to them in place of the 9/16" Life Saving Rope when lowering a safety line to stranded workers to attach to their harnesses. This rope is compatible with the high angle equipment carried by SOC units should the need develop to haul the stranded workers to safety. All other elements of the bulletin remain in effect. 7.2 Confined Space Rescues Operations shall be conducted in accordance with Training Bulletin, Confined Space Operations. SOC Support Ladder Companies are trained to commence operations at these incidents within specific limits. These limits are determined by breathing apparatus duration, retrieval system capability, availability of special protective clothing, rescue device availability and other factors. The limitations are: A. SOC Support Ladder Companies shall not be permitted to attempt any entry that would require the rescuer to leave the direct line of sight of the officer supervising entry at the entrance to the space. B. A fully equipped back-up rescuer shall remain on stand-by in the event the primary (entry) rescuer is injured, overcome, or needs assistance in escaping the space. C. SOC Support Ladders shall only attempt an entry when all necessary precautions to safeguard the rescuer are taken, specifically, a suitable high point anchor shall be positioned to allow a retrieval system to be placed for immediate retrieval of the rescuers, air monitoring has taken place which determines whether atmospheric hazards are present, and suitable steps are taken to remove hazards or otherwise protect rescuers from their effects (e.g., use of the SCBA for asphyxiation hazard). 4
D. SOC Support Ladders shall not attempt any entry where the hazards are other than atmospheric and controllable, or are not readily identifiable and controllable. For example, a rescue of a person trapped in a cesspool is a permissible entry, since the hazards are oxygen depletion and immersion. These hazards will be controlled by the rescuer wearing an SCBA at all times during entry, by remaining attached to their retrieval line at all times, and by having a suitable hauling system in place to effect their removal in case of an emergency. Entry into a chemical tank at a tank farm, where the product and hazards are not readily known, is not a permissible entry. 7.3 Collapse Operations Operations shall be conducted in accordance with All Units Circular 291, Collapse Operations. SOC Support Ladder Companies have received basic training in the five phases of the collapse rescue plan; however, they do not carry the shoring materials required to permit them to function fully in areas where substantial risk of secondary collapse is present. In the event that it is necessary to perform any evolution which requires tunneling, trenching, or cutting through supporting members, a Rescue Company with the appropriate shoring material and techniques shall perform such operation. The SOC Support Ladder Company shall support such efforts by providing logistical and manpower support. 7.4 Trench Cave-In Operations SOC Support Ladder Companies have received basic training in Trench Rescue. They shall immediately begin scene evaluation, and hazard identification through the use of their air monitoring equipment. They shall establish a safe zone around the perimeter of the site, with the prevention of a secondary cave-in as the prime consideration. They will, if possible, begin removing the spoil pile from the danger zone if that has been identified as a problem. They shall take steps to remove unnecessary vehicles and vibrations. They shall make the Incident Commander aware of the need for access for specialized rescue vehicles to the perimeter of the trench and assist in maintaining such access clear. They shall operate in full compliance with applicable OSHA regulations, some of which are highlighted below. A. Each employee in an excavation shall be protected from cave-ins by an adequate protective system (shoring) except when: 1. Excavations are made entirely in stable rock; or 2. Excavations are less than 5 feet in depth and examination of the ground by a competent person provides no indication of a potential cave-in. B. A stairway, ladder, ramp or other safe means of egress shall be located in trench excavations that are 4 feet (1.22 m) or more in depth so as to require no more than 25 feet of lateral travel for employees. 5
8. RAPID RESPONSE UNITS 8.1 The Support Vehicle may be staffed with overtime or recalled personnel in the event of large-scale emergencies such as blackouts, severe storms, etc. In this case the unit will operate separately from its assigned ladder company and will be designated as a Rapid Response Unit. Rapid Response Units will be utilized to provide early response to incidents that present minimal risk to life of members or civilians, freeing engine and ladder companies from these responses to allow them to respond to structural fires and other life threatening incidents. They are not to respond to structural fires unless they have been assigned along with other units. 8.2 The following is a list of responses that Rapid Response Units will respond to: Ceiling Collapse CFR-D Responses Class 3 Alarms CO Detector Activation Electrical Emergencies Flooded Basements Lockouts w/ Food on Stove Occupied Stuck Elevators Oil Burner Emergencies Scaffold Emergencies Steam Leaks Water Leaks Wires Down The following incidents will be added to the above response matrix as Support Vehicles become outfitted with the proper tools: Auto Accidents Injuries and/or Extrication Required Trees/Branches Down 8.3 Rapid Response Units shall adhere to the following response protocols: 8.3.1 Rapid Response Units will be dispatched using the designation "RR" and the identity of the unit's assigned ladder company, i.e.: "RR-132 is 10-8" would indicate the Rapid Response Unit that is part of Ladder 132 is in service. 6
8.3.2 During periods of heavy radio traffic, preliminary reports shall be brief and limited to: A. Coded Radio Signals B. Type of operation C. Location and address D. Status: 1. In service 2. Need assistance 8.3.3 Other radio transmissions shall be limited to unit availability (10-8) and requests for assistance. Units encountering difficulty in calling for assistance shall use an operating ERS box. 8.3.4 Units shall refrain from calling on radio and offering to voluntarily respond to alarms being announced by radio dispatcher. Units shall not respond to alarms without first being assigned. 8.3.5 Units unable to contact dispatcher via radio to report their availability shall immediately return to staging area from which they responded from and report "AQ". 9. CONCLUSION The Department must continue to improve our capability for dealing with many new challenges. The Department is committed to expanding the number of trained and equipped units for dealing with a wide spectrum of hazards. 7