With the resumption of bi-weekly IMRR (Incident Management Remote Response) meetings for this year, which I call National Safety Officer calls, it is time for me to think about my future efforts in risk management with Incident Management Teams. It is very important we stress the management of risk, versus abolition, as incidents by their very nature are inherently filled with dangerous hazards and activities for responders. Be it wildland fire, earthquake, hurricane & flood responses, or SAR (Search & Rescue) missions, they are filled with potential gotchas. At present folks in California are involved with some post-flood operations.
The team’s Safety Officer (which I’ve been since 1987; having earned the nickname “Safety Dude”) is part of the Incident Commander’s Command Staff. Traditionally, the operational briefing is where we have our highest profile: it is where most incident personnel see and hear us at any one time. (Pictured, Incident Commander Bea Day)
The following is a short safety message developed years ago (due to my “advanced” status in trips around the sun), and used occasionally to further our adherence to risk assessment principles:
“Good morning, [I introduce myself]. I want to address a rumor that I heard- I know it is going around and I want to emphatically deny it: FOR-THE RECORD, I did not do initial attack with Moses at the Burning Bush Incident! I was too young. I was still in school.
HOWEVER, I was with the Pharaoh Ramses at the Red Sea, as you may recall that was an All-Risk incident. Unfortunately, Ramses did not adhere to risk management principles. He did not utilize our IRPG (Incident Response Pocket Guide) [I take it out of my pocket and hold it up for all to see- ], and totally blew-off assessing the risk management principles found on page 1…
No, Ramses’ Situational Awareness was totally lacking: he didn’t identify or assess hazards, let alone mitigate them. He failed to establish basic risk controls, and he sure didn’t implement LCES (Lookouts, Communications, Escape Routes & Safety Zones). Did he have any Lookouts other than himself? No, and his Communications were line-of-sight-n-shout, without even using human repeaters [he wasn’t on good terms with the “eye in the sky” either]. His Escape Route was easily compromised, and his Safety Zone simply didn’t exist. Did he once consider “risk versus gain”? Again, NO he didn’t, and his resources paid dearly for it. I was lucky to have survived.
Now, a lot of lessons learned and institutional memory went into these 120 pages [waving the IRPG] and we’ll be utilizing and re-assessing its principles throughout the day and throughout the incident.
Please, work to make it a safe day, and we’ll see each other back here tonight.”
I hope you too have a great day, week, month, season & year: make-it-safe compadres!
