The Low-Air Alarm and the Victim
Read this excerpt from a department SOP, then answer the questions.
SOP 4.12, Air Management (excerpt): 'All members operating in an IDLH atmosphere shall use SCBA. A low-air alarm is an immediate signal to exit; members shall not silence the alarm except when changing cylinders outside the IDLH. Members shall maintain a minimum 25 percent reserve of cylinder capacity. When any member's low-air alarm activates, that member and his or her partner shall exit together and report to the accountability officer. The incident commander may waive the 25 percent reserve requirement only to attempt a known civilian rescue, and only after announcing the waiver on the fireground channel. Company officers shall conduct a personnel accountability report (PAR) when the evacuation signal sounds and after any emergency traffic.'
1. A firefighter on the second floor has 28 percent cylinder capacity and sees a victim 20 feet away. Under the SOP, may he continue the rescue? What must happen first?
Read the worked answer
He may not treat 28 percent as permission to continue on his own. The SOP requires members to maintain a minimum 25 percent reserve. At 28 percent, he has only 3 percentage points above that reserve, which is not enough margin to reach the victim, perform a rescue, and exit. The SOP also assigns the waiver authority to the incident commander, and only for a known civilian rescue, and only after the waiver is announced on the fireground channel.
What must happen first: he should transmit an urgent message identifying his location, his cylinder percentage, and the victim's location, and request a waiver from the incident commander. He should stay with his partner and continue to monitor his air. If the IC grants and announces the waiver, he may proceed under the IC's direction. If no waiver is granted, he must exit. He may not self-authorize the rescue simply because the victim is close. The phrase 'shall maintain' is mandatory, and 'may waive' is discretionary authority given to the IC, not to the individual member.
2. What does the SOP mean by 'shall' versus 'may'? Use examples from the excerpt.
Read the worked answer
'Shall' means mandatory. It imposes a duty with no individual discretion. Examples: members 'shall use SCBA' in an IDLH atmosphere; they 'shall maintain a minimum 25 percent reserve'; they 'shall exit together' when a low-air alarm activates; company officers 'shall conduct a PAR' when the evacuation signal sounds. A member cannot decide that a rule does not apply because he is busy or because the fire seems small.
'May' means discretionary permission, and the SOP says who holds the discretion. The incident commander 'may waive' the reserve requirement. That does not mean any firefighter may waive it. The word 'only' narrows the discretion further: the waiver is limited to a known civilian rescue and must be announced on the fireground channel.
This distinction matters in a discipline or safety review. Violating a 'shall' is a clear breach of duty. A 'may' provision protects the person who is authorized to make the judgment call, but it does not transfer that authority to everyone on the fireground.
3. A member's low-air alarm activates while he is on the second floor with a partner who has 50 percent capacity. What does the SOP require, and what should the company officer do?
Read the worked answer
The SOP requires both members to exit together and report to the accountability officer. The partner's 50 percent does not allow the partner to stay and continue operations alone. The alarm is an immediate signal to exit, and the buddy system requires the pair to leave as a unit. The member with the alarm should not silence it except when changing cylinders outside the IDLH.
The company officer should: acknowledge the exit, confirm both members are together, direct them to the accountability officer, and mark them accounted for. If the evacuation signal has sounded or emergency traffic has been transmitted, the officer must conduct a PAR. The officer should also inform the incident commander that the crew is exiting and whether the company's function is now unstaffed. The officer should not send the partner back in alone to finish the assignment; relief or reassignment comes after accountability is restored.