Crew Fatigue on the Second Night
You are the watch manager on a wholetime station. Your watch of eight has worked a 12-hour night shift, been turned out three times (two house fires and one RTC), and has had about two hours of broken sleep. The next shift is due in at 08:00 but two of their firefighters have called in sick and the station officer has told you the relief will be short-staffed. At 06:30 you are turned out to a commercial building fire with persons reported. Your most experienced BA wearer, Firefighter A, is 52, has 28 years' service, and is visibly exhausted; he has told you he is 'fine' but you have seen him rub his eyes twice and mishear an instruction. Firefighter B is 24, keen, and has never led an entry.
1. Who do you send in as the first BA team, and how do you justify it?
Read the worked answer
Send B in as the entry firefighter with a rested, competent partner, and keep A out of the first entry.
- A is not safe to wear BA right now. Exhaustion plus a misheard instruction is a red flag. 'Fine' is not evidence of capacity; observed behaviour is. Sending A in risks the whole team.
- B is inexperienced but rested. Pair B with the fittest experienced firefighter on the watch, brief B tightly on the entry, and keep radio contact frequent.
- A still has value. Use A as the outside safety officer or pump operator, where experience matters and physical load is lower, and have him monitor the BA board.
Justification to record: the decision is based on observed fatigue and task fitness, not seniority. That is defensible and protects everyone.
2. The station officer asks why you did not use your most experienced firefighter. What do you say?
Read the worked answer
Be direct and factual, not apologetic.
Say: 'A has 28 years and I want him on the board, not on the branch. He's had two hours' sleep in 12 hours, three turnouts, and I saw him mishear an instruction at the door. That's not a criticism of him; it's a fatigue call. B is fresh and paired with [name] on the entry. If the incident escalates I'll rotate A in after a rest.'
Why this works: it separates the person from the decision, cites observable evidence, states the mitigation, and offers a route back. It also puts the fatigue judgement on the record, which is what an inquiry would look for.