Emergency Operations: Strategy and Tactics
Strategy, tactics, and fire flow
Emergency operations questions separate strategy (the overall goal) from tactics (how you achieve it). Incident priorities are life safety, incident stabilization, and property conservation. The classic tactical sequence is RECEO-VS: Rescue, Exposures, Confinement, Extinguishment, Overhaul, Ventilation, Salvage. Offensive strategy means interior, aggressive attack; defensive means exterior, protect exposures; transitional blends the two.
Know the difference between rescue and fire attack priorities. Life safety comes first, but an aggressive interior attack may be the best rescue tactic. Ventilation must be coordinated with attack; uncoordinated ventilation can worsen fire growth. Understand fire flow: the National Fire Academy formula for a fully involved compartment is length times width divided by 3, in gallons per minute, applied per floor involved and commonly limited to the fire floor and one above.
Worked example: A 40 ft by 60 ft commercial occupancy is fully involved on one floor. Fire flow = (40 x 60) / 3 = 800 gpm. If the water supply cannot deliver that, a defensive strategy may be indicated.
Traps: confusing strategy with tactics; assuming a larger line always solves a ventilation-limited fire; forgetting the formula estimates needed flow for the involved area, not the whole building.
Rule of thumb: Match the strategy to the risk profile; save lives you can reach, stabilize the incident, then protect property.