Why does this belong on Feral Jundi? These orders and watch out situations, and LCES, were all developed out of some hard learned lessons in the forest fire fighting industry. Which usually means that a fire fighter died or a really bad accident happened, and these were the patterns of mistakes or indicators prior to the incident that were ignored. If you are going to be patrolling in a high fire danger area, or protecting an estate or FOB up in the mountains, then these lessons dealing with fire will be helpful. Summer is here, and fire is a disaster in every sense of the word.
What led to the development of LCES was that it was an easy to remember, catch all acronym used to simplify the safety of fire fighting. As a smokejumper, LCES was first on my priorities and planning for the fight, and then during the operations phase, I would constantly be evaluating the situation and referring to these orders and watch out situations to help me see the potential problems. We were constantly seeking intelligence and observing fire behavior, while at the same time using strategy and hard work to extinguish it. Often times on fires, guys got killed when they got tired and did not heed these rules of forest fire fighting. Those lessons were pounded into our brains every year during fire refresher training, and for those that lost friends or survived a burn over, those lessons are seared onto the brain. Most have a fireline handbook on their person, just so they don’t forget anything out there.
I also posted this as a supplement to the building snowmobiles article I wrote that deals with the attack by fire. There is even some carry over with some of these rules of firefighting, to the war fighting or security industry, and I think it is interesting to see some of the similarities. –Matt
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LCES
Lookouts, Communication, Escape Routes, Safety Zone
10 STANDARD FIRE ORDERS
The arrangement of the Orders are logically organized to be implemented systematically and applied to all fire situations.
Fire Behavior
1. Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts.
2. Know what your fire is doing at all times.
3. Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.
Fireline Safety
4. Identify escape routes and make them known.
5. Post lookouts when there is possible danger.
6. Be alert. Keep calm. Think clearly. Act decisively.
Organizational Control
7. Maintain prompt communications with your forces, your supervisor and adjoining forces.
8. Give clear instructions and insure they are understood.
9. Maintain control of your forces at all times.
If 1-9 are considered, then…
10. Fight fire aggressively, having provided for safety first.
The 10 Standard Fire Orders are firm. We Don’t Break Them; We Don’t Bend Them. All firefighters have a Right to a Safe Assignment.
18 WATCH OUT SITUATIONS
1.Fire not scouted and sized up.
2.In country not seen in daylight.
3.Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
4.Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior
5.Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
6.Instructions and assignments not clear.
7.No communication link between crewmembers and
supervisors.
8.Constructing line without safe anchor point.
9.Building line downhill with fire below.
10.Attempting frontal assault on fire.
11. Unburned fuel between you and the fire.
12. Cannot see main fire, not in contact with anyone who can.
13.On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
14.Weather gets hotter and drier.
15.Wind increases and/or changes direction.
16.Getting frequent spot fires across line.
17.Terrain or fuels make escape to safety zones difficult.
18. Feel like taking a nap near fireline.
Link Here.