The Short Staffing Compromise: Response to a Deadly House Fire

摘要

ON SEPTEMBER 16,2017, AT 0430 HOURS, an "all-call" dispatched the entire Capital City Fire/Rescue (CCFR) in Juneau, Alaska, to a working structure fire a half mile from Station One in the downtown district. At this incident, our staffing levels necessitated making compromises to the fireground tactical priorities, which led to delays in rescue, exposures, confinement, extinguishment, and overhaul (RECEO).CCFR is a combination department that responds to 5,000 emergency calls annually. There are two staffed stations nine miles apart, with minimum staffing levels of a captain and an engineer on the engine and two firefighters assigned to an ambulance. Our department, like most combination departments, has seen a drastic drop in participation and retention of volunteers over the past decades. The volunteer staff has a roster of 25 certified firefighters, many of whom struggle to meet the minimum participation and training requirements. Juneau, with a population of 33,000, is surrounded by deep fjords and a 100-mile-wide ice field, so there are no roads in or out of the city. As a result, the department has no mutual-aid options.