Fireground Recon: Defining an Old Term

摘要

In my nearly 13 years in the fire service, I cannot recall the number of times an incident commander (IC) directed my crew to "recon" an area, the fire floor, or an entire structure. Undoubtedly, we've all heard the expression and may have even used it for our own purposes. Oddly enough, for as often as I've heard the phrase used, I've found very little written on the subject, much less come across a formal and explicit definition for it.1 The only fire-related description that seems to exist is within the realm of wildland firefighting. Yet, this frequently used expression has real-world implications on the fireground; therefore, it is in our best interest to thoroughly understand and use the term properly.