Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
Booking Fire Hall Tours and Public Education Events / O.G. # 5.12.03 / Page 1 of 1
Effective Date:

Purpose:

To ensure that all Fire Hall tours and other education events are booked correctly. This is to ensure that the all bookings of the fire hall are completed correctly and that the educational messages are approved for correct delivery of subjects.

Scope:

Insert FD Name members

Policy:

All Fire Hall tours and Public Education events shall be booked and approved through the Fire Chief or designate.

Procedure:

·  All Fire Hall tours and other education events shall be booked through the Fire Chief or designate

·  All events shall be booked a minimum of 14 days in advanced and shall be placed in the training calendar.

·  Members assigned to public education shall ensure that the correct subject is being presented by ensuring that all handout materials etc are current.

Reference:


Signature of Fire Chief / This OG replaces
Issued:

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CISM Notification Serious Injury or Line of Duty Death / O.G. # 5.01.05.08 / Page 1 of 3
Effective Date:

Purpose:

To ensure there is a compassionate and timely process of notification of next of kin for a fire service member who has been seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. The correct use of protocols as detailed in this Operational Guideline will ensure the appropriate people are in place and available when notification is made.

Scope:

Insert FD Name members.

Policy:

It is the Policy of the Insert FD Name to ensure the correct person is notified of the event and members condition by the appropriate Insert FD Name member and in a timely manner. In addition, a serious injury or death of a member while on duty or while undergoing medical treatment for any injury or disease resulting from such duty will be treated as the same, and fall under this Operational Guideline. The procedures that are detailed can be escalated in the event of multiple injuries or death, with each notification team using the same guidelines.

Procedures:

All members shall ensure a Serious Injury or Line of Duty Death has been filled out forwarded to the appropriate person for entry into the data system, and this form is kept current.

In the event of a serious injury or line of duty death:

Command shall ensure the following occurs as soon as possible:

·  Notify the Fire Chief.

·  Request Police.

·  Ensure the scene is secured through the establishment of an ISO, if not already done.

·  Gather all possible information and evidence.

·  Assign as soon as possible an Officer or qualified member to the position of Public Information Officer (PIO)

Fire Chief shall:

·  Respond to the scene, if not already on scene.

·  Notify the Band Administrator, Chief and Council

·  Contact the CISM team or FNESS

·  Inform the Fire Commissioner

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CISM Notification Serious Injury or Line of Duty Death / O.G. # 5.01.05.08 / Page 2 of 3
Effective Date:

The Public Information Officer shall:

·  Contact Dispatch or Band Administration and advise that no information including personal data relating to the individual(s) is to be given out until notification of kin.

·  Ensure all information, including video clips are released by the PIO.

·  Assist Command as needed.

The Fire Chief shall:

·  Start the notification team process.

·  Act as the Notification Officer, as part of the notification team.

·  Assign other notification teams, if required due to multiple notifications.

·  Act as the notification Officer for additional teams, or assign additional Officers to the additional notification teams.

All members:

As standard practice, instruct all partners, spouses and appropriate next of kin that the best and most helpful course of action is to attend or stay at their place of residence if information is gained from any source indicating the seriousness of an incident or occurrence. This is to ensure the Incident scene is not overwhelmed, and to assist with the prompt notification of those next of kin affected.

Notification of Next of Kin

Prompt and judicious notification of the next of kin, using information provided in the notification form is of the utmost importance. The official notification serves to assure the next of kin of the validity of the information and to provide a knowledgeable source of information concerning the incident.

The Notification Officer is assigned the notification duty, using the information in the member’s notification and next of kin form. The Notification Officer shall form and lead a Notification team, composed of an appropriate Insert FD Name member as indicated in the members notification form, or if not indicated or available a willing member of the CISM team. The Notification Officer can request the assistance of Police if needed.

The Notification team shall:

·  Wear dress uniform (if time permits).

·  Familiarize themselves with the circumstances of the injury or death and the personal data concerning the deceased before notification.

·  Use the information in the members notification form, and contact a spiritual advisor if indicated, requesting the spiritual advisor meet the notification team at an appropriate location. If no religious contact is indicated, the Insert FD Name Chaplain if applicable shall attend with the notification team.

·  Assign a peer, to make contact with a child care minder, or close family friend as indicated by the members notification form.

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CISM Notification Serious Injury or Line of Duty Death / O.G. # 5.01.05.08 / Page 3 of 3
Effective Date:

·  Stop one block away from the next of kin’s address, and the Notification Officer shall phone the residence to notify their attendance.

·  When cellular contact has been made and notification is imminent the peer is to contact and attend the child minder or close family friend to bring them to the next of kin’s residence.

·  Attend the residence and notify the next of kin, then stay on site prepared to assist the next of kin with the immediate emotional trauma associated with the notification.

·  The notification team members are not to leave the next of kin until an appropriate family member or friend arrives, however the Notification Officer may leave, if leading another notification team.

·  In the case of serious injury, the Insert FD Name shall arrange transportation to the hospital for the member’s spouse/partner, while ensuring any children requiring child minding are looked after. A member of the notification team shall attend the hospital with the spouse/partner and assist as needed.

Once the notification(s) has been made, the Public Information Officer will be notified. An official announcement may then be released to the media.

The Fire Chief will then appoint a Family Liaison to represent the next of kin. The Family Liaison is to provide a sense of continuity and familiarization for the surviving family. It is important that this special staff assignment is to give the full cooperation to the family from the Insert FD Name. The Family Liaison shall follow the assigned list to ensure that the arrangements of the event can be accomplished without any further trauma.

The Family Liaison shall initiate family arrangements and business arrangements such as:

·  Make family contacts

·  Make friend contacts

·  Ensure that dependants are familiar with the event that occurred

·  Funeral arrangements have been made following the established LDD OG

·  That the Insert FD Name has sent their condolences by personal contact as well as written form

·  The Fire Chief has daily updates

If the nature or size of the incident is such that a majority of the CISM team or FNESS CISM contacts are impacted and unable to assist, the Department or FNESS will reach out and contact neighboring active CISM teams to provide the peer component.

Reference:

NFPA 1500

WorkSafe BC Part 31.5 (c)


Signature of Fire Chief / This OG replaces
Issued:

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CISM Team / O.G. # 5.01.05.02 / Page 1 of 2
Effective Date:

Purpose:

To outline the roles and responsibilities of members of the Insert FD Name CISM Team.

Scope:

Insert FD Name members.

Policy:

The task of the CISM team is to provide an organized approach to the management of stressful responses for fire fighters, using the peer support model. The primary team function is providing peer support to all Insert FD Name members. The Insert FD Name CISM team will be responsible for defusing’s and formal critical incident stress debriefings, during and after critical and other incidents as defined. One on one intervention’s, availability for demobilizations and after care follow-ups are all team member responsibilities.

Procedures:

The CISM team will meet bi-monthly, excepting July, on the 1st Tuesday of the month. These meetings will follow a set process, as laid out in the yearly team review meeting.

·  Business; old,

·  Business; new,

·  Team Use; walk-talks, defusing, debriefings since last meeting,

·  Correspondence

·  Regular Training; To be completed for each meeting, and the main headings and sequence will be – January meeting - refresher walk & talk, March meeting - defusing, May meeting -debriefing, September meeting - referrals/resources, and the November meeting will be for a yearly team review, provide direction for the next year, and setting up the partner awareness evening.

The CISM team will select members of the team to fill the positions of Coordinator, Co- Coordinator, and Secretary.

The CISM team will work with and choose a team Clinician or FNESS contact, who will be the team’s central mental health practitioner.

·  Coordinator: general team direction, annual report, team chair, liaison to management on the CIS Committee, meeting agenda

·  Co-coordinator Assistant to the coordinator

·  Secretary: scribe/minutes, receives paperwork, and tracks/receives usage forms, manages team and hall binders

·  Mental health practitioner: Conducts Debriefings, referrals, team resource

·  All Team Members: Team members Code of Conduct, Hall/Shift resource, stays current with training, attend meetings, documentation; walk and talks, referral, defusing, debriefing, follow ups, and getting documentation to team secretary, functions only within the limits of their training.

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CISM Team / O.G. # 5.01.05.02 / Page 1 of 2
Effective Date:

Team activity forms must be filled out and forwarded to the team secretary by all team members when they are involved in a referral, walk and talk, defusing or debriefing.

Any team member may be removed at any time. All team members must remain in good standing, attend meetings,respond to call outs and maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the program guidelines. Any breech of confidentiality is cause for immediate removal.

Reference:

NFPA 1500

WorkSafe BC Part 31.5 (c)


Signature of Fire Chief / This OG replaces
Issued:

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS MANAGEMENT DEFUSING, DEBRIEFING, DEMOBILIZATION / O.G. # 5.01.05.01 / Page 1 of 2
Effective Date:

Purpose:

To provide information and steps of the Critical Incident Stress Management process.

Scope:

Insert FD Name members.

Policy:

The Insert FD Name members Critical Incident Stress Management team will be trained with correct use of a Defusing, Debriefing or Demobilization. Insert FD Name members shall be trained with the benefits of participating in Critical Incident Stress Management program.

Procedures:

The Fire Rescue Service shall utilize when required a Defusing, Debriefing or Demobilization to management a Critical Incident Stress event.

Defusing:

The following shall be accomplished when a Defusing is required:

·  The Commander contacts a team member or FNESS to initiate defusing process

·  First contacted team member shall arrange for the appropriate CISM team member(s) response

·  Arrange for the appropriate venue to conduct a Defusing

·  Ensure that the appropriate literature is available

·  The CISM team members conducting the Defusing shall establish rules and conduct rules

·  Establish follow up date(s) and arrangements with the members

·  Defusing CISM team member(s) are to contact the Team Leader for follow up

·  Maintain all levels of confidentiality

Debriefing:

The following shall be accomplished by the CISM team members if a required Debriefing shall occur:

·  Defusing team establishes the need for a Debriefing

·  Contact the FNESS Duty Officer (877-263-3456)

·  Establish venue and date

·  Contact affected members

·  Follow up in seven days after the Debriefing with the CISM Clinician

·  Maintain all levels of confidentiality

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS MANAGEMENT DEFUSING, DEBRIEFING, DEMOBILIZATION / O.G. # 5.01.05.01 / Page 2 of 2
Effective Date:

Demobilization – The Critical Incident Stress Management Team member shall complete the following steps for Demobilization.

·  Refer to CISM team member contact (Fire Hall has list posted)

·  Contact the Fire Chief for approval

·  Establish a 24 hour pager for a team member as a primary contact

·  Activate other Fire Department CISM team(s), and the FNESS Duty Officer

·  After the incident 24 hour time frame the team needs to evaluate the process

Reference:

NFPA 1500

WorkSafe BC Part 31


Signature of Fire Chief / This OG replaces
Issued:

Insert FD Name

Operational Guideline

Title
Cleaning of Fire Hall / O.G. # 5.01.17 / Page 1 of 1
Effective Date:

Purpose:

To establish guidelines in regards to cleaning of the Fire Hall.

Scope:

Insert FD Name members.

Policy:

Monthly Fire Rescue Service members will clean the Fire Hall.

Procedures:

·  On the first scheduled training date of each month, members shall clean the Fire Hall