Firefighting 101                                                         by:  Dan Howell

Strategy, Tactics, and Modes of Operation

At the beginning of a fire incident, after the initial size-up is complete, the Incident Commander will be ready to meet the needs of the incident by making the necessary decisions that will lead to the appropriate actions taking place. This “thinking, then doing” process of the fire service is often called strategy and tactics. Strategy and tactics are closely linked together and thus determine the mode of operation. This mode of operation will be offensive, defensive or in a state of transition. As a result, strategy, tactics and mode of operation combine to define what will be done, how it will be done and the overall tempo of the incident.

Fire ground strategy can be defined as the determination of the goals that must be accomplished to meet the needs of the incident determined during size-up. For example, if size-up revealed a room and contents fire in a residential structure at two in the morning, with two vehicles in the driveway and no one standing outside, elements of the strategy for this incident would include interior fire attack, rapid primary search and the necessary supporting ventilation. Strategy is, therefore, a broad term that simply defines what must be done. The initial strategy should be determined by the end of the first walk-around and size-up, and will be a major factor in determining the ultimate outcome of the incident. It must be remembered that a fire incident is dynamic and subject to change in seconds. As a result, it may become necessary to adjust the initial strategy to meet any new demands identified during size-up that arise from the evolution of the incident.

Where strategy refers to broad goals, tactics represent the individual actions that accomplish these goals. With the above example, tactics for that fire could include the actual actions of stretching the correct hose line, establishing horizontal ventilation, forcing entry, launching the fire attack and performing the primary search. Tactics not only involve actions but the details of these actions as well. Again, using the above example, important details of that incident could include the exact location of ventilation, which door to use for entry and whether the search was performed before after knockdown. Accordingly, tactics are actions influenced by the details of the incident and the range of tactics available is determined by the current strategy in effect.

Whatever strategy and tactics are determined to be necessary, they must be safe, practical and focused. The first concern of an incident is life safety and firefighter lives must be protected. Any strategy must first take into consideration what is safe for the firefighters to do. As strategies are implemented, the firefighters must also take the necessary steps to ensure their safety while performing the current action. The strategy and tactics selected must also be practical. What is practical will vary, based on the circumstances of the incident, experience, training and resources available. As a result, goals chosen should not exceed what is currently possible. Finally, the strategy and tactics should be focused to the priorities of the incident. The strategy implemented must be orientated towards the basic fire service priorities of life safety, incident stabilization and property conservation. Furthermore, the actions of everyone on the fire ground should also be focused towards the same common goals. This demands good communications, accountability and discipline. There is no excuse for such disasters as opposing hand lines and missing firefighters. There never has been or ever will be any place for freelancing on the fire ground.

Another important concept of a fire incident is the mode of operation. The mode of operation is defined by the strategy and tactics and represents the tempo of the scene. If the size-up and corresponding strategy calls for the scene to be handled with aggressive actions then the scene is an offensive mode of operation. Some examples include interior attack, ventilation, and search and rescue. When offensive operations are in effect, many actions must occur in a very short period of time and as a result it is very easy to fall prey to tunnel vision and miss unnoticed events and unseen dangers, dangers compounded when firefighters are operating in the interior of a structure.

Incidents will not always allow aggressive actions and defensive operations must be initiated instead. Defensive operations are often called surround and drown operations and commonly involve streams directed from outside the structure. Although defensive operations are usually outside the structure, the dangers are still extreme. Proper positions outside of collapse zones must be maintained and the urge to move in towards the fire to get a “better” hit must be avoided. Confusion can occur with exterior attacks. Blitz style attacks that have the goal of quickly knocking down the fire are considered to very aggressive styles of attack and therefore considered to be offensive with all the dangers of being near the structure.

At times an incident will begin under one mode of operation and be forced to change to another. This may be the case when a fire forces the firefighters to shift from an offensive operation to a defensive operation. The period of time while this change is taking place is called the transition period. This is one of the most dangerous times during the incident because often the change is forced by some fire ground event that occurs suddenly.  Chaos may reign supreme during this time and disastrous events can easily take place. This only emphasizes the need for continuous size-up and good fire ground communications to allow the transition to occur before it is too late.