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Section Four: On-Scene Operations and Critical Tasks <br /> <br />danger to life or health (IDLH) of trapped victims while awaiting the arrival of additional <br />resources. <br /> <br />Life safety tasks assigned are based upon the number of occupants, their location, their status <br />(e.g., awake, unconscious), and their ability to take effective self-preserving action. For <br />example, ambulatory adults need less assistance than non-ambulatory adults or children. The <br />very young and old generally require more assistance which requires greater resource utilization. <br /> <br />The key to any fire department's success at a fire includes a rapid response and efficient'fire <br />scene deployment, as well as adequate staffing and coordinated teamwork. These key elements <br />are relevant regardless of whether the fire ground tasks are all fire-flow-related or a combination <br />of fire flow and life safety. <br /> <br />Because of its greater potential for saving lives and limiting property damage, the Eugene Fire & <br />EMS Department utilizes aggressive offensive attacks whenever possible. The first objective is <br />to put a hose line between any fire victims and the fire, and to rescue those victims by removing <br />them from proximity to the hazard. The second objective is to contain the fire to the building of <br />origin, floor of origin, or room of origin in that priority order, and to mitigate the IDLH <br />atmosphere. <br /> <br /> Before on-scene procedures can be established, the initial Incident Commander must select an <br /> appropriate initial strategy - Offensive, Defensive, or Transitional. <br /> <br /> o Offensive Strategy - This strategy involves an aggressive interior fire attack operation. The <br /> top priority with this strategy is to rescue trapped victims. Because the department attempts <br /> to limit the potential for fire to spread beyond the room of origin and to limit fire-related <br /> deaths and injuries, the aggressive offensive attack is utilized wherever possible, taking into <br /> account the safety of personnel, the availability of on-scene resources, and the size and scope <br /> of the emergency situation. The objective of an offensive attack is to stop the fire and <br /> confine it to the area of origin as quickly as possible. <br /> <br /> The offensive attack may also apply to wildland fire where firefighting crews directly attack <br /> the head, or front of an advancing fire. Although this can be an effective tactic, this mode of <br /> attack also poses an increased element of danger that warrants a higher degree of vigilance <br /> by the incident commander and all crew members. <br /> <br /> o Transitional Strategy - A transitional strategy consists of an initial exterior attack <br /> positioned to quickly transition (redeploy) into a coordinated interior attack. This transition <br /> can be either a defensive exterior to offensive interior attack, or an offensive exterior to an <br /> offensive interior attack. In either case, the objective is to knock down as much fire as <br /> possible from the exterior and then move to the interior to effect total extinguishment. The <br /> transitional attack is intended to slow the spread of fire until entry can be made to offensively <br /> engage the fire. <br /> <br /> The transitional attack is an effective tactic to employ when the OSHA Two-In/Two-Out rule <br /> cannot be met initially. Two-In/Two-Out refers to the OSHA requirement that two <br /> <br /> 37 <br /> <br /> <br />