SECTION I MAYDAY PROCEDURES

1. SECTION I MAYDAY PROCEDURES A PARTIAL GUIDE TO MCFRS SAFE STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTING POLICY

2. The purpose of this presentation is to expand on the new Safe Structural Firefighting Policy 24-07 with regards to maydays.

3. THE REAL MISSION The goal of the fire department is to prevent the need for MAYDAY or the subsequent RIT operation. There is a narrow window of survivability for a firefighter who is out of SCBA air supply or trapped. Individual firefighters must not delay reporting to Command if they become lost, trapped, or otherwise in need of assistance.

4. ACRONYMS • EB - Emergency Button On Radio • RIT - Rapid Intervention Team • IDAT - Immediate Danger Alert Tone • PTT - Push To Talk Button • IDLH - Immediately Dangerous To Life & Health • FDTA - Fire Department Talk Around (7-O) • PAR - Personal Accountability Report

5. MAYDAY Mayday Is A Phrase Indicating That You Are In Distress. Our policy defines Mayday as: “An emergency distress signal indicating that one or more fire/rescue personnel need emergency assistance to escape an IDLH environment.” S.O.S

6. MAYDAY • When any of the following mayday conditions occur you are Mandated By Policy to call a Mayday: • A firefighter has become entangled, trapped, or pinned; • Personnel have fallen through a roof or floor and cannot be accounted for or have become injured; • Personnel are caught in a flashover; • Personnel are off a hose line or tag line in a large/open area with zero visibility; • A low air alert activates, and personnel cannot immediately find an exit; or • At any other time a firefighter believes the safety of a crew or a crew member may be at risk.

7. MAYDAY • EB Use During Mayday: • Press the Emergency Button (EB) on the portable radio, followed by a voice transmission declaring the mayday, indicating the unit involved, its location in the structure, and a description of the problem. • If unable to press the EB, press the PTT and announce the MAYDAY situation to the Incident Commander.

8. MAYDAY EXAMPLE: Unit presses the EB on the portable radio and transmits “E191 to Command, “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY, E191-B and E191-C are trapped on the second floor, Side C, quadrant B.”

9. MAYDAY Ruthless Pre-emption By first pressing the EB, a firefighter with a mayday triggers the “ruthless preemption” feature of the 800 MHz radio.

10. MAYDAY • EB Only MAYDAY: • A mayday may also be transmitted by pressing only the EB, with no follow-up voice transmission. • When an EB is activated with no follow-up voice transmission, ECC will notify Command of the activation. • Command will make one attempt to contact the unit verbally. • If the unit does not acknowledge this attempt, the unit will be considered a mayday.

11. MAYDAY PASS DEVICE Activate your PASS device after giving mayday information.

12. MAYDAY • Witnessed Report • A witnessed report is an occurrence where personnel witness a person or persons trapped; a fall through a roof or floor; firefighters caught in a flashover, etc., and the witnessing personnel then declare a mayday.

13. MAYDAY • UNITS UNACCOUNTED FOR • A unit that is not accounted for in a PAR will be declared Mayday.

14. MAYDAY • L-U-N-A-R is an acronym that provides all the needed mayday information. L-location U-unit N-name A-assignment at time of mayday R-resources/help needed

15. MAYDAY • Personnel Actions During Mayday • All other units must continue their assigned operation, unless the Incident Commander directs otherwise. • Direct knowledge of the Mayday situation should be transmitted to the IC through the command structure.

16. COMMAND ACTIONS AFTER MAYDAY DECLARATION

17. MAYDAY • Mayday, ECC, Alert Tones • The IC will request ECC to sound the pre-alert tone and switch all units, except the Mayday personnel, the Incident Commander or the IC’s designee, and the RIG, to an alternate talk group. • If the IC does not acknowledge a Mayday, any unit hearing the call must alert the Incident Commander of the Mayday. • The IC will try to determine the exact location of the mayday personnel and order the RIG to intervene as necessary

18. MAYDAY • RIG Assignment • The Incident Commander or the IC’s designee will assign the RIG and any other resources necessary to rescue the mayday personnel. • If the IC or the IC’s designee cannot determine the exact location of the mayday personnel, the RIG should be sent to their last known location.

19. MAYDAY • PAR after MAYDAY Declaration • Once all units (except the mayday personnel, the IC or the IC’s designee, and the RIG) have switched to an alternate talk group, Command will conduct a PAR. • Divisions/Groups that do not report after two attempts will be considered mayday. • If Divisions and Groups have not been assigned, the PAR will be by unit.

20. MAYDAY • When Mayday is Over: • The Incident Commander will announce to all operating units and ECC when the incident has stabilized and there is a return to normal operations • Consider redirecting the incident action plan and incident priorities to a high priority search & rescue operation. Development of a rescue action plan is critical.

21. MAYDAY • Additional Resources • Consider requesting appropriate resources to meet the needs of the event as needed, including: • An Additional Alarm • Command Staff-aide, Radio Operator, Senior Advisor, PIO, And Safety. • General Staff/Operations, Logistics, Planning, Etc. • Specialized Resources-technical Rescue Capability. • EMS Assets.

22. MAYDAY • Reinforcing Positions • Consider initiating and/or maintaining fire attack positions and reinforcing with extra alarm companies as needed.

23. MAYDAY • Expanding Command • Consider expanding the command organization. Requesting and assigning additional officers of an appropriate level to the rescue area, fire attack area, command staff, and other critical command positions.

24. MAYDAY • Unassigned Resources • Consider withdrawing unassigned resources from the search and rescue area. • Unauthorized Access • Maintain strong supervision in all work areas. Control and restrict all unauthorized entries into the structure or search-rescue area.

25. MAYDAY • Command Presence • It is critical that the incident commander create a strong command presence.

26. REVIEW This presentation highlights critical points but it is not intended to be, nor should it be taken as a substitute for careful reading of the entire policy!

27. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS • Assistant Chief Michael Clemens; MCFRS PSTA Training Officer • Captain Derrick Anthony; MCFRS In-Service Training Coordinator • Lieutenant Charles Bailey; MCFRS NEMT-P • Master Firefighter Eric Fessenden; MCFRS • Firefighter Robert Faas; MCFRS