The Tactical 360º Walk-Around

It seems that every few years the fire service comes up with new and innovative words, catch phrases, or titles for most everything we could and do encounter on a working incident. The announcement of “out conducting a 360” and then, in some cases, “360 complete” has come to be the battle cry for many first-in officers during and after completing their walk-around. The question is, Are these at times just empty words? Could it be that we are just looking to check that box on our tactical worksheet? Most would agree that when feasible, someone should complete a 360° walk-around and communicate the pertinent findings. I agree and believe that a 360° walk-around can be very useful when done correctly.

It is critical that we ensure that the member doing the walk-around noticed all the things he should have. What good is the walk-around if nothing is really observed or the results are not effectively communicated to inbound companies? If the member misses important clues, the consequences can be extremely detrimental to our members and the public-and, quite possibly, deadly. The walk-around is much more than another piece of nifty fire department lingo or a checkbox on a tactical worksheet. It’s a critical piece of solving the problem for our citizens. After all, they called us to solve it, and we are the professionals.

Long before the bell rings, you should do a 360° “size-up” of your personal readiness. Is your crew ready? Has the crew completed a thorough check on the rig and equipment? The company officer must ensure that everyone is of sound mind and body and recognize if someone is having a hard time. These are the responsibilities of the officer and entail a great deal of personal responsibility as well. When the bell rings and while en route, your size-up and the basis for your 360° should be well underway. Hopefully beforehand, you have empowered your crew in a manner that enables them each to be diligently conducting their own size-up. I have always advocated that on arrival it is certainly better to have all eyes on the fire building instead of just the officer’s two eyes.