I first heard of the term "Rules of Engagement" in the fire service context at last year's FDIC Educational Committee meeting in New Jersey. I'm not sure of the context within which the phrase was presented. When I was working on my most recent book, Managing Major Fires, I devoted a chapter to this concept subtitled "Risk Assessment in the Fire Service."
When I was a recruit firefighter, my father gave me my first "rule of engagement" (although it was never thought of in those terms). His first piece of "advice" (as it was thought to be then) was, "If your ears are burning, then it's too hot." Quite a simple rule, but it established one of the first parameters of the "battleground" for me back then. (As we all know, with the advent of "hoods," that rule must be modified now!)
Other "rules" back then included the following: "If you're crawling inside with poor to no visibility and suddenly the smoke clears, something 'bad' may be happening" and "Don't open up a building if smoke is 'puffing' from the eaves and other small openings." We were taught these "cues" so we could learn when to retreat and when to change the battle plan. Life was simpler then.
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