We were talking about safe operations for responding and returning, and perhaps we should visit there for a little longer (a term I stole from my recently retiring friend in the West).
First, let’s talk more about moving forward and back at the fire scene, and specifically apparatus. There is no way to safely reposition any fire apparatus at a structure fire scene without a member(s) gathered to specifically check all “other three” corners and stationed at the rear in the view of the driver’s mirrors and on his receiving device (even if it is an old ear). The maneuver will generally cost something, mostly the smooth operation of advancing or supplied hoselines or tools or storage or gasoline and hydraulic supply tanks, water, and more, even perhaps the painful injury and deaths of firefighters and other human beings surrounding (unseen) the apparatus previously thought to be parked.
One good practice in stopping aerial devices at fire scenes is that if the front of the structure is clear of other apparatus (and staffing including the never-reported police cars) AND there is no immediate objective indicated by the fire location or seen victims, it is often best to stop the cab just short of the near building side. The rule here is that you can almost always pull a truck forward (with the extra eyes, of course), and you can almost never back it up even with a dozen eyes.
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