Q.Why do we contact the incident commander (IC) or our officer when we are unable to accomplish our assigned tasks and also when we accomplish the tasks?
If a firefighter is assigned the task of venting a roof or a window, removing a victim from a window, or shutting down a sprinkler system, he needs to report his success or failure to his company officer. If an officer is told to stretch a line to attack the fire on the second floor or to search the basement, the IC needs to know when and if that task has been completed. The officer needs to know if the firefighter’s assigned tasks are completed so he can report the success or failure of his assignment to the IC, so the IC can assign him a new task. The IC is making decisions and assigning other tasks based on the fact that he has already assigned a task to your company. Your completion of the task or your actively pursuing that task can affect the safety of all on the fireground, civilians and firefighters alike.
If an engine officer is assigned to attack the fire on the second floor, the IC may assign another unit to search the third floor based on the fact that he has a unit controlling or extinguishing the fire on the second floor. If the engine officer cannot extinguish the second-floor fire or has been unavoidably diverted or delayed, he must notify the IC. The firefighters on the third floor could be in danger without a line operating below them.
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