Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH
Figure 53. Levels of Planning
1. Tactical Planning The development of strategies for potential emergency
incidents.
2. Operational Planning The organization of day-to-day activities, as primarily
outlined by a department's standard operating guidelines
and procedures. This includes the integration of the agency
into other local, regional, or national response network.
3. Master Planning Preparation for the long-term effectiveness of the agency
as the operating environment changes over time.
4. Strategic Planning The process of identifying an organization's mission, vision,
and values and prioritizing goals and objectives for things
that need to be accomplished in the near future.
Without effective planning, it is impossible for any organization to know when it is reaching milestones or
providing exceptional services to its constituency. The National Fire Protection Association has established
NFPA 1600: Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity/Continuity of Operations
Programs and NFPA 1201: Standard for Providing Fire and Emergency Services to the Public, as standards to
assist fire and EMS departments in establishing and maintaining planning documents and conducting
planning activities.
Tactical Planning in the Organization
Beyond the fire station, the firefighter’s emergency operational work environment is, more often than not,
an unknown environment. Normally, a firefighter’s first visit to a building is when the building is involved in
a fire or another emergency. In the case of a fire, the internal environment is at its worst. Contrary to movie
portrayals, visibility during a fire is at or near zero due to smoke. A lack of familiarity with a building can easily
lead a firefighter to become disoriented or injured by an unfamiliar internal layout, or by equipment or other
hazards that might be encountered.
It is critically important that firefighters and command staff have comprehensive, accurate information
readily at hand to identify hazards, direct tactical operations, and use built-in fire-resistive features. This can
only be accomplished by building familiarization tours, developing pre-fire plans, and conducting tactical
exercises, either on-site or by tabletop simulation.
ESCI recommends that Nashua Fire Rescue purchase a software program that is specifically designed to
make the information that is collected during pre-plans readily accessible to firefighters in an emergency.
Many such programs are on the market including Streetwise, Blazmark, and Raxar, among others.
Operational Planning in the Organization
Operational planning includes the establishment of minimum staffing policies, standardized response plans
or protocols, regional incident command planning, mutual and automatic aid planning (locally and
regionally), resource identification and planning, and disaster planning.
ESC) Emergency Services 61
Consulting International
