Master Plan Nashua Fire Rescue, NH
For medical emergencies this can vary based on the nature of the emergency. Many medical emergencies
are not time critical. However, for serious trauma, cardiac arrest, or conditions that may lead to cardiac arrest,
a rapid response is essential. Equally critical is delivering enough personnel to the scene to perform all of the
concurrent tasks required to deliver quality emergency care. For a cardiac arrest, this can be up to six
personnel; two to perform CPR, two to set up and operate advanced medical equipment, one to record the
actions taken by emergency care workers, and one to direct patient care. Thus, for a medical emergency, the
real test of performance is the time it takes to provide the personnel and equipment needed to deal
effectively with the patient's condition, not necessarily the time it takes for the first person to arrive.
Critical Tasks, Risk, and Staffing Performance
The goal of any fire service organization is to provide adequate resources within a period of time to reasonably
mitigate an emergency event. However, all emergency events inherently carry their own set of special
circumstances and will require varying levels of staffing based upon factors surrounding the incident. Properties
with high fire risk often require greater numbers of personnel and apparatus to effectively mitigate the fire
emergency. Staffing and deployment decisions should be made with consideration of the level of risk involved.
Common risk categories used in the fire service are:
= Low Risk: Areas and properties used for agricultural purposes, open space, low-density residential,
and other low intensity uses.
= Moderate Risk: Areas and properties used for medium density single family residences, small
commercial and offices uses, low intensity retail sales, and equivalently sized business activities.
« High Risk: Higher density businesses and structures, mixed use areas, high density residential,
industrial, warehousing, and large mercantile structures.
Fire emergencies are even more resource critical. Again, the true test of performance is the time it takes to
deliver sufficient personnel to initiate the application of water to a fire. This is the only practical method to
reverse the continuing internal temperature increases and ultimately prevent flashover. The arrival of one
person with a portable radio does not provide fire intervention capability and should not be counted as
“arrival” by the fire department. The Management and Staffing section of this report detailed the NFPA 1710
critical tasks expected to be performed by firefighters concurrently, referred to as the “effective response
force” (ERF) and compared that to the number of Nashua firefighters that are initially deployed for structure
fires.
¢ J Emergency Services
ESC) Consulting International 168
