Tag Archives: Incident Command

In doing some research online regarding firefighter safety, I came across this "oldie but goodie" from one of the legends of the fire service in the U.S., the late Ronny Coleman. For firefighters and officers of a certain age, we grew up with Chief Coleman particularly as we read his classic monthly column in the old Fire Chief Magazine (the hard copy), The Chief's Clipboard. For me, reading that column provided my first real taste of officer development as I'd just been promoted to a company officer position in my department, the Chesterfield (Va.) Fire and EMS Department, nee the Chesterfield Fire Department. This was one such column.

One of the cornerstones for improving the safety of personnel on the emergency scene is having a personnel accountability system in place that everyone uses. There are several considerations when choosing a firefighter accountability system. There are many PAS options available to fire departments. There are four basic systems to pick from: name tag, passport, bar code and unit identifier; here's a look at what you need to know to find the right one for your department.