Manitowoc County – MABAS Division 128 Incident Safety Officer Policy

Section 1: Scope

The SAFETY OFFICER position is a component of the COMMAND STAFF at major emergencies.  All personnel are responsible for understanding the objectives of the SAFETY OFFICER position.

Section 2: Responsibilities

A. Incident Commander.

The Incident Commander shall assign a Safety Officer upon initiating a box alarm if one has not already been assigned.  This person (Safety Officer) shall be announced via the working channel and this person is required to don a Safety Officer Vest ASAP.

It is assumed that the size and/or complexity of the incident prevents the Incident Commander from personally supervising this function. Incident Command MUST assign a Safety Officer for any incident that is a MABAS Box Alarm or greater. This function can be expanded by adding Assistant Safety Officers who will be assigned to the Safety Officer.

Section 3: Responsibility of the Safety Officer position

A.        Immediately intervene to correct unsafe situations that presents an immediate life safety hazard to personnel. If the correction requires a change in emergency operations, the Safety Officer must notify the IC immediately after correcting the situation.

B.        Monitor and assess safety hazards and unsafe conditions.

            C.        Suggest measures to reduce risks to firefighting personnel.

            D.        Inform Command of safety problems and potential hazards.

            E.         Assure accountability has been established and Conduct PARR Checks.

Section 4: Authority to Bypass Chain of Command

The Safety Officer can bypass the chain of command when it is necessary to correct unsafe acts.  Command must be immediately informed of these corrective actions.

Section 5: Radio Communications Designation

The SAFETY OFFICER will maintain communications on the Fireground Tactical Channel (FG RED) at all times.  The task based identifier, SAFETY will designate the safety staff function.

Section 6: Reference for Safety Officer Position

NFPA 1500 Firefighter Occupational Safety and Health Program

NFPA 1521 Standard for Fire Department Safety Officer