Pre-Incident Planning

WHAT IS A PRE-INCIDENT PLAN?

In a continued determination to save lives and property with commitment and excellence, the Unalaska Fire Department has created a program to ensure vital knowledge is obtained and utilized.

The Pre-incident Planning Program is the process of gathering information used by Fire Department personnel in response to an emergency incident at a specific location.

The National Fire Protection Association defines a pre-incident plan as a “written document resulting from the gathering of general and detailed data to be used by responding personnel for determining the resources and actions necessary to mitigate anticipated emergencies at a specific facility.”

Componets of a pre-incident plan

A Pre-incident Plan is comprised of written information including maps, diagrams and drawings. Building walkthroughs by firefighters also are an important component of the planning process. For larger and more complex buildings, in coordination with owner/tenants, this program may also include periodic drills of the property.

Some of the information gathered during a building walkthrough includes:

• The layout of the building on the property, including parking lot entrances, building entrances, hydrant locations, nearby structures, etc.
• Knox Box ® location
• A complete floor plan of each level of the building, including locations of hazardous materials and processes, heating and air conditioning equipment, utility shutoffs, and elevators
• Pertinent structural features such as building size, height, construction and fire-rated walls
• Description of occupancies
• Site features such as occupants with special rescue needs, unoccupied floors, daytime and nighttime occupancy loads, etc.
• Alarm system information
• Hydrant information (“fire flow”)
• Building fire protection systems (fire Alarm Panel, sprinkler Connections/shutoffs)

Once a Pre-Incident Plan is complete, it is added to our emergency response plans.  The information is used for proactive training opportunities such as, table top exercises and onsite training.  In the case of emergency at the pre-planned location, the information will instantly be available to responding emergency personnel.

Is a pre-incident plan the same as a fire inspection?

A Pre-incident Plan is NOT a Fire Inspection.  The program is used only as a method of gathering information, not as a code enforcement procedure as with a formal “Fire Inspection”.   However, our firefighters are a knowledgeable resource and welcome emergency safety related questions, offering constructive recommendations when appropriate.
 

To get more information or to schedule a pre-incidient plan please contact our Administrative Assistant, Angela Mountain, by email at [email protected] or you may also call us directly at (907)581-5330