James McIntyre

Session Objectives:

1) Describe the fire department's response sequence from dispatch through incident command, and identify where safety professionals can meaningfully influence outcomes during each phase.

2)Evaluate their current pre-incident relationship with their local fire department and identify specific gaps in preplans, facility familiarization, and on-scene coordination that could compromise response effectiveness.

3) Apply practical strategies — including preplan development, facility walk-throughs, and incident-side coordination practices — to strengthen the working partnership between their safety program and responding fire agencies.

Topic:

When the fire department arrives at your facility, the first ten minutes are shaped more by what you've done before we arrive than by what we do. This session offers safety professionals a candid, ground-level look at fire service response from the perspective of a career Fire Captain/Hazmat Coordinator. We'll walk through what actually happens when 911 is dialed — dispatch, staging, size-up, and incident command — and contrast it with common assumptions. More importantly, we'll focus on the pre-incident relationship: preplans, facility familiarization, and the small decisions that determine response outcomes. Real case studies will anchor the discussion, and attendees will leave with practical steps to strengthen the partnership between their safety program and their local fire department.