Learn how fireground size-up can make your operations efficient, effective, and safe.

Fire officers have many decisions to make when they approach a scene—decisions that could mean the difference between life and death. Pre-incident information combined with your on-scene size-up give the fire officer the advantage of knowing what to expect when arriving and operating at a fire scene. In this definitive guide to fireground size-up, author Michael A. Terpak gives firefighters an in-depth and expanded review of 15 size-up points to help them make decisions that are efficient, effective, and safe.

In each different type of building referenced, Terpak covers the following points:

--Construction concerns

--Occupancy

--Apparatus and staffing

--Life hazard

--Terrain

--Water supply

--Auxiliary appliances and aides

--Street conditions

--Weather

--Exposures

--Area

--Location and extent of fire

--Time

--Height

--Special considerations