If you are looking to buy or sell a house, there are three words that make a difference — location, location, location. Any of us who have been through this know this to be a fact.
When it comes to selecting a site for the rehab area, there are three words you need to take into account — location, location, location. I am sure you guessed it. The location of the rehab site can make a difference on the success of your rehab operations.
Site Characteristics
According to NFPA 1584, the incident commander determines the location of the rehab site. However, the incident commander focuses on the evolving incident. As the rehab officer, you should be considering the location of the rehab site. Once you have selected the location, have the incident commander confirm your selected site.
When selecting a site, there are a number of characteristics to consider. The environmental conditions have an influence on the location. Does the site offer the ability for personnel to be shielded from the elements?
Your ability to provide shelter will depend on the location of the site. Some agencies have rehab vehicles to allow personnel to get out of the elements. The location selected in these situations needs to be able to accommodate the vehicle.
Some agencies have canopies they set up in order to protect personnel. This may offer the rehab officer more flexibility to establish rehab at various locations, as they are not dependent on getting a vehicle to the site.
However, keep in mind even in these situations you should remember that you need to be able to get an ambulance close enough should a firefighter need transport to a hospital.
You can also look for locations that may offer an ideal location for your rehab site. For example, at a training session I conducted a few years ago, there was a pavilion close by to the area that was designated as the incident location.
Instead of setting up the equipment for that drill, we used the pavilion as the rehab site. There was shelter from the elements and it offered an instant rehab site without the need for additional equipment such as canopies.
A characteristic of the rehab site that can be controversial to the firefighters is to have a site where personnel in rehab cannot see the incident scene. Why is this so critical? When personnel are in rehab they should focus on rest and getting back to a state to re-enter the incident scene.
If personnel can see the incident scene, they tend to want to get back to the incident before proper rehab. This endangers them and others. Focusing on rehab should be personnel’s number one priority when in rehab. Distractions should be avoided.
In addition, rehab should be shielded from any media. This site should be designated as a “safe” location that personnel can go and get the rehab needed for their safety and health.
There are other factors to consider when selecting a rehab site. If you are operating at a high-rise incident, consideration should be given to establishing a rehab sector on one of the floors below the incident.
If the incident is a large geographical area such as a wildland fire, consideration needs to be given to multiple rehab sites. This may also be the case if the structure is large with personnel separated and conditions difficult for personnel to get to the rehab site in a reasonable time.
Training
At your next training session, spend time identifying rehab sites. Identify the benefits and disadvantages of establishing the rehab site at the identified locations. Practicing at every training is critical to being successful at an incident. The more we practice site selection the better our rehab sites will be when it is a critical element of our incident scene.
Let me end with this. The three most important words are location, location, location. However the most important part of your rehab location is to make sure personnel know where the location of the rehab site is, otherwise the site is useless. Be safe out there and remember, how you train is how you perform when the incident happens!
References
Lindsey, J. (2007) Fire Service Instructor Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ
NFPA 1584 Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises (2008) National Fire Protection Association Quincy, MA