Situation-Specific Procedures

If you are ever in doubt of how to handle a situation, you can contact Khaki.

Situations that Must Be Reported to Khaki

Firefly Rangers are entrusted with considerable flexibility in how they handle the situations they encounter at Firefly. Rangers are trained to rely on their own judgment and abilities and to escalate matters (generally Khaki, who might escalate it to the Officer of the Day) for assistance when appropriate. There are, however, situations which require Rangers report what they observe to Khaki immediately.

In general, Rangers should call in any emergency or incident immediately and should report any event as soon as is reasonably possible.

It is important to note that this policy only requires that a Ranger escalate required information to Khaki. Khaki will then follow up with appropriate actions, which may be as simple as noting the event in the shift log or may include further escalation. It is not the individual Dirt Ranger’s responsibility to contact Law Enforcement or Medical Supervisor.

The requirement to report is in place to ensure that the Firefly Board is aware of events that are critical to maintaining agreements we have in place with other departments and agencies, our internal reporting metrics, or legally required or advisable record keeping and reporting.

Examples of Must-Reports:

• Lost or found child (lost child is an emergency, found child is not)
• Any non-consensual harm
  • Child or elder abuse
  • Domestic violence
  • Sexual assault
  • Any situation that is likely to put a Ranger in harm’s way
  • Any situation that is likely to put a participant in non-consensual grave danger
• Medical emergencies
  • Severe bleeding
  • Not breathing
  • Death
  • Psychiatric emergencies

All reports begin by calling Khaki on the radio. Use plain English to clearly explain what the situation is, and, if you know them, what resources you think you need. Khaki may send other resources as well, and may roll to your location for a face to face. Do not use names on the radio except in the case of a lost child.

If you are not sure whether something falls into the above categories, go and and report what you see. Let Khaki figure out whether any follow up action is required.

Incident Command System (ICS) in brief

ICS is a way to manage emergencies and planned events in a swift, efficient, and effective manner.

For Dirt Rangers, Very Little Is Different During ICS

As a Ranger, you don't need additional training to be effective during ICS. We don't expect our Dirt Rangers to be versed in ICS. But knowing what will happen can be helpful.

• Continue to communicate with khaki
• Help keep the scene safe
• You may use a different radio channel
• You may work with the OOD (IC Incident Commander), Northbeast (EMT, Security), or other Cores

What Happens During ICS

When ICS is “activated”, a few things will happen:

• There will always be an IC (Incident Commander) “in charge”--the person may change, but someone will be the IC
• There is a “chain of command” of who to report to: everyone should only have to report to ONE person
• Unless/until Khaki or the IC says otherwise, as a Ranger you STILL report to Khaki

If you are the first on-scene at an emergency, call it in to Khaki!

• If Khaki initiates ICS, you may technically be the IC until someone else with more training arrives.
  • Use your judgement to keep the scene safe
  • Continue to update Khaki!
  • You can ask Khaki for guidance
  • You may be asked switch over to the TAC1ICS radio channel
  • When the IC arrives (maybe Medical or the OOD), update them on what has happened and let them take command

Four rules

All these are already a give for Rangers; most relevant if you respond to an incident while NOT on shift.

• Be sober
• Check with the IC
• Know your role (check with Khaki!)
• Don’t freelance

Other ICS resources:

• FEMA online ICS 100b course: http://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-100.b
• ICS I-Basic Concepts
• ICS II-For Safety Core Volunteers
• ICS III-Managing Developing Incidents
• ICS IV-Organizational Structure
• Crisis Response Soft Skills

Continue on to the next page: Emergencies