Scene SizeUpRequest a demo

Free initial radio report checklist

In my opinion, the first-due officer needs to be the Picasso of the incident, painting a clear picture of what’s happening for every incoming unit. Your size-up should give responding companies a mental image of the incident, help them understand the strategy, and prepare them to take action as soon as they arrive.

That doesn’t mean spending five minutes clogging up the radio channel before we go to work. It means communicating the right information, at the right time, in a clear and concise manner.

This checklist outlines the key information a first-due officer should communicate during their initial scene size-up, followed by the critical updates and assignments that should come after completing their 360-degree assessment.

The goal is simple: Paint the picture, establish the plan, identify the priorities, and get the incoming companies moving in the right direction.

Every department does this a little differently, so the card below can be customized to match how yours does it. Free to print, copy and adapt.

By Matt Murphy, Co-founder of Scene SizeUp

Initial report
  1. Building: size, stories, use, construction
  2. Conditions: nothing / smoke / fire, where
  3. Actions: what we're doing
  4. Strategy: offensive / defensive / investigating / rescue
  5. Command: name
  6. "Stand by for 360"
getsizeup.com · Free to copy and share
After the 360
  1. Confirm stories from Side C
  2. Basement (optional): yes / no, conditions
  3. Conditions: only if changed
  4. Hazards: utilities, collapse, access
  5. Strategy confirmed / changed
getsizeup.com · Free to copy and share

The pocket card, front and back, at actual size. Prints 6 to a letter sheet: print double-sided on the long edge and cut along the lines.

To save a PDF instead, choose Save as PDF in the print dialog.

The initial radio report

Usually given by the first-due officer on arrival, often before getting off the rig. The order below is a common one; adjust it to match your department. It should take a matter of seconds.

  1. Building: size, number of stories, occupancy, constructionTells every incoming company what they are walking into before they see it.
  2. Conditions: nothing showing, smoke showing, or fire showing, and whereThe single fact that sets everyone's urgency. Name the floor and the side.
  3. Actions: what your company is doing nowLets other units take different actions and avoids duplicated effort.
  4. Strategy: offensive, defensive, investigating, or rescueSets the overall approach, so incoming companies know how the incident will be worked before they arrive.
  5. Command: established and named for the street the incident is onTells incoming companies who has command, named for the street the incident is on, not where command sets up.
  6. "Stand by for 360"Promises the follow-up so nobody assumes the picture is complete.

The follow-up after the 360

Given once the officer has seen all four sides, on foot or, for a large building, by driving around it, or has had someone check. It confirms or corrects the initial report.

  1. Confirm stories from Side CA structure built on a hill can slope toward the back, so Side C may show more stories than Side A.
  2. Basement or below-grade space (optional): yes or no, and conditionsA basement fire changes the whole plan of attack. Optional because many areas have few or no basements.
  3. Conditions, only if changed: fire or smoke not seen on arrival, or that has changed sinceOnly what is new or changed: the first look misses things, and conditions change during the 360. Sometimes the room can be told from outside, sometimes not.
  4. Hazards: utilities, collapse indicators, access problemsCrews will still work around known hazards, but knowing where they are lets them work more carefully.
  5. Strategy confirmed or changedAn offensive call that turns defensive must be said out loud.

A worked example

A fictional fire. Engine 2 is first due to a reported kitchen fire at 412 Example St, Anytown.

Initial report, on arrival

Engine 2 is on scene. We have a medium 2-story, single-family residential structure. Smoke showing from the first floor, Side A. Engine 2 is stretching a line to the front door for an offensive attack. Engine 2 will have Example Street Command. Stand by for 360.

Follow-up report after the 360

Command to all units. 360 complete. Confirming 2 stories from the rear. Fire appears to be on the first floor C/D corner. No hazards found. We're staying offensive. Hold my current assignment.

Use it, share it

This is a training aid. Your department's procedures and radio terms come first: adapt the wording to match them. You are free to print, copy and adapt it under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Please credit Scene SizeUp and link to this page.

Based on NFPA 1561 incident management requirements, NIOSH firefighter fatality investigation recommendations, and published fire department radio report procedures.

Practice it out loud

Reading a checklist is not the same as saying it with smoke showing. In a Scene SizeUp drill, the officer gives the report over push-to-talk, it is recorded and transcribed, and the instructor can score it afterward. Size-up training for company officers explains how departments use it, or request a demo.