Pre-Incident Planning Division
The West Valley Fire Department has a very active Planning Division that tries to prevent fires from occurring through effective planning and education. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, fires still happen. In order to keep our firefighters and command staff prepared, the West Valley Fire Department conducts pre-fire (pre-incident) planning.
Currently our duty crew is responsible for visiting different businesses throughout the community to document and familiarize the employees with occupancies and its inherent hazards. This information is then entered into a software program and published into a document that can be carried on the various first-in apparatus in electronic form automatically displayed on the apparatus mobile data computer screen so that all fire department companies will have access to the information, even if they had never been to the structure before. These pre-plans contain information such as the location of electrical service, gas service, alarm panels, sprinkler risers, fire department connections, lockboxes, and special hazard areas, to name a few. An example can be seen below...
This program has proved very effective in improving responses to occupancies for fire-related emergencies for other departments around the country. The fire department benefits by ensuring that our firefighters are familiar with the occupancy prior to entering it. The community benefits by having a fire department that is privy to their special concerns and hazards. By pre-planning buildings, we help to ensure that our responses will be quick and efficient. This program helps us save lives and preserve property.
If your business has not been pre-planned by the fire department and you would like it to be, please contact us by calling 509-966-3111 to schedule a pre-plan appointment.