As the nation continues to face major active shooter incidents and other mass casualty incidents, the IAFC’s Terrorism and Homeland Security (T&HS) Committee has developed a new tool to share critical information after an incident. The committee recently developed a new “hot wash” document that fire chiefs can submit to the IAFC. This information can then be shared with IAFC members.
It is the intent of the IAFC T&HS Committee to gather pertinent information related to significant incidents or large-scale training exercises as soon as a fire chief (or their designee) can do so. Although After-Action-Reports are great sources of information on the entire incident, they can take years to get written and disseminated, if they get written at all.
This “Hotwash” form provides a means to collect pertinent lessons learned; challenges that were faced; and successes that a fire chief and their community faced during a significant event or large-scale training exercise. The information can be basic; to the point; and must always be respectful of sensitive issues that the incident may have caused.
The completed form can be submitted to iafcthscommittee@iafc.org. When submitted by the fire chief of the jurisdiction in which the incident or training took place, the committee will post this information on the IAFC Terrorism & Homeland Security Committee’s page. This will allow other fire chiefs the opportunity to review the information and act accordingly for their department.
We encourage fire chiefs to use this form after a major incident or large-scale training exercise and provide comments to the T&HS Committee at iafcthscommittee@iafc.org.
Download Hot Wash Form
Fire Chief Greg Cassell was the fire chief of the Clark County (NV) Fire Department and is a member of the IAFC’s Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee.