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A properly implemented accountability system should be efficient, inexpensive, and easily implemented to any situation. It should be used during any type of incident, training, or company activity. Simply put, you play how you practice. It is something that should be performed without having to think about it. It should be a priority to everyone in a leadership position that all their personnel be accounted for. I know that change is hard to bring about in emergency services. But, it’s time we start protecting our own. Accountability is not a new concept. Doing it properly, and doing it often, is a new concept.

Accountability promotes the concept of teamwork. For everyone to be properly accounted for, they must stay in teams. It is a proven fact that freelancing is a very unsafe practice. If you can eliminate freelancing, you have taken a major step towards improving the overall safety of your personnel. Team sizes can vary with every situation. Every team must have a team leader who is responsible for keeping the team together, carrying out the assignment of the team, and communicating with the Accountability Officer as well as command.

The Accountability Officer position carries with it a great deal of responsibility. A properly trained Accountability Officer tracks ALL on scene personnel, their location, duties, time in/out, just to name a few duties. As a commanding officer on an incident, this can take a lot of weight off of your shoulders. The Accountability Officer should be in direct communication with all team leaders as well as command.

As emergency services workers, we should be looking to incorporate a standard accountability system. Systems may vary according to situations, but, there should be some basic guidelines that are to be followed in order to insure compatibility between systems. There are many different Accountability Systems out there. Every one claims to be the best. Some are very expensive, and some are inexpensive. When looking for an accountability system, each individual agency must first evaluate their needs. What type of incidents do you respond to? How many personnel do you have to account for? What is your financial situation? Do you want an electronic system, or a manual system?

Everyone needs to recognize the importance of having a properly implemented accountability system. I recently heard two statements from a fire chief that had a fatality in his department. These statements will stick with me all of my life. The first statement was, “I thought it could not happen here.” The second was, “If we would have had an accountability system, I might have had an injured firefighter, but not a dead firefighter.” No one should have to go through something like this to have their eyes opened to the need for an accountability system. Accountability is a tool that should be used to help enhance the safety of all emergency workers. This tool should be implemented before a tragedy happens.

Another important aspect of accountability is proper documentation. In my fire department, an accountability report is filled out and attached to every fire report. This is proof that accountability is being done at every scene. An accountability report should list the names of the command team, including the accountability officer. Also, the number of teams and their duties, the times and frequency of PAR surveys, and any other information deemed relevant. On smaller incidents, where everyone is in plain view of the Accountability Officer, visual accountability is acceptable. If everyone is not within the line of sight of the Accountability Officer, PAR surveys should be done.

A good accountability system should never tie up communications with unneeded radio traffic. Status checks should be performed at timed intervals determined prior to the incident and approved by command. Communications should be quick and inclusive of everyone. For example: My department performs PAR surveys on all teams, pump operators, as well as fire police. Our thoughts are that a fire police officer may be operating a mile or so away. There are too many possibilities that he could be injured or in trouble. When do you find out that he has had an accident? Possibly hours after the incident has ended. Therefore, everyone is part of our PAR surveys.

In conclusion, the first step is recognizing the need for accountability. Once this is done, a system should be chosen based on need, effectiveness, ease of use, and cost. A system should be simple and not confusing to the Accountability Officer, or the personnel being accounted for. It should also be used at every activity so that it becomes second nature. I believe the worst thing we could do as emergency responders is close our eyes to the need for accountability. The next time you hear DO YOU HAVE PAR? the answer should be YES, we have PAR. Everyone comes home safely.