Department policy and procedure should identify specific types of incidents in which a qualified and trained safety officer is due to respond or should be assigned by the incident commander (IC). If no safety officer is assigned to an incident, the IC is responsible for completing the tasks that the safety officer would perform. Qualifications for the safety officer need to be defined as part of the policy but, in general, the safety officer must be trained to at least the same level of those who are operating at the incident. The best case scenario would include having a safety officer assigned at all incidents where members operate in an IDLH atmosphere. At all incidents, standard incident functions must be performed to assist in keeping the incident safe. Review your department policy for the use of an incident safety officer at incidents.
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