Fire Department Standard Operating Guidelines [SOG]

On behalf of Safety National, OSS Law Enforcement Advisors provides these Fire Department Standard Operating Guidelines [SOG] for your agency. There is no charge for accessing and using this product with your Safety National provided Discount Code. Contact: RiskControl@safetynational.com to obtain a code to get this product for free.  

Updated in 2022, your SOG book is divided into 55 easy-to-comprehend and applied sections.  As previously mentioned, the entire set is in MS Word™ and is easily edited to fit your department’s operational approach. Content includes such important guidelines as:

• • Introduction
  • Mission Statement 

• • Safety & Risk Management Profile 
  • Firefighter Code of Ethics 
• • Compliance with Valid Orders 
• • Job Descriptions 
• • Probationary Period 

• • Orientation Program 
• • Staffing Levels 
• • Uniforms & Grooming 
• • Training 
• • Apparatus Checks 

• • Driving Standards & Performance 
• • Vehicle Accidents 
• • Incident Command System [ICS] 
• • IC Command Accountability 
• • Reporting Accountability 

• • Communications 
• • Rapid Intervention Team [RIT] 
• • Protective Clothing 
• • Exposure Control 
• • Exposure Control Plan Responsibilities 

• • Respiratory Protection 
• • Apparatus & Equipment 
• • Lock Out/Tag Out 
• • Structure Fires 
• • Natural Gas Leaks & Fires 

• • Vehicle Fires   47 
• • Accidents – Motor Vehicle 
• • Wildland Fires 
• • Hazardous Materials 
• • Confined Space Rescue 

• • Trench Rescue 
• • MAYDAY 
• • Radio & Pager Use 
• • Weapon Safety 
• • Rehab 

• • Rapid Intervention Team 
• • Health & Safety 
• • EMS Vehicle & Supply Inventory 
• • Call Off & Schedule Changes 
• • Injury & Illness Reporting 

• • Physical & Mental Capabilities 
• • Member Assistance Referral Program 
• • Alcohol & Controlled Substance 
• • Social Media & Cell Phone Use 
• • Equal Opportunity, Discrimination, & Harassment 

• • Personnel Performance Evaluations 
• • Disciplinary Process 
• • Appendix A – Hepatitis B Vaccine Declination Form 
• • Appendix B – Respiratory Protection Evaluation Form 
• • Appendix C – SOG Acknowledgement Form 

• • Appendix D – Minimum JPR Form 
• • Appendix E – Daily Work & Performance Schedules 
• • Appendix F – Job Description 
• • Appendix G – SOG Review & Update Log 

Our OSS SOG system utilized Red–Yellow–Green color-coding system. Each of your SOG sections is coded using a coding system, for ease of reference and enhanced compliance.  OSS has adopted this color-coding system as provided on the Firefighters Close Calls Website.  As firefighters learn your SOG, they will find the appropriate color as part of the header on each section. 

• • Red – includes emergency operations, emergency vehicle operations, civilian evacuation, roadway safety, MAYDAY, SCBA, RIT, and related topics.  Essentially anything that during an emergency could get a firefighter or a civilian injured or killed. 
• • Yellow – these are the tasks that are done a lot (high risk and high frequency) and the ones that are high risk and low frequency but give us time to think.  Personnel policies include drug testing and sexual harassment. 
• • Green – these are the tasks that create a low opportunity for any of the above areas of concern or exposure. Examples include the uniform or grooming policy, shift scheduling, or daily station duties 

Nationwide Best Practices OSS SOG and policy and procedure manuals incorporate industry best practices and are presented in a format that is easy to convert to your department’s use, format, distribution, and updating.  We present our fire SOGs in Microsoft Word™ with merge codes, that make it easy for you to insert your department’s name, leadership titles, and other key data.
Your new SOG manual is available within minutes from our secure servers after we receive your order.  The manual may be downloaded to your computer, edited, graphically enhanced, reserved for future use, added to, or even deleted. You can merge and modify without being limited to cumbersome formats such as Adobe PDF formats. There truly are no limitations to your department-specific modifications and your enhancements.

Primary Features of OSS Fire Department Standard Operating Guidelines Manual: 

• • Depth of Services: No law enforcement risk management firm in the United States can provide your agency with the depth of services offered by OSS Law Enforcement Advisors®. 
• • Microsoft Word Format: Policy manuals and individual policies can be available within minutes of receiving your order. Each may be downloaded to your computer, edited, graphically enhanced, reserved for future use, added to, or even deleted. You can merge and modify without being limited to Adobe formats, or Internet speeds. 
• • Defensible: OSS Fire Department SOG contains risk management practices, is regularly updated, simple to understand, straightforward, easily adapted. 
• • Updates: Critical or general annual policy updates are provided through our notification service for only $295 each year. 

Ownership Unlike other SOGs and policy providers, we do not restrict your use, and there is no licensing fee or recurring costs.  Once purchased, your SOGs belong to your department. 

Primary Benefits of OSS Law Enforcement Policy & Procedures Manual: 

• • Cost: Your new SOG book is only $895. 
• • Bonus:  When you purchase your new SOG book within the next 30 days, you received FREE a Fire Cause & Arson Investigation policy that is specially written for insertion into your SOG set, and if needed a companion law enforcement policy, depending on your jurisdiction approach to arson investigations. 
• • SOG Updates:  Should you elect to do so, our fire SOG annual updates are only $625, and you can make this decision on a year-to-year basis. 

• • National Fire Prevention Association [NFPA]: audit approved. 
• • Liability Reduction: No doubt, using OSS policy manuals will reduce liability for both your department and your firefighters. Just as important, your firefighters are safer using current SOGs. 
• • Reduce Manpower Drain and Cost: Developing SOGs is often a daunting task that can cost much in dollars and labor! Not to mention that once developed, staying up to date is often a low priority. 
• • Need Help:  Subject Matter Experts: OSS provides you with access to court-recognized SMEs.