Incident Tagging

In a volunteer fire department, data is about more than just reporting; it's about culture, retention, and continuous improvement. Tagging incidents allows your department to go beyond the standard NFIRS/NERIS data to capture the "story" behind the calls. Why Tag Incidents?

Keeping track of specific incidents or sets of incidents is vital for several reasons:

Cultural & Heritage: Volunteer departments run on pride. Tags help identify "career fires" or life saves that build morale and should be celebrated at awards banquets or retirement ceremonies.
Department History: Long-term historical records benefit from identifying high-impact or unique incidents that members will talk about for decades.
Community Impact: Identifying calls with high public-relations value helps your department work more effectively with the community and local media.
Administrative & Operational: Tags streamline the "paperwork" side of things, flagging calls that need extra oversight, stipend processing, or insurance billing.

There are lots of reason to tag incidents, and you don't need a perfect plan to start. Add, delete, rename tags as you determine what works for your team.

Managing Your Tagging System

The Responserack system is designed to be flexible to meet the needs of different department leaders:

Creation: You can create and customize your own tags within the 'Control View'.
Application: These tags are typically set and managed within the 'Overhead View'.

This separation allows different officers to focus on their specific areas. For example, your Training Officer might use operational tags for educational reviews, while a Safety Officer focuses on "Near Miss" reports. Meanwhile, Administrative Leaders can use specific flags for cost recovery or personnel management.

Example Tag Categories

Below are the common tags available in the Responserack system, organized by their functional groups:

Operational:

These tags focus on capturing "teachable moments" for training and professional development.

Educational: Incidents of general interest for a post-incident analysis (PIA) or training review.
Tactical Win: A specific maneuver or strategy that was executed perfectly and should be used as a model for others.
Near Miss: An incident where a safety issue occurred without injury; these are vital for safety training to prevent future accidents.

History:

Used to pull reports for awards, social media, and historical records.

Memorable: High-impact (or amusing) incidents suitable for retirement ceremonies or historical archives.
Community Impact: Calls with high PR value or significant local emotional weight.
The Last Alarm: A significant incident for a retiring member or the final call for a decommissioned piece of apparatus.

Administrative:

Flags for the Chief or Administrator to handle the administrative side of an incident.

Special Handling: A general flag for incidents requiring a second look or manual oversight by leadership.
Bonus Credit: Flags calls that warrant extra stipends or points due to exceptional duration or difficulty.
Under Investigation: Indicates that the fire marshal or law enforcement has not yet cleared the scene or report.

Wellness:

Crucial for monitoring and supporting the mental health of the crew.

Critical Incident: Flags an incident for Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) follow-up to ensure member well-being after a difficult call.