Organizing gas rescue service forces in documents on operational planning of firefighting actions

Purpose. In most firefighting plans for an object under protection, two main tasks are typically addressed: rescuing people and extinguishing fires. An analysis of these plans has shown that the issue of conducting a rescue operation for people at fires is treated rather superficially – often, the fulfillment of one set of regulations contradicts another – and organization of gas rescue service (GRS) is not fully considered. This article presents an alternative perspective on organizing GRS operations from the standpoint of developing a fire extinguishing plan (FEP). Methods. To achieve its objective, the article employs an analysis of open sources, methods for calculating the operational parameters of a GRS unit, empirical data, and mathematical analysis to forecast the capabilities of smoke divers during a fire. Findings. An approach is proposed for calculating the performance parameters of GRS forces during rescue operations as part of working out FEP. Research application field. The results obtained can be widely used in training smoke divers, in determining firefighting parameters, and in the practical activities of firefighters and experts. Conclusions. The results presented in the article can be broadly applied both in the development of FEP and during actual firefighting. The proposed approach will enable the fire crew chief and other personnel to gain a deeper understanding of GRS activities organization, thereby preventing incidents involving injury or death of smoke divers – and, if such incidents occur, to competently justify their actions in terms of adhering to (or deviating from) regulatory requirements.