Fire Preplanning
What is a Fire Preplan?
Fire preplanning, or pre-incident planning, is when a plan is set in place before the fire happens. Sometimes emergency responders will work with property owners to create a fire preplan is the structure or property is in a high-risk area or contains hazardous material.
This planning is crucial as it provides valuable information that helps firefighters respond more effectively and mitigate damage, as well as plays a vital role in ensuring the safety and rescue of firefighters if they encounter an emergency during an incident. The plan should include all relevant data that can guide decisions and quick actions during emergencies.
Resources & Tools to Help You Create a Fire Preplan Strategy
Developing a thorough fire preplan strategy, including fire scene size-up, involves several important steps and requires working closely with various stakeholders to ensure effective emergency response and fire safety measures. Stakeholders refer to building owners or managers, local fire departments, occupants or tenants, emergency services providers, and community organizations.
Check to see if your local fire department offers free home risk assessments. During a risk assessment, a fire official can come to your home and determine what threats there are to your property if a fire were to occur and ensure everything meets fire code.
For help with fire preplanning, here are some tools and resources to help get you started:
Fire Preplan Template
Download the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA)'s fire department preplan template, which outlines facility layouts, emergency response strategies, and more.
Fire Incident Management Checklist
Master fire incident management with our comprehensive checklist. Ensure swift response, coordination, and safety measures during emergencies with our preplanning resources
Fire Scene Size-Up Checklist
Understand the importance of firefighter scene size-up and checklist for performing a fire scene size-up as part of WFCA's fire preplan resources.
Fire Preplan Articles
What Federal Wildfire Policy Changes Mean for Local Fire Departments
Explore key 2025 federal wildfire policy changes and learn how local fire departments can adapt, access new funding, and update their preplanning strategy.
Fire Hazards to Identify in Pre-Incident Planning
Learn which fire hazards to identify during pre-incident planning to improve firefighter safety, reduce risk, and support faster, smarter response on-scene.
How Fire Departments Use Pre-Incident Surveys to Strengthen Community Preplanning
Learn how pre-incident surveys help fire departments collect critical data, engage businesses, and strengthen community fire preplanning efforts.
Fire Preplan FAQ's
Some common fire preplanning FAQ’s include:
A fire preplan should be thoroughly reviewed annually. If changes in operations, occupancy, or the construction and layout of the building occur then the plan should be updated to reflect that as soon as possible.