How often should a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) be conducted?

Conducting a Personnel Accountability Report (PAR) at regular intervals during extended interventions is essential for maintaining situational awareness and ensuring the safety of all personnel involved. This practice allows command to confirm that all firefighters are accounted for at critical points throughout an operation, especially during complex or prolonged incidents. Regularly scheduled PARs help identify missing personnel and ensure that resources are effectively managed, enabling timely interventions if a firefighter is found to be unaccounted for.

This ongoing accountability is particularly important in dynamic environments where conditions can rapidly change, and where the risk of disorientation or injury is heightened. By conducting PARs at intervals, the incident commander can maintain a clear and accurate picture of the operational environment and the number of personnel actively engaged in tasks, which is crucial for effective decision-making and operational safety.