Mayday Ejection Parameters

It's critical that a firefighter who faces a possible life-threatening emergency take action to avoid the situation if possible or call for assistance immediately, before he or she becomes incapacitated. The following ejection parameters should be used by firefighters as a basis to make a decision to evacuate, call mayday or both. Eject if:

• You or your partner is injured.
• You are trapped.
• You are lost or disoriented.
• Your SCBA malfunctions.
• Your air supply is low.
• You have used half of your air supply getting to your current position.
• Your PPE is compromised.
• You lost communications.
• Backdraft or flashover conditions exist.
• Fire threatens your escape route.
• Indicators of building collapse exist.
• Water supply is lost.
• Electrical hazards are encountered.
• The fire attack is ineffective.
• You are exhausted.
• You encounter intentionally set hazards.
• You encounter a human threat, such as guns or baseball bats.
• You encounter unexpected hazardous materials.
• Fire or pressurized smoke is coming from vent opening.
• Command orders immediate evacuation.

For More Info

If you would like to reference the Amarillo Fire Department's mayday standard operating guidelines, the incident commander's mayday checklist, or the research behind them, the documents are available at http://amarillofire.com/.