Book excerpt: Learn how fireground size-up can make your operations efficient, effective, and safe. Fire officers have many decisions to make when they approach a scene—decisions that could mean the difference between life and death. Pre-incident information combined with your on-scene size-up give the fire officer the advantage of knowing what to expect when arriving and operating at a fire scene. In this definitive guide to fireground size-up, author Michael A. Terpak gives firefighters an in-depth and expanded review of 15 size-up points to help them make decisions that are efficient, effective, and safe. In each different type of building referenced, Terpak covers the following points: --Construction concerns --Occupancy --Apparatus and staffing --Life hazard --Terrain --Water supply --Auxiliary appliances and aides --Street conditions --Weather --Exposures --Area --Location and extent of fire --Time --Height --Special considerations