One measure that is popular with fire officials nearly always overstates a fire departments capability - the distance from the nearest fire station. This measure would be fine if just one station could supply enough resources to stop a structure fire, but very few fire departments have enough resources at one station for even a house. (Some volunteer departments operate from a single station but may have the disadvantage of longer travel times and extended turnout times).
The fact is that it usually takes at least two or more stations to supply the minimum resources. Fire officials who use the distance from the nearest station to determine the need for sprinklers are leading policy makers to expect more from the fire department than it can deliver. In addition, homes that should have sprinklers will be exempted.
Doing time:distance models for multi-station response may sound hopelessly complex, but PC computer versions are available for around $500.00. Smaller jurisdictions can do the calculations by hand. The RFSI can supply the formulas and methodology.
To help fire officials justify their measures of suppression capability, the RFSI uses the concept of critical fireground tasks. Those are the tasks that must be performed simultaneously or in a highly coordinated manner. For example, the two firefighters on the attack line cannot enter a structure until other firefighters are ready to ventilate. Two standby firefighters must be ready to enter if the attack line firefighters are overcome. A water supply must be established to continue the flow once the engines tank empties. Adding up the number of firefighters required to perform these and the other critical tasks yields the minimum number of firefighters and apparatus that must be on the scene.