Who is responsible for tracking the accountability of companies and personnel during a high-rise fire?

The responsibility for tracking the accountability of companies and personnel during a high-rise fire typically falls to lobby control. This is a critical role, particularly in high-rise incidents where the complexity and scale can introduce significant challenges to maintaining situational awareness.

Lobby control serves as a strategic point of entry and staging, where personnel and resources can be monitored as they move in and out of the building. They ensure that all teams are accounted for, which is vital for both operational effectiveness and firefighter safety. By tracking personnel, lobby control helps to prevent miscommunication and ensures that all firefighters know exactly who is engaged in the incident, which is essential in a dynamic environment like a high-rise fire.

In contrast, while command staff is primarily responsible for overall incident management, and the incident safety officer focuses on maintaining safety protocols, neither role is specifically hinged upon the direct accountability of personnel on the ground in the way lobby control is. Fire personnel, while essential for executing firefighting efforts, do not have the centralized role of maintaining accountability for all companies involved in the response.