LO
ConstraintPhysical automation2018-11-06
At least four firefighters must be on scene before a crew enters a burning structure, and three for a known rescue, under Washington State's fire service safety rules
Firefighteroccupation page →
Event date / reported
2018-11-06
Evidence stage
ConstraintFailure, rollback, regulation or cost is suppressing adoption. Can lower an assessment or widen its uncertainty.
Tasks this bears on
Searching the building and getting people out
Forcing entry, searching smoke-filled rooms by touch and sight, and carrying or guiding people to safety.
Still human-led✓ Evidence-backed
Where this applies
A state workplace-safety rule binding fire departments in Washington. In the initial stages of a working structural fire with one crew in the hot zone, a minimum of four individuals must be required — two working as a crew inside and two outside available to rescue them — and where responders find a known rescue situation, action must only be permitted with no fewer than three personnel present. It sets the minimum people for entry and rescue; it does not forbid robots or drones, and does not measure how search is done.
What this means
Going into a burning building to find people is written into safety law as work done by a minimum number of people, with others standing by to rescue them. Whatever machines add to the search, entry and rescue are staffed by firefighters.
What it does not yet show
One state's staffing rule; it does not show whether drones or robots now shorten searches.
What you can check
Open WAC 296-305-05002 and find "a minimum of four individuals must be required".
Does it change the assessment?
No. The impact index is never moved by a single event. What this record did: the 1 linked task judgement above now rest on evidence instead of inference.
Source
Washington Administrative Code — WAC 296-305-05002, Hazardous atmosphere (Safety standards for firefighters; WSR 18-22-116, filed 11/6/18, effective 12/7/18) · verified 2026-09-27 · Claude (VOLO agent) · interpreted 2026-09-27 · Claude (VOLO agent)
Primary source — published by the party that did this, or the authority of record. No co-signature needed.