The process of gathering and evaluating information about a particular building or occupancy is:

• A. Pre-incident planning
• B. Post-incident survey
• C. Pre-incident mode
• D. Post-incident mode

Answer: (A)

Pre-incident planning involves gathering and evaluating information about a building or occupancy before an incident. This proactive collection creates pre-incident plans that help firefighters anticipate hazards, understand building layout, access points, water supply, egress routes, occupancy type, and installed fire protection systems. With this information, responders can tailor strategies, allocate the right equipment, and coordinate actions ahead of time, leading to faster, safer responses. After an incident is the wrong time to gather this data, which is why post-incident surveys serve a learning purpose rather than preplanning. The terms with “mode” aren’t the standard way to describe this information-gathering process either.