What is the purpose of a post-incident critique or after-action review in NFPA 1403?

• A. To assign blame for incidents.
• B. To document the incident only, with no changes.
• C. To identify lessons learned, improve safety controls, and document corrective actions.
• D. To train new participants on the same protocols without changes.

Answer: (C)

Focusing on learning from the event and making future training safer is the core aim. A post-incident critique, or after-action review, is meant to pull out what happened, what worked, what didn’t, and why. The goal is to identify lessons learned, strengthen safety controls, and document corrective actions so changes can be put in place—updating procedures, refining training, adjusting equipment or tactics, and ensuring follow-through. This is about systemic improvement and preventing similar issues in the future, not assigning blame or repeating the same practices without change. It’s not just recording what occurred or training participants exactly as before; it’s about using the insights to make the next training safer and more effective.