Firefighter Safety
Fireground safety, incident management, rescue operations and line-of-duty risk.
Make 2019 the year you change your department’s fire safety education paradigm
This is not some “pipe dream” of mine. There is such a system and it’s been available for the better part of the last five years. It’s the Fire-ED Interactive System developed by my colleague Tracy Last. And if you don’t know Tracy and the Fire-ED Interactive System, then you don’t know fire and life safety education for the 21st century.
Why YOU need to track your on-the-job exposures
It’s on you as the individual firefighter or officer to document your exposures—every single one—that you can document from the past and from here on out in your career. It can be years before you develop cancer, more than likely after you’ve completed your career in the fire service.
The Company Officer as Risk Manager
Chief Avsec writes of the need for a "third corner" in the company officer's hat of responsibilities: risk manager. “If we are to continue making positive strides towards making the job of a firefighter safer, we must develop company officers who can recognize and manage risk in both the emergency and non-emergency arenas.”
What are you doing for Safety Stand Down 2018?
The Fire Service Safety Stand Down (June 17-23) is an opportunity for firefighters everywhere to become informed and educated about health and wellness and The Emergency Services Road Map to Health and Wellness published by the Firefighter Safety Through Advanced Research (FSTAR) program.
Why Do We Keep Working 24-hour Shifts–When They’re Probably Killing US?
Did you know? Half of residential fire deaths result from fires reported between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m., yet only…
Hurricane Harvey: Another Hurricane, Another SNAFU
Once again, we’re seeing massive numbers of people being rescued from neck-high-deep water, from the rooftops of homes, and tens of thousands of people being housed in emergency shelters. And yet again, we’ve seen what happens when state and local governments send ambiguous and conflicting messages to the general public regarding emergency evacuations.
How will technology change tomorrow’s firefighting PPE?
One of the experts I spoke with says the future of PPE development will be driven by how the fire service perceives its mission. As we decide which tasks we’ll do and not do and how we’ll get those tasks done will be key to the type of PPE manufactures bring to market.
Firefighter Rehab and CO Poisoning
CO poisoning is a significant health risk for firefighters who are exposed to smoke during fire suppression operations. Fire departments…
EVO Program: Regulating Your Fire Department’s Driving Risks
Several years ago, at a fire service conference, I attended a session on reducing risk in fire departments. The presenter,…
When Should You Don Your SCBA Facepiece?
Currently our department doesn't have an SOP/SOG on file in regards to whether or not to mask up prior to arriving on scene to a fire. As it currently stands, we've had one person injured (newer to the department,) from being told to do this prior to exiting the fire apparatus. Some feel that it should be done, while others feel that it is a matter of safety to actually mask up just after exiting the fire apparatus once on scene.
Wildfires as a Tool for Terrorism
If we thought the high-jacking of airliners and flying them into buildings was “low tech” terrorism, I doubt we’ve seen nothing yet. We can rest assured that those terrorist elements that would do harm on U.S. soil are “taking notes” about the devastation being created by these intentionally set forest fires, the chaos being created in the local populations, and the stress on firefighting resources and other emergency response assets in those communities.
Firefighter Health: Less talk and more action is required
I’ve always believed that the most important aspect of better firefighter health and safety is the person who uses the equipment: the firefighter. The personal behaviors of the individual firefighter will always have the greatest influence on firefighter health and safety.