Creating a Tradition of Safety

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Creating a Tradition of Safety

• Bob Day
• NYS Certified Safety Officer

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Chief is overall responsible for safety

• Delegates
• Ensure improving safety on a continual process
• Provide adequate resources
• Helps members understand safety while on training
  , fireground, responding and returning, and in
  the station

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Safety Officer

• Direct obligation to focus on safety aspects of
  the operation
• Has authority to alter, suspend, or terminate
  unsafe acts or dangerous activities
• Can bypass the chain of command to correct any
  perilous actions and remove personnel from
  immediate danger

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Develop a Safety Culture

• Embrace the concept of working safely
• No longer tolerate behavior potentially hazardous
  to members
• Have a Safety and Health committee
• Establish Safety goals and objectives
• Indoctrinate new members with the importance of
  safety tradition there first day of training

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Employ crew resource management

• Refers to the effective use of all resources to
  minimize errors, improve safety and improve
  performance
• Uses communications, skills, teamwork, task
  allocation, decision making, situational
  awareness
• TEAMWORK Everyone works together and watches
  out for each other
• Accountability Know where your FFs are

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Accountability Program

• Required by PESH
• Accountability program all personnel know
• Incident Commander establish an accountability
  officer, not done by the Safety Officer
• Used when a Mayday is called

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MARC

• Member Accountability Roll Call
• Should be conducted every 20 minutes for FFs in
  an IDLH environment
• The IC shall make a report over the radio of the
  progress of the incident.
• If no progress is being made, a change in
  strategy and tactics is probably needed

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Apparatus Safety is Paramount

• 25 FF fatalities occur responding or returning
• Personnel in Full turnout before climbing aboard.
• Don SCBA onboard
• SEATBELTS
• Driver and Officer responsible for seated and
  seatbelted personnel aboard

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Know where you are going

• Map book
• When in doubt, ask dispatcher to repeat location
• Preplans
• Road construction
• MUTCD
• Traffic Vests for MVA

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Develop and enforce driving standards

• Training Requirements
• Annual training for drivers
• True emergency
• Weather conditions
• POVs to station or scene
• SEATBELTS!!!

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Be fully prepared for interior firefighting
operations

• Personnel operating in a hostile environment must
  have basic fire behavior and FF tactics
• Incident Command
• Rapid intervention team
• Automatic Mutual Aid
• NFPA 1720

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Implement and enforce respiratory protection
standards

• OSHA
• 2in/2out
• Chief is responsible
• Physicals/Fit tests
• Personal face piece
• 2 bottle rule enforced
• Line Officers understand RPS program

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Read the smoke

• Fire Conditions can change rapidly
• ICs and Safety Officers responsible for
  monitoring immediate risks.
• This should start with smoke assessment and
  ability to read smoke conditions.
• How much volume, speed leaving.
• Density and color
• Flashover and back draft potential

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Risk management assessment

• Initial size-up on scene
• Offensive or defensive attack
• Size, location, and stage of fire
• GPM for size of structure
• Enough personnel for structure
• Correct sized hand lines for GPM
• High Frequency/Low risk???

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10 Rules of Engagement

• No building is worth the life of a FF
• All interior firefighting involves inherent risk
• Some risk is acceptable, in a measured and
  controlled manner
• No level of risk is acceptable where there is no
  potential to save live or savable property
• FFs shall not be committed to interior offensive
  operations in abandoned or derelict buildings

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10 Rules of Engagement (cont)

• All feasible measures shall be taken to limit or
  avoid risks though risk assessment by qualified
  officer.
• It is the responsibility of the incident
  commander to evaluate the level of risk in every
  situation.
• If conditions change and risk increases, change
  strategy and tactics.

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10 Rules of Engagement (cont)

• No building or property is worth the life of a
  firefighter.

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Use Thermal Imaging cameras

• Allows FFs to see though smoke.
• More effective primary and secondary search
• Efficient and quick assessment of fire conditions
  and spread potential.
• Ability to read temperatures
• Search for hot spots.
• Locate downed FFs

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Be aware of overhaul hazards

• Use of full PPE required for overhaul
• Measure Carbon Monoxide levels
• SCBA for inhalation hazards such as CO and
  airborne contaminants ie- dust, asbestos, smoke
• Tripping hazards, sharp objects such as nails,
  metals, or broken glass
• Structural integrity of building

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NFPA Standards 1710 1720

• Guidelines for Career and Volunteer Depts for
  Initial Attack.
• Adequate Staffing
• Offensive vs Defensive
• Capabilities to deliver the required fire flow
• Proper sized hand lines or master streams

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Qualified Officers

• Incident Command Training
• Experience
• Education
• Good ole boys
• Able to change with the current times
• Encourage training for all members
• Minimum qualifications for Chiefs and Line
  Officers

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Know when to call for Mayday

• Lack of training
• May be too late to address the problems
• Train on Mayday procedures
• Dont become complacent
• It is not a sign of weakness to call Mayday
• Know when to call mayday!!

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Residential fires and Commercial structures are
not the same

• Train in both
• Know the different types of building construction
• Buildings kill Firefighters (Charleston, SC)
• Preplan your buildings

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Manage your air supply

• Air consumption varies with the individuals
  physical condition and level of training.
• Waiting until the low-air alarm sounds may not
  provide adequate time for exiting the hazardous
  environment
• 30 min vs 45 mi vs 60 min SCBAs

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PPE vs Moisture

• Moisture barrier and water absorption are
  critical factors in burn injuries
• Changes in thermal environment can cause serious
  injuries.
• Train so that you can recognize how moisture
  affects your PPE

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Constantly be aware of your situation

• Awareness
• Reality what is really going on
• Perception what we think is going on
• Maintain a high state of alertness
• Remain vigilant for conditions changing

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REHAB

• Set up on all working incidents
• Medical evaluation, fluid replenishment, and rest
  to the rehab area.
• 2 bottle rule
• Assigned to rehab after 20-30 of exhaustive
  work.
• Pre medical sheet with vitals for all dept
  members

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Operating on highways

• Never trust approaching traffic
• Avoid turning you back to approaching traffic
• Wear high-visibility reflective vests
• Know the rules of MUTCD
• Have a blocker for personnel
• Use traffic cones and flagger
• Watch out for the five Ds Drunk, Drugged,
  Distracted, Drowsy, Dumb

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Fire Attack Plan

• 2/3 nations fire depts are understaffed
• Worst shortage is volunteers
• NFPA 1720 FD shall identify minimum staffing
  requirements to ensure that sufficient numbers of
  members are available to operate safely and
  effectively.

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In conclusion

• Safety is everyone responsibility
• Depts should establish a safety and health
  committee
• Safety Officers should take Incident Safety
  Officers Course

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THE END

• References
• Thomas W. Aurnhammer, 2007, Creating a Tradition
  of Safety Fire Engineering Magazine July 2007
• Bob Day, 2007, NYS Fire Instructor, NYS Certified
  Safety Officer