The Fire Scene: What is Killing Firefighters?

March 1, 2015
Issues that play a role in how, where and why firefighters die

There is a constant drumbeat in the fire service today about firefighter fatalities and what we need to do to reduce the number of firefighters who are killed each year. The number has hovered around 100 for years. Some years, there are just a few over 100 and in some recent years it has been down near 85 or 90.

What is the key to understanding this fluctuating statistic? The answer, I believe, is not a simple one. In fact, I don’t believe there is one answer. I think that a number of issues play a role in how many firefighters die, where they die and why. Let’s take a look at some of the vital issues that define and influence firefighter line-of-duty deaths.

• Training. I think we all agree that a frequent and comprehensive training program goes a long way in keeping a department’s firefighters safe and alive. Now that I’ve said that, we need to talk about how many fire departments are doing it. In my travels around the country visiting and training firefighters, I have heard and seen many variations of what a good and effective training program is.

I’ll talk first about career departments. There are many, and I mean many, career fire departments where they say they train, but there is no “program.” There is no specific time of the day when an officer is expected to gather the members and conduct a drill. There is a no library of books or magazines or computer access where materials can be located and used for training and there is no supervision or expectation by chiefs that training is being conducted. Tell me, if a chief never stops by during drill or asks if you have given one, how many officers will?

In the volunteer fire service, training is usually relegated to a one-night-a-week drill. It may be every Monday or Wednesday evening, which comes out to a total of maybe four drills for the month. Then add the company meeting on the second Wednesday and we are down to three. Now consider that not every volunteer firefighter can make every drill. So a member who misses one drill because of his or her work schedule is down to only two drills for the month. Do you see where this is going? Some volunteer departments train only twice a month. Do the math; it’s not good news.

• Procedures. Plenty of fire departments have standard operating procedures (SOPs) or standard operating guidelines (SOGs), but there are more that do not. That’s right. There are fire departments that respond to all sorts of fires and other life-threatening emergencies that don’t have a set of written tactics and procedures to handle these events.

How do they do it? How can you handle a vehicle accident with a leaking gas tank, a carbon monoxide (CO) emergency in an occupied building, a room-and-contents fire in a private dwelling or a flooded basement in a commercial building without written procedures? How do you know if you are doing it correctly? How do you know what tools to use and what not to do? I don’t know how you know, but I know from reading and studying the procedures and using those same written instructions to develop training exercises. If you don’t have some simple written procedures, do some research and get some in place. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Talk to your neighboring departments or go online and you will find numerous procedures that you can customize for your department’s use.

• Staffing. If you don’t think staffing has an impact on firefighter safety and survival, you have never been to a fire or other emergency. Staffing has a gigantic impact on the effectiveness of a fire company. Some departments arrive at a house fire at 2 A.M. with a pumper and three people. That includes the officer, the engineer driving the rig and a single firefighter in the crew cab. Without a known life hazard, this crew can’t even advance a hoseline into the house. With a life hazard, we are looking at a crew of two entering with just the engineer outside at the pump panel. Would this be a risky undertaking? Are those two firefighters in any more danger that a crew of five firefighters who arrive at the very same fire and advance in with a crew of two while a second crew of two remains outside, ready and equipped to assist them if needed? Of course it is. This is just one simple example of staffing as a variable in the risk equation.

I’ve touched on only three of a much larger group of issues that can have a positive or negative impact on firefighter safety and survival. When you are thinking about how to reduce firefighter fatality numbers, keep it simple. Think about staffing, think about training, think about procedures.

JOHN J. SALKA Jr., a Firehouse® contributing editor, is a retired FDNY battalion chief who was commander of the 18th Battalion in the Bronx. Salka has instructed at several FDNY training programs, including the department’s Probationary Firefighters School, Captains Management Program and Battalion Chiefs Command Course. He conducts training programs at national and local conferences and has been recognized for his firefighter survival course “Get Out Alive.” Salka co-authored the FDNY Engine Company Operations manual and wrote the book First In, Last Out – Leadership Lessons From the New York Fire Department. He also operates Fire Command Training, a New York-based fire service training and consulting firm.

Connect with John

Email: [email protected]

Website: firecommandtraining.com

Blog: firehouse.com/blogs/the-fire-scene

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