Firehouse.com

Safety Week Roundtables - June 14 to June 20

Joining USFA Acting Administrator Glenn Gaines will be Phil Stittleburg, of NVFC; Chief Billy Goldfeder, Chief Robert Dube, IAFC; Rich Duffy and James Brinkley, IAFF; Ron Siarnicki, National Fallen Firefighters' Foundation; Dr. Burt Clark and Bill Troup, USFA.

The conference at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg will be recorded, The Podcast will be posted on Firehouse.com late Monday afternoon.

Susan Nicol Kyle will be blogging on Monday from the National Fire Academy campus as students and faculty begin the annual safety awareness week with a special forum.

You can participate in this roundtable by submitting questions below.

--Susan Nicol Kyle

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10:12 a.m. -- Students at the National Fire Academy had safety messages with their morning coffee Monday. The sheets containing life-saving messages were left on the tables in the dining room.

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10:50 a.m. -- A moment of silence was held Monday morning for fallen fire and rescue personnel. Chief Robert Dube, of Louisa, Va., addressed students during a session that focused on Safety, Health and Survival. He gave them the history of initiative as well as a number of links to resources. Dube later said he was stunned to learn that at least a dozen said they hadn't heard about the National Seat Belt Pledge.

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11:30 a.m. -- You still have time to submit a question for the panel.

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12:50 p.m. -- The National fire service officials are waiting to discuss topics regarding safety, health and survival. Please submit your questions below.

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1:00 p.m. -- Al Connors is kicking off the safety roundtable, as the NVFC's Phil Stittleburg calls a "stellar" line up.

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1:02 p.m. -- First question: What do you see as the single biggest obstacle to improving firefighter safety and health?

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1:03 p.m. -- Ron Siarnicki: Firefighters take risks that put themselves in jeopardy. Dr. Burt Clark: Read the NIOSH LODD reports no new details about how firefighters are being killed.

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1:04 p.m. -- Phil Stittleburg : How come we haven't fixed it? It is a cultural issue. Safety is priority one and we must lead by example!

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1:06 p.m. -- Second question: Why aren't we making size-up part of NIMS to make sure everyone on fireground knows what's important?

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1:08 p.m. -- Billy Goldfeder: We must do a walk around to size-up and question, what do we have? We can't do what they do on Rescue Me and in Backdraft.

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1:12 p.m. -- Rich Duffy from the IAFC answers questions related to the current budget cuts and how the curtailment of funding affects departments. He says that the budget has taken a significant impact on firefighter layoffs. You also can't "keep the lights on" while crews are out training.

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1:16 p.m. -- Phil Stittleburg: The economy takes a hard hit on the volunteer fire service. Volunteers need to hit the street to fundraise and that deters from training.

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1:19 p.m. -- Glenn Gaines: Health-related issues as well as fire prevention are taking hard hit s during tough budget times.

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1:21 p.m. -- Question: Why can't we find the 16 Life Safety Initiatives in any text books if this is a national effort? Ron Siarnicki, with the NFFF, is talking to publishers about including them i future edition. It will take many years to do complete this task. The NFFF is working with FESHE to create a textbook based on the 16 Life Safety Initiatives.

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1:24 p.m. -- Question: Why can't we find any mandatory physicals?

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1:25 p.m. -- Rich Duffy says that budget items and scheduling are two issues to fully implement the Wellness/Fitness Initiative.

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1:26 p.m. -- Bob Dube says the IAFC has started discussions with American Medical Association to provide physicals for rescue personnel. Billy Goldfeder says it's a tough project, but they are working hard on. BillyG: "If you have a 5-foot, 4-inch, 350 pound firefighter, you know what's going to happen."

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1:28 p.m. -- Billy Goldfeder: We need to eliminate the excuses for not getting physicals. Identify fire departments that cannot afford it and the need to have doctors involved.

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1:30 p.m. -- Some firefighters worry that getting a physical will put them out of work.

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1:34 p.m. -- Ron Siarnicki says that, if crews decide that they're not going to follow the rules, the leadership has to deal with it. Many of the decisions that are made on a moments notice can affect crews, family members and more for a long time.

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1:36 p.m. -- Many of the items mentioned in the near-miss reports are reported and should make a reality check for the leadership and the firefighter.

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1:37 p.m. -- Glenn Gaines says that the fact that a basic physical is a "quantum leap for the fire service."

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1:39: p.m. -- Billy Goldfeder: Pass along articles that show when firefighter "just make it by." We all need to take personal responsibility and chief's should know what's happening. "If you think you're busy now...wait until six months after an LODD when an attorney calls..."

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1:41 p.m. -- Question: How are we enforcing seat belts use in the fire trucks and in POVs?
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1:43 p.m. -- Burt Clark: Seat belts aren't an equipment issue and it has nothing to do with money. It's all about personal decisions. Over 107,000 firefighters have signed the national seat belt pledge.

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1:45 p.m. -- Phil Stittleburg says that there are two issues with seat belts. The fire service is in a good position to demonstrating why people should buckle up. "You shouldn't have to enforce the rules..." because of the number of wrecks that fire departments respond to each day.

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1:48 p.m. -- Question: There is a lot of discussion about health-related problems with firefighters, but what about the mental health challenges?

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1:49 p.m. -- Glenn Gaines: The USFA's working with the Department of Defense to help with this issue, but it's a very tough one to track down.

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1:50 p.m. -- After many of the studies on suicides, friends and family of the deceased said that the common signs and symptoms of depression and suicide were evident. And the current economy is increasing the problem.

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1:52 p.m. -- Ron Siarnicki says that it's very important to keep an eye on folks. There are a number of programs out there for personnel with psychological issues.

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1:53 p.m. -- In closing, Bill Troup says that there is a myriad of training on the USFA's website: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/

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1:54 p.m. -- Burt Clark reminds everyone to take the seat belt pledge.

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1:55 p.m. -- Phil Stittleburg: We keep hearing the word culture, but how do we change it? We've got the resources, now what?

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1:55 p.m. -- Jim Brinkley: As we leaders, we need to be responsible. Stop taking easy way out.
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1:56 p.m. -- Bob Dube: We need to make a stand up and make a difference. Don't go to Pizza Hut every day for lunch.

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1:57 p.m -- Billy Goldfeder: The Everyone Goes Home program has had an impact, but not everyone goes home. There are some places where firefighters have to risk their lives, there's no doubt about it.

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1:59: p.m. -- Ron Siarnicki: Whether your the formal leader of the informal leader, leadership is the key to safety.

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2:00 p.m. -- You can find the podcast on RadioFirehouse.com this afternoon.