Second National Line-of-Duty Death Prevention Summit

"We have a problem. What is the problem? We have two line-of-duty deaths each week."

More than 225 fire-rescue service professionals with a passion for firefighter safety attended the second Life Safety Summit held in Novato, CA, March 3 and 4. Not only were firefighters and fire officers in attendance, but also members of key fire service organizations and the medical and manufacturing industries involved with firefighters.

"It's a phenomenal feat to stay focused and maintained on this topic," said Ron Siarnicki, executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). "I applaud you for your outstanding commitment."

The first meeting, held in Tampa, FL, in March 2004, set the baseline to reduce firefighter injuries and deaths (see Firehouse, June and ). The results of that meeting include the "Everyone Goes Home" campaign (www.everyonegoeshome.com) and the creation of the 16 Life Safety Initiatives. The group, organized by the NFFF, was tasked with reducing the number of firefighter deaths by 25% in five years and 50% in 10 years. In that time, the annual death rate has dropped from 119 to 105. The "safety culture" was also formed to create a safe operation in firehouses and at fire scenes across the U.S.

"We have a problem," said Richard Anderson, Everyone Goes Home director. "What is the problem? We have two line-of-duty deaths each week."

The summit opened with facts and figures, including a listing of line-of-duty deaths since the first summit. Kevin Roche, the assistant fire marshal for the Phoenix Fire Department, reported the following figures: Since 2004, there have been 336 LODDs with 119 in 2004, 115 in 2005 and 105 in 2006. As of March 2, 2007, there were 18 LODDs. The breakdown by groups is as follows: 201 volunteer firefighters, 98 career firefighters, 36 wildland firefighters and one industrial firefighter. The recent Hometown Safety Officer Benefits was issued 38 times. Nine states have suffered 10 or more LODDs since the first summit: New York, Pennsylvania, California, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, New Jersey, Illinois and Alabama.

"So far this year, there have been 18 LODDs," said Charlie Dickinson, acting U.S. Fire Administrator. "There's 18 families without a father, brother, mother, sister, daughter or son. It's not about what we can do, but what we should do."

The majority of the meeting was spent in small breakout groups that were designed to study these core domains: health and fitness, prevention, structural, training and research, vehicle and wildland. Several themes were prevalent throughout the breakout sessions:

Training standards - Every rank of the fire service needs to be certified to a standard level. Recertification should also take place through the ranks, because new ideas come about yearly.

Accountability - Hold firefighters accountable for each other, in the station and at emergency scenes. The concept of "Challenge to Confirm," where any member is able to question an order without consequences, was also dominant through discussions. Disciplining a rookie for questioning an officer is no longer permissible.

National databases - Through Internet domains, it was recommended to have a national database of items such as firefighter injuries, firefighter deaths, fire prevention issues and root causes of preventable fires. Departments would be held accountable for not reporting incidents and these programs should be available and easily accessible to all firehouses.

Grants - Department applying for grants on the federal level should follow certain criteria. For example, the agency should have standard operating procedures (SOPs)/standard operating guidelines (SOGs), a fitness/wellness program and an established fire prevention program in place to receive funding. Another idea was to mandate participation in national reporting systems.

Technology - Look into technology that is available across the spectrum from health and fitness to GPS for firefighters in structures and for use in incident mitigation.

Reports from Breakout Groups

HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Department should implement a no-tobacco-use policy

Check one another's vital signs daily, at the beginning of each shift when equipment is checked out

Mandate medical screening and fitness programs

Create an injury reporting system similar to the Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System

Offer training resources to deal with mental health issues

PREVENTION

The goal of fire prevention and public education should be included in the mission statement of all departments and fire service organizations

Create an incentive for reporting incidents on the national level

Investigate "root causes" of preventable incidents and make the information available to everyone

Offer promotions to members assigned to fire prevention and life-safety duties

Offer more fire prevention education on the national level

STRUCTURAL

Reward and recognize safe behaviors and stop rewarding unsafe actions, no matter what the outcome

Challenge the cultural definition of "hero"

Teach all personnel about the legal consequences of their actions

Adopt a pre-incident survey program

Use the "Challenge and Confirm" concept

Create a thought-out mutual aid plan

Create SOPs/SOGs for violent incidents

Evaluate and re-evaluate current SOPs/SOGs and see what can be realigned with the "safety culture" concept

WILDLAND

Establish a span of control

Constant training on LCES (Lookouts, Communications, Escape routes to Safety Zones)

Implementation of the "staff ride" concept, used by the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Marine Corps, to study past events and learn lessons from them

Require empowerment for unsafe practices

TRAINING AND RESEARCH

All firefighters and officers must meet National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards

Firefighter safety should be the first item of business in recruit school

Make sure all departments understand NFPA 1403, Standard on Live Fire Training and standardize education for providers of live-fire training

To strengthen training budgets, provide government with cost analysis of training vs. death and injuries

Creating a database to include SOPs/SOGs based on department and jurisdiction data

VEHICLES

Implement the safety core value of LACK (Leadership, Accountability, Communication and Knowledge)

Mandatory training and recertification for drivers of emergency and personal vehicles

Set disciplinary actions for lack of seatbelt use

A full report is being compiled and soon will be available on www.everyonegoeshome.com. A second volume of the "Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Resource Kit" will be mailed to each department shortly. The Everyone Goes Home program is funded by grants from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant and the Fireman's Fund Insurance Company.

The breakdown of occurrences is as follows:

159...Heart attacks...47.3%

101...Trauma..........30.1%

28....Asphyxiation....8.3%

14....Burns...........4.2%

12....CVAs............3.6%

3.....Electrocutions..0.9%

16 LIFE SAFETY INITIATIVES

1. Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety; incorporating leadership, management, supervision, accountability and personal responsibility.
2. Enhance the personal and organizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service.
3. Focus greater attention on the integration of risk management with incident management at all levels, including strategic, tactical, and planning responsibilities.
4. All firefighters must be empowered to stop unsafe practices.
5. Develop and implement national standards for training, qualifications, and certification (including regular recertification) that are equally applicable to all firefighters based on the duties they are expected to perform.
6. Develop and implement national medical and physical fitness standards that are equally applicable to all firefighters, based on the duties they are expected to perform.
7. Create a national research agenda and data collection system that relates to the initiatives.
8. Utilize available technology wherever it can produce higher levels of health and safety.
9. Thoroughly investigate all firefighter fatalities, injuries and near misses.
10. Grant programs should support the implementation of safe practices and/or mandate safe practices as an eligibility requirement.
11. National standards for emergency response policies and procedures should be developed and championed.
12. National protocols for response to violent incidents should be developed and championed.
13. Firefighters and their families must have access to counseling and psychological support.
14. Public education must receive more resources and be championed as a critical fire and life safety program.
15. Advocacy must be strengthened for the enforcement of codes and the installation of home fire sprinklers.
16. Safety must be a primary consideration in the design of apparatus and equipment.