Firefighters and rescue personnel across the nation dealt with a myriad of issues this past year.
A massive wildfire in August consumed Lahaina, a historic town on Maui’s west coast, was deemed the deadliest in more than a century. Officials reported 99 perished.
Veteran firefighters Aina Kohler and Jonny Varona, a married couple, were among at least 19 responders who lost their homes.
She kept an eye on her house as she responded to others. But eventually saw the flames had won. It was the same for other firefighters as well.
“They watched their homes burn as they fought the fire for other homes in their neighborhood,” she explained. “That hit really hard. I was like ‘Oh my god. You guys just watched your house burn down.”
The Fire Safety Research Institute, conducting an investigation into the historic fire, is examining Maui County and state agencies' coordinated emergency alerts, evacuations, firefighting and communications.
During a meeting with Maui firefighters last month, U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell said that the "baseline " risk for Hawaii has fundamentally changed as drought, climate change, invasive species and increasing windstorms create new dangers.
Climate change was one of the key issues discussed at the second U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control in October.
Officials, who noted that NASA found July was the hottest since record-keeping started in 1880, said the majority of firefighters have little to no wildland fire training.
It's essential that all personnel are trained and understand operations as wildfires are now year 'round not just seasonal.
ON-DUTY DEATHS
To date, 82 firefighters have died on-duty, the U.S. Fire Administration reports.
The Chicago Fire Department lost four firefighters this year two of whom died within hours.
Fire departments in Newark, NJ, Baltimore, MD and Concord Green, OH each lost two firefighters at the same incident.
A collision between two helicopters at a wildfire claimed two CAL FIRE firefighters and the pilot.
CANCER
As the number of firefighters diagnosed and dying from cancer continues to rise, the IAFF hired a trio of law firms to tackle PFAS in turnout gear.
Firefighters have a nine percent higher risk of developing cancer and 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer compared to the general public.
IAFF General President Edward Kelly said the gear that is supposed to protect firefighters actually contains toxic materials that are killing crews.
“We need to combat what is killing us. Cancer is the number one killer of fire fighters, and for years, corporate interests have put profits over our lives. It stops now. This initiative will accelerate our search for PFAS-free gear,” Kelly said during a press conference.
Addressing fire officials at the October summit, President Joe Biden said: "Toxic substances you’ve exposed to are almost certainly why cancer is the leading cause — the leading killer of firefighters is cancer...My budget includes $1.7 billion for my Cancer Moonshot — to keep part — key parts of my Unity Agenda in the State of the Union to cut cancer deaths rates in half, to invest in research and development and early detection and screening..."
He noted that the National Firefighter Cancer Registry went online in April in an effort to collect data on "to better understand the link between workforce exposure and cancer among firefighters."
REAUTHORIZATION of GRANT PROGRAMS
Emergency responders -- volunteer and career -- have joined forces to convince Congress to pass legislation to reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grant Program (SAFER) as well as adequately fund the U.S. Fire Administration.
As lawmakers enjoy their holiday breaks at home, the vital legislation sits in Washington. If it doesn't get a favorable nod, the grants will sunset on Sept. 30, 2024.
In October, officials from 39 fire service organizations spoke of the programs' importance at a fire station in the nation's capital.
“Firefighters and emergency services personnel respond to over 36 million emergency calls annually, including fires, medical emergencies, and both natural and man-made disasters. They are on the front lines during pandemics and the opioid crisis, placing themselves at great risk to save others. They are called first responders for a reason: because they never hesitate to respond when an emergency call is placed, regardless of the time of year, hour of day or level of threat to their own health and safety,” said Bill Webb, executive director of the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI).
