The Second Firefighter Life Safety Summit: TAMPA2

Chief Ronald J. Siarnicki Metropolitan Fire Chiefs June 4, 2014

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Everyone Goes Home®

In 2004, the NFFF expanded its mission to include the prevention of firefighter injuries and line-of-duty deaths through the Everyone Goes Home® program and the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

1st National Firefighter Life Safety Summit

Tampa - March 2004

Objective: Produce a consensus agenda among the leading fire service

organizations to reduce LODDs

248 participants from the United States and Canada.

What are the 16 Initiatives?

A set of building blocks designed to help individuals and

organizations establish benchmarks regarding a culture of

safety.

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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.

16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives

Reduce Accidents, Injuries, Fatalities

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What the NFFF is doing to make this occur.

Initiatives in action.

Source: National Fallen Firefighter Foundation

Total 1981-2011: 3,612

Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths in the US

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 201360

70

80

90

100

110

120

113110

107

98

117115

90

74

82

74

94

10 years later …

2nd National Firefighter Life Safety Summit (aka

TAMPA2)

To note a milestone in fire service historyTo revisit what was produced in 2004

To renew the missionTo inspire the next generation of leaders

More than 330 participants

Attendees represented 43 states plus the District of Columbia and Canada

47 up and comers invited to participate via scholarshipsMore than 2,500 combined years fire service

experience

Sunday March 10th

The Assessment IdeaIn 2010, the NFFF accepted a request from

United States Fire Administrator Kelvin Cochran to oversee the development of a Risk Assessment Tool—the Vulnerability Assessment Program or VAP—that will reduce

firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injuries.

U.S. Fire Administration

The Vision A fire chief or firefighter will answer questions online about

his or her fire department. The VAP tool will assess the vulnerability in that fire

department to firefighter injury and death. The VAP tool will prioritize and summarize the vulnerability

and provide the user with actionable information and resources to address these vulnerabilities.

The results of this survey will give chiefs the actual data they need when they identify needs and seek resources.

THE VAP IS FREE AND CONFIDENTIAL

Extraordinary Unpredictable

Events

Act of Nature

Act of Violence

Unpredictable Event

Unknown/Other

Ineffective Decisions

Accidental

Decision Making

Human Error

Situational Awareness

Structural Failure

Ineffective Policies &

Procedures

Civilian Error

Communication

Crew Size/Staffing

Dangerous Substance

Emergency Vehicle

RIT

SOP/SOGs

Ineffective Leadership

Command

Incident Safety Officer

Teamwork

Lack of Personal Responsibility

Accountability

Fitness & Wellness

Horseplay

Motor Vehicle

Lack of Preparation

Equipment

Fatigue

Planning

Training

High Level Contributing Factors—Root Causes

Contributing Factors Breakdown Examples

Motor Vehicle Excessive speed during response

Emergency response mode used for non-emergency incident

Failure to develop policy for POV use and response

Failure to use seatbelts

Failure to properly maintain vehicle

Inappropriate use of vehicle - not designed for road conditions

Weather-related defective road conditions

Defective road conditions (rain, ice, darkness, water accumulation)

Failure of roadway component (bridge, shoulder)

Failure to enforce seat belt use policy

POV mechanical failure (blowout, brake failure)

Unfamiliarity with roads

Failure to stop at stop sign or signal

Self-assigned response without being dispatched

VAP SupportThe VAP has been awarded support and citations from:

Center for Public Safety Excellence

The United States Conference of Mayors

CFSI National Advisory Committee

Proud Sponsors of the Vulnerability Assessment Program

Breakout Groups Managed byNFFF Facilitator

CSU Facilitator

Scribe

NFFF Staff Support

330 Delegates Composed of

NFFF Survivor Representatives Rural, Suburban and Urban Fire ChiefsAcademicsGovernment Representatives Fire Service Associations Corporate Representatives Rural, Suburban and Urban Firefighters and Fire Officers

10 Breakout Groups

Behavioral Health Physical Health

Company Officer Development Reducing Fire Occurrences

Firefighter Survivability Thermal Assault

Leadership Training and Education

Open Space Firefighting Transportation Trauma

Breakout Groups

Charge to the Breakout Groups

1. Review the 16 FLSI for relevancy

2. Identify new and changing issues

3. Focus on specific HOT TOPICS

4. Produce Recommendations

Retain the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives• Still very relevant• Need to be more targeted in terms of messaging to the fire

service and individual firefighters

• Work on definitions and explanations

• Closer connection to wildland community

Headlines

Increase the emphasis on occupational illnesses – particularly cancers

Promote the rapid integration of advances in fire dynamics into fire suppression operations

Fire prevention and automatic sprinklers have to become higher priorities

Significant efforts have to be developed and delivered to support the Company Level Officer and their leadership needs

Headlines

Behavioral Health

• Integrate behavioral health training into recruit

training

• Stigma attached to behavioral health issues

• Emphasis on peer to peer interventions

• Behavioral health data

• Case studies

• Personal testimonies

Company Officer

• Develop a toolbox for company officers

• Develop mentorship programs

• All tools need to be scalable for department type and size

• Emphasize importance and use of data

Training and Education

• Certification & Recertification at all levels

• Update Professional Qualifications Standards

• All firefighters trained to national certification

standards within 10 years

• Mandatory training to qualify for Fire Act grants

• ZERO tolerance for training-related injuries and fatalities

Leadership

• High level commitment is essential in every fire department

• Company officers must institutionalize a personal commitment to safety, survival, health & wellness

• Challenge the image of the firefighter as a risk taker

• Promote risk management

Open Space Fires

• Work on the relationship of the 16 FLSI to wildland firefighting

• Wildland and structural communities must have common core beliefs

• Consistent firefighter medical standards must be followed by all agencies engaged in open space firefighting.

Physical Health

• Develop and promote methods to reduce exposures to carcinogens

• Identify measurable outcomes for firefighter health improvement

• Mandatory medical and physical fitness standards for all firefighters

Community Risk Reduction

• Integral role in the duties and responsibilities of all firefighters

• All fire service members should be advocates for codes – especially sprinklers

Roadway Safety

• Seatbelts

• Promote and enforce move over laws

• Risk-based emergency response policies - national best practice guidelines

• Mandatory driver training and licensing

• Vehicle safety standards for fire apparatus

Scholarship Sponsors

OCTOBER 11-12, 2014

VISIT WEEKEND.FIREHERO.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Questions?????

• Thank You.