Ensuring Safety in Emergency Services Administration

1. Chapter 8 Health and Safety Fire & Emergency Services Administration

2. Overview • The most valuable resource in any organization is people. • Their well-being is vital to the organization’s success. • The rate of deaths in structural fires is going up. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

3. NFPA Safety and Health Standard (Page 1 of 2) • NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, is relatively new (1987). • Most fire agencies are in the process of implementing this standard, but very few comply with it in its entirety. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

4. Safety and Health Standard (Page 2 of 2) • Administering the safety and health of the members should be one of the highest priorities for several reasons. • Moral obligation • It is expensive to take care of those injured on the job. • Personnel will be better motivated if they know the administration is looking out for their welfare. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

5. NFPA 1500 • Major topics • Administrative • Safety committee • SOPs • Training and education • Accident prevention • Equipment and vehicles • Health and wellness • Incident management system Fire & Emergency Services Administration

6. Safety Priorities • Reports over the last 20 years show that heart disease and vehicle accidents account for 64% to 69% of fire fighter fatalities. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

7. Safety Priorities • Motor vehicle crashes account for 20% to 25 % of all fire-fighter fatalities. • Also includes fire fighter injuries, liability issues, and out-of-service time for fire apparatus. • These crashes cause deaths, injuries, and property damage to civilians and their vehicles (no national records are kept). • Fie fighters will risk their own lives to rescue a victim from a fire, but will sometimes unknowingly place fellow fire fighters and civilians at risk. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

8. Vehicle Operation Laws and Liability • Provisions to control the most common causes of serious fire service accidents are outlined in NFPA 1500. • Should be included in SOPs. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

9. Physical Fitness (page 1 of 2) • Currently, there is no national consensus on how to measure minimum levels of physical fitness. • Stress and heart problems account for 44% of fire-fighter deaths. • Physical fitness has long been recognized as an essential trait for fire fighters. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

10. Physical Fitness (page 2 of 2) • Physical fitness should be directly related to the job, not gender or age. • Unfair to the public and fellow fire fighters to have below-average physical fitness. • An adequate level of physical fitness is a safety goal for the public and the individual. Fire & Emergency Services Administration

11. Federal Safety Regulations • U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from having too much power over the states. • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations are only enforceable for state and municipal members where there is a “state plan.” Fire & Emergency Services Administration

12. Joint Labor-Management Wellness/Fitness Initiative • A nationally led effort of the IAFC, IAFF, and 10 large municipal fire departments • Created to establish a program for medical and fitness evaluations • Not designed to be punitive Fire & Emergency Services Administration

13. Safety Studies • It is rare to find a valid scientific study on the fire and emergency services. • Look at the assumptions, selection of persons studied or surveyed, and the statistical conclusions to assess their validity and commonsense relevance. Fire & Emergency Services Administration