By RICHARD MARINUCCI
The United States Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) in 1992 to lead a nationwide effort to honor America’s firefighters who died in the line of duty. In addition, resources are provided to assist the survivors of fallen firefighters in rebuilding their lives. Recently, the NFFF has added another missionworking within the fire service community to help reduce the number of line-of-duty deaths (LODDs).
In 2004, more than 225 fire service professionals met in Tampa, Florida, to discuss the LODD rate and suggest strategies to reduce the unacceptable number of firefighters who die each year in the line of duty. From this meeting, the 16 Life Safety Initiatives (LSI) were put forth to present a comprehensive plan that addressed all of the LODD causes and potential causes. The NFFF has adopted the 16 LSI as the basis for its LODD prevention efforts through the Everyone Goes Home (EGH) program. Regardless, the 16 LSI belong to the fire service. For the plan to be effective, everyone, collectively and individually, must take ownership in the problem and assist in the areas that they are best prepared to offer support.
A recently posted Internet video shows the outrage that United Kingdom firefighters have because of the spike in firefighter deaths. According to the report, there were eight LODDs in 2007 and 13 from 2003 to 2007. There were no deaths in the previous seven years! The firefighters were demanding that something be done, as this was totally unacceptable. By contrast, the U.S. Fire Administration reported 114 LODDs in 2008. It would appear that the culture in the United Kingdom is less accepting of LODDs to the point that U.K. firefighters find it difficult to accept even one death. The challenge for U.S. firefighters is to develop the culture and attitude that do not accept LODDs as part of the job so it can use viable and workable solutions.
Despite the fact that the numbers are outrageously high and have been so for quite some time, there are ways to reduce LODDs if the entire fire service embraces safe practices. These safe practices will be the product of improved and daily training along with better policies and proper use of experience. The training includes the repetition needed to develop skill competence combined with fire science study, building construction, and other risk factors so that LODD issues are well known and part of the knowledge base of all firefighters.
This is not to insinuate that aggressive firefighting should vanish. On the contrary, good firefighting techniques are needed, and quicker extinguishment can reduce exposure time. The lesson learned is that to extinguish a fire, you must be properly equipped, trained, and educated and lead using sound practices and procedures. For example, some proponents feel that you should not make interior fire attacks in unoccupied buildings. This is not and cannot be promoted in most communities; there are too many variables that affect tactical decisions. If a fire officer knows a building is unoccupied and looks in a window to see a grease fire on a stove, should he wait for the fire to build by staying outside or enter safely and quickly to extinguish the fire? (Of course this is a rhetorical question.) The real question that firefighters and officers must answer is, At what point does the building become unsafe for entry? Only through training and experience can you realize this point.
Firefighters are generally aggressive and risk takers by nature. But this does not mean that they are suicidal. If you could predict one minute ahead and tell a firefighter that his tanker truck would roll over at the next curve, he would slow down. If the driver knew that he was going to be hit by another vehicle beyond his control and most likely be thrown from the vehicle, he would buckle up. If he knew his heart attack was coming in the next 24 hours, he would go to the doctor. If he knew a structure’s floor was missing, he wouldn’t race into the building.
Unfortunately, you do not have a crystal ball. If you did, you could avoid all of these potential LODD causes. What you do have is the choice to learn your profession to the highest degree possible so that you make good decisions.
Statistically we know that about half of LODDs are heart-related. If we know that, why is it so hard to change behaviors? We might not eliminate these LODDs, but regular physicals and exercise and better diets would certainly reduce the risk. We also know that about 20 percent of the firefighters die coming from or going to calls and that 11 firefighters died in 2008 because they did not wear their seat belts. We could have literally reduced the number of deaths in 2008 by 11 if those individuals had worn their seat belts. As these two LODD causes contribute to more than 50 percent of LODDs each year, we must focus more energy toward preventing them if we expect to see a significant drop in our dismal numbers.
All in all, what does this mean? It boils down to three “Cs”complacency, competency, and cockiness. Firefighters get complacent with the seemingly routine and become careless in the execution of their job. They need constant reminders to treat each event with the necessary respect. Always wear your seat belt even though you might think it not necessary. Remember that people don’t “plan” on getting in an accident.
Competence is very important; make every day a training day. Become so good at the core skills that you can do them with your eyes closed at three o’clock in the morning when it is 10°F outside. Being that proficient will free your mind to study the incident’s circumstances so that you make quality decisions.
Study your profession; know all the risk factors. Read the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety LODD reports so you can learn the lessons of the past. The competence you seek is based on skill and knowledge.
Finally, don’t get cocky. Maintain a healthy respect for fires and the dangers in all parts of the job. Don’t ever think it can’t happen to you.
You can contact the NFFF and its EGH program at www.everyonegoeshome.com. There are several training programs and other information that can be of benefit. The NFFF and EGH are just other tools that you can use in conjunction and support of everything else. It does not matter where the information comes fromonly that you and your organization commit to doing whatever is necessary to reduce the risk of an avoidable LODD.
RICHARD MARINUCCI is chief of the Northville Township (MI) Fire Department. Previously, he was chief in Farmington Hills, MI. He was president of the IAFC (1997/98) and acting chief operating officer of the USFA (1999). He has bachelor’s degrees from Western Michigan University, Madonna College, and the University of Cincinnati. He is an adjunct faculty member of EMU and Maryland Staff and Command.
