PennWell and NFFF launch Web site for firefighter life safety
The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and PennWell Corporation, the parent company of Fire Engineering, fireEMS, FDIC, FDIC East, and FDIC West, have established the Web site www.everyonegoeshome.com, dedicated to the nationwide Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives program.
Chief Ron Siarnicki, executive director of the NFFF, explains that the site, in conjunction with the efforts of the Initiative’s many other supporters, is providing firefighters with opportunities to reduce firefighter fatalities across America through “an ongoing, comprehensive program to prevent firefighter deaths and injuries.”
The NFFF is working in partnership with the United States Fire Administration (USFA) to reduce the annual number of firefighter deaths, which have been averaging at least 100 per year. A Department of Homeland Security Fire Act grant and a corporate donation from Fireman’s Fund are financially supporting the Initiatives.
At the 2004 NFFF Firefighter Life Safety Summit (the first one held), a national program for reducing the number of firefighter line-of-duty deaths was developed. It is comprised of 16 initiatives and has as its goals reducing firefighter fatalities by 25 percent over the next five years and by 50 percent over the next 10 years. The www.everyonegoeshome.com Web site addresses a range of issues associated with firefighter deaths, including the two leading causes-heart attacks and vehicle accidents.
On June 7, the “Everyone Goes Home” program was launched at a press conference in Washington, DC. Speakers included Sen. Paul Sarbanes (MD); NFFF Chairman Hal Bruno; U.S. Fire Administrator Dave Paulison; Jan Carendi, chairman, Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company; Douglas Duncan, county executive, Montgomery County, MD; Chief Thomas Carr, Montgomery County Department of Fire & Rescue Services.
Additional information is at the above Web site or may be obtained by e-mailing [email protected]. ■
“Stand Down” Safety Initiative draws support of government, fire service
Thousands of fire departments in the United States and Canada committed to the first National Firefighter Safety Stand Down, according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC). The event began on June 21 and was extended to include all duty shifts and department volunteers. A stand down is a method used by the military to focus all ranks on one critical issue. On June 21, fire departments were asked to suspend all nonemergency activity and focus entirely on firefighter safety, in an effort to increase the fire and emergency services’ focus on safety and the unacceptable number of deaths and injuries to responders annually.
The Stand Down, initiated by the IAFC, was supported by 19 “partners” and “took place in major cities and small towns from Maine to Texas to Oregon to the Canadian province of Ontario and many places in between,” according to the IAFC. There was extensive press and broadcast coverage in participating communities.
“The department reflected on recent events and vowed to maintain and enhance the health and safety of all our firefighters,” reported Todd Miller, haz mat, health and safety officer at Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, in a letter to the IAFC. “We believe this day was a success for our department and, hopefully, a success for all.”
At press time, the IAFC was conducting a survey at www.zoomerang.com to ascertain “the level and type of participation” of fire departments in the Stand Down. Departments that did not participate were also invited to comment. The feedback will be used in the planning of future events.
The Stand Down has spawned a plethora of actions among initiators and supporters, including the following:
• A press conference on Monday, June 20, in Washington, DC, featuring as primary speakers IAFC President Chief Bob DiPoli, Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Emergency Preparedness and Response Michael Brown, U.S. Fire Administrator David Paulison, and Washington, DC, Fire and EMS Chief Adrian H. Thompson.
• During the week of June 20, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health highlighted its Web-based resources for identifying, correcting, and preventing risks that could lead to line-of-duty fatal injuries. These resources are available through the firefighter topic page at www.cdc.gov/niosh/firehome.html/.
• The House of Representatives passed Resolution 180, designating “firefighter safety a national priority.”
• A Message of Support from Congressman Curt Weldon (PA), vice chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and founder of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, “commending the fire community for taking a proactive approach in reversing recent firefighter line-of-duty fatality and injury trends.”
• Senator Joe Biden (DE), chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, called for the support of “all one million first responders. The impetus for reducing the untimely deaths of so many firefighters,” he said, “must originate at the local level, within the fire stations with the full support and cooperation of the firefighters and the officers.”
Stand Down partners include the Canadian Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation, Canadian Fire Chiefs Association, Congressional Fire Service Institute, Fire & Emergency Manufacturers Services Association, Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association, Fire Department Safety Officers’ Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Fighters, International City/County Management Association, International Code Council, International Fire Service Training Association, National Association of State Fire Marshals, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, National Fire Protection Association, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Volunteer Fire Council, North American Fire Training Directors, and the U.S. Fire Administration. ■
House passes fiscal 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill
The Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill passed by the House in May would increase overall funding for the department and decrease funding for the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, which includes a cut of $75 million (down to $575 million) to the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council. Formula-based grants to states under the State Homeland Security Grant Program would also be cut. Increases were designated for the Citizen Corps program ($40 million from $15 million). The Staff Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program was increased to $75 million, from $65 million, and the Urban Areas Security Initiative was funded at $1.215 billion, as opposed to $1.2 billion last year. Among other provisions are $200 million for first responder training and $50 million for the Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program, which provides technology directly to smaller jurisdictions. The bill was referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
In May, the House of Representatives passed also the FY 2006 Interior Appropriations bill, which funds the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service and their wildfire programs. The Volunteer Fire Assistance program was slightly increased, up to $14 million. The Rural Fire Assistance program was funded at $5 million in FY 2006, as opposed to $10 million in FY 2005. ■
NIST releases final RI nightclub report
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is urging all state and local governments to adopt and aggressively enforce national model building and fire safety codes for nightclubs. In its report, released the end of June, NIST also has asked for “significant changes to further strengthen the model codes,” based on its findings related to the February 20, 2003, fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
“Strict adherence to the 2003 model codes available at the time of the fire would go a long way in preventing similar tragedies in the future,” NIST says. “Changes to the codes subsequent to the fire made the [codes] stronger. By making some additional changes-and state and local agencies adopting and enforcing them-we can strengthen occupant safety even further,” the NIST report concludes.
Lead NIST investigator William Grosshandler pointed to 10 recommendations the agency made for increased occupant safety in nightclubs. Seven of the 10 recommendations, he noted, support and add to the actions already taken by the State of Rhode Island and national model code development organizations since The Station nightclub fire. The remaining three NIST recommendations call for more research on human behavior in emergencies, fire spread, and suppression, as well as for computer-aided decision tools that can provide data from which further improvements can be made in these lifesaving regulations.
NIST will work with mayors, state legislators and county executives, and building and fire officials to help them implement the recommendations in the report and will track the progress made in adopting the recommendations through a special Web site (linked from www.nist.gov/ncst). Details on all recommendations may be found at /www.nist.gov/public_affairs/factsheet/RI_recomm_factsheet.htm.
Grosshandler conducted the investigation with the following researchers: Nelson Bryner and Daniel Madrzykowski of NIST and fire studies specialist Kenneth Kuntz of the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Fire Administration. ■
CDC’s proposed moving of NIOSH draws opposition
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has proposed positioning the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) within an organizational “cluster” that includes the National Center for Environmental Health, the National Center for Injury Control and Prevention, and the Agency for Toxic Substance Disease Registries. Sectors of the occupational safety and health professional community are opposed to the move.
NIOSH was placed within the CDC in the mid-1970s, but it has continued to operate at a level of government at least one tier higher than its level at CDC to which it now reports. Many in the occupational safety and health arena believe NIOSH should be elsewhere in the federal government, such as within the U.S. Department of Labor, or that it should report directly to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which would put it more on a par with the Assistant Secretaries of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Bureau of Mines. Another suggestion is to make it an agency parallel to the CDC and the National Institutes of Health and report to the Assistant Secretary of Health. There are pros and cons for all these options.
Denny Dobbin, MSc Occ Hyg (London), CIH (ret.), chair, Society for Occupational Safety and Health, and past president, Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics, says the “placement of NIOSH in CDC is a failed experiment that should be ended immediately.” He believes consideration should be given to placing NIOSH with the NIH because “the number and nature of NIH Institutes is growing and because the NIH has an interest in making research increasingly relevant by transforming scientific findings to tangible benefits for people.” Dobbin can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. Medscape Public Heath & Prevention. 2005; 3(1): 2005; www.medscape.com, article 504483, accessed June 14, 2005 ■
NIST concludes WTC Investigation
Following a three-year investigation of the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its draft “Final Report of the National Construction Safety Team on the Collapses of the World Trade Center Towers.”
Among the report’s contents are eight major groups of recommendations directed at the following areas: Increased Structural Integrity, Enhanced Fire Resistance of Structures, New Methods for Fire Resistance Design of Structures, Improved Active Fire Protection, Improved Building Evacuation, Improved Emergency Response, Improved Procedures and Practices, and Education and Training.
Specific recommendations include improving standards for estimating the load effects of potential hazards, such as progressive collapse and wind, and improving the design of structural systems to mitigate the effects of those hazards, as well as establishing an objective that would have uncontrolled fires in high-rises “result in burnout without local or global collapse”-facilitated by using performance-based methods instead of prescriptive design methods.
The report stresses the need for improved emergency response that enables “ better access to buildings, response operations, emergency communications, and command and control in large-scale emergencies.” It notes the need for code compliance by nongovernmental and quasi-governmental entities, the adoption and application of egress and sprinkler requirements in codes for existing buildings, and the retention and availability of building documents over the life of a building. Also, the report recommends that building and fire safety professions upgrade their professional skills through a national education and training effort for fire protection engineers, structural engineers, and architects.
This report and previous WTC investigation reports are at wtc.nist.gov/. ■
An EMS Administration at DHS? Opinions differ.
George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute caught the attention of the fire service and EMS communities recently with its “Back to the Future: An Agenda for Federal Leadership of Emergency Medical Services” report. Included in the document was a recommendation that a new U.S. Emergency Medical Services Administration be established within the Department of Homeland Security, away from the Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency at which the federal role of EMS presently is. The report cited a lack of federal support and funding among the reasons for the move.
As of press time, some organizations have reacted to the proposal. Opposing the move were the National Association of State EMS Directors, the National Association of EMS Physicians, and the National Association of EMS Educators. The major fire service organizations also oppose the move. Among them are the International Association of Fire Fighters, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Arson Investigators, the International Fire Service Training Association, the National Fire Protection Association, the National Volunteer Fire Council, and the North American Fire Training Directors. They say such a move “would only serve to fractionalize emergency response systems.”
Endorsing the proposal are the National Association of EMTs and the Austin-Travis County (TX) EMS Employees Association. www.emsnetwork.org, art 16253, May 28, 2005; www.emsnetwork.org, article 16497, June 10, 2005; www.domprep.com, article 2865339, June 1, 2005; Joseph Cahill, [email protected] ■
Summit presents strategies for increasing fire safety on campuses
Some 40 fire officials, fire scientists, legislators, and university officials met in Washington, DC, in May to discuss ways to decrease the risk of fires in college dormitories and off-campus student housing. The meeting was coordinated by the Center for Campus Fire Safety and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH). “An aggressive three-pronged approach that emphasizes fire prevention, detection, and suppression is an effective approach to combating this problem,” says Ed Comeau, director of the nonprofit Center. He points to the fact that 11 students died in fires this academic year, including a University of Maryland/College Park student who died in an off-campus fire in April. Since the beginning of 2000, 75 students died in campus-related fires.
Comeau said information about on-campus fire prevention, education, and suppression is not readily available. “We really do not know the current state of fire protection at our colleges and universities because they have not been required to make that information available.”
Legislators have been working with the Center to address some of the obstacles to increasing campus fire safety.
• Rep. Jones introduced H.R. 128, College Fire Prevention Act, which would provide matching federal funds to colleges that install sprinkler systems and other fire protection technology in student housing.
• Rep. Bill Pascrell (NJ) introduced the Campus Fire Safety Right to Know Act, which requires colleges and universities to provide information about fire safety to the U.S. Department of Education so that the information will be available to prospective students and their parents.
• Rep. Curt Weldon (PA) introduced a bill that would reduce the depreciation schedule on the installation of automatic fire sprinkler systems from the existing 27 years to five years. Companion legislation (S. 512) was introduced in the Senate.
• Sen. Michael DeWine (OH) and Rep. Jones at press time were to introduce resolutions in their respective legislative bodies that would designate September as Campus Fire Safety Month.
Additional information is available at info@ campusfire.org/. ■
DHS Secretary “pays tribute” to EFOP graduates, defines DHS goals
“You are really the elite of first responders and as graduates of the Executive Fire Officer Program you are really leaders in our nation’s fire service, and I come here really to pay tribute to you,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff told graduates of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program in June.
Chertoff noted that members of the fire service are not only looked at as heroes in their hometowns and communities but also “as heroes in the way people look at our service people in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
In his copious remarks, Chertoff presented glimpses into DHS’s philosophy, strategy, goals, and mission. A partial overview follows:
• Strategy in dealing with the terrorist threat. It is a layered approach. We prevent, we protect, but we also prepare and respond. With respect to a lot of these threats, the challenge and the mitigation are very much as important as the prevention-that is, the consequences of an act of terror would be measured largely by the kind of preparedness and the kind of response we are able to employ to mitigate the harm. If you want to talk about it as victory or defeat, the victory will lie, in some instances, in the response, so you are in that sense very much on the front lines of the war against terror.
• National Response Plan. For the first time, we have a single national plan that coordinates incident management among federal, state, and local emergency management professionals. It creates clearer lines of communication, command, and control as well as national standards for first responder training and equipment. DHS has released an Interim National Preparedness Goal to facilitate implementation of the response plan and the incident management system to expand regional collaboration and implement our national infrastructure protection plan.
…. These plans allow us to have a process in place and a commonality of language, and an approach that means anywhere in the country, whether we have a small-scale or large-scale or even a national-scale event, we will know where we go, how we connect, how we control, and how we coordinate.
• Second-stage review of DHS. The department is evaluating how successful it has been in achieving its mission. Any gaps will be identified, and strategies will be developed for efficiently meeting DHS’s objectives. The evaluation will address one simple question: Have we accomplished the job we have set out to do? ….
The focus of this review will be ways in which to further develop the network/partnership of federal, state, local, and private entities responsible for protecting our nation. Some of the changes that will emerge from this evaluation will reflect input obtained from the fire service, state and local governments, and federal stakeholders. The new proposals will address some of the concerns and incorporate some of the advice acquired from the fire service over the years.
Increasing preparedness is one of the areas of focus in the evaluation. This is the hardest job in the department because it is not what the government usually does. The Fire Administration is a very good model because preparedness is something it does. The DHS looks at the Fire Administration as part of its expertise in figuring out the best thing to do to be better prepared.
The Fire Administration and its expertise are going to be very important in how the DHS structures our preparedness. The DHS will draw on the experience of the Fire Administration-“as the expertise of real hands-on fire management as an integral part of [DHS’s] overall strategy.”
• Philosophy. The DHS philosophy is … risk management …. We are not going to be able to protect everybody in every place at every moment against everything; if we were to promise that to the American people, we would be making a false promise and raising expectations in an unrealistic way.
We can do what we all do in our daily lives: We can manage the risk and prioritize; we can balance and optimize the steps we take, balancing the benefits gained against the costs we incur. Our formula for doing this is the following: Look at the consequence, look at vulnerability, and look at the threat. Using these three analytical points, we can look at the entire threat and risk picture and make judgments about where we would put our efforts on a priority basis. ■
May 22. Lieutenant Dennis J. Bottge, 53, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue, West Palm Beach, FL: after a 10-year battle with hepatitis C, contracted as a result of a needle prick while providing emergency medical care to a cardiac care patient.
May 27. Lieutenant Frank Kucera, 43, Seminole County Fire Rescue, Sanford, FL: suspected cardiac incident after returning from training exercise.
May 28. Firefighter Recruit Karl “Kliff” Kramer, 22, Jacksonville (FL) Fire and Rescue Department: collapsed while undergoing physical training at the fire academy and died nine days later; cause to be determined.
May 31. Firefighter Paul A. Carr, 58, Atlantic City (NJ) Fire Department: heart attack suffered in the fire station in the afternoon during physical workout after having performed ladder drills and public education programs demonstrating firefighting techniques in the morning.
June 3. Firefighter Crew Supervisor III Audie Cross, 44, Nevada Division of Forestry, Carson City: all-terrain vehicle (ATV) rollover during “initial attack” of a wildland fire in Nevada. An investigation was underway at press time.
June 10. Firefighter Bruce Sternberger, 56, Hardtner (KS) -Elwood Volunteer Fire Department: electrocuted while attempting to extinguish grass fire near his residence.
June 13. Firefighter James J. O’Neil, 54, Hempstead (NY) Fire Department: cardiovascular incident at home after returning from vehicle fire response.
June 14. Lieutenant Peter Lund, 54, Woodmere (NY) Fire Department: cardiovascular incident at scene of structure fire.
June 21. Chief Keith David Allred, 52, Juab Special Service Fire District, Granite Station of the West Desert Department, Nephi, UT: injuries sustained after tire blowout while operating department vehicle on way to inspection center.
June 22. Firefighter William Mcanally, 64, Ossining (NY) Fire Department: heart attack while marching in a firefighters parade.
June 24. Firefighter Valeree Claude, 33, Pinetop (AZ) Fire Department: discovered in her bed at the station in the morning; cause unknown.
June 28. Firefighter John Husser, 55, Rockville Centre (NY) Fire Department: died at home within 24 hours after release from duty and having responded to several incidents.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
Fire Prevention Week theme: “Use Candles with care …”
ldquo;Use Candles with Care: When you go out, blow out!” will be the theme for Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15. The theme was chosen because of the serious fire hazard candles represent, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
Nine out of 10 candle fires reported in the United States occur in homes, and the number of home fires reportedly started by candles rose 15 percent from 2000 to 2001-from 15,700 to 18,000, notes the NFPA. In 1990, 5,500 home candle fires were reported. Detailed information about candle-related fire trends is at www.firepreventionweek.org. The site offers also fire safety information.
