CDC addresses 9/11 health concerns
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will solicit sources to provide federally funded medical monitoring and treatment to the thousands of 9/11 responders who live outside metropolitan New York City (NYC). When the Administration suddenly announced in December that it had abandoned plans to create such a program, the CDC expressed concerns over the availability of continued funding, even though Congress was in the process of approving another $108 million for 9/11 healthcare.
According to the federally funded World Trade Center Health Registry, people from all 50 states and 431 of the 435 congressional districts nationwide were in lower Manhattan on or after 9/11 and now have serious concerns about their health. More than 10,000 of the 71,000 people enrolled in the Registry live outside the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tristate area.
The CDC also notes that existing funding for treatment programs outside metro New York, provided primarily by charitable donations from the American Red Cross, are expected to end in the next few months.
“There is currently a program in place to provide periodic health assessment examinations, diagnosis, and treatment to the responders in the NYC area,” says the CDC. It intends to award a one-year contract to providers to render to responders outside of the NYC area services comparable to those available for responders in the NYC area.
Cook County (IL), other defendants settle suits in high-rise fire
The city of Chicago, Illinois, agreed on April 28 to pay $50 million to survivors of the 2003 fire in the 37-story Cook County Administration Building in which six office workers died and 16 others were injured. A week earlier, Cook County, Illinois, had agreed to pay $9 million in a settlement resulting from lawsuits filed in conjunction with the incident. The county admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement. Six other defendants will pay $16.3 million in the settlement.
Two independent panels had criticized the Chicago Fire Department and others for their performance at the fire. According to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times, the city’s settlement averts a trial that would have resurrected “blunders” by the Chicago Fire Department listed in the post-fire report. Among the allegations was a breakdown in communications that prevented “at least 10 calls” to 911 from people trapped inside the building from being received by the fire department. County workers were trapped by stairwell doors that locked behind them. The report also alleged that the firefighters concentrated on fire suppression and “ignored” search and rescue. There was a 90-minute period between the time firefighters arrived at the scene and the time the victims’ bodies were found. Also, the report noted that a separate stairwell had not been delegated for occupant evacuation and one for firefighting.
Lawyers had argued that the city was immune from lawsuits based on the alleged mistakes of firefighters or other emergency personnel. However, the judge presiding over seven of the remaining lawsuits had ruled that normal immunities would be overridden if the plaintiffs’ allegations were proven at trial. He specifically cited the allegation that a firefighter had ordered the fleeing office workers back up into the locked stairwell, which soon filled with smoke. The workers became trapped in the stairwell, which had locking doors. “Fatal Loop high-rise fire settled for $100 million,” Fran Spielman and Steve Patterson, staff reporters, Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/919775, fireweb042808.article, April 29, 2008; “Cook County, firms to pay $25.3 million to settle lawsuits in 2003 Loop high-rise fire,” Michael Higgins, Tribune reporter, www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-fire-settle-both-23-apr23,1,841906,print.story, April 23, 2008
Homeland Security evaluates FEMA’s preparedness
The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General Richard Skinner said in April that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has made “solid” progress in getting ready for the next disaster; however, it is still not prepared for a catastrophe of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina.
While reporting before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Skinner reported that FEMA had improved in areas such as tracking supplies, staging an evacuation of the Gulf Coast, and ensuring that properly working communications equipment would be in place in a disaster. He cited “modest” gains in areas such as overseeing federal contracts, developing a disaster housing plan, and assembling a highly trained workforce. The lowest grade FEMA received was for overseeing “mission assignments” made to other agencies. There is a need to prevent “misunderstandings” and to be able to track whether the agency can ensure that the work is properly done, according to the report.
FEMA Administrator David Paulson told the committee panel that FEMA is more “responsive” than in the past and that he looked at this report as a “validation of FEMA’s efforts.” “FEMA gets mixed grades,” Bill Walsh, Washington Bureau, The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news-2/1207286658269480.xml&coll=1, April 4, 2008
Study: Artificial blood substitutes increased the chance of dying by 30 percent
A study headed by Charles Natanson, a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), showed that artificial blood substitutes almost tripled the risk of heart attacks and increased the chances of dying by 30 percent for study subjects. The study was based on combined data from more than 3,711 patients who participated in 16 studies that tested five types of artificial blood. Natanson and his colleagues at NIH and the Washington, D.C.-based consumer group Public Citizen used data from studies conducted between 1998 and 2007. Public Citizen had sued the FDA to gain access to data submitted to the agency. Natanson said the results were the same regardless of the type of patient studied, the patient population studied, the company that manufactured the product, whether the study was published or unpublished, or the chemical characteristics of the products. He called the effect “robust.”
According to a Washington Post report, the FDA had allowed additional testing of the products to continue and was considering approving the commencement of another study. An FDA spokesperson said the agency had carefully weighed the risks and benefits of each study individually and had convened a two-day meeting in April to address the concerns raised by the NIH study. A manufacturer of a blood substitute product called the study flawed and said the conclusions were invalidated because the study did not meet the “homogeneity criteria of meta-analysis.” William D. Hoffman, director of the cardiac intensive-care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who previously was medical director and chief medical officer of a blood-substitute manufacturing company, said this entire class of products should be put on hold until the cause of the toxicity is identified. “FDA faulted for Approving Studies of Artificial Blood,” Rob Stein, Washington Post Staff Writer, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/28/AR2008042801025_pf.html, April 29, 2008; http://jama-ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/299.19.jrv80007.
2008 Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week: June 22-28
The week of June 22-28 has been designated as “2008 Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week,” formerly “Stand Down” week. The theme, “Committed to Long-Term Results,” signifies the long-term investments chiefs and firefighters must make to enhance their health and safety and the efforts needed to encourage and support a safety culture in the departments, according to the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of Fire Fighters.
Highlighted areas include standard operating procedures, policies, initiatives, and training and enforcement, which help to decrease fire/EMS personnel’s risk of injury or death. Some suggested activities include the following:
1. Initiate an emergency vehicle policy. Stress to your members that they should always buckle up, always stop at red lights and stop signs, and always drive at speed limits and defensively.
2. Fully implement the Wellness-Fitness Initiative: Provide annual medical and physical evaluations, equipment and time for exercise, and nutritional information.
3. Fully implement NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, 2007 edition, especially the sections that address personal protective equipment (PPE): Provide compliant PPE, and train and enforce the use of PPE, including respiratory protection.
IAFF asks House to scrutinize auction for public safety communications network
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) General President Harold A. Schaitberger issued a statement to the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee on April 15 relative to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) auction of the D block of radio spectrum that is to be used to create a communications network for first responders.
In his comments, Schaitberger noted that “the initial attempt to dedicate the spectrum and provide the needed infrastructure to make it usefulthe auction of the D block of radio spectrum that opened January 24failed miserably” (see News in Brief, May 2008). The auction in the 700-MHz band produced a record $19.6 billion from 101 bidders, who received more than 1,000 commercial licenses to use the airways. However, the reallocation of Block D, a 10-MHz band, which was to also provide a nationwide public safety network, didn’t sell.
He referred to “questions that need to be answered concerning the original proposal for the D-Block spectrum and the quagmire of rules and conditions established by the Public Safety Spectrum Trust.” The IAFF, he said, “urges quick action by the Committee to push for a strong proposal for a reliable public safety network that will truly make our homeland safer. Any potential public safety network must be accessible, reliable, and affordable for the agencies and taxpayers it serves.”
The FCC said on April 24 that it would use its next public meeting (May 14) to reconsider plans for the portion of wireless spectrum reserved for emergency first responders. According to the FCC, the best solution for building the network would be a partnership between a commercial network operator and public safety officials. The FCC anticipated that the public safety spectrum would be reauctioned in the fourth quarter.
The FCC and Congress are trying to decide how to proceed on the sale of Block D and also ensure that first responders would have access to advanced broadband communications. The consensus is that Block D did not attract bidders because of a high price and requirements that would interfere with the commercial services. Options for Congress and the FCC, according to Government Computer News, include changing the auction rules and trying to auction the block again, offer regional licenses instead of a single nationwide license, sell the block off for commercial use and give the proceeds to public safety groups to negotiate their own networking deals, or sell the block off for commercial use and find some other way to fund the public safety network. Some in Congress and the FCC had some reservations from the beginning about whether a public/private partnership for the Block D auction would work. “Public safety network up in the air,” William Jackson, Government Computer News, http://www.gcn.com/cgi-bin/udt/im.display.printable?client.id=gcn&story.id=46183, April 28, 2008; “Public Safety Spectrum on FCC Calendar,” Cecilia Kang, Washington Post Staff Writer, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/24/AR2008042403462_pf.html, April 25, 2008; “IAFF Urges House Scrutiny of Auction to Create Public Safety Communications Network,” IAFF, April 15, 2008, http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/printpressstory.php?news=353112.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
March 22. Deputy Fire Chief Donald “Lee” Grubor, 42, Lewistown (IL) Fire Protection District: cause to be determined.
March 26. Firefighter Brent A. Lovrien, 35, Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department: trauma suffered in an explosion in a structure while on a call for investigating smoke.
March 28. Firefighter Eric Speed, 33, Caddo Parish Fire District #2, Shreveport, LA: tanker accident while en route to a mutual-aid residential structure fire call in a neighboring fire district.
April 4. Firefighter-EMT Brian Schira, 29, Colerain Township (OH) Department of Fire & EMS: injuries related to a floor collapse into the basement during a residential structure fire; fire conditions prevented rescue.
April 4. Captain Robin Broxterman, 37, Colerain Township (OH) Department of Fire & EMS: injuries related to a floor collapse into the basement during a residential structure fire; fire conditions prevented rescue.
April 8. Deputy Chief Michael D. Crotty, 24, Lawrence Park Township Volunteer Fire Department, Erie, PA: injuries sustained when aerial ladder malfunctioned at the scene of an industrial fire.
April 12. Chief Charlie Fraley, 65, Macon (MS) Fire Department: heart attack.
April 15. Firefighter John Schwartz Jr., 38, Olney Springs (CO) Volunteer Fire Department: injuries sustained when the fire apparatus fell into a drainage ditch; heavy smoke conditions had prevented the driver’s noting that fire had damaged the bridge.
April 15. Chief Terry DeVore, 30, Olney Springs (CO) Volunteer Fire Department: injuries sustained when the fire apparatus fell into a drainage ditch; heavy smoke conditions had prevented the driver’s noting that fire had damaged the bridge.
April 15. Pilot Gert Marais, 42, Colorado State Forest Service, Fort Collins, CO: air tanker accident after dropping slurry on a wildfire on Fort Carson Downrange. Cause of the fire is under investigation.
April 17. Firefighter Rick Morris, 54, Sedalia (MO) Fire Department: burns sustained on April 8 in a residential structure fire.
April 21. Firefighter Riley J. Terrebonne Jr., 29, Springfield (LA) Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, Livingston Parish Fire Protection District 2: injuries sustained on April 20 when he was struck by a vehicle while assisting at a motor vehicle accident on an interstate highway bridge.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
Lifetime, Training Achievement Awards Presented at FDIC 2008
Battalion Chief (Ret.) John W. Mittendorf (center), Los Angeles City (CA) Fire Department, received the Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis in April. Recipients of the Tom Brennan Training Achievement Award, also presented at FDIC, were Captain Casey Phillips (left), Captain Phil Jose (second from left), Lieutenant Steve Bernocco (second from right), and Captain Mike Gagliano (right) of the Seattle (WA) Fire Department. Better known as “The Seattle Guys,” they were recognized for their achievements in the area of air management. For more information on the awards and interviews with the recipients, go to www.fdic.com for complete show coverage.
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Released DHS/USFA Reports
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the United States Fire Administration (USFA) have released the following reports:
- Fire Risk in 2004, Fire Risk to Children in 2004, and Fire Risk to Older Adults in 2004. Developed by the USFA’s National Fire Data Center, the reports are based on 2004 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), the National Center for Health Statistics, and the U.S. Census Bureau. They are an update of the previous fire risk reports issued in December 2004. The reports are available at www.usfa.dhs.gov/.
- The Interstate 35W (I-35W) Bridge Collapse and Response Technical Report. It examines the area’s emergency preparedness for and response to the August 1, 2007 bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which killed 13 people and injured 121 others. It is available at www.usfa.dhs.gov. Select the “Order Publications” link.
- Civilian Fire Injuries in Residential Buildings in 2005. Developed by the National Fire Data Center, it is based on 2005 data from the NFIRS. It can be downloaded at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/reports/index.shtm/.
- A study of emerging occupational health and safety issues in the volunteer fire and emergency services has been completed by the USFA in partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council. It presents initiatives, programs, and strategies for reducing fatalities among volunteer firefighters. Information about this study is at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/research/safety/emergent.shtm/.
