Firefighter Safety at Emergency Incidents Symposium Was Presented in October 2000
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Firefighter Safety at Emergency Incidents Issues and Ideas Papers Presented During a PERI Internet Symposium Presented October 2000 Published by the Public Entity Risk Institute On the web at: www.riskinstitute.org This material is provided free of charge, as a public service of the Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI), 11350 Random Hills Rd., Suite 210, Fairfax, VA 22030. Phone (703) 352-1846. Web: www.riskinstitute.org. The Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI) provides these materials “as is,” for educational and informational purposes only, and without representation, guarantee or warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty relating to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, currency or usefulness of the content of this material. Publication and distribution of this material is not an endorsement by PERI, its officers, directors or employees of any opinions, conclusions or recommendations contained herein. This material was prepared by independent authors, and PERI has not verified the information provided. PERI will not be liable for any claims for damages of any kind based upon errors, omissions or other inaccuracies in the information or material contained on these pages. PERI is not engaged in rendering professional services of any kind, and the information in these materials should not be construed as professional advice. Users bear complete responsibility for any reliance on this material, and should contact a competent professional familiar with their particular factual situation if expert assistance is required. ii Firefighter Safety at Emergency Incidents Issues and Ideas Papers Presented During a PERI Internet Symposium Presented October 2000 Published by the Public Entity Risk Institute 11350 Random Hills Road, Suite 210 Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 352-1846 FAX: (703) 352-6339 On the web at: www.riskinstitute.org iii Public Entity Risk Institute The Public Entity Risk Institute's mission is to serve public, private, and nonprofit organizations as a dynamic, forward thinking resource for the practical enhancement of risk management. PERI pursues its mission by: CFacilitating the development and delivery of education and training on all aspects of risk management, particularly for public entities, small nonprofit organizations, and small businesses. CServing as a resource center and clearinghouse for risk management, environmental liability management, and disaster management information. COperating an innovative, forward-looking grant and research program in risk management, environmental liability management, and disaster management. For complete information on PERI's programs and information services, visit our Web site at www.riskinstitute.org. To access a wealth of risk management intelligence, please visit the Risk Management Resource Center, at www.eriskcenter.org, a collaborative Web site operated by PERI, the Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA), and the Nonprofit Risk Management Center (NRMC). Public Entity Risk Institute 11350 Random Hills Road, Suite 210 Fairfax, VA 22030 Phone: (703) 352-1846 FAX: (703) 352-6339 Gerard J. Hoetmer Executive Director ([email protected]) Claire Lee Reiss, J.D., ARM Director, Grant and Research Program ([email protected]) Dennis Kouba Director, Outreach and Development ([email protected]) Audre Hoffman Office Manager ([email protected]) iv Table of Contents About PERI's Internet Symposium Programs . vi Introduction to the Firefighter Safety Symposium . 1 By John Granito Firefighter Occupational Safety . 3 By Stephen Foley Aggressive Interior Firefighting: . 11 Improving Safety and Leadership By Thomas Von Essen British Styles of Incident Safety: . 17 Command Decisionmaking and Team Knowledge By Mark W. Smitherman Firefighter Safety and the Code and Standard Process . 27 By Russ Sanders The IC's Role in Save Our Own . 31 By Alan Brunacini v About PERI's Internet Symposium Programs These Issues and Ideas Papers were presented during one of PERI's "virtual" Symposium Programs, programs that are conducted entirely via the Internet. The Firefighter Safety at Emergency Incidents Symposium was presented in October 2000. This publication is also available electronically on PERI's Web site at www.riskinstitute.org and on the Risk Management Resource Center at www.eriskcenter.org. How We Conduct a Symposium Our programs consist of specially commissioned papers, and an open, threaded discussion. Participation in the discussion is free and open to anyone interested in the subject of the Symposium. Each day during a PERI Symposium, we present an Issues and Ideas Paper (or Papers) written by recognized experts. Each paper addresses a different aspect of the subject of the Symposium. The papers are intended to be thought-provoking -- raising risk management issues about the week's subject -- and practical -- offering useful ideas and solutions. Papers are posted each morning of the Symposium for reading. We also send the papers via e-mail each morning to participants who sign up ahead of time. The discussion portion of the Symposium is a threaded discussion, in which comments and replies are posted in our Symposium Center, and are accessible by all. Anyone can view or post comments. Our Symposium Programs are an important way for us to meet our goal of facilitating the delivery of education and training on all aspects of risk management. Participation in the programs is free and open to anyone interested in the subject. Future Programs For the schedule and topic of future programs, please visit PERI's Web Site at www.riskinstitute.org. vi Firefighter Safety at Emergency Incidents - A Public Entity Risk Institute Symposium An Introduction to the Firefighter Safety Symposium By John Granito Moderator Fire service safety statistics for 1999 are sad ones -- for the firefighters who died or were seriously injured, for their families, for their departments, and for and the entire fire service. The 112 on-duty firefighters who died or were fatally injured in 1999 were the highest number since 1989, 21 higher than 1998. And this year has had its share already. As I write this I have the report of an $80,000 fine levied by the state against a northwest city fire department for safety violations at an April structure fire. The five violations include a firefighter injured when an apparently overextended aerial collapsed, two firefighters injured when operating in the building’s interior -- one of whom is reported to have jumped from the third story when his air ran out (he is still off-duty) -- and an officer who is reported to have been ordered into the building alone. A year ago, a jury awarded a $5.6 million civil judgment to the widow of a firefighter killed in a structure fire in that same state. The jury found the local fire department was 75 percent responsible for the firefighter’s death. Just this morning I learned of the recent death of a firefighter in a city I visited recently. The person who phoned me said that the firefighter jumped to get on an aerial as it responded from the station, fell, and was run over by the rear wheels. We all know of similar, tragic incidents. It’s time to focus more attention on firefighter safety at operations, and that’s the purpose of this Symposium. To use the statement which appears in one of the five Symposium papers, “Hoping for the best is not an action plan.” The only way to reduce death and injuries is for every firefighter and officer in every department to develop a personal safe action plan, for every operating company to conduct its fireground assignments only in the safe mode, and for every department chief to insist absolutely on safe practices, safe tactics, and safe strategies. During the five days of this Firefighter Safety Symposium you’ll read the thoughts of five experienced fire service people, each approaching safety on the fireground from a different direction. Steve Foley describes the terrible facts, and lists the major reasons why firefighters are killed at fires. Tom Von Essen describes what can be the bad results of aggressive attack coupled with poor leadership, and how a culture of safety must be built into and trained into a department. Russ Sanders looks at the fact that building codes -- especially for existing structures -- have very little to do with operating safety, and wonders why the fire service isn't more involved in advocating for code and standard development, adoption, and enforcement. Mark Smitherman describes the quite different safety strategy used in Great Britain, and Alan Brunacini takes a look Introduction 1 Firefighter Safety at Emergency Incidents - A Public Entity Risk Institute Symposium at the relationships among incident command, fireground safety, and the new “saving our own” tactics. Please remember that the purpose of the Symposium is not just to get you to read what five other people think about safety. It’s to get YOU and everyone else in your department to push for increased safety when operating. I can remember my first chief saying, “You can get seriously killed in this line of work!” When I was younger and gung-ho I thought that was both funny and very exciting. However, as I grew older and saw what he meant, I realized that the injuries and deaths of firefighters are terrible occurrences. Yes, the work is inherently more dangerous than most other types, but there are ways of making it safer! A pretty smart Safety Officer told me that you do what you must do, but you do it as safely as you absolutely can using fireground strategies that have spelled out what it is that you will risk life and limb for. The five Issues and Ideas Papers you will read during the week will provide some provocative -- yet practical -- ideas, and we hope will be valuable to you. The value of the Symposium, however, will increase exponentially the more you participate. I urge you to share your thoughts and viewpoints -- like most conferences we attend, the best and most helpful ideas will come from our colleagues.