Health and Safety

Is your department at its B.E.S.T? Keep your department ready to respond to the next call with the National Volunteer Fire Council's (NVFC) Volunteer Firefighter Health and Safety Priorities. Set forth in a series of B.E.S.T. practices for the volunteer fire and emergency services, the priorities are divided into four main focus areas: Behavior, Equipment, Standards, and Training. Learn more about the B.E.S.T. practices and adopt them in your department.

 

The NVFC’s Health and Safety Committee distributed a poster with the Volunteer Firefighter Health and Safety Priorities to every fire and emergency service department in the country, thanks to the support of Provident Agency. Hang this poster up at the station to keep the priorities in the minds of your personnel and serve as a constant reminder of the B.E.S.T. practices your department should be following to keep your members safe. Download the B.E.S.T. Practices poster or order additional hard copies from the NVFC office at 1-888-ASK-NVFC (275-6832) or nvfcoffice@nvfc.org.

 

Below are resources you can use to help keep your department at its B.E.S.T.

 

 

Each year in the United States, approximately 100 firefighters are killed while on duty and tens of thousands are injured. This link provides an overview of the number of line-of-duty deaths and injuries that occurred from 1998 to 2007.

 

Each year the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) releases a report that examines the on-duty firefighter fatalities for that year. The report includes the causes of death as well as a breakdown of career versus volunteer firefighters. The 2008 report is available at: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/08-fatality-summary.pdf

 

The USFA provides information regarding on-duty U.S. firefighter fatalities. Included are notices of firefighter fatalities, a database that allows visitors to search for firefighters honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, a database that provides statistics related to the circumstances surrounding fatalities, the annual USFA firefighter fatality report, and information about Public Safety Officer Benefits (PSOB).

 

This 2007 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that firefighters are at a greater risk of dying from a heart attack while responding to emergencies. It concluded that emergency firefighting duties were associated with a risk of death from coronary heart disease that was markedly higher than the risk associated with nonemergency duties. Fire suppression was associated with the highest risk, which was approximately 10 to 100 times as high as that for nonemergency duties.

 

Only a survivor can fully understand another survivor's experiences. Simply connecting with someone else who has lost a beloved firefighter can offer a sense of hope. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation matches members of the Network with survivors who face similar circumstances, so they can help each other and have someone to talk to about difficulties in their lives.

 

Recognizing the need to do more to prevent line-of-duty deaths and injuries, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation launched a national initiative to bring prevention to the forefront. Everyone Goes Home consists of 16 major life safety initiatives that give the fire service a blueprint for making changes.

 

The NVFC and USFA created the Emergency Vehicle Safe Operations program to prevent firefighter deaths and injuries from the second leading cause of firefighter fatalities - vehicle accidents. This innovative educational program includes an emergency vehicle safety best practices self-assessment, standard operating guideline examples, and behavioral motivation techniques to enhance emergency vehicle safety.

 

Safe Passage is a tool to help you strengthen your department's commitment to the safe operation of all fire apparatus and other emergency vehicles. Use these tools within your department and community to remind firefighters and citizens that they share the responsibility for ensuring that emergency vehicles get to the scene safely and quickly.

 

This page presents information on current USFA research projects in the area of emergency vehicle operations safety, including findings and recommendations related to reducing casualties to emergency responders while responding to, returning from, or operating at incidents.

 

Firefighters and emergency service personnel are encouraged to sign the National Fire Service and EMS Seatbelt Pledge in an effort to ensure the safety of all first responders driving or riding in fire department apparatus.

 

This brochure, printed by FEMA, provides tips for safe emergency vehicle operation for both operators and passengers.

 

Heart attack is the leading cause of firefighter fatalities. The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program works to reverse this trend by promoting fitness, nutrition, and health awareness within America's fire and emergency services and providing the tools and resources to help first responders and their families stay healthy and strong. You can adopt the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program at www.healthy-firefighter.org/atp to access even more resources, including the Fired Up For Fitness Challenge, department pledge, toolkit for securing sponsors for a department health and wellness program, and an interactive message board.

 

The prevalence of cardiovascular illness and deaths and work-inhibiting strains and sprains among firefighters illustrates the need for a comprehensive health and wellness program in every department. Yet department leaders often struggle to implement a program due to reasons such as resistance or lack of motivation from members, the costs associated with implementing a program, and the lack of well-defined requirements. This Guide demonstrates ways to overcome these obstacles, provides direction for developing and implementing a department program, and highlights several existing health and wellness programs and how they have maintained their success over time.

 

The NVFC, in partnership with the USFA, completed a study of emerging occupational health and safety issues in the volunteer fire and emergency services. The report provides information on initiatives, programs, and strategies for reducing fatalities among volunteer firefighters.

 

In order to create awareness around important health issues in the emergency services and encourage first responders to take action, the NVFC, through its groundbreaking Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, launched National Firefighter Health Week in August 2007. National Firefighter Health Week is an annual week-long initiative to educate the fire and emergency services community and the public about heart-health as well as a variety of other health and wellness issues.

 

The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the International Association of Fire Fighters sponsor Safety, Health and Survival Week (Safety Week) each June, in partnership with more than 20 national fire service organizations including the National Volunteer Fire Council. Fire departments are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activity during Safety Week and instead focus entirely on safety, health, and wellness-related training and education until all shifts and personnel have taken part.

 

The International Association of Fire Chief’s (IAFC) Safety, Health and Survival Section was established to provide a specific component within the IAFC to concentrate on policies and issues relating to the health and safety of firefighters.

 

The objective of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network is to provide timely assistance to all fire service members and their families in the event of cancer diagnosis.

 

 

This report is a culmination of research conducted by the Fire Protection Research Foundation designed to investigate the thermal performance of firefighters' protective clothing over a range of firefighting exposures, ultimately leading to better designs for protective gear.

 

Examples of Protective Clothing (Santa Clara County Fire Department)

Firefighters have many different types of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to wear, depending upon what kind of activity they are involved in. The style or colors may vary from department to department, but in general every firefighter will wear some variation of the clothing shown here, if their duties call for it.

 

The inaugural Fire Service PPE Symposium in March 2009, sponsored by the Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization and NFPA Fire Service Section, attracted some of the most prominent figures in the industry. Fire service experts and major manufacturers discussed issues facing the fire service as well as trends and technology. FireRescue1.com was at the event in Charlotte, N.C., and provides a synopsis of the highlights as well as interviews with leading PPE experts.

 

 

NFPA standards on equipment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The International Code Council (ICC), a membership association dedicated to building safety and fire prevention, develops the codes used to construct residential and commercial buildings, including homes and schools. Most U.S. cities, counties, and states that adopt codes choose the International Codes developed by the International Code Council. The ICC also produces a series of articles for the NVFC that further explores specific code-related topics.

 

 

The NVFC recommends that all volunteer fire departments in the United States set a goal that personnel attain, at a minimum, a level of training that meets or exceeds NFPA 1001: Standard for Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications or an equivalent state standard in order to engage in fire suppression.

 

The NVFC has compiled a list of training and education opportunities and resources for first responders. The opportunities are broken down into the following categories: federal, state, local, colleges and university, department training/education resources, alternative fuels training opportunities, and additional training/education resources.

 

This standard identifies the minimum job performance requirements for career and volunteer firefighters whose duties are primarily structural in nature.

 

The Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP) is an intensive 6-day educational opportunity at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD, designed for volunteer firefighters. A stipend is offered to cover most costs.

 

Through its courses and programs, the National Fire Academy works to enhance the ability of the fire and emergency services and allied professionals to deal more effectively with fire and related emergencies. Courses are delivered at the resident facility in Emmitsburg, MD, and throughout the nation in cooperation with state and local fire training organizations and local colleges and universities.

 

This web site provides a comprehensive list of training and educational resources available from the USFA, including course offerings from the National Fire Academy. These resources are primarily targeted towards the fire service and its allied professions.

 

North American Fire Training Directors

The North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD) is an international organization that promotes the common interests of providing a quality fire training and educational experience for firefighters. NAFTD membership includes State Fire Training Directors of each of the fifty states and all Canadian provinces and territories. In addition to coordinating and delivering their own training programs, the NAFTD works in concert with the National Fire Academy (NFA) and the United States Fire Administration to provide training to over 80,000 fire service students.

 

The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) was formed in 1996 in response to the tremendous need to inform the public about the life-saving value of home fire sprinkler protection. HFSC introduces the Built for Life Fire Department program to encourage and recognize all the U.S. fire departments that make home fire sprinkler education a focus of their community outreach.