The Firefighters Support Foundation's (FSF) newest free training program, Emergency Management for the Fire Service, is now available.

The April issue of Rangelands explores the benefits and risks of using prescribed fire to limit the expansion of woody plants that choke natural grasslands.

In his Monday FDIC 2012 workshop, Ricky Riley of Traditions Training reviewed preventable issues that firefighters must contend with on the fireground.

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Federal Highway Administration, working in partnership with the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) have, through a study of current traffic incident management practices and policies, updated the 2008 edition of the Traffic Incident Management Systems (TIMS) (PDF, 5 Mb) manual. The 2012 edition provides the most current technical information and training programs in traffic incident management for fire and emergency service providers in this area as well as guidance to local fire departments on compliance with the latest edition of the DOT Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

"Effective traffic incident management can enhance roadway safety for firefighters and other emergency responders of which too many have been killed on duty from being struck by vehicles," said U.S. Fire Administrator Ernest Mitchell. "The USFA was pleased to work with the DOT Federal Highway Administration and IFSTA towards reducing this number."

This project included research into effective roadway operations safety and management examining such technology and practices as:

• roadway safety vests and other personal protective equipment,
• effective distance of placement of roadway warning signs,
• correct amount and type of emergency vehicle warning lighting (e.g., intensity, color, etc.), and
• roadway operations safety training.
  

"We're committed to enhancing the safety of firefighters and emergency responders working on our nation's roadways," said Victor Mendez, Federal Highway Administrator. "We must provide for the safety of these men and women who act selflessly to risk their lives to protect and assist the motoring public."

The updated TIMS manual includes case studies of roadway incidents that have taken the lives of firefighters, highway scene safety survival basics, incident command for roadway incidents, and examples of effective traffic incident management programs.

"Traffic incident management is an important operational and safety issue for today's fire service," said Mike Wieder, IFSTA Executive Director.  "IFSTA was proud to work with USFA and the U.S. Department of Transportation in this initiative to protect firefighters operating on the roadway."

Further information about this study and other roadway safety projects may be found on the USFA website.

The National Fire Academy is currently recruiting students to help pilot test its first online instructor mediated course, Advanced Principles of Fire and Emergency Services Safety and Survival (C249).

Esri president Jack Dangermond affirmed his commitment to making map content accessible to everyone with a monetary donation to the OpenStreetMap Foundation.

We constantly read and hear of secondary accidents affecting firefighters and first responders operating at roadway incidents. This week's near-miss report deals with such an incident.

As a firefighter with the Orange County (FL) Fire Rescue, Lucas Sloan is trained to jump into action during an emergency.

TrueVector Technologies introduced a web-based, interactive drawing solution for emergency responder web mapping software.

Does the fire service have the right people in the right positions modeling the right behaviors? Craig Nelson and Dane Carley take a look at behavior that leads to greater firefighter efficiency and safety.

Much has been written in the past year about the decline of the role of the company officer within the fire department.

Report writing is an essential part of success in the fire service. For example, using the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) supported by the United States Fire Administration (USFA) and accurately documenting the incident by putting in the correct data will assist you in acquiring funding through grants and other sources.

Does your fire department require mandatory medical monitoring of any sort for firefighters immediately after a working fire or other stressful incident? Share your replies with other firefighters from around the nation and world.

Producers and cast members of "Burn: One Year on the Front Lines of the Battle to Save Detroit" will be on the December 16 Tailboard Talk program on Fire Engineering Talk Radio. T

VSTEP, a leading developer of 3D interactive immersive simulation products, is introduces RescueSim USA.

Craig Nelson and Dane Carley talk about deferring to expertise regardless of the seniority or rank of the firefighter.

In their new book Fireground Operational Guides (PennWell, 2011) Deputy Chief Frank Viscuso and Deputy Chief Michael Terpak provide readers with a universal tactical worksheet that could be used at all structure fires and 70 operational “field” guides for multiple incident types.

The Fire Protection Research Foundation has joined with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in developing a prioritized research agenda for NIST's new structural fire resistance testing facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

This month's Roundtable question concerns your department's morale. Several factors contribute to the morale of a department.

In this article on making the fire service into a higher-reliability organization (HRO), Dane Carley and Craig Nelson discuss another quality of HROs: A commitment to resilience.