Firefighters across California can begin keeping an independent confidential record of their exposures to hazardous substances in an online database system provided at the new Web site for the California State Firefighters’ Association (CSFA). Years down the road, if they file for Workers’ Compensation for a job-related illness they will be able to support their case by instantly pulling up a personalized record of their exposures. The exposure reporting system is one of many interactive online tools available since the completion of a major Web site redesign in February by the CSFA.
CSFA’s members can now log into their association Web site at www.csfa.net to record shift trades and other personal notes, sample multimedia training, browse for books, training events and conferences, consult CSFA experts through new moderated forums and track legislation coming up in the California Legislature. Dynamic site content also includes state, national and international headlines refreshed round the clock, and e-mailed newsletters and legislative alerts to get firefighters informed at the speed of the Internet.
“For our members at least, we’re trying to make it a one-stop shop for all the resources they need to keep up with the changes in the fire service,” says CSFA president Jeff Sedivec. “The fire service is constantly evolving. We wanted to establish an environment online that would facilitate interdepartmental communications and communications among fire departments and firefighters. We find that a lot of times the fire department next door is running towards the same goal, but running down a different hallway and repeating a lot of the same work and the same mistakes. That is tripled on a state level.”
Illnesses often develop at the end of a firefighter’s career, and fire department records of an individual’s exposures may be hard to access, if they exist at all. Having their exposures recorded, especially in a searchable database format, is like having a personal index to that critical information. “Instead of having to search through 20 years of logbooks and run reports trying to find the one runs you were on, you can turn to your online log of exposures, and it will give you run number, on this day while working on this unit, this is what happened, and it will collaborate with the report from their department.”
All types of exposures – be they to blood borne pathogens on EMS calls, chemical toxins spilled at the scene of hazmat calls or diesel fumes on everyday fire runs – can be recorded. The detail to which each firefighter reports exposures into the system is his or her prerogative.
Like all tools on its Web site, the Exposure Reporting system is a free service to all CSFA members, but Sedivec hopes to make the system available nationwide through other state firefighter associations. The system is designed so that the data can be sorted and charted graphically in the future
Highlights of the new CSFA Web site include:
- An expansive “Interactive” zone that includes the Exposure Reporting System, Fire Department Surveys and Polls, Shift Trade Journal, Personal Journal, E-mail, E-Newsletters, Training Videos, Top News Stories, California News and new Forums moderated by CSFA members and committee chairs to provide timely answers to firefighters’ questions.
- State, National and World News refreshed round the clock by Moreover Technologies. The home page spotlights fire-rescue headlines from around the nation. News feeds inside the Interactive zone present California headlines and expanded national and international news.
- A “Legislation Zone” containing a full legislative report of CSFA’s agenda for the fire service, an “Alert” on matters up for action in the legislature, links to the California State Senate and Assembly and CSFA’s political endorsements. A full history of what CSFA has achieved for firefighters in the state since 1922 is provided here as a reference service for other states. (If California firefighters have a benefit or legal right that firefighters in your state don’t have, here’s where you research how they did it.)
- A Searchable Links Database already robustly loaded with more than 2,600 fire service-related links, including organizational and association links, key state and federal government resource Web sites, manufacturer sites, firefighter personal pages and fire department links from across the state, the U.S. and the world. Organizations and individuals – both inside and outside California borders — are invited to post their links.
- In the Training area, look up Regional Workshops hosted by the CSFA or request a workshop for your area, check conference information about Fire-Rescue West and FDIC West, browse an Online Bookstore and check an Interactive Training Calendar loaded with training events from across the state. The interactive calendar offers the ability for members to post their event information as well as the option to view daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly calendars.
- Membership Information, where you’ll find information about member benefits, such as Workers’ Comp and CSFA Insurance Programs and a CSFA-Sponsored Credit Card.
- The Magazine. An expanded online version of the CSFA’s award-winning monthly publication The California Fire Service will include current and past articles, plus information about advertising opportunities for manufacturers.
- About the CSFA. Here’s where you’ll find everything you need to know about CSFA, its history, bylaws, committees, historical society, annual conference and corporate memberships. Sign up or renew your CSFA membership online. Learn also about the CSFA Steamer, a restored1902 horse-drawn steam fire engine that tours the nation as a gleaming symbol of California’s history of firefighting.
