NEWS IN BRIEF

NEWS IN BRIEF

New Jersey laws aimed at protecting firefighters

Legislation requiring the State Bureau of Fire Safety to investigate all fires that cause the serious injury or death of one or more firefighters was signed by New Jersey Governor James Florio on July 1. Representatives of 30 firefighter groups were present at the signing.

The hill gives the Bureau of Fire Safety the power to subpoena witnesses and documents and to issue written notices of violations. In addition, it allows the state labor commissioner to impose penalties on employers who have not made a good faith effort to correct violations of the Public Employees Occupational Safety and Health Act and to order employers to correct the safety and health act violations identified as a result of an investigation into the death or injury of a firefighter.

In a related action, Florio recently also signed into law a bill requiring the owners of buildings with truss constructions to indicate the presence of trusses by placing emblems on the outside of the buildings. This law is a result of a fire that occurred in July 1988 at an automobile dealership in Hackensack, New Jersey; five firefighters trapped inside the building died when the bowstring truss assembly collapsed.

Renowned fire service leader dies

Warren E. Isman, former president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and chief of Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Rescue, died at the age of 53 alter a heart attack in England on August 5.

“Warren was a pioneer, a fire service visionary, and a respected leader. His efforts brought hazardous-materials training to the forefront of the fire service and made hazardous-materials response units an integral part of fire department operations,” says Chief Dave Hilton, current 1AFC president.

In addition to serving as president, Isman was active on two IAFC committees: Hazardous Materials and Fire Service Accreditation. He also chaired the National Fire Protection Association’s Hazardous Materials Committee.

Chief Warren I. Isman

Isman was born in 1938 in Bronx, New York, and spent 10 years as an engineer after earning a degree in physics from the City College of New York. He began his fire service career as a volunteer for the community of Long Branch (NY) and then joined the Rockville (MD) Fire Department after moving to Washington, D C. Isman became fire chief in Fairfax County in 1983 alter having served as director of fire and rescue services in Montgomery County (MD).

As chief in Fairfax County, he instituted a number of programs, including computer-aided communications, an international technical rescue team, and one of the nation’s most renowned hazardous-materials response teams. In addition, Isman had lectured, consulted, and authored many books and articles on a wide range of fire service topics. He was a contributor to Fire Engineering.

U.S. firefighter deaths down in 1990

The National Fire Protection Association reports that 102 firefighters died during 1990, the lowest number recorded since the association began conducting its study in 1977. The number of volunteers killed in the line of duty, however, was up slightly in 1990 after having decreased sharply the preceding year, while the number of career firefighter deaths in 1990 — 30— was the lowest reported since 1977.

Forty-four of the 102 deaths occurred on the fireground; 23 resulted from responding to or returning from alarms. Nonfire emergencies were associated with 15 deaths, and other onduty activities claimed 12 lives. The remaining eight deaths were related to training activities.

The leading cause of death in 1990 was heart attack, which claimed 39 lives. This number is the lowest reported in recent years and dropped from 1989 by almost 67 percent among career firefighters and by 27 percent among volunteer firefighters.

Being struck by or coming in contact with an object and exposure accounted for 34 deaths. Being caught or trapped attributed to 22 deaths, while falls killed six. The cause of one death was undetermined.

Firefighters who died in 1990 ranged in age from 18 to 77 years; 41 years was the median age. Firefighters in their fifties had twice the average death rate, and those age 60 and over represented a death rate of more than four times the average. Firefighters betw een the ages of 20 and 39 had a death rate of slightly more than half the average.

Deaths related to wildland fires (19) accounted for the largest proportion of the 44 fireground deaths occurring in 1990. Six firefighters died during the Tonto National Forest (Payson, Arizona) incident when five volunteer firefighters and their supervisor were overrun by rapid fire progress and suffered fatal smoke inhalation and thermal injuries. The extended drought in the western portion of the country from 1986 to 1990 has contributed to the number and severity of wildfires and has boosted to 99 (71 on the fireground —50 volunteer and 21 career) the number of firefighter lives lost in this type of incident during this period. The fireground deaths were attributed to heart attacks (21), smoke and burns (14), aircraft crashes (13), being struck by falling trees or snags (8), motor vehicle collisions (3), being struck by vehicles (3), falls (3), strokes (2), heat stroke (2), lightning (1), and electrocution (1).

New programs may affect labor contracts

The city of Philadelphia was not obligated to bargain over the actual decision to implement its First Responder Program, but it was obligated to bargain over the impact of the implementation of the program on the firefighters, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board (PLRB) ruled in City of Philadelphia v. Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, 588 A. 2d 67 (1991). In its ruling, the PLRB recognized that the city’s purpose for implementing the program was to provide faster response time to medical emergencies, which had increased from 33,000 in 1973 to 108,000 in 1987.

The decision, appealed by both parties, was affirmed by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, which stated: “We agree with the PLRB that these concerns bear directly on the city’s managerial prerogative as to what level of fire and emergency medical protection the city wishes to provide to its citizens, its total staffing levels, its budget, and the selection and direction of personnel.” But it also held that the impact of the First Responder Program on the hours and working conditions of the firefighters mandated that the city bargain this aspect of the program with the union. It rejected the city’s argument that it satisfied the requirement by notifying the union of the intent to adopt the program during contract negotiations.

The court noted: “The city had not provided the union with any detailed plan on the implementation and the impact of a first responder program. Since the First Responder Program was not even implemented until after (the negotiations), the impact of such a program could not have been assessed during the proceedings.”

The action, charging unfair labor practices, had been brought against the city of Philadelphia by Local 22, 1AFF, which represented the city’s firefighters in a collective bargaining agreement with the city anti was required by the terms of the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act.

During negotiations, the city had advised the union of its intention to implement a first responder program that would designate certain fire companies to respond on medical emergencies. The city, however, provided no specifics for implementing the program. When the union proposed a contract that included language prohibiting the implementation of the first responder plan unless both parties could agree on issues such as additional training, stress management, increased compensation, and staffing adjustment, the city disagreed with the language, and the issue was not addressed further during bargaining talks.

The city subsequently gave the union five days notice of its intent to implement the program and unilaterally instituted it, claiming managerial prerogative when it refused the union’s request to bargain with regard to the impact on firefighters.

The union argued that the program created new and increased health hazards to the city’s firefighters, such as increased risk of vehicular accidents title to an increase in runs, increased response time to fires, exposure to fatigue and stress due to “dramatic” increase in workload, and increased exposure to communicable diseases by responding to medical emergencies. The union’s arguments also included a decision by the city to disband at the same time several companies and reduce staffing in others.

(Prepared from a report submitted by D. Michael Craley, an attorney specializing in municipal issues.)

Twenty-six firefighters were killed in apparatus and motor vehicle accidents in 1990, compared with 21 in 1989 and 34 in 1988. Two of the victims fell from vehicles, 20 were occupants of vehicles, and four were pedestrians truck by vehicles. Fifteen were killed in highway vehicle accidents while responding to or returning from alarms. The deaths of 16 firefighters were related to incendiary and suspicious fires, while two deaths resulted from a response to an alarm system malfunction.

Fabric weight factor in heat stress

An August 1990 test involving five members of the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department showed that substituting 6-osy (ounces per square yard) weight fabric for 7.5-osy weight fabric in protective clothing shells reduced heat stress and provided more flexibility and comfort for participants The study was conducted by Dr. James H. Veghte of Biotherm, Inc. at the Phoenix l ire Department’s facilities. With the exception of the shell fabric, the protective clothing was constructed to Phoenix Fire Department specifications, using a GORETEX® on E-89 moisture barrier and a three-layer E-89 thermal liner. The shell fabrics tested were PBI™/ Kevlar* 6-, PBI “/Kevlar® 7.5-, and Nomex® III 7.5-osy weight.

The five firefighters completed two bouts of nine relevant fire service training tasks during which heart rates, core body temperatures, surface skin temperatures, and body weights were measured. The stationwear uniform was used as a control.

The protective clothing with the 6osy shell fabric improved evaporative cooling by 25 to 33 percent and achieved subjective comfort and mobility ratings it) percent higher than the ensembles with 7.5-osy shell fabrics, according to the study.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Among the study’s findings:

  • No differences in heart rate measurements were found among the protective clothing sets tested and the stationwear control—an indication, the study explains, that completing
  • the work bouts brought the participating firefighters to their maximum heart rates regardless of the clothing worn.
  • A small difference —not significant—in rectal temperatures was recorded with the lighter-weight FBI™ shell fabric. However, one firefighter had a low-grade fever when he began the testing activities. If data for this participant had been omitted, the difference in recorded temperatures would have been significant: 0.3°F for the lighter-weight fabric and 0.4°F for
  • the heavier fabrics.
  • A 25 percent (FBI™/Kevlar®) to 33 percent (Nomex®) improvement in evaporative cooling was realized with the 6-osy shell material. Note: An evaporative cooling/sweat (E/S) ratio was used. Sweat loss measurements were obtained by weighing the firefighters and their equipment before and after the work sessions. Usually much of the fluid released through sweating is absorbed by the clothing and added to the garment’s weight. When the remaining sweat evaporates, body heat is removed—a process known as evaporative cooling, the primary means of controlling core body temperature in medium and heavy work situations. Comparing the gain in the clothing’s weight with the loss in the firefighter’s weight (without any clothing) gives the ratio of the amount of sweat generated during the work bouts to the amount of water lost to the environment through evaporation. The higher the E/S ratio, the more water lost through evaporation and the greater the amount of evaporative cooling that occurred.

Hie firefighters also rated the performance of the clothing ensembles on the basis of ease of movement while performing four basic motions. They reported that the 6-osv garment was the easiest to move in and the least restrictive.

Questionnaires completed immediately after each work bout revealed that the study participants rated the lighter-weight shell fabric ensemble the best of the three tested.

“Do-not-resuscitate” bracelet/ card relays victim’s choice

Since April 23. Montana residents wearing or earning Comfort One bracelets or cards have been able to indicate to emergency responders that they do not wish to be resuscitated.

Those eligible for the program must have been declared terminally ill by a physician and have either living wills or a physician’s do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order on their charts.

Emergency responders, on seeing the Comfort One identification card or bracelet, confirm the patient’s identity and provide comforting and supportive care without taking resuscitative measures. The DNR order must be recorded with a designated local agency, which then will issue a bracelet to the patient.

Additional information may be obtained from the Society for the Right to Die, 250 W. 57th Street, New York, NY’ 10107, (212) 246-6973.

FEMA and NSA launch national disaster initiative

The Federal Emergency Management Agency and several hundred members of the National Sheriff’s Association recently kicked off a nationwide voluntary program during the NSA’s annual conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The objectives of the initiative, sponsored by FEMA’s Family Protection Program and the Sheriff’s Association’s Neighborhood Watch Program, are to offer Neighborhood Watch participants opportunities to learn how to protect themselves from disasters—such as a tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, winter storms, and hazardous-materials spills —and to provide Watch leaders with an effective means for organizing activities to keep the community groups active. The new program is a complement to institutional emergency management and disaster relief programs organized by all levels of government and private sector organizations.

Local program organizers often use Family Protection Program materials produced by FEMA, which coordinates their development and distribution with the Red Cross Disaster Education Program. Additional details are available from Marvin O. Davis at FEMA, (202) 646-4600.

Group to establish relations with the USSR

‘Ihe newly formed USA*USSR Fire Safety Foundation has established communications with the U.S.S.R counterparts to U.S. fire protection and related organizations to promote professional and cultural knowledge, announces David C. Hutchinson, the organizations’s founder and executive director. Hutchinson formerly was chief of the Anderson Valley (CA) FireDepartment and fire and safety officer for the U.S. State Department in the U.S.S.R.

Among the projects underway arcexchanging leaders, establishing information centers, planning sporting competitions, and opening liaison networks. Firefighters who have visited the Soviet Union are invited to contact the organization.

A perpetual fund to provide longterm resources to sustain the organization has been established. Its goal is SI million, and the first appeal is being made to firefighters. With more than a million firefighters in this country, the goal can be met if each firefighter were to donate one dollar, Hutchinson explains. Doing this, he says, would “demonstrate our country’s ability to generate private interest to meet common concerns.”

The Foundation is located at 700 Larkspur landing Circle, Suite 199, San Rafael, CA 94939.

Steve Shaw and DJ Stone

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LAFD SUV in the ocean

Los Angeles Firefighter Swept Into Ocean as Mudslides Hit CA

A Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle was pushed into the ocean as heavy rains sent debris across several roadways.