news in brief

IAFC, NVFC issue guide for private vehicle response

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)-Volunteer and Career Fire Officers Section Safety, Health and Survival Section-and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) jointly have issued a report, “Let’s Make a Difference: Best Practices to Minimize Injuries and Deaths While Using Privately Owned Vehicles (POVs) for ESO Responses,” which contains best practices for responders who use their POVs for emergency service organization (ESO) responses. Included are model policies and recommended procedures for minimizing injuries and deaths in these circumstances.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, 52 volunteer/paid-on-call firefighters have been killed since 2003 responding to or returning from calls in POVs. Of the activity types defined, the highest percentage (13.4 percent) of volunteer fatalities is related to POV responses. Almost a third of firefighters killed in POV responses were 21 years of age or younger.

The report can be downloaded at http://bit.ly/1KW6Y3g.

Examples of recommendations contained in the report follow. The document specifies that a volunteer responding in a POV is acting as an agent for the ESO and that the ESO may be liable for the volunteer’s actions. The ESO, therefore, should develop and enforce policies and procedures for using POVs during emergency responses. Many ESOs require that volunteers meet some or all of the following requirements before they can respond in POVs:

• Be at least 18 years of age; some ESOs require a minimum of 21 years of age.
• Complete the department’s probationary period before being issued a lights and siren permit.
• Complete at least one year of satisfactory performance.
• Have a current state-issued driver’s/operator’s license valid for the type/class of the member’s POV.
• Have a safe driving record and safe vehicle.
• Show proof of personal auto liability insurance.
• Successfully complete an emergency vehicle driving course, a defensive driving course, or both.
• Successfully demonstrate an understanding of applicable department policies and local and state laws.

The ESO should obtain and review a copy of the member’s motor vehicle record from the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Each authorized driver’s motor vehicle record should be reviewed annually to ensure that the individual maintains safe driving habits.

If a current member is charged with an offense that could result in a suspension or revocation of his driver’s license, the member should be required to notify a supervisor or chief in a timely fashion. ESOs should suspend the member from driving emergency vehicles pending judgment, depending on the circumstances and existing department policy. Such charges could include but are not necessarily limited to driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, negligent homicide or gross negligence, aggravated assault with a motor vehicle, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident. Speeding citations are scrutinized according to severity and number.

Fire chiefs endorse position papers at Urban Fire Forum

Fire chiefs attending the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum (UFF) in September endorsed the following documents as official UFF-Metro Chiefs position papers:

• Warehouse Fires and Pre-Fire Planning. The document covers research related to preplanning warehouse fire protection and includes the following recommendations:
• Identify the target warehouse locations within each jurisdiction.
• Adopt NFPA 1620, Standard for Pre-Incident Planning, within the department’s policy or local regulatory process.
• Incorporate prefire planning output into effective fireground operating procedures.
• Develop a cooperative preincident planning partnership with warehouse owner/operators and their property insurance carrier/risk consultants.
• Fire Community Assessment, Response Evaluation System (FireCARES). The program is easy to use and encourages accurate and timely risk and resource assessment, which enables fire chiefs and decision makers to more accurately plan and budget for the safety of the public and firefighters.
• National Fire Operations Reporting System (N-FORS). Fire departments can use this supplemental tool to determine the most effective and efficient resource allocations that will have an immediate impact on the outcome of structural fires associated with firefighter safety, civilian safety, and property loss. The software is user friendly and includes links to the National Fire Incident Reporting System and the National EMS Information System so their data can be incorporated and doesn’t have to be reentered. UFF-Metro Chiefs say N-FORS should be the next generation of fire service data collection and analytical systems and should also be added to any NFPA standards regarding fire data.

NFPA Metro Chiefs Executive Secretary Russ Sanders, coordinator of the Forum, explains, “These position papers are critical resources for departments to use to apply the latest fire research and implement best practices for usual and extraordinary circumstances.”

Campaign stresses need for presumptive cancer law for NY volunteers

The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) has initiated “Firefighters Fighting Cancer,” a statewide campaign to educate the public and to lobby the legislature for presumptive cancer laws that would cover New York’s 92,000 volunteer firefighters.

At the core of the FASNY project is a video it produced that contains the stories of six cancer survivors from across the state. According to FASNY, these volunteer firefighters were seemingly healthy and had no notable health issues to speak of when they received their respective cancer diagnoses. The video can be viewed at www.fasny.com/fightcancer.

New York State presumptive legislation, sponsored by State Senator Michael Nozzolio and Assembly member Aileen Gunther, would cover several types of cancers presumed to be linked to firefighting. The measure passed the Senate last session but ended the session in committee in the Assembly.

LINE-OF-DUTY DEATHS

August 8. Firefighter Michael “Mike” Hallenbeck, 21, U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, South Lake Tahoe, CA: struck and killed by a tree during the initial attack on the Sierra fire that broke out south of the Echo Summit mountain pass in California.

August 14. James “JD” D. Robinson, 59, Brasstown Fire Department, West Brasstown, NC: still to be reported.

August 17. Lieutenant Christopher Joe Daniels, 40, Pine Level (NC) Volunteer Fire Department: still to be determined.

August 19. Firefighter Richard Wheeler, 30, Okanogan-Wenatchee (WA) National Forest: vehicle crash in wildland fire near Woods Canyon and Twisp River Roads in Washington State.

August 19. Firefighter Andrew Zajac, 26, Okanogan-Wenatchee (WA) National Forest: vehicle crash in wildland fire near Woods Canyon and Twisp River Roads in Washington State.

August 19. Firefighter Tom Zbyszewski, 20, Okanogan-Wenatchee (WA) National Forest: vehicle crash in wildland fire near Woods Canyon and Twisp River Roads in Washington State.

August 22. Firefighter Lawrence G. Sesso, 40, Sayville (NY) Fire Department: cardiac arrest.

August 27. Lieutenant Chris Phillips, 41, Locke Township Fire Department, Salisbury, NC: apparent heart attack.

August 31. Firefighter/Paramedic Shane Clifton, 38, St. Paul (MN) Fire Department: catastrophic heart attack, still to be confirmed.

September 7. Firefighter Dennis Rodeman, 35, Lansing (MI) Fire Department: intentionally hit by a truck driver while collecting for the “Fill the Boot” fundraiser.

Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database