Prevention of Firefighters' Deaths During Disasters - Research Paper Example

Fire Fighters’ Deaths Before and During Disasters and How to Prevent Them Abstract The United States of America rely on more than one million volunteers and career firefighters to guard its people, as well as property from fire-related losses and deaths. However, firefighting is deemed as one of the most dangerous and stressful occupations. Every year, more than one hundred firefighters perish while being in the line of duty and more than 80,000 sustain injuries. For firefighters, the death rate is worse by three times as compared to that of the general working populace (Thiel, 1998). Among others, this paper delves into firefighter fatalities and their causes, NIOSH firefighter fatality investigation and prevention program reports, as well as other incidents that have affected the standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the fire service, fire departments, and firefighters. The paper looks into the legislation that has emerged following firefighter fatalities and gives recommendations for improving the safety procedures in fire departments and the fire service at large. Introduction Firefighting is deemed as one of the most dangerous occupations: more than one hundred firefighters perish every year while on duty, and several others undergo serious injuries. Firefighter fatalities have taken place in every type of fire departments ranging from major urban career departments to rural volunteer forces. This is in spite of huge emphasis on safety and health of firefighters by the fire service. These incidents have had grave impact on the fire service in general, the fire departments, as well as individual firefighters. Victims of these fatalities include inmates helping as firefighters, state, as well as federal, agencies that have either seasonal or full-time employees and have been given fire suppression duties, military personnel serving in the firefighting crew, civilian firefighters operating in military installations, local career members and members of volunteer fire departments, as well as industrial fire brigade crew (Fahy & LeBlanc, 2006). Reports from NFPA indicate that from the year 1977 to the year 2006, 3,723 Unites State’s firefighters lost their lives while on duty. This includes the three hundred and forty-three firefighters who lost their lives at the World Trade Center in the year 2001. The average number of firefighter deaths is approximately one hundred and thirteen every year. Nevertheless, since the year 2000, the yearly average has declined to ninety-nine firefighter line-of-duty deaths from one hundred and fifty-one deaths in the 1970s. Between the year 1977 and the year 2006, the United States recorded a 43% decline in the yearly number of firefighters who die while in the line-of-duty. This considerable decline in the line-of-duty fatalities is attributed to an enhancement in firefighter safety and health standards as well as practices, especially in the areas of PPE, physical fitness and training (US Fire Administration, 2008). The most prevalent firefighter duty types that expose firefighters to fatalities include during training, during fire ground operations, and while responding to or coming back from alarms. Causes of firefighter deaths include exertion and stress, with sudden cardiac death being a leading cause of firefighter fatalities, accounting for almost half of Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths per annum. It is important to note that firefighters who follow a proper diet as well as exercise regimen and are part of a wellness program department are less likely to be victims of stress and exertion fatalities (Corbett, 2009). The second cause of firefighter fatalities is being hit by an object or contact with an object. Vehicular crashes are second-highest causes of firefighters’ line-of-duty deaths. In this group also are firefighters who die because of falling objects for instance collapsed roofs as well as walls. It also comprises of firefighters who are exposed to live electrical equipment. A number of vehicular clashes and deaths take place in the wild-land surroundings where topography is not favorable to safe driving. Excessive speeding and failure to wear seat belts are other contributing factors of firefighter deaths (Fahy, LeBlanc & Molis, 2011). The third cause of firefighter fatalities is being caught or trapped, which is the consequence either a rapid fire development for example back draft or flashover or firefighters’ loss of orientation with their environment, losing contact with their team or partner, or both; as well as running out of air. Also included in this fire category is building collapse, whereby firefighters are trapped under collapsing roofs or ceilings or fall through collapsed floors. The other usually disregarded issue when firefighters are classified as being caught is when they do not wear their personal protective gear properly such as their self-contained breathing apparatus and it becomes a liability, making them to get caught up on an object, become trapped, and consequently run out of air. There have been cases when firefighters have failed to fasten waist strap of their breathing apparatus making the strap to become hung up on something inside the building, making them lose their lives (Corbett, 2009). Local Incidents that Affected the Way the Fire Service Does Business In October 25, 1987, three firefighters perished in a flashover in Milford, MI in a training burn in a farmhouse. In December 20, 1991, Four firefighters who were carrying out interior operations perished in a commercial building in Brackenridge, PA following the collapse of a floor. In December 26, 1992, two firefighters perished in Memphis, TN while they were operating an attack line following the collapse of a church roof. In March 28, 1994, three firefighters from New York were caught in a back draft in a three-storey residential building and they all perished. In April 11 of the same year, two firefighters perished in Memphis, TN while carrying out interior operations in a residential apartment building. In January 5, 1995, four firefighters carrying out interior operations perished in a multi-use business house following a floor collapse in Seattle, WA. In February 14 of the same year, a house fire claimed the lives of three firefighters from Pittsburgh, PA as they were conducting interior operations (Thiel, 1998). These fatal firefighter incidents provided the concerned fire departments with the impetus for considerable transformations in their operational procedures. The pressure to make changes comes from department members, media, government bodies, labor unions, and regulatory agencies. There was an intense evaluation of almost all the existing guidelines, policies, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) of the fire departments. For instance, the Memphis Division of Fire Services started the process of forming a new procedure for firefighting actions in apartment buildings through forming a team consisting members of all levels, giving prominence to firefighters operating in regions with high-rise buildings. Firefighters highly regard the operational procedure for formed during this process (Pettit and Merinar, 2002). Following Pittsburgh’s fatal house fire, the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire changed several operational procedures and policies, which included Safety Command/Unit Board response to all building fires; compulsory PASS device activation in a Hazard Zone; posting a standby company/Rapid Intervention Team on all building fires; and an extra Battalion Chief’s response on all building fires. The chief acts as a Safety Officer. One and a half years later, the same group dealt a similar fire incident in Pittsburgh, they managed it with no difficulty, and the positive aftermath assisted in the reinforcement of the procedure transformations carried out following the Bricelyn Street incident (Thiel, 1998). The fatalities also made the fire service together with fire departments to emphasize on personal protective and fire apparatus equipment’s safety and sufficiency. For instance, Although the request for bunker-type protective clothing for about 12,000 firefighters had been forwarded before the residential three-storey building fire that killed three firefighters, the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) had not provided them owing to budget constraints. However, the fatality quickly made the city administration to avail the funds for protective clothing of all firefighters. These fatalities also triggered the need for increased the need for revitalized training firefighters in fundamental firefighting procedures and skills. For example, FDNY established a ‘Back-to-Basics’ training program, which was supposed to see to it that firefighters uphold expertise in the most essential fire suppression operations’ aspects even as they obtain training in other new aspects. Moreover, the fatalities in question boosted the emphasis of the fire service on personnel accountability. In some of the incidents, firefighters perished because it no one knew their whereabouts in the building, making it hard to locate and rescue them. Most departments such as the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire have since established official personnel accountability systems (PAS) (Pettit and Merinar, 2002). The fatalities also greatly affected the safety consciousness and awareness of the fire service, department managers, as well as firefighters. This increased awareness led to such formal changes as creation of new procedures and policies, the creation of new programs and positions such as that of a safety officer, raising existing safety programs’ scope, and re-affirming existing procedures. Unfortunately, there is worry that as far as safety consciousness and awareness are concerned, the incidents provided only a one-month wake-up call, following which majority of the parties involved returned to their old conduct. As time elapses, the institutional memory grows fainter and the organization may start disregarding the safety-related lessons that the fatality presented. Apart from impacts pertaining to operations, the firefighter fatalities also impacted the fire department in other such areas as recruitment and retention; internal and external investigations by fire departments, local, State, and Federal agencies; and after-action reporting. After-action reporting involves meticulous, impartial, and timely assessment of the whole incident in order to avert recurrence by making out and rectifying problems (Thiel, 1998). A more recent firefighter fatality dumpster explosion at a foundry in Wisconsin left a 33-year-old firefighter dead and wounded others in December 2009. The causative factors to this incident included inadequate size-up of the scene and threat assessment, wet fire-extinguishing agent smeared to a flammable metal fire, insufficient storage/disposal of materials, lack of awareness training on hazardous materials, and lack of recorded pre-plan of the site. This death had a permanent effect on the operations of the fire department and the fire service as a whole. It led to the establishment of such recommendations as guaranteeing the pre-planning of such high-risk sites as processing plants, foundries, mills, among others by carrying out a walk through by all departments that are likely to respond in the event of fire. The plan would also require updating every year (NIOSH, 2010). Other recommendations included guaranteeing the development, implementation as well as enforcement of standard operating strategies; guaranteeing specialized training for high-risk spots with such distinctive hazards as flammable metals; and ensuring a documented junior firefighter program that attends to junior firefighters being past the danger zone. The fire service should also ensure an appropriate scene and peril assessment while working in high risk places for instance processing plants, foundries, mills, among others. Furthermore, the fire service also took it upon itself to see to it that manufacturing plants that handle flammable metals employ such measures as a restricted access disposal site as well as labeling containers to control dangers to disaster respondents from waste infernos. It also assumed the responsibility of ensuring the adoption of bulk dry fire extinguishing agent storage as well as fire department’s delivery system by manufacturing plants, and that these plants set up a specially trained fire crew. The incident also forced fire department to come up with standard operating guidelines (SOGs) as it did not have them previously. Moreover, it had to ensure that all firefighters had portable radios – during the time of the accident, only the officers possessed the radios (NIOSH, 2010). Recommendations for curbing firefighter deaths Driver Safety All firefighting departments should ensure that they engage actively all members in driver safety courses as well as driver evaluations on at least a yearly basis. They should also have driver safety standard operating procedures in place and enacted all the time, for both apparatus response as well as volunteer response from home in privately owned vehicles. Moreover, they should equally enact seat belt regulations with a zero-tolerance guiding principle, and all they should ensure that they document and investigate all accidents. Furthermore, firefighting departments should see to it that they pursue apparatus maintenance proactively and put in place a mechanism for attending to issue regarding the same (Fahy, LeBlanc & Molis, 2011). Collapse Safety There should be an inclusive training program as regards building construction and collapse in addition to building familiarization program and hazardous building marking system. All firefighters should be informed of dangerous buildings through departmental safety bulletins as well as computer-aided dispatch printouts. There should also be emergency transmission procedures on the fire ground to caution firefighters of dangerous building conditions. The cornerstone of the safety plan of the fire-ground should be timely communications, hands-on investigation, and constant awareness (Corbett, 2009). Electrical Safety Firefighting departments and local utility companies should work hand in hand in carrying out combined training sessions. Moreover, they should set electrical safety standard operating procedures in place and train firefighters to give all electrical equipment a wide berth. Such operations as overhaul should not be prompted without turning off power in affected areas (Corbett, 2009). Fire Behavior Safety There is dire need to give the firefighting crew training on fire behavior and the way in which they should identify and react appropriately to worsening fire conditions. The enforcement of the appropriate wearing of turnout gear may save the firefighter crew from laziness as well as apathy. For safe interior firefighting, there should be the enactment of strict mandatory mask rules for self-contained breathing apparatus use. Moreover, firefighters should receive training in appropriate air management and awareness (Thiel, 1998). Firefighters should go through regular checkups for physical fitness, such as stress tests in order to identify potential cardiac concerns. There should also be policies against smoking as well as smoke cessation programs for firefighters should also be part of a healthy wellness programs. Departments should also practice frequent rotation and relief of the fire ground, including limiting the work time of firefighters in atmospheres that are immediately dangerous to health and life in order to put less stress and exertion related to work on their firefighting crew. This is because fatigued firefighters quickly become injured and possibly dead firefighters. As discussed earlier, firefighters should follow a proper diet, they should exercise regularly, and they should ensure that they are part of a wellness program department in order to reduce stress and exertion fatalities (Corbett, 2009). Apparently, the prevention of heart disease among firefighters as well as protecting them from fatalities while on duty calls for physical fitness. Firefighters require muscular strength and aerobic fitness at high levels. This is because they mostly work under tough and physically challenging environment, and their specialized equipment as well as self-contained breathing kit can go up to 75 pounds. These equipments can also impair their functional and postural balance considerably thereby increasing physical stress and decreasing their physical performance. They also engage in tiring activities such as search and rescue, setting up apparatus, hose pulling firefighting, and creating ventilation, which require the ability to manage extrinsic stressors and intrinsic stress. Physically fit firefighters who eat right, and live a healthy lifestyle are able to overcome these challenges. It is therefore crucial for firefighters to take serious measures of ensuring physical fitness by observing a heart-friendly diet, weight control measures, regularly going through physical fitness training, and avoiding smoking. Obesity increases blood pressure and glucose levels and raises the caloric expenditure necessary to carry out firefighting undertakings, such as climbing stairs and ladders. It also increases the threat of injury sustained while carrying out firefighting undertakings. Fire departments should create an inclusive wellness program for fitness training, medical and fitness examination, behavioral/mental health interventions, as well as medical/injury rehabilitation. These would protect firefighters from cardiac death and cardiovascular disorders, among others (Carey & Berg, 2010; Quick, 2012). In order to survive in their work environment and reduce the risk levels, firefighters routinely use safety equipment, respiratory protection, protective clothing, and standard operating procedures (SOPs). However, these do not remove all the risks. In the event that these protective systems fail, it is very important to conduct a careful and full examination of what may have been the problem and how the occurrence of a similar incident may be prevented from re-occurring if possible. Some of the essential proof to make these determinations may be obtained through an autopsy (US Fire Administration, 2008). Legislation Due to increased firefighter fatalities, there has been the introduction of legislation aimed at ensuring that every fire department adopts maximum safety standards. There have been introduction of top standards, which deal with a variety of issues such as training, fitness, safe fire ground staffing, incident command, and the use of protective equipment and resources. In 2009, Firefighter Fatality Reduction Act was established. This legislation necessitates the Homeland Security Department to verify fire departments current level of fulfillment of firefighter safety standards; to establish a unit aimed at investigating the ways in which governments can promote fire departments’ implementation of these standards. It also necessitates the task force to present the Congress, individual states and localities with recommendations on the best way of enhancing conformity by fire departments. Unfortunately, most legislative standards are voluntary and in an era of local budget restrictions fire departments frequently tend to ignore them. Consequently, a great number of departments use out-of-date equipment as well as practices, thereby increasing the chances of the occurrence of firefighter fatalities (Everyonegoeshome.com, 2012). Conclusion Firefighters’ work environment is indubitably one of the most inherently perilous places of work. It is important to note that despite the considerable decline in firefighter fatalities over the years, the number of firefighters who die unnecessarily every year is still too high (US Fire Administration, 2008). A great number of firefighters continue to die every year while in the line of duty and this has had a significant impact on the fellow firefighters, the affected fire departments, as well as the fire service in general. The effects are both long-term and short-term. Currently, the fight against preventable firefighters' fatalities and injuries is one of the most vital challenges facing the government, the fire service, and firefighter crew, among others. The United States’ Fire Administration (USFA) should be committed in ensuring the improvement of firefighters’ health and safety. The existing legislations should be strengthened and measures should be put in place o ensure that they are all followed. Moreover, there is dire need for every firefighter to learn safe techniques of dealing with the dangers that they encounter during training exercises, on the fire-ground, as well as at other emergency areas. References Carey, R. E., & Berg, S. (2010). A burning need — preventing heart disease among firefighters. Retrieved from http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/020810p44.shtml Corbett, G. P. (2009). Fire engineering's handbook for firefighter I & II. Tulsa, Okla: Penn Well. Everyonegoeshome.com, (2012). Kerry Brown Introduce Legislation to help keep firefighters safe. Retrieved from http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/news/ffsafety_kerry.html Fahy, R. & LeBlanc, P. (2006). Firefighter fatalities in the United States: 2005. Retrieved from http://www.myfirecompanies.com/filelock/h3814431431157562750.pdf Fahy, R. F. LeBlanc, P. R., & Molis, J. L. (2011). Firefighter fatalities in the United States, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/osfff.pdf NIOSH (2010). Death in the line of duty: A summary of a NIOSH fire fighter fatality investigation. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/pdfs/face200931.pdf Pettit, T. A., & Merinar, T. R. (2002). Health hazard evaluation (HHE) report. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/1994-0244-2431.pdf Quick, J.L. Firefighters: How important is physical fitness? Retrieved from http://www.panasoniclaptops.com/2012/04/firefighters-how-important-is-physical.html Thiel, A. K. (1998). Special report: The aftermath of firefighter fatality incidents. Retrieved from http://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/tr-089.pdf US Fire Administration (2008). Firefighter autopsy protocol. Washington, DC: FEMA. Read More