The Importance of a Fire Department Safety Officer - Research Paper Example

Being a firefighter is among the most hazardous professions in the world. Firefighters stand the risk of losing their lives or sustaining injuries when they respond to emergencies. They are also the first team to respond to emergencies; logically, their jobs can be very stressful and physically exhausting. They can also develop illnesses resulting from constant exposure to hazardous wastes and toxic chemicals. The Occupational Safety Hazards Act (OSHA) of 1970 was put together so that there will be standards in providing workplace safety. This Act encompasses both firefighters and occupants of a burning building or residence. OSHA guidelines were set up in order to lessen the risk of firefighter work related injuries. Fire department safety officers refer to these guidelines for training and comply with them in order to keep their employees safe during and after emergency situations ("Fire service", n.d.). Firefighters can be either on-call, voluntary or full time firefighters. Voluntary firefighters are not eligible for pay or any workers’ compensation. In contrast, on call and full time firefighters are eligible for workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation is a law that allows employees to file for benefits when they incur work related illnesses or injuries. These benefits can be medical in nature, including rehabilitation programs or replacement wages. Some employers require full time employees to enroll in workers’ compensation benefits as part of their cafeteria plans. This ensures that in any emergency situation that may result in the injury or death of the employee, the latter will still get compensated. In order to avail of workers’ compensation benefits, an employee needs to file a claim ("Firefighters'", n.d.). The claim has to coincide with the OSHA record logs that the employee did sustain injury while working on the job or as a result of the working environment, like in the case of firefighters who are exposed to hazardous wastes and chemicals. Safety officers are responsible for keeping these injury logs so that when an employee files for a claim, they can present the needed documentation to support the claim. ("OSHA recordkeeping", n.d.) When filing workers’ compensation though, volunteer firefighters do not get the same benefits since they are not deemed as employees. Even though they sustain the same injuries as full time firefighters, when they get injured or get ill, their claims will be denied. In New York, a bill was passed for those volunteer firefighters to be eligible for worker compensation claims due to the World Trade Center terrorism attacks (Shimabukuro, 2003). OSHA requires employees to record and report work related injuries but not all recorded illnesses or injuries on OSHA are compensable by workers’ compensation. The difference between the two is that OSHA records illnesses or injuries in order to ascertain that the illness or injury was indeed work related so that they can update their standards in terms of workplace safety. On the other hand, workers’ compensation injury logs refer to the benefits that an injured employee may avail and that differ from state to state. There are some injuries that are compensable in workers’ compensation but not required to be reported in the OSHA recording logs ("OSHA recordkeeping", n.d.). In a report made by the fire chief in Milton, California he reported that the leading cause of firefighter death is heart attack, followed by vehicular accidents. The third is suffocation while being trapped in a burning building. These are for both volunteer and full time firefighters. Because of the injuries reported, focusing on improving the health plan and well being of firefighters were proposed, as well as the improvement and wearing of protective clothing when responding to emergencies. The focus is more on the prevention of the work related injuries and what improvements need to be done. (Bassard, 2007) The organizational structure of OSHA designates a site safety officer that will implement and plan safety guidelines for the employees. This includes training of employees in order to eliminate possible injury or death when responding to emergencies. But even with the OSHA guidelines and assured compensation benefits from workers’ compensation, firefighters still get injured while on the job. Fire safety officers are focused on fire prevention and fire protection. Their responsibilities include safety inspections where fire hazards and potential fire sources can be identified. With the identification of possible hazards, they are able to implement safety programs and recommend preventive procedures. They also organize safety committees and emergency response teams, as well as emergency preparedness drills. These safety officers are also responsible for training the employees, including volunteer staff (Laford, 1998). The National Fire Incidence Reporting System database conducted a study of work related injuries of firefighters within a two-year period. The data were provided by metropolitan firefighters from their Line of Duty (LOD) injury records lists (Moore-Merrell, Zhou, McDonald-Valentine, Goldestein, & Slocum, 2008). Each incidence factor was grouped and assessed as to which was common or recurring and that which resulted in more work-related injuries of firefighters. The data compiled were set into clusters that were defined by age, sex, causes of the work related injury, tenure and location of the incidence. Among the clusters or groups defined, the study concluded that most firefighter-related injuries resulted from Cluster 4 or the human behavior group. Listed under this category are decision making, lack of communication, standard operation guidelines or procedure breach, protocol breach and lack of situational awareness of firefighters (Moore-Merrell et al, 2008). While the risk of incurring injury while responding to an emergency, firefighters are now using the data in order to plan and eliminate risks of work-related injuries. Since the study pinpointed human behavior as the cause for most firefighter injuries, training programs are being considered as answers to reducing such incidents. Having annual medical check-ups is also proposed in order to minimize firefighter fatigue. Fire safety officers are the implementers and planners of such training programs and changes in the workplace (Murphy, n.d.). However, not all firefighter injuries are from emergency responses. Safety officers need to assess the safety of firefighters even when not responding to an emergency. Studies report that for the past twenty years, the cause of death of firefighters did not occur in an emergency situation alone. Most were from vehicular accidents. The accidents resulted from either lack of training or unsafe facilities (Laford, 1998). The National Transportation Safety Board assessed some fire trucks being used and they found out that they were already unsafe if they were for commercial use. They also propose for firefighters to use the same safety procedures as with other motorists, such as wearing of seat belts in order to avoid injury in case of accidents from unsafe roads due to severe weather conditions. Safety officers need to assess the workplace of the firefighters and work out a plan in order to eliminate potential work hazards. Safety officers also need to look into injuries sustained during training drills because firefighters incur muscle strains and sprains from lifting exercises. The training plan should always include the proper technique in lifting heavy objects as part of their action plan in eliminating firefighter injuries (Laford, 1998). The safety officers also need to check for other potential injury hazards, such as suffocation and risks of contamination from hazardous waste handling. The National Fire Protection Association lists a set of codes for fire safety in buildings. These codes are being implemented globally in terms of setting the standards in building safety from fires. Setting up fire exits, marking emergency exit doors, stairs and installation of sprinklers and availability and positioning of fire extinguishers and hydrants are some of the provisions in the code. The building code also has to be in compliance with electrical layout plans that prevent possible sources of short circuitry that can lead to fire. These building codes are also a part of the OSHA standards for workplace safety against fires. It is the duty of fire safety officers or fire marshals to conduct safety inspections of buildings to check if the tenant is in compliance with the NFPA building code standards ("Fire code enforcement", 2008) The manual for the Fire Service Features of Buildings and Fire Protection Systems shows the guidelines on how buildings and their perimeters need to be designed in order to be in compliance with OSHA. The manual gives out specific standards on building and site design; for example, the access of exit points for occupants and entry points for firefighters; installation of sprinkler systems and standpipe systems; fire department connections, which pertain to the location of hydrants and standard water gauge pressure of hydrants; fire alarm and communication systems which are very important because most firefighters arrive at the scene of the emergency with limited access to information, such as if there are still occupants trapped in the burning building, or the extent of the fire; and other systems needed by firefighters in order to make their response to fire emergencies safe for both firefighters like breathing apparatus in case they need to go inside the building to rescue occupants ("Fire service", n.d.) Fire marshals or inspectors implement these building codes and conduct safety audits to check if buildings are in compliance with the International Fire Codes and NFPA building codes. Fire inspectors conduct audits to check if there are no buildings or fire code violations and provide written notices of the violations to the owners of the premises. They also recommend changes that need to be made so that the owners or tenants will be in compliance. The owners have the right to appeal the written violation to the local deputy fire Marshall in order to avoid due penalties ("Fire code enforcement", 2008). The building codes are being used both by OSHA and the National Fire Protection Association. They are now updated so that they now compose a set international standard, such as the Life Safety code of NFPA101 that mandates emergency exits on buildings and establishments (Nelson & English, 2006)However, even with the standardization of building codes being implemented to adapt to modernization, there is still much to accomplish. For instance, only twenty percent are in compliance with the global standards in terms of fire protection safety (Earls, 2001). Fire safety officers need to look into the whole process of ensuring safety for their employees, not only in emergency situations, but also in down times. It is the responsibility of the fire safety officer to be proactive to check buildings or premises for possible fire hazards and recommend changes that needs to be made. The fire safety officer also needs to be reactive, so that during the process of responding to an emergency, firefighters do not risk losing their lives or sustaining injuries due to human error. It is a consensus effort that needs to be carefully planned and executed in order to keep firefighters safe (Laford, 1998) Firefighters are considered modern day heroes. They put their lives at risk in order to save lives and property. Fire marshals and safety officers regularly conduct site safety inspections of homes and public buildings. But the same type of vigilance and compliance rules has to be implemented in firehouses where career firefighters stay even at night. Building maintenance and the checking of electrical layouts need to be inspected and improved so that the workplace of the firefighter is also deemed safe. (Laford, 1998) All of these standards were designed so that there will be minimal or no damage to lives and property. Fire safety officers need to work on constantly improving safety measures not only in buildings, but also in personnel training so that firefighter injuries may be lessened. Fire safety officers recommend sharing best practices among firefighter in order to improve their skills in responding to emergencies. Some standards or procedures also need to be updated and the same safety rules have to be implemented among firefighters and their workplace (Murphy, n.d.) References Bassard, L. (2007, February 5). Firefighter injury protection. Retrieved March 7, 2007, from http://www.milton.ca/execserv/agendas2007/rpts2007/FIRE-004-07%20Firefighter%20Injury%20Prevention.pdf Fire code enforcement information and local appeal procedure. (2008, October). Timberlake Fire Protection District. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/windows%20user/My%20Documents/firecodeenforcement.html Fire service features of buildings and fire protection systems. (n.d.). Retrieved March 5, 2009, from http://www.osha.gov Moore-Merrell, L., Zhou, A., McDonald-Valentine, S., Goldestein, R., & Slocum, C. (2008). Contributing factors to firefighter line-of-duty injury in metropolitan fire departments in the United States. IAFF: . Murphy, D. (n.d.). Contributing factors to firefighter line-of-duty injury in metropolitan fire departments in the United States. . Retrieved march 6, 2009, from http://firerescue1.com OSHA recordkeeping handbook. (n.d.). Retrieved march 6, 2009, from http://www.osha.gov Shimabukuro, J. (2003, June 3). Workers' compensation and volunteers at the world trade center. Retrieved march 7, 2009, from http://maloney.house.gov/documents/olddocs/Sept11/060303CRS.pdf Firefighters' workers compensation hb 928 and sb 516.. (n.d.). Retrieved march 7, 2009, from http://www.iafflocal3005.com/includes/HB928-SB516.pdf Laford, R. (1998, November). Is your safety officer safe after the fire? Fire Station Management Advisor. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://home.tiac.net/~rflaford/FSMA3.HTM Earls, A. (2001, July/August). Globalization: reshaping the fire and safety business. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3737/is_200107/ai_n8970289 Nelson, G., & English, J. (2006). Say "goodbye" to the standard building code(scb), uniform building code(ubc) and the boca national buidling code. Say "hello" to the international building code. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.hazardcontrol.com/documents/Web%20Docs/Say%20Goodbye.pdf - Read More