The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System Sharing the Responsibility of Fire Fighter Safety The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System Prepared for 2007 John P. Redmond Symposium Presented by Battalion Chief John Tippett IAFF Local 1664 Montgomery County Career Firefighters & Paramedics Chicago, IL October 22, 2007

www.firefighternearmiss.com IAFF/IAFC partnership IAFF at the table from the start Task Force Seat 28 of 38 departments in the field test had IAFF Locals

Thank You General President Harold Schaitberger Rich Duffy Lori Moore Opening doors to Locals with endorsement. Rich Duffy Champion of fire fighter safety. Lori Moore Behind the scenes efforts. Patrick Morrison Guidance, camaraderie and steadfast support from the beginning. Vilma Perez-Atwood & Elizabeth Harman Infusing Near Miss in fire fighter safety education.

Opportunities to learn Why Study Near Misses? 1 Tragic Opportunity to learn 1 Serious Accident 300 Survival Stories Opportunities to learn 15 Major Accidents 300 Near Misses Focus on fact that near misses offer 300 more opportunities to improve safety versus one serious accident. Near misses are typically less painful and tragic than serious accidents or fatalities. 15,000 Observed Worker Errors

Making a Difference… Since August 2005… 1500 reports 30-40 reports/month 80,000 visitors 50 states plus Canada submitting reports Photo courtesy IAFF

Program Features Voluntary Confidential Non-punitive Secure Web based Free* Photo by Jason Henske *Funded by DHS Fire Act Grant, Fire Prevention and Safety

Knowledge Acquisition Program Vision Individual Department Industry Skill Building Data Collection Analysis Output Individual Department Industry Knowledge Acquisition Value Development

What is a near miss…

Who’s Reporting

Contributing Factors

Human Factors Analysis Classification System (HFACS) Ill-defined SOP’s Staffing Low Morale Funding Organizational Influences Task Allocation Failure to Correct Willful Disregard Unsafe Supervision Preconditions Fatigue Complacency Loss of Situational Awareness Unsafe Acts Crew Actions (Error or Violation)

Lost, Trapped, Disoriented 2006 Categories Lost, Trapped, Disoriented Power Lines Glen Ellman photo Collapse Falls

2006 Findings Unsafe Acts – Errors Preconditions – Poor decision making Inadequate perception Lack of skill Preconditions – Adverse Mental State Loss of situational awareness Channelized attention Distraction Misplaced motivation Fatigue Haste

2006 Findings Unsafe Supervision Organizational Influences Lack of guidance Failure to correct* *supervision vs. ignoring Organizational Influences Inadequate provision for training Inferior chain of command Recklessly “aggressive” culture

2007 Categories Maydays Flashovers PPE Apparatus Blocking Truss Construction * See Findings in FireRescue Magazine, February 2008 Courtesy of Manchester Fire and Rescue, Robert Bycholski, Fire Chief

Is it working? "I think it is a great system that if used properly can accurately calculate our day to day risk.“ “…Glad his training captain made him file report. Learned from other reports. Thinks service being provided is making a difference. Did for him.” "Let me start off saying ‘Thank you’… you provide an awesome tool for learning. Our dept. has been using the system for over a year and we are seeing positive results because of it…We have seen some change in the culture of our department in 2 years, how about 5, 10, 20 years? “I was motivated to file report because we were very close to being in a serious accident, and if I could get information out to others maybe we can help prevent similar incidents.”

Frontline Safety Program promotes culture shift for safer fire service. First national fire service organization to develop a curriculum using Near Miss reports.

What can Near Miss do for you? Provide case studies to enhance learning. Provide data to enhance curriculum development. Serve as a research site for your members to use as a resource. Foster the safety focused culture.

What can YOU do for Near Miss? Submit reports quickly when near misses occur. Add www.firefighternearmiss.com to your “My Favorites” and your local’s website. Visit the system weekly for updated reports. Encourage members to use system.

Report of the Week Weekly e-mail containing featured report and follow-up questions. Provides ready-made “kitchen table” drill. E-mail list has grown to over 4800+ with a forward to over 50,000. Sign-up: nearmiss@iafc.org. Free feature. Highlights events of special interest. Provides a free, ready to use drill. Distributed each Friday.

Contacts Amy Hultman Project Manager 703-537-4848 ahultman@iafc.org John Tippett 703-537-4852 240-832-6563 jtippett@iafc.org john.tippett@montgomerycountymd.gov

Parting thought… If we continue on the current LODD/injury path, the fire service will experience 1000 fatalities and 900,000 injuries in the next ten years. “If not now, when? If not us, who?”