1. 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

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

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

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

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

8. What is a near miss…

9. Who’s Reporting

10. Contributing Factors

11. 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)

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.”

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

18. 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.

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

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

21. Contacts Amy Hultman Project Manager 703-537-4848 ahultman@iafc.org
John Tippett

22. 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?”