1. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Chapter 8 Health and Safety

2. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Overview The most valuable resource in any organization is people. –Their well-being is vital to the organization’s success. The rate of deaths in structural fires is going up.

3. Fire & Emergency Services Administration NFPA Safety and Health Standard (Page 1 of 2) NFPA 1500, Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, is relatively new (1987). Most fire agencies are in the process of implementing this standard, but very few comply with it in its entirety.

4. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Safety and Health Standard (Page 2 of 2) Administering the safety and health of the members should be one of the highest priorities for several reasons. –Moral obligation –It is expensive to take care of those injured on the job. –Personnel will be better motivated if they know the administration is looking out for their welfare.

5. Fire & Emergency Services Administration NFPA 1500 Major topics –Administrative –Safety committee –SOPs –Training and education –Accident prevention –Equipment and vehicles –Health and wellness –Incident management system

6. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Safety Priorities Reports over the last 20 years show that heart disease and vehicle accidents account for 64% to 69% of fire fighter fatalities.

7. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Safety Priorities Motor vehicle crashes account for 20% to 25 % of all fire-fighter fatalities. –Also includes fire fighter injuries, liability issues, and out-of-service time for fire apparatus. These crashes cause deaths, injuries, and property damage to civilians and their vehicles (no national records are kept). Fie fighters will risk their own lives to rescue a victim from a fire, but will sometimes unknowingly place fellow fire fighters and civilians at risk.

8. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Vehicle Operation Laws and Liability Provisions to control the most common causes of serious fire service accidents are outlined in NFPA 1500. Should be included in SOPs.

9. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Physical Fitness (page 1 of 2) Currently, there is no national consensus on how to measure minimum levels of physical fitness. Stress and heart problems account for 44% of fire-fighter deaths. Physical fitness has long been recognized as an essential trait for fire fighters.

10. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Physical Fitness (page 2 of 2) Physical fitness should be directly related to the job, not gender or age. Unfair to the public and fellow fire fighters to have below-average physical fitness. An adequate level of physical fitness is a safety goal for the public and the individual.

11. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Federal Safety Regulations U.S. Constitution prevents the federal government from having too much power over the states. –Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations are only enforceable for state and municipal members where there is a “state plan.”

12. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Joint Labor-Management Wellness/Fitness Initiative A nationally led effort of the IAFC, IAFF, and 10 large municipal fire departments Created to establish a program for medical and fitness evaluations –Not designed to be punitive

13. Fire & Emergency Services Administration Safety Studies It is rare to find a valid scientific study on the fire and emergency services. Look at the assumptions, selection of persons studied or surveyed, and the statistical conclusions to assess their validity and commonsense relevance.