FEMA: 107 firefighter line-of-duty deaths in 2004
Figures released by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) indicate that 107 firefighters died in the line of duty in the United States in 2004. In addition, the USFA reported an additional firefighter fatality in 2003 and a firefighter death in 2004 that occurred as the result of an incident that took place in 2002. The fatality statistics for 2004 are provisional and subject to change as the USFA contacts state fire marshals to verify the names of firefighters reported to have died on-duty during 2004. The final annual firefighter fatality report for 2004 is expected to be available by early June.
Among the 2004 death statistics are the following:
• Career firefighters: 29 deaths (27%); volunteer, seasonal, and part-time firefighters: 78 deaths.
• Half of the firefighters suffered traumatic injuries such as asphyxiation, burns, drowning, trauma from vehicle crashes, and other physical injuries; 49 deaths were attributed to heart attacks and strokes.
• Nine deaths were attributed to wildland fires.
• Five firefighters were struck by passing vehicles at an emergency scene. Three died as a result of being run over by apparatus.
• Four were killed in falls from fire department vehicles.
• A Kentucky firefighter was shot and killed as she approached an emergency involving domestic violence.
• Twenty firefighters died in vehicle collisions; seven involved the crash of their personal vehicles.
• The average age of the firefighters was 47; the average age of the firefighters who died of a heart attack or stroke was 52.
Additional information on firefighter fatalities, including the annual fatality reports from 1986 through 2003 and the “Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study 1990-2000,” is at http://www.usfa.fema.gov/fatalities/statistics/.
Analysis of accidents yields insights into emergency vehicle accidents
The Fire Service Research Institute (FSRI) has released its report on an analysis it conducted of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MDOT) database of accidents involving emergency vehicles for the years 1998 through 2003. The Homeland Security Administration (HSA) funded the research. The project was subcontracted to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). The HSA named the grant “The Blinding Light Study,” although W. Kenneth Menke, director of the FSRI, vice chair of the Society of Automotive Engineers Committee on Emergency Warning Lights and Devices, and a member of the committee for National Fire Protection Association 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus, explains that neither he nor anyone at UMTRI is aware of any incident that might have prompted this study.
Menke, an active member of the fire service for 42 years, has been involved in designing warning lights since 1975, when he founded Code 3. He served as a member of the advisory committee for the FSRI study.
Among the findings of the FSRI study are the following:
• Two-thirds of fire vehicle accidents occur during the day. There is less chance of an accident occurring at nighttime.
• The civilian drivers in 120 of the 380 accidents said they did not see the fire vehicle; no one reported being blinded by the warning lights. The MODOT clearly indicates that the bright warning lights needed during the day do not cause accidents at night.
• Fire vehicle accidents are more frequent in large cities than in rural or suburban areas. The problem seems to be associated with large apparatus traveling on narrow streets.
• A common city problem is fire vehicles’ hitting stationary objects-removing all of the mirrors on a line of parked cars or hitting objects while attempting to back in to lay hoselines, for example. In older neighborhoods, smaller, narrower engines might be more appropriate.
• Accidents involving fire apparatus declined from 76 in 1998 to 58 in 2003. This was attributed to better driver training and improved steering, braking, and warning light systems (issues warning signals in all directions, not just the front) in apparatus.
Polaris ATVs cited for hazardous defects
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has provisionally accepted a $950,000 settlement from Polaris Industries Inc., Medina, Minnesota, for the company’s allegedly failing to “timely inform the CPSC of serious defects and hazards in certain models of the company’s all-terrain vehicles (ATVs).”
Two issues are involved. The first affects the ATV Scrambler, Sport, and Xplorer 400 models. The throttles on 13,600 units of these vehicles can stick and prevent the ATVs from slowing down or stopping, leading to loss of control and crashes. Polaris became aware of 88 reports of the throttles sticking in these vehicles between December 1998 and May 2000. These reports included 19 crashes or other types of accidents. Polaris reported the problem to the CPSC in May 2000 and announced a recall in August 2000.
The second issue involved 55,500 Xpedition, Trail Boss, and Magnum 325 model ATVs. The oil lines on these vehicles blew off, disconnected, or loosened, leading to the spraying of hot pressurized oil. Between March 1999 and February 2001, the company received almost 1,450 reports of oil line problems. Some of the incidents involved fires. These ATVs were recalled in April 2001.
Federal law requires that manufacturers, retailers, and distributors report defects that could create a substantial safety risk to the public or violate a federal safety standard to the CPSC within 24 hours.
ARRP Research Project to focus on new equipment and rescue methods
Captain Steven Cobb of the San Bernardino City (CA) Fire Department is inviting members of the fire, rescue, EMS, law enforcement, military, and aviation safety professions to participate in The Forcible Entry & Victim Extrication Aircraft Rescue Research Project (ARRP) to be held at San Bernardino Airport from April 26-29, 2005. The outdoor event will be held on the airport tarmac.
Hosts for the event will be the San Bernardino City Fire Department, the San Bernardino County Fire Department, the International Aviation Fire Protection Association (IAFPA), and the San Bernardino International Airport.
The objective of this ARRP program is to bring together all the tools, equipment, materials, and resources that could be used to locate, extricate, and remove victims trapped inside crashed aircraft. Equipment and subject areas might include, but not be limited to, the following: fuel containment; shoring, cribbing, and stabilization; forcible entry/extrication equipment; foam and foam application; piercing and penetrating nozzles; generators; lighting; ladders; search cams; thermal imaging cameras; flashlights; full protective clothing (head, hands, and eyes included); rescue hand and power tools; litters, backboards, and packaging systems; tents and shelters; command and multicasualty management materials; biohazard protection, decontamination equipment; ARFF; rapid intervention; rescue vehicles; and rescue training materials and resources.
There will be ample room for displaying and demonstrating the equipment. Nothing negative will be noted regarding any product. The focus will be on showcasing the available rescue resources and identifying ways to effectively use them in an aviation emergency. Additional information is at the ARRP Web site at www.edmus.info, or call Steven Cobb at (909) 897-2648.
Self-extinguishing cigarette prevents fire in upholstered chair test
In January, fire marshals from the Suffolk County (NY) Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Service conducted a non-scientific burn test involving an imitation leather overstuffed chair and two cigarettes of the same brand. One cigarette was a New York state-approved self-extinguishing cigarette; the other was purchased in the state of Virginia. The test took place in a room on the first floor of the class A burn building at the Suffolk County Fire Training Academy. Witnessing the test was Scott Cohn, senior correspondent, and his production staff from the television station CNBC. The wooden chair was filled with foam rubber and had a cloth backing. It was about 30 to 40 years old and was stored inside at room temperature until the test.
The cigarettes were ignited at 10:28 a.m. and placed in corners of the chair. The self-extinguishing cigarette was dropped between the seat cushion and the armrest at the back left side corner of the chair; the ordinary cigarette was placed in the corresponding area on the right side. Ten minutes after ignition, the self-extinguishing cigarette was no longer burning. The ordinary cigarette continued to burn and produced a steady stream of smoke until around noon, when the fire marshals present recommended that the television crew record the test from outside because of the buildup of smoke and carbon monoxide within the structure. At about 12:48 p.m. (two hours and 20 minutes after ignition), visible flame appeared on the right side of the chair, where the ordinary cigarette had originally been dropped. The entire chair was consumed by fire within 10 minutes of the visible flame.
DHS makes recommendations for emergency response plans
In its December 16, 2004 INFOGRAM, the Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security made the following recommendations pertaining to emergency response plans:
• Keep up-to-date plans in a hard-copy format and available to community stakeholders. Electronic versions of the plans may not be accessible during extended power outages or system interruptions.
• Consider community critical infrastructures when revising the plans. Emergency managers and responders’ prevention, protection, and mitigation efforts must apply to local critical infrastructures to guarantee continuity of emergency operations and essential services to citizens.
• Develop revisions in the plan through workshops and consultations with first preparers (emergency managers and planners); first responders (police, fire, EMS); first receivers (hospital emergency staff); and public utilities/works, mass transportation, emergency communications, and other local decision makers.
• In revised plans, clearly outline the communication and coordination that will take place among the previously mentioned community leaders to ensure protection of critical infrastructures.
IAFF submits comments on Homeland Security Presidential Directive
In a letter dated January 18 to C. Suzanne Mencer, executive director of the Office of State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness, Department of Homeland Security, Harold A. Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), made detailed recommendations related to the draft pertaining to National Preparedness Capabilities Summaries for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 8 (HSPD-8).
In addition, Schaitberger offered “two overarching comments” related to the initiative.
1. An All-Hazards approach is important to emergency response …. The best way to prepare emergency responders to respond to acts of terrorism is to prepare them to respond to all hazards. “Any effort to restrict the federal government’s involvement in emergency response solely to acts of terrorism will ultimately be counterproductive to the goal of protecting Americans.”
2. The recommendation in the National Response Plan that emergency response “be handled at the lowest possible organizational and jurisdictional level” will require the federal government to issue clear and rigorous standards, as well as find new ways to vigorously enforce such standards. Schaitberger cited the need for the “promulgation and enforcement of the highest professional standards.” He noted that although fire departments differ in capabilities, based on their need to target their resources to their local population, demographics, and geography, “every community should be required to use the same baseline understanding of the training equipment and personnel fire departments require to protect the public.”
“Those who advocate local autonomy and only nominal compliance with standards undermine the very essence of the National Response Plan,” Schaitberger said. “Only by raising the bar on what is expected of our Fire Departments will we achieve the goal of national preparedness,” he concluded.
DHS warns responders of ordnance hazards
The Department of Homeland Security has reported two incidents that occurred at the end of December in which responders unexpectedly encountered dangerous ordnance when performing their duties. One incident involved a fire in a weapons storage locker at a power plant. The fire set off ammunition that could be heard discharging from behind a locked door. The small arms locker contained ammunition for the power plant’s armed security force.
The second incident occurred in a large metropolitan area. Firefighters were extinguishing a fire in a three-story home and found a weapons cache that included numerous handguns, rifles, and ammunition.
The DHS recommends that response plans be reviewed, if necessary, to provide for minimal deployment of personnel and apparatus until the scene of an incident and adjacent areas have been adequately searched and cleared of hazards when practicable. “Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate,” INFOGRAM, Jan. 6, 2005
Fees for emergency services a new option for some communities
Winter Park, Florida; San Luis Obispo, California; and Vernon Hills, Illinois, are among communities considering assessing fees for rescue services. Winter Park, according to a local6.com report, may charge nonresidents higher fees than city residents. The revenue raised by the fees could be used to offset budget shortages.
Firefighter safety is the rationale for the San Luis Obispo law that took effect January 1, which states that any person saved from an area that a “reasonable person … should have known is closed to the public” could be liable for the cost of the rescue. Examples would be crossing creeks or kayaking in them when the water level is high after a storm, or driving in flooded areas. Fire officials say the primary considerations are civilian and rescuer safety.
Drunken drivers involved in traffic accidents in the Vernon Hills area will have to pay for an emergency response as a result of an ordinance enacted by The Countryside Fire Protection District. The ordinance stipulates that individuals convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants (DUI) will be required to pay up to $1,000 for the use of firefighter services or equipment. State law allows local departments to be reimbursed for costs for DUI-related service and hazardous-materials spills. The legislature has been investigating other areas in which to recover costs of specialized services, such as technical rescues. www.local6.com, article 4070118, Jan. 11, 2005; www.sanluisobispo.com, article 10617225, Jan 11, 2005; www.dailyherald.com, article 3836567, Jan. 13, 2005
Firefighters may apply for Reno Fire Science Academy grant classes
The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded the University of Nevada, Reno Fire Science Academy a $2.5 million grant to support the academy’s 2005-2006 “Responding to Terrorist Incidents in Your Community: Flammable-Liquid Fire Fighting Techniques for Municipal and Rural Firefighters” training program. Attendees at the four-day program receive scholarships covering tuition, travel, lodging, and meals.
The national program covers methods for mitigating flammable-liquid fires and sabotage and damage to “soft targets,” including truck and rail terminals, pipeline transfer stations, and other industrial facilities. Live-fire training exercises are included. Enrollment is by application only and is open to all U.S. firefighters 18 years and older who have National Fire Protection Association 1001, Firefighter Level I, or equivalent and two years of practical experience.
Additional information is available at www.fireacademy.unr.edu, or e-mail the academy at fireacademy@unr.edu/.
DHS developing EDXL interoperability base for first responders
Officials in the Homeland Security Department’s Disaster Management e-Government Initiative Office are working with members of the Emergency Interoperability Consortium to develop an interoperability language known as Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL). The consortium is made up of federal, state, and local agency officials and information technology industry leaders.
EDXL is intended to set a standard by which emergency response information can be disseminated quickly and accurately to communities involved in a national emergency before, during, and after the incident. Standards are being developed for the following areas: incident notification and situation reports, status reporting, resource requests and dispatches, analytical data, geospatial information, identification, and authentication.
The goal is to have first responders use EDXL to achieve data interoperability, which is crucial for nationwide emergency response systems. The DHS National Incident Management System (NIMS), for example, is needed for information sharing, said Frank Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University. The future effectiveness of NIMS depends on common federal, state, and local policies and practices that must be in place by the end of 2007, he explained.
However, officials say that EDXL alone will not completely solve the interoperability problem. Policy issues, such as providing systems to cash-strapped communities and identifying the type of information to be shared, also must be considered. “Deciding who will have access to what information will be a continual matter of debate,” says John Markey, director of the Office of Emergency Management Fire and Rescue Service Division in Frederick County, Maryland.
The EDXL standard is the next step in the evolution of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), an open standard for exchanging hazard warnings and reports. That protocol has already been tested and certified as an international standard by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards, a nonprofit, global consortium developing e-business standards.
DHS awards grants to states and cities
In December, the Department of Homeland Security announced that $1.66 billion in grants was awarded to states and an additional $855 million in grants was awarded to urban areas to fund first responders and support state and local resources necessary to prevent, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism and other disasters.
Under the State Homeland Security Grant Program, each state, territory, and the District of Columbia receives a portion of the grants according to a formula based on a baseline amount plus the population of the state or territory. Funding is for equipment, training, planning, and exercises.
The Urban Area Security Initiative provides additional resources for areas with greater security needs by allocating $55 million in a formula based on factors such as population and population density, critical infrastructure, threat information, formal mutual-aid cooperation, and law enforcement investigations and enforcement activity.
Recipients of Fiscal Year 2005 Homeland Security grants (state and local governments) may now have up to 120 days to draw funds in advance of purchase and investments, instead of the three to five days allowed before adoption of a task force recommendation that the flow of funds be expedited. The amount each state and urban area received may be viewed at http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/asset/library/Grants_Recipients_FY05.pdf. Your state homeland security contact is listed at www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/ states.htm. Program guidelines and application kit are at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/odp/docs/ fy05hsgp.pdf.
ESRT aid to protecting responders and critical infrastructure
The Emergency Services Response Team (ESRT) involves providing relevant and detailed cross-training to volunteers of the law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical disciplines. Its use could reduce or eliminate the risk during the time when first responders at an emergency scene are awaiting the arrival of law enforcement to secure the scene, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The team is not intended to substitute for a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team.
ESRT members train together to develop skills that would better enable them to help victims and protect infrastructures, especially during the early critical minutes of violent and dangerous circumstances. Existing resources are used to promote interoperability through interdisciplinary teamwork and fortify the protection of critical infrastructures, first responders, and community residents. Infogram, Dec. 2, 2004, Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate, DHS
Haz-mat security concept introduced at TRB meeting
Tom Moses, president of Spill Center, presented a Public Sector Reporting Center (PSRC) program for enhanced security of hazardous materials during the 84th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board in Washington, DC, in January.
The concept would serve as the communications backbone of a new architecture designed to create centralized information processing and command and control capabilities using existing technologies. Open-architecture technology and automated intelligent agents continuously analyze data transmitted by truck-tracking systems, onboard computers, and other telematic devices to predict when a material being transported poses a threat. It can integrate a wide variety of telematic devices with event messaging, enabling the sharing of information, including data from truck-tracking systems and various security devices, without regard to proprietary hardware or software.
If patterns associated with increased risk are identified, the Internet-based system automatically alerts law enforcement, response agencies, transporters, shippers, and other registered users. The alerts could be in the forms of user-specified e-mail, fax, page, text-enabled cell phone message, or voice message.
The effectiveness of the concept was demonstrated during the U.S. DOT’s yearlong Hazardous Materials Safety and Security Field Operational Test of Technologies to prevent commercial vehicles carrying haz mats from being used in terrorist attacks. “If implemented, the PSRC could evolve into a ubiquitous resource because of the system’s ability to serve as a data consolidator, the widespread nature of event messaging, and the universal importance of alert notification,” Moses said.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
January 6. Lieutenant Christopher DeWolf, 41, Newington (NH) Fire Department: personal vehicle accident while returning to the station from an incident scene.
January 9. Firefighter Robert Dewey Martin, 26, Bostic (NC) Volunteer Fire Department: heart complications at home; had engaged in strenuous EMT class at the fire station the night before.
January 11. Firefighter James Fugate, 20, Collinsville (OK) Fire Department: personal vehicle accident while responding to an alarm.
January 20. Captain Scott Thornton, 39, Summit Township Fire Department, Jackson, Michigan: entrapped at a residential fire; cause of death is pending.
January 20. Fire Equipment Operator Timmy Young, 41, Columbia (SC) Fire Department: cardiac arrest suffered Jan. 7 while on an EMS call.
January 20. Firefighter Walter Sarnoski, 19, Sabula Fire Station, Sandy Township Fire Dept., Dubois, PA: injuries sustained in vehicle accident en route to an alarm.
January 23. Assistant Chief Michael Falkouski, 59, Rensselaer (NY) Fire Department: apparent heart attack at fire scene.
January 23. Firefighter John G. Bellew, 37, Ladder 27, Fire Department of New York: injuries sustained in jump from window at third-alarm structural fire.
January 23. Lieutenant Curtis W. Meyran, 46, Battalion 26, Fire Department of New York: injuries sustained in jump from window at third-alarm structural fire.
January 23. Firefighter Richard T. Sclafani, 37, Ladder 103, Fire Department of New York: asphyxiation at second-alarm structural fire.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
Resources
FEMA National Response Plan (NRP) online training
The IS-800 course, “The National Res-ponse Plan (NRP), an Introduction,” is at http: //training.fema.gov/emiweb/is/is800.asp/.
“The Seven Signs of Terrorism” video
This seven-minute Michigan State Police video demonstrates how Al-Qaeda operatives assess potential targets to ensure the greatest destruction and killing power of a terrorist attack. The video includes information used internationally about terrorists’ surveillance, acquisition of supplies, and performing “dry runs” of an attack. The video may be viewed at SZZM13: http://www.wzzm13.com/news/videoarchive.asp. Scroll down to “Michigan State Police Video-7 signs of Terrorism.”
News Glimpses
Sen. DeWine a CFSI co-chair. Sen. Mike DeWine (OH) will serve as a co-chair of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus beginning with the 109th Congress. DeWine is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Select Committee on Intelligence; and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He succeeds Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (CO), who retired at the end of the 108th Congress.
● CFSI dinner April 7. The 17th annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner and Seminars will be held on April 7 at the Hilton Washington (DC) and Towers. Additional information is at cfsi@cfsi.org/.
● PA passes immunity law for donors of apparatus to volunteer fire companies. Effective in February, donors that provide vehicles in good faith to volunteer fire companies in Pennsylvania will be immune from civil liability related to the condition of the vehicles, as long as the donor disclosed all known defects to the company. The immunity does not apply in cases where the donor’s act or omission constitutes gross negligence, recklessness, or intentional misconduct.
● Chertoff new head of Homeland Security. Michael Chertoff was nominated by President Bush to replace Tom Ridge as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. Chertoff, 51, has been a federal judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since 2003; he directed the Justice Department’s criminal division from 2001 to 2003. At press time, he was not yet confirmed by the Senate.
●OSU to get $40 million in bioterrorism research contracts. Oklahoma State University veterinary science researchers will receive $40 million worth of contracts over the next seven years to discover vaccines. The money will be used to develop testing procedures so the government can validate drugs and vaccines for placement in stockpiles, as a biodefense mechanism. The National Institute of Health through its National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is administering the contracts. Veterinarians are increasingly being used in biodefense research because they have experience working to contain diseases such as anthrax and tularemia (rabbit fever). OSU has received an initial $1.6 million and will receive more money as it fulfills tasks assigned by the federal government. www.channeloklahoma.com, Nov 10, 2004
● California laboratory develops “biological smoke detector.” The Autonomous Pathogen Detection System (APDS) continuously monitors the air and can detect and identify bacteria, viruses, and toxins, including anthrax, plague, and botulisum toxin. A study published in the Jan. 1 edition of Analytical Chemistry, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Chemical Society, notes that the stand-alone detector can provide early warning of a biological threat and runs the same tests molecular biologists would perform in a laboratory for detecting biological agents. This new version of the detector was tested at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah. In addition to simultaneously testing for multiple agents with protein antibodies, the APDS also confirms positive results with a DNA test specific for the agent, which may reduce the probability of a false alarm. www.sciencedaily.com, Jan. 7, 2005
● Fire destroys emergency equipment in a Utah county. A fire truck, three ambulances, a road grader, and a snowplow were destroyed in a fire in Box Elder County, Utah. The fire was attributed to a broken propane line. According to the fire marshal, snow from the roof landed on the propane line, which broke, and flammable gas filled the county shed. The gas was ignited by a pilot light. All five bay doors were blown out. www.emsnetwork.org, article 13482, Jan. 18, 2005
● CPSC to start developing mandatory standard for cigarette lighters. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) will start to develop a mandatory safety standard for cigarette lighters that could be based on the current voluntary Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Lighters (ASDTM F-400). The voluntary standard would address the risk of fire, death, and injury associated with the mechanical malfunction of lighters. It would apply to imported as well as domestically manufactured products. The CPSC already has a mandatory standard for child-resistant cigarette lighters pertaining to hazards for children younger than five years of age. Additional information is at www.cpsc.gov.
