DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE SAFETY PROGRAM

DEVELOPING AN EFFECTIVE SAFETY PROGRAM

What does the word “safety” mean to you and the members of your department? Do you have a safety program in place? Do you practice proactive safety, or is safety an afterthought? We are living in an era of liability, litigation, and evergrowing and complex national, state, and local standards. These factors —coupled with a genuine concern for the wellbeing of our personnel —compel us to develop an effective safety program.

APPARATUS

Safety begins with your apparatus. This does not mean waiting for your next apparatus to be ordered, however. On the contrary. Look at the safety of your current fleet. What you find may surprise you. Are you practicing preventive or “crisis” maintenance? A preventive policy entails at least the following:

• Inspecting and servicing apparatus on a regular basis.
• Assigning an officer or apparatus engineer to each vehicle.
• Developing a vehicle maintenance and safety checklist for these officers/engineers to follow during regular inspections.
• Checking all visual and audible warning devices. Do emergency vehicles have ample lighting? Are the siren
• and air horn mounted where they are most effective for warning traffic and preventing undue noise exposure? If possible, move sirens and air horns to the bumper. Provide hearing protection for apparatus crew members exposed to excess noise. Take audiometric readings with a decimeter to determine exposure levels at the various positions, including the cab. Provide disposable ear plugs, ear muffs, or noise-attenuating headsets Install a protective headset with a radio receiver and microphone for the pump operator.
• Requiring that apparatus personnel follow safety procedures. When vehicles are stopped and the driver is out of the cab, use wheel chocks to secure the apparatus. Always position a guide behind the apparatus when backing up. Use simple, easy-to-understand signals for backing up
• straight, turning, and stopping. The guide should use a flashlight when it is dark. Personnel must not exit a vehicle until it has been completely stopped and the parking brake applied.
• Mandating that only qualified personnel operate the vehicles. Drivers must understand that they are responsible for operating the apparatus safely.

Train them to drive defensively, and do not allow them to exceed the speed limit. Instruct them to stop at all traffic control signals and to at least slow down at all other intersections, to make sure that the road is clear. They cannot assume that other drivers have seen or heard the warning devices, or—even if they have—that they will pull over and stop.

• Requiring that personnel be seated and belted (retrofit older apparatus with seatbelts for all positions) and that they do not stand on tailboards, jumpseats, and other unprotected areas. About 25 percent of all firefighter injuries and fatalities result from incidents that occur while responding to or returning from an alarm.

Firefighters in exposed positions are extremely vulnerable should collision, rollover, or other apparatus accidents occur. They can be thrown from the apparatus, can sustain knee Injuries if the apparatus hits a pothole or rough terrain, or can be bounced off the rear of the hosebed or the top of the open cab if the apparatus stops suddenly.

If your apparatus doesn’t accommodate all your personnel, purchase a used squad-type vehicle or car. Many municipalities will donate an old police car for this purpose.

• Making sure that w-hen at the scene, pumpers, aerial devices, and other vehicles are operated by trained individuals. Allowing a novice to operate the pumps while crews are fighting fires inside or to operate an aerial device with firefighters on it poses dangers for all personnel.

Safety also demands inspecting and testing portable equipment, as well as implementing a regular maintenance program. To prolong the life of this equipment and ensure the safety of those using it, observe the following practices:

Inspect it weekly.

Develop an inspection form that ensures that nothing is overlooked.

Pick up and examine the equipment.

Look for cracked or loose handles that may cause a tool (an axe, for example) to come apart during use.

Look for burrs in metal components and splinter hazards in wooden parts.

Make sure that each tool has a proper gripping surface so that it will not slip from the operator’s hands.

Test your department’s ground ladders annually in accordance with NFPA 1932, Use, Maintenance and Service Testing of Fire Department Ground Ladders.

Visually inspect ground ladders after every use.

Test hose in accordance with NFPA 1962, Care, Use and Service Testing of Fire Hose Including Connections and Nozzles.

Maintain and service extinguishers at the required intervals.

Pay special attention to rope and accessories, especially life-safety rope. Train personnel to inspect the rope regularly in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Protect rope by storing it in bags. Replace the life-safety line if it is used at an emergency incident. Carefully note requirements in NFPA 1983, Standard cm Fire Service Life Safety Rope, Harness, and Hardware.

Regularly test all gasoline-operated, portable power equipment.

Run all saws periodically. Make sure all safety devices are in place and in good working order. As saws are among the most dangerous fire service tools, be absolutely sure that your people know how to use them properly and safely.

Periodically test all gasoline generators and positive-pressure blowers.

• Regularly inspect all electrically operated portable equipment, such as lights, smoke ejectors, and submersible pumps. Make sure that the electrical cords are not frayed or cut, that the connections are tight, and that all equipment is properly grounded before use.
• Make eye protection available for personnel operating tools, especially power tools. When not wearing their SCBA face pieces, they should wear approved goggles.
• When possible, be sure personnel use hearing-protection devices, such as earplugs or earmuffs, when operating power tools at the scene or station.

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

Protective clothing is the firefighter’s first line of defense. Purchasing state-of-the-art protective clothing should be a high priority for every department. There are many examples of departments that have shinynew rigs sitting in beautiful stations while old, dangerous gear sits on the racks.

Ensure that your firefighters have helmets, hoods, coats, bunker pants, boots, and gloves that will protect them during emergency operations. Clean all protective clothing regularly in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions. Station uniforms must be flame resistant and of the quality that will enhance, rather than degrade, the protective envelope.

SELF-CONTAINED BREATHING APPARATUS

Buy state-of-the-art, positive-pressure SCBA. A number of forwardthinking departments provide individual face pieces for structural firefighters to alleviate concern about transmitting germs and diseases from one face-piece wearer to the next.

Even the best SCBA is useless, however, if it is not used. Make sure your SOPs stipulate that breathing apparatus be used whenever crews enter an atmosphere that is known to be or suspected of being hazardous. Remember, you can encounter a toxic atmosphere not only at a working structural fire but also during overhaul, at car or dumpster fires, and in confined space situations. Require that SCBA be worn in till these situations.

A good SCBA training program goes hand-in-hand with a policy that requires the use of SCBA. Develop a breathing-apparatus training program that includes basic and advanced topics. Conduct regular, practical, and thorough training with breathing apparatus. Develop criteria for in-house qualification on SCBA use, and require that your firefighters requalify semiannually.

Provide PASS (personal alert safety system) devices for all SCBA, and train your personnel in their proper use. By all means, forbid department members to wear beards or other facial hair that may interfere with the proper fit of the face piece. Make no exceptions to this rule.

A good safety program includes a good SCBA maintenance program. Assign members to maintain the SCBA; have the manufacturer train them to handle routine maintenance and to recognize when a unit must be sent out for professional servicing. Include everyone in the preventive-maintenance loop. Train firefighters to report any problems with their SCBA immediately.

Hydrostatically test your SCBA cylinders at required intervals. Replace old, steel cylinders with lightweight units to prevent firefighter fatigue. Test compressor and/or cascade systems according to manufacturer recommendations. If you get your breathing air from another source, ask to see the maintenance and testing records.

TRAINING

Training is the best tool for keeping firefighters safe during actual emergencies. Provide practical and interesting training on a regular basis for structural firefighters, drivers/operators. and fireground officers.

Stress safety in all training evolutions. The goal is to maximize the benefits of the evolutions while preventing injuries. It is easy to become lax on the drill field; don’t be tempted to take any shortcuts. Injuries can result from a little carelessness in using tools or equipment; failure to wear the complete, indicated protective ensemble; or failure to oversee the entire training exercise properly. Following safety rules on the drill ground trains your personnel to practice them on the fireground.

A word about dangerous live fire training exercises: If at all possible, conduct live burns in state or local “burn buildings” constructed solely for this purpose. If you must use acquired structures, be very careful. 1’he buildings often are old and generally have been abandoned for some time. Regardless of which type of structure you use. he sure to follow NFPA 1 KH. Standard on Live Fire Training Flotations hi Structures. Don’t conduct the burn unless you can comply with the NFPA 1403 requirements.

THE INCIDENT SCENE

liven if your department provides and enforces training and safety programs, exercise caution at the emergency scene. Never underestimate the hazard potential of any incident. Fires or haz-mat incidents that seem to be under control can go downhill in a hurry. Among the practices that help ensure personnel safety are the following;

• Use an incident command or fireground command system at every scene.
• Fully train personnel in incident command procedures.
• Follow the concepts of unity of command and span of control.
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
• Coordinate the entire operation.
• Implement a personnel accountability system, such as identifying firefighters with tags (ID), which are left on a status board outside while the firefighters are operating at the fire
• scene inside.
• Require that mutual-aid companies and personnel responding in their own vehicles report to a staging area to be assigned to teams, to avoid free-lancing.
• Set up operation or “danger” zones; specify the use of full protective clothing —including SCBA — when inside them.
• Monitor roof operations carefully. If you put people on the roof to ventilate, use roof ladders and have a secondary means of egress. When encountering lightweight truss roof construction, you may not want to put firefighters on the roof at all. Instead, have roof-ventilation crews operate from an aerial ladder or tower. Make personnel aware that poor visibility or unusual configurations may make the use of power saws on the roof extremely hazardous.
• At a working fire, be wary of the involved structure itself. Consider the following: How much fire damage has it sustained? How much water has been pumped into it? Is the building in danger of collapse? Ask these questions throughout the operation. You may not want to commit your firefighters to an interior attack in an “iffy” situation. Likewise, you may find that you need to pull your crews out once an interior attack has begun, especially if they are making little progress.
• Require hill protective clothing and SCBA during overhaul operations, unless you are absolutely sure that the area is clear. Continue ventilation efforts during overhaul. Require at least boots, helmets, and gloves during all pickup operations.
• Rotate crews to prevent exhaustion, especially on hot days. First-in crews also should be first out.
• Provide plenty of fluid replenishment in the form of water or noncar -bonated beverages.
• Have EMS on the scene as a precautionary measure.
• Appoint a safety officer at every sizable incident to look for hazardous actions or conditions and to ensure that the department’s safety policy is followed. Remember, however, that
• the operations incident commander (OIC) retains ultimate responsibility for safety, whether or not a safety officer is at the scene. The OIC must consider safety with every order given.

FIRE STATION

Don’t overlook safety at the fire station. Many needless injuries occur in the relative security of the station. Reduce the potential for injuries by doing the following:

1. Checking all walking surfaces (carpets, steps, floors) that can cause personnel to slip or fall. Repair hazardous surfaces.
2. Using slip-resistant paint on apparatus bay floors.
3. Applying antislip tape to all steps.
4. Cleaning up grease or oil spills as soon as they occur.
5. Storing all unused equipment.
6. Conducting fire safety inspections of the station, just as you do for other buildings.
7. Installing a smoke-detector system throughout the station.
8. Installing a sprinkler system, especially in the kitchen or other highhazard areas.
9. Using eye and ear protection when working with tools at the station.
10. Wearing gloves when washing or putting hoseline back into service; glass and other sharp objects easily become imbedded in hoselines.
11. Idling apparatus engines on the pad instead of in the station. Consider installing an exhaust system in the bay area.

FIREFIGHTER HEALTH AND FITNESS

A good safety program encourages and promotes personnel health and fitness. Require a comprehensive physical exam at the time members enter the department and encourage an annual physical exam thereafter. The physician should understand the demands of the fire service. Create a job-related physical agility’ test for prospective firefighters. Set up a health data base, using NFPA 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, as a guide.

Firefighting is physically demanding and stressful; it requires a lot of stamina. Develop a physical fitness program that emphasizes aerobics and strength training. Purchase exercise equipment for the fire station— an exercise bicycle, a chin-up bar, and some weight-lifting equipment would be a good start. Set up an exercise area, if room is available. Perhaps a trainer from a local fitness club could help design an exercise program tailored to your personnel’s needs.

Be sure your members are inoculated against hepatitis B. Provide them with flu shots. Bring in medical professionals to discuss types of communicable diseases and the ways in which they are transmitted. Make isolation gloves readily available. Encourage and support a stop-smoking program. Set up smoke-free zones in the fire station. Obtain and distribute information on proper diet and nutrition.

NFPA 1500

NFPA 1500 is a guide for safe operations. This comprehensive document sets forth minimum safety and health standards as they pertain to the fire service. If adopted by the authority having jurisdiction (state, county, municipality), NFPA 1500 carries the force of law. Even if not adopted, it still sets the standards of care by which your actions will be measured if your department finds itself in court, on the wrong end of a lawsuit.

Every fire department, large or small, career or volunteer, should set up an NFPA 1500 committee —made up of representatives from the line officers, firefighters, administration, and possibly other local bodies and agencies —to work toward adopting the entire document. The committee should meet at least monthly and study the document to determine which requirements are being met or exceeded and to develop plans for implementing the requirements not being met. The plan should include a phase-in period, target dates, and suggestions for meeting the requirements.

SAFETY OFFICER

Every fire service agency should have a safety officer. Appointed by the chief, this individual must be genuinely interested in the safety of all personnel. He or she also should be well versed in the NFPA 1500 standard, firefighting procedures, fire behavior, and building construction. This officer—whose approach to enforcing safety measures should be as a teacher and not as a disciplinarian—must have the complete support and backing of the department’s chief and line officers.

Among the safety officer’s responsibilities are making sure that safety policies are followed during training sessions and identifying unsafe actions and conditions at the emergencyscene. The safety officer must have the authority—which rarely should be used—to stop an action or operation that poses an extreme hazard to those on the fireground.

Get started today, before a needless tragedy strikes your department.