The leadership of Maryland’s Kentland Volunteer Fire Department believes aggressive firefighting and firefighter safety go hand-in-hand. That’s why they’ve joined the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) in a video launching a new campaign to further reduce the number of firefighters who die in the line-of-duty. Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Marc Bashoor calls Kentland a leader in helping make sure that “aggressive” and” safety” don’t become mutually exclusive terms.
There is little doubt the most important element in firefighter safety is you, the firefighter. The contributing factors in the majority of firefighter deaths are the health of the firefighter, and the actions taken while responding to and returning from the scene of an incident. Make it your New Year’s resolution to take personal responsibility in creating a safer environment for all firefighters. Join the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in a new goal of vastly reducing the number of firefighters injured, and to lower the number of line-of-duty deaths each year to below 50.
The fire service over the last decade has been able to consistently reduce the number of LODDs annually to fewer than 100. We’ve chosen 50 as the next benchmark on the way to eliminating all preventable firefighter deaths–so that truly, Everyone Goes Home®.
This new goal was inspired by the work of firefighters and fire service leaders at the Tampa 2 Firefighter Life Safety Summit in March, 2014. The just-released Summit Report reaffirms that the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives (established at the first Summit in 2004) are still valid and should remain the blueprint for reducing firefighter injuries and deaths.
In this video, Kentland’s officers and other fire service leaders talk about many of the key points addressed at the Tampa 2 Summit. These include not only personal responsibility, but accurate risk assessment, and the important role the company officer plays in safety and accountability.
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