NIST releases report on W. Warwick, RI, nightclub fire
The Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in March released for public comment a draft of its report of its investigation of the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island.
Three factors directly contributed to the rapid fire spread that led to the loss of 100 lives, according to NIST. They are as follows: the hazardous mix of building contents, an inadequate capability to suppress the fire early, and the inadequacy of exits to allow occupants to egress in the short time available in the rapidly spreading fire.
Among key findings during the investigation was that a nonfire retardant foam sample NIST purchased ignited within 10 seconds when exposed to a pyrotechnic device, whereas a fire retardant foam sample did not ignite under similar conditions. Also, during a fire test of the NIST mockup of The Station platform area and dance floor, a sprinkler system installed in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association 13 standard was able to control a fire initiated in nonfire retardant polyurethane foam panels used for the test. The Station had no sprinklers, and they would not have been required under the 2003 editions of the model codes.
Among the recommendations NIST has made are the following:
• Sprinkler systems be installed in all new and existing nightclubs, regardless of size.
• Tighten restrictions on the use of flammable materials as a finish product (wall covering, for example) in nightclubs, and limit further the use of pyrotechnics.
• Change egress requirements to allow for more rapid evacuation-increasing the capacity of the main exit to accommodate at a minimum two-thirds of the maximum permitted number of occupants, for example.
• Eliminate the “grandfathering” of older nightclubs from new or revised safety regulations.
• Require redundancy in passive and active fire protection systems.
• Consider and incorporate insight gained from similar past building failures when analyzing proposed changes to model codes for nightclubs.
• Implement more effective fire inspection programs as guided by the model codes.
• Ensure that career and volunteer fire departments meet standards for staffing, equipment, communications systems, and major incident/mass casualty incident operating procedures.
• Conduct research relative to human behavior in emergencies to more accurately predict how building design will affect safe egress in emergencies.
• Conduct research with the objective of better understanding fire spread and suppression.
• Develop and refine computer models and computer-aided decision tools communities can use to make cost-effective choices relative to code changes, fire safety technologies, and allocating emergency resources.
The investigation began on Feb. 27, 2003 and was conducted under the National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Act. ■
FEMSA adopts Personal Responsibility Code (PRC)
The Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association (FEMSA) has introduced the Personal Responsibility Code (PRC). The initiative’s goal is to make firefighters and emergency responders aware that they are ultimately responsible for their own training and safety.
The PRC states the following:
The member companies of FEMSA that provide emergency response equipment and services want responders to know and understand the following:
1. Firefighting and Emergency Response are inherently dangerous activities requiring proper training in their hazards and the use of extreme caution at all times.
2. It is your responsibility to read and understand any user’s instructions provided with any piece of equipment you may be called upon to use.
3. It is your responsibility to know that you have been properly trained in firefighting and/or Emergency Response and in the use, precautions, and care of any equipment you may be called upon to use.
4. It is your responsibility to be in proper physical condition and to maintain the personal skill level required to operate any equipment you may be called upon to use.
5. It is your responsibility to know that your equipment is in operable condition and has been maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
6. Failure to follow these guidelines may result in death, burns, or other severe injury.
In an Open Letter to members, FEMSA notes that the PRC fits well with the National Fallen Firefighters’ “Line of Duty Death/Everyone Goes Home” initiative and has been endorsed by organizations such as the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers’ Association.
FEMSA members are urged “to make the PRC pervasive” by “adding the PRC to their products and services.” Members who sign a License Agreement may use the PRC wording in their materials. Members may also purchase stock/preprinted items to include with product shipments.
Additional information is available from Karen Burnham at (781) 334-2771, or e-mail info@femsa.org/. ■
USFA-NVFC join to enhance health and safety in volunteer fire service
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have joined to study issues related to volunteer firefighters’ occupational health and safety and to develop initiatives, programs, and strategies for reducing on-duty fatalities.
In 2004, almost 70 volunteer firefighters died in the line of duty. The U.S. volunteer fire service is estimated to have about 785,000 members. According to the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) “U.S. Fire Department Profile Through 2001,” 73 percent of U.S. fire departments are all volunteer and close to 16 percent are predominantly volunteer.
USFA Administrator R. David Paulison explains that the USFA-NVFC partnership project will support the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Firefighter Life Safety Initiative and the NVFC Heart Healthy Firefighter Program, which also have as their objective the reduction of on-duty firefighter fatalities.
The new initiative will focus on issues specific to volunteer firefighters, including time requirements, distance from training facilities, condition of equipment, rural operations, the decline in the number of volunteers, and the wide age range in volunteer firefighters. Occupational health and safety issues relative to active firefighters, emergency medical service (EMS) responders, fire-police, and other traffic control emergency response personnel, and nonresponse support staff performing administrative and other nonemergency activities for the volunteer fire department will be evaluated, as will regional issues that affect the health and safety of the volunteer fire service.
Additional information on this partnership effort and other USFA research studies relative to firefighter safety and health are at the USFA Web site, http://www.usfa.fema.gov/ research/safety/. ■
USFA Administrator clarifies policy on eligibility of mutual-aid costs
R.David Paulison, administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), in an “Open Letter to U.S. Fire Chiefs” on March 10 (No. 05-053), sought to correct “some misinformation in the press regarding FEMA’s Public Assistance Policy 9523.6.” The policy, he said, specified criteria by which the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recognizes under the Public Assistance Program the eligibility of costs incurred through mutual-aid agreements between applicants and other entities.
Among the points Paulison covered were the following:
• Under the modified mutual-aid policy, FEMA was able to increase its support for mutual-aid compacts and emergency personnel responding under these agreements. In the past, Paulison explained, FEMA policy did not allow for any reimbursement when a mutual-aid agreement was not in place at the time of the disaster or fire. This placed a burden on communities that may not have had a written agreement but chose to respond anyway.
• To alleviate the burden, FEMA, on September 22, 2004, changed the policy to allow for the reimbursement of the eligible costs of mutual aid where no predisaster, written mutual-aid agreement exists. The policy was made retroactive to August 11, 2004, to ensure that communities would be covered for immediate needs of the hurricane season in the affected states
• The new policy, however, left one important item unchanged. In this policy, FEMA recognizes “backfill costs” as the “regular pay” of workers performing duties for a regular salary whether or not a disaster occurred. When a community incurs “backfill overtime costs” to meet the needs of assisting other communities during times of disasters, those costs are eligible and have been since 1993. ■
DHS initiative promotes information sharing for protecting infrastructure
Advanced protection, prevention, and response activities for protecting the infrastructure are available to emergency response leaders through a free program available from the Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R). The program is located at the Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and will provide the “knowledge organizations and local policy leaders must have to enhance survivability, continuity of operations, and mission success,” according to Under Secretary of Homeland Security EP&R Michael D. Brown. The EMR-ISAC also provides first responders with information needed to appropriately protect their internal critical infrastructures against terrorist activities, Brown explained.
The EMR-ISAC, which uses an Internet-based, secure portal of DisasterHelp.gov, distributes “For Official Use Only (FOUO)” information pertaining to the threats against and the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructures to key federal, state, local, and tribal Emergency Services Sector (ESS) leaders nationwide (fire, police, and EMS department chief and deputy/assistant chief officers; emergency managers; fire marshals; and the owners and operators of private emergency agencies).
To participate, ESS personnel must register with DisasterHelp.gov by completing the user-friendly directions and a brief application at https://disasterhelp.gov/usfacip.html. Technical assistance to complete the registration process is available; call toll-free 800-451-2647. ■
NFPA: 7 percent of responses in 2003 were for fires
According to a National Fire Protection Association report released in March, of the approximately 22.4 million calls to which U.S. fire departments responded in 2003, 13.6 million were for medical assistance, 2.2 million were false alarms, and some 1.6 million calls-7 percent-were for fires.
The report also noted the following:
• Total calls were up 5 percent from the previous year; medical calls were up 6 percent; false alarms were up by 3 percent; and calls for fires were down 6 percent.
• Since 1983, the number of medical calls and calls for false alarms doubled. Medical aid calls now account for 61 percent of fire department calls, and false alarms account for 10 percent.
• The four categories for false alarms identified in the report and percentage of all false alarms are as follows: (1) System malfunction (36 percent), (2) Unintentional (35 percent), (3) Malicious (14 percent), and (4) Other calls, including bomb scares (15 percent).
• Other types of calls included (1) mutual-aid calls, up 11 percent (987,000 calls) from 2002; (2) hazardous-materials responses, down 3 percent from 2002 (349,500); and (3) other responses (smoke scares and lockouts, for example), up 9 percent (3,664,000). ■
Firefighters attend IAFF conference and visit congressional members
More than 800 career firefighters attended the 23rd Annual International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference in Washington, DC, in March. Leaders of both political parties addressed the group, and attendees visited members of Congress to ask support for issues affecting the fire service.
Speakers included Senators Dick Durbin (IL), Harry Reid (NV), and George Allen (VA) and Representatives Lois Capps (CA), Chris Chocola (IN), Ben Cardin (MD), John Sweeney (NY), Bart Gordon (TN), and Frank Lobiondo (NJ). Matt Mayer from the Department of Homeland Security and Morton Kondracke, executive editor of Roll Call, also addressed the conference.
In his opening remarks, IAFF General President Harold A. Schaitberger noted, “What it all comes down to is this: We aren’t for liberals. We’re not for conservatives. What we care about is how you stand on firefighter issues.”
The IAFF’s main legislative priorities this year include halting the movement to make Social Security coverage mandatory for public safety employees, increased funding for the SAFER Act, increased homeland security funding, extending presumptive disability benefits to federal firefighters, and gaining support for the Public Safety Cooperation Act (which advocates collective bargaining as a means for delivering emergency services). ■
National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel to be restored
The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapel, one of the most historic structures on the National Fire Academy campus, is to undergo renovation.
The chapel which was constructed in 1839 and consecrated in 1841, is in need of repairs. A leaky roof has damaged the interior. The sanctuary needs to be restored. The structure does not have a fully automatic fire suppression system and other fire and life safety requirements.
Architects, fire service officials, building construction services companies, the Daughters of Charity, and the Foundation are planning the restoration project, which will depend solely on donations.
The Foundation is seeking funding and partnerships to support the renovation project. The chapel is a focal point of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service, having become the site for a silent vigil on Family Day. For additional information, call (301) 447-1365, or e-mail firehero@firehero.org. Information about Foundation programs is at www.firehero.org/. ■
CMS: Nursing homes to install smoke detectors
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is proposing that nursing homes that do not have sprinkler systems or hard-wired smoke detectors install battery-operated detectors in patient rooms and public areas. The CMS worked closely with the National Fire Protection Association to develop ways to get effective fire protection in all nursing homes. The facilities will be given a year to comply with the requirement.
The CMS interim final rule also allows nursing homes, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, and other health care facilities to install dispensers of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in exit corridors that meet conditions described below. Previously, their installation was not allowed because of concerns that if a fire were to occur the alcohol rubs might serve as an accelerant and block access to exits. Research has shown, however, that the fire hazard would be greatly reduced if the dispensers are not near a heat or an ignition source, if they are at least four feet apart, and if they are placed in corridors that are at least six feet wide.
Alcohol-based hand rubs have been proven to be more effective at destroying bacteria than ordinary soaps and water. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that two million patients a year get hospital-based infections and that 90,000 of those patients die. Hospital-based infections can often be traced to a lack of hand washing by health care personnel with direct patient contact.
The full interim final rule was published in the March 25 Federal Register. ■
IAFC survey: haz-mat placards critical to emergency response
Hazardous-materials placards are critical and essential to emergency response, 98 percent of respondents to a survey conducted by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) said. The survey was sent to 7,340 IAFC members. As of March 9, 988 (13%) responded.
Homeland security officials have been discussing removing hazardous-materials placards from railcars and other containers, according to the IAFC. The IAFC opposes ending the current placarding system “until a replacement system has been demonstrated to be effective and the fire service has been fully trained in its use.”
In addition, virtually every respondent said that hazardous-materials placards are critical (70%) or very important (28%) to their operations. Virtually no respondents indicated that placards are not very important or not a factor in their operations.
Only 12 percent of respondents said they are aware of even potential alternatives to placards. ■
IAFF’s “Project HEROES” receives DHS funding
The Technical Support Working Group (TSWG) awarded the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) “Project HEROES” (Homeland Emergency Response Operational and Equipment Systems) initiative a federal government contract to be funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Under the arrangement, the IAFF Project Team is to rapidly develop, prototype, and field test structural firefighting PPE (personal protective equipment) with enhanced chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protective qualities to meet today’s threats.
The TEAM consists of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Total Fire Group/Morning Pride Manufacturing, the National Personal Protection Technology Laboratory of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), International Personnel Protection, and the University of Massachusetts and the University of Arkansas.
The IAFF Project Team will select ensemble materials for the garments, gloves, footwear, and hood which, combined with ensemble element interfaces, will provide protection consistent with current protective clothing standards.
Firefighters currently do not wear structural firefighting PPE that can protect them in an environment where chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents have been released.
Prototype ensemble designs will undergo extensive laboratory testing to validate the overall product performance and the impact of the ensemble on the wearer. Major metropolitan fire departments will evaluate the prototypes for functional performance and user acceptance. At the end of the project, complete specifications for a field-ready firefighting protective ensemble will have been developed.
The goal is to create certified protective clothing that is as indistinguishable as possible from current structural firefighting gear but offers improved chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear protection without sacrificing thermal protection, comfort, and functionality. ■
DHS releases applicant tutorial for 2005 AFG program
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security 2005 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Online Tutorial is available at http://www.firegrantsupport.com/; click the Application Tutorial link in the main menu.
This year’s online tutorial offers greater detail to applicants, along with an option to select the specific subject matter desired. The online tutorial also contains direct links to the 2005 Program Guidance to ensure that the applicant has all the information available relating to each portion of the application process. E-mail your comments or questions regarding the 2005 AFG Online Tutorial to Firegrants@dhs.gov, or call the AFG Help Desk at (1-866) 274-0960. ■
Fire sprinkler legislation introduced in Congress
Congressman Curt Weldon (PA) and Senator Rick Santorum (PA) introduced in March legislation that would create tax incentives for property owners who install automatic fire sprinkler systems in their houses.
The House version of the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act, authored by Congressmen Weldon and Jim Langevin (RI), would reduce the tax depreciation time on nonresidential real property from 39 years to five. The bill would be retroactive to April 11, 2003. The bill would also increase loan activity, reduce insurance claims and premium costs, increase retrofitting and installation jobs, and generate payroll tax revenue. ■
NFPA: arson incidence dropped in 2003
In 2003, the rate of arson offenses relative to population decreased by 6 percent from the previous year, according to a National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) report. The number of intentionally set structure fires in 2003 was 37,500, the lowest number recorded in the 27 years of reporting. (This figure does not include suspicious fires or fires with undetermined causes, but if those are included, recent numbers are still the lowest NFPA has ever recorded.)
Civilian deaths (305) and property damage ($692 million) in intentional structure fires in 2003 also dropped to historic lows.
For the ninth straight year, juvenile firesetters accounted for half or more (50.8%) of those arrested for the crime. The percentage of children firesetters under the age of 10 was 3.2 percent in 2003, the lowest since at least 1980.
The NFPA noted that more sophisticated investigative techniques that may more accurately identify fire causes might be a factor in the downward trends. Other contributing factors include more widespread counseling for juvenile firesetters, arson task forces and other anti-arson programs, and a decline in the arson-prone age and gender in the general population. ■
Line-of-Duty Deaths
February 21. Senior Forest Ranger Henry Hobbs, 37, Florida Department of Forestry, Jacksonville Div.: heart attack.
February 24. Chief Lonnie Wayne Nicklas, 39, Shepherd (TX) Volunteer Fire Department: cardiac arrest.
February 27. Firefighter Michael Aunkst, 45, Benedict (NE) Volunteer Fire Department: heart attack.
March 3. Fire Police Officer Thomas Mower, 62, Goodwill Fire Company, Glenolden, PA: massive heart attack.
March 9. Deputy Fire Coordinator/Fire Investigator James E. Mero Jr., 51, Essex County Office of Emergency Services, Elizabethtown, New York: collapsed of an apparent heart attack at the scene of a residential structure fire.
March 10. Chief Jerry Buehne, 64, Affton (MO) Fire Protection District: vehicle accident while en route to a department meeting. His car was struck by a vehicle whose operator was fleeing from police.
March 10. Pilot Jose Victor Gonzales, 45, United States Forest Service, Sabine National Forest, National Forests in Texas, Lufkin: helicopter crash.
March 10. Fire Base Manager John Greeno, 51, United States Forest Service, Sabine National Forest, National Forests in Texas, Lufkin: helicopter crash.
March 10. Fire Management Officer Charles Lynn Edgar, 54, United States Forest Service, Sabine National Forest, National Forests in Texas, Lufkin: helicopter crash.
March 16. Sergeant Andre Ellis, 39, Dixie Suburban Fire Department, Louisville, KY: Collapsed after setting up and testing, with another firefighter, a search and rescue course involving hose evolutions in a building under renovation.
March 21. Chief Al Wright, 54, Hollywood (AL) Volunteer Fire Department: apparent heart attack while riding in his personal vehicle in response to a vehicle accident.
Source: National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Database, United States Fire Administration.
News Glimpses
Rural health care systems must be improved, report warns. “Meeting the Challenges of Rural America,” a report sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Public Heath Preparedness and seven other organizations, including the Harvard School of Public Health, says that “rural America is vulnerable to bioterrorism and other serious public health emergency threats.” It recommends that rural health care systems be improved. Joshua Frances of the Harvard School of Public Health, one of the authors of the report, stresses that rural areas contain much of the nation’s water supply, food supply, and critical industries such as power plants and water treatment facilities. Sen. Tim Johnson (SD) agrees with the report. He called the decision to redirect Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bioterrorism funds from states to specific cities “misguided” and said it will have detrimental effects on public health preparedness. www.startribune.com, Kevin Diaz, kdiaz@mcclatchydc.com, article 587/5307989, Mar. 23, 2005.
Four receive NFA EFOP awards. More than 600 people participated in the National Fire Academy (NFA) 2004 Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP). The following have been named the 2004 Outstanding Research Award recipients: Executive Development Course Awardee: Assistant Chief Deborah A. Prouty, Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department-Assessing the Impact of the Los Angeles County Fire Department Management Development Program; Leading Community Risk Reduction Course Awardee: Superintendent Mark M. Brown, New South Wales Fire Brigades Sydney South, New South Wales, Australia-Stakeholder Views in Relation to the Introduction of Residential Sprinkler Legislation in New South Wales, Australia; Leading Community Risk Reduction Course Awardee: Lieutenant Jo-Ann Lorber, City of Fort Lauderdale (FL) Fire-Rescue Department-Drowning-The Silent Killer of Children: Should the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department Take a Proactive Approach in the Development of a Preventive Program? and Executive Analysis of Fire Service Operations in Emergency Management Course Awardee: Lieutenant Elaine Fisher, Orange County (FL) Fire Rescue, Winter Park, FL-Research-Based Guidelines for Decision Making in Hurricane Conditions: When Do We Stop Responding? The award-winning papers will be presented at the 17th Executive Fire Officer Symposium, June 1-3, 2005, at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Copies of the award projects may be requested from the USFA at (800)238-3358, ext.1639 (leave your request on voice mail).
Judge finds Chicago fire exam biased. In March, a federal judge said that the Chicago firefighter 1995 entrance exam discriminated against African-American applicants who took it. The ruling came after a seven-year legal battle. The judge called the exam’s 89-point cutoff “meaningless” and said it would yield a smaller percentage of qualified minority candidates. A hearing was scheduled for April 26 (after press time) to set damages for the 6,000-plus class-action plaintiffs. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had cited the 1995 exam as an example of discrimination. www.chicagotribune.com, article 0503230334, Mar. 6.8pt; “>23, 2005
Fire agencies take over after ambulance service shuts down. Washington State’s Port Townsend Fire Department and Fire District No. 6 in Cape George, at press time, were in the process of signing an agreement with Jefferson County to provide ambulance service. The previous ambulance company, Jefferson Lifelink, suddenly discontinued service. www.peninsuladailynews.com, art. 200876, Mar. 9, 2005
SF firefighters sue over alcohol use. Twenty-eight San Francisco firefighters sued the fire department requesting that the courts “force” department management act to rectify what they call an on-the-job drinking problem. Among those filing suit were two of the chief’s assistant chiefs and seven battalion chiefs. The plaintiffs are seeking enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy toward drinking and drug use implemented in 2003. A civil grand jury had recommended in June that the department develop options for discipline and make it clear what behavior would warrant the discipline. It also recommended that the department institute random testing as soon as possible. It is alleged that the department had negotiated the right to test firefighters after accidents four years ago and that no firefighters have been tested. Four residents of San Francisco, a civilian who frequently visits the city, and the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association joined the 28 firefighters in the suit. The union and the fire department reportedly were negotiating at press time over what type of testing can be conducted and when. Sfgate.com, Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle, jvandebeken@sfchronicle.com, article BAGR6BR9LU1.DTL, Mar. 18, 2005
Seven firefighters arrested for theft related to warehouse fire. Seven firefighters, from three different departments, were among the nine people arrested for theft in connection with a December warehouse fire in a Muskego, WI, industrial park. The accused were referred to the Waukesha County district attorney’s office. At press time, the police department had not completed its investigation. Waukesha Freeman, Mar. 8, 2005; www.gmtoday.com, James Kogutkiewicz, Mar. 9, 2005
Family sues Chicago over fatal fire response. A minister and his wife, who lost three children (ages 15, 7, 14 months) and a godson (age 12) in a fire last September, instituted a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Chicago. The couple is seeking unspecified damages. The lawsuit charges that 911 operators hung up on residents reporting the fire at the home and did not keep records of the calls. The family has charged that the 911 operators were indifferent to or disregarded the people inside the burning home and failed to respond to the fire properly. The operators were accused of hanging up on the callers because an operator thought someone was playing a joke. That operator was placed on administrative leave. In one instance, a 911 operator reportedly ended the call by saying the department would not be responding. According to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications, firefighters were sent to the fire after the first call about an emergency was received. www.nbc5.com, article 4297930, Mar. 18, 2005.
