NFPA 1500-DID YOU READ IT?
EDITOR’S OPINION
NFPA 1500, Standard of Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, is a document that needs no introduction. Or does it?
Never has the fire service been so conscious of a written standard. It’s surrounded by controversy, explained at conferences, and a major subject of conversation at virtually all social activities that involve more than two fire service members.
An organization of volunteer fire service leaders from more than 20 states has proposed what it considers to be legitimate changes in NFPA 1500 that it would like to see made. It perceives that the document, as it stands, could possibly put the small department, volunteer service “out of business.”
Angelo Catalano, a spokesman for that group, explains that 1500, as a whole, is the best thing to come along for the fire service since the tower ladder. From his perspective, more than 90 percent of the recommendations are achievable. The remaining 10 percent is not so easily implemented, in the group’s opinion.
The framers, on the other hand, would like to see the standard adopted as soon as possible, as they believe that safety, injury, and death records of our members will be significantly and positively impacted by it.
Two opinions. Which is yours? Do you deserve one?
Why so much concern, controversy, and misunderstanding? Is the document so complicated that we have to be led through it? Told what it means?
After reading it several times, I find that it is down-to-earth and readable, and certainly addresses most all of the unsafe aspects of our operations that are controllable.
Some of the concern stems from the perceived cost factor. But should our fire service membership be so concerned about that? If it is adopted and becomes an influence in the courts, the cost factor—liability—will be in the laps of those who have either shortchanged, ignored, or taken for granted the unsafe, risk-ridden, and valuable services that we perform day in and day out.
I think the controversy is rooted, for the most part, in myth. At a few of the conferences in which I recently participated, I asked the audiences (1) How many of you have grief with NFPA 1500? and (2) How many of you have honestly read it? The answers were amazing. The overwhelming majority raised hands to the first question but less than 5 percent of them could actually attest to having read it!
In my opinion—and selfishly—I think that in NFPA 1500 we have an answer to substandard (“good enough”) equipment, the problems associated with conscription fire service, the training and awareness level of our membership, the leadership and accountability levels of our officers, and, in the paid sector, our problems with manning levels.
Sure, have an opinion, make it heard, get involved. But you have no right to it until you have at least read the document. It’s so easy.
