FO Ch. 8.docx

Chapter 8 Safety and Risk Management Lecture I. Introduction A. Reducing fire fighter injuries and deaths requires the dedicated efforts of everyone working together. 1. It also requires a safety program that integrates important components such as: a. b. c. d. e. f. II\....

Chapter 8 Safety and Risk Management Lecture I. Introduction A. Reducing fire fighter injuries and deaths requires the dedicated efforts of everyone working together. 1. It also requires a safety program that integrates important components such as: a. b. c. d. e. f. II\. Fire Officer's Role in Risk Management A. Risk management refers to the process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the resources and activities of an organization in order to minimize detrimental effects. 1. Includes: a. b. c. d. e. 2. The fire officer's role encompasses risk management: f. g. h. B. Community Fire Risk 1. From the fire chief's perspective, there are three responsibilities: a. Manage the community's fire risk. b. Provide a set of services that provide risk management measurements. c. Maintain fire department readiness to perform its mission every hour of every day. 2. The methods of managing risks fall into three types of control: d. Administrative i. Guidelines, policies, and procedures that are established to limit losses e. Engineering ii. Using built-in systems that remove or limit hazards f. Personnel protection iii. Equipment, clothing, and devices to protect the person C. Five Principal Risk Management Steps 3. As a working supervisor, the fire officer has the experience and access to provide a detailed evaluation of the risks within the workplace and sufficient authority to establish control. 4. Step 1: Identify Risk Exposure g. Identify the elements that create risk for the fire department. h. Use NFPA's fire fighter death and injury reports with your department's OSHA reporting. i. Benchmarking your department's injury and loss experience with similar sized departments, provide a comparison of need. 5. Step 2: Evaluate Risk Exposure j. Determine the likelihood that an injury or loss event could occur, and then determine the consequences. k. What is our local experience? l. What do we know about the national experience? m. What are the probabilities of different events happening? n. What are the probable consequences if they do occur? 6. Step 3: Rank and Prioritize Risks o. Create a list of risks, along with the probabilities of occurrence and probable outcomes. p. Events with the most devastating probable outcomes will be considered first, paying attention to those situations that occur most frequently. q. Focusing on high-frequency events that would have catastrophic results will create the greatest risk management outcome. 7. Step 4: Determine and Implement Risk Management Control Actions r. When deciding on and taking actions to mitigate risks, consider administrative, engineering, and personal protection controls. s. May require budget allocation for next year t. Develop an interim step that can be taken now. 8. Step 5: Evaluate and Revise Risk Control Actions u. Establishing risk control includes monitoring the progress. v. Do the controls actually reduce the risk? w. Have the controls produced an unanticipated problem? III\. Fire Fighter Injury and Death Trends A. Fire fighters must be fully prepared to work safely in high-risk situations. 1. NFPA's *United States Firefighter Injuries--2017* report summarizes the injuries that occurred during fire-ground operations: a. b. c. d. 2. According to NFPA's Firefighter Fatalities in the United States--2018 report, there have been approximately 26 fire fighter fire-ground fatalities per year since 2007. e. 3. The nature of all 2017 line-of-duty fire fighter deaths is as follows: f. g. h. i. j. k. 4. Prevention depends on the ability to halt the cascade of events that leads to a serious injury or death. l. B. Everyone Goes Home 1. Program developed by NFFF to prevent line-of-duty death and injuries 2. Firefighter Life Safety Summit in 2004 resulted in 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. a. 3. Goals are: b. c. d. 4. Follow-up summit in 2007 to develop key recommendations for each of these initiatives 5. A standard approach to safety incorporates best practices that should be part of every operational situation. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. 6. A result of these efforts has been a trend of less than 70 line-of-duty deaths from 2014 to 2018. m. C. **National Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System** 1. In 2005, the IAFC launched a web-based system to report near misses. 2. Provides: a. b. c. 3. Based on the Aviation Safety Reporting System D. **Reducing Deaths from Sudden Cardiac Arrest** 1. A disproportionate number of fire fighters older than age 49 years die of cardiac arrest while on duty. a. 2. Every fire fighter candidate should undergo a medical examination before he or she is allowed to respond to incidents. b. c. 3. Physical fitness activities should be considered an essential component of every fire fighter's training regimen. d. i. ii. iii. iv. v. e. 4. Many organizations have developed resources to help the fire officer encourage healthy living. f. g. h. 5. Regardless of any fire department mandates that are handed down, every fire officer should strive to be physically fit. i. j. E. **Reducing Deaths from Suicide** 1. In 2018, 82 fire fighters and 21 emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics died by suicide. a. b. 2. Peer support programs c. d. i. e. 3. Behavioral health f. g. h. i. ii. iii. iv. F. **Reducing Deaths from Cancer** 1. An increase in the use of synthetic products has led to an increase in the toxicity of today's modern fires. 2. Cancer is now considered to be the leading cause of death among fire fighters. a. 3. Fire fighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer than the general U.S. population. 4. Firefighter Cancer Registry established in 2018 b. 5. Best practices for preventing fire fighter cancer c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. 6. NFPA 1851 focuses on the person who actually uses the protective ensemble. n. o. G. **Reducing Deaths from Motor Vehicle Collisions** 1. Deaths resulting from responding or returning from alarms continues a 5-year trend of low occurrences. a. b. 2. Prevention c. d. e. f. 3. Putting an untrained driver behind the wheel of an emergency vehicle places both the occupants of that vehicle and the general public in immediate danger. g. h. 4. Driver minimum qualifications are established in NFPA 1002 and 1500. i. j. k. 5. Requiring fire fighters to wear seat belts could prevent three to six fatalities every year. l. m. n. H. **Reducing Deaths from Fire Suppression Operations** 1. Internal trauma/crushing is the primary noncardiac cause of death during suppression operations, followed by asphyxia and burns. a. b. i. ii. 2. Maintaining Crew Integrity c. d. e. iii. f. iv. v. vi. vii. g. viii. 3. Air Management h. i. ix. x. j. k. l. xi. m. xii. n. 4. Teams and Tools o. xiii. xiv. xv. xvi. xvii. p. xviii. xix. xx. q. IV\. Directing Members during Training Evolutions A. Training ensures that every fire fighter can perform competently and every fire company can operate as a high-performance team. 1. Training must anticipate: a. b. c. 2. Initial training leads to basic skill certifications d. e. 3. Several important components of training occur at the fire station or company level under the supervision of fire officers. f. i. ii. g. 4. Additional company-level training often includes preincident planning and familiarization visits. h. i. B. Reducing Deaths during Training 1. Fire fighter deaths during training activities represented 46 percent of the nonemergency annual line-of-duty death total in 2018. 2. Caused by following factors: a. b. c. d. e. f. 3. Many of the factors that result in fire-ground deaths also kill fire fighters on the training ground. g. h. 4. NFPA 1041 covers qualifications for instructors. i. V. Incident Safety Officer A. An incident safety officer is a designated individual at the emergency scene who performs a set of duties and responsibilities that are specified in NFPA 1521. 1. Functions as a member of the incident command staff, reporting directly to the IC 2. The IC is personally responsible for performing the functions of the incident safety officer if this assignment has not been assigned or delegated. 3. Many fire departments assign a designated officer to respond to emergency scenes to fill this position. a. b. c. 4. The fact that an incident safety officer has been assigned does not relieve any officer or fire fighter of the responsibility to operate safely and responsibly. d. B. Incident Safety Officer and Incident Management 1. The incident safety officer is a key component of the ICS. 2. The incident safety officer reports to the IC and is required to: a. Monitor the scene b. Identify and report any hazard c. Take immediate steps to stop unsafe actions d. Ensure that the department's safety policies are followed 3. In most situations, the exchange of information between the IC and the incident safety officer is conducted verbally and quickly at the command post. 4. Responsibilities e. Identify hazardous situations and dangerous conditions f. Recommend appropriate safety measures g. Acts as an observer, monitoring conditions and actions h. Consults with the IC and other officers to determine safe course of action 5. If a situation creates an imminent hazard, the incident safety officer has the authority to immediately suspend or alter activities. i. Immediately inform IC j. Up to the IC to either approve or alter the action C. **Qualifications to Operate as an Incident Safety Officer** 1. Every fire officer should be trained to perform the basic duties of an incident safety officer and be prepared to act temporarily in this capacity if he or she is assigned to this position by the IC. 2. Safety officer must: a. b. c. 3. Knowledge requirements d. e. f. g. 4. Incident safety officers at a special operations incident require additional specialized knowledge and experience. h. i. j. k. l. m. 5. In many fire departments, specialized teams have their own designated safety specialists. 6. Typical Incident Safety Officer Tasks n. o. p. q. r. s. t. u. v. w. x. y. z. a. b. c. d. e. D. **Assistant Incident Safety Officers at Large or Complex Incidents** 1. Some incidents require more than one safety officer. 2. Assistant officers can be assigned to different areas and functions. 3. Incident safety officer should inform the IC of the need to establish a safety unit. 4. Under overall direction of incident safety officer 5. Various functions a. b. c. d. e. 6. Relief rotation can be established to ensure safety supervision at all times. E. **Incident Scene Rehabilitation** 1. Part of the incident safety officer's role is to ensure that an appropriate rehabilitation process is established. 2. Incident scene rehabilitation is the tactical-level management unit that provides for: a. b. c. d. e. f. 3. Fire fighters' action orientation makes them susceptible to exceeding the physical limitations of their own bodies. g. h. VI\. Creating and Maintaining a Safe Work Environment A. Injury prevention is an important concern of the fire officer. 1. The fire officer must model good behavior to help develop subordinates' attitudes about injury prevention. B. Safety Policies and Procedures 1. Most fire departments have policies that regulate safety practices at the company level. a. Designed to address routine circumstances b. May have been developed in reaction to a previous accident or injury 2. Fire officer is on the front line of policy compliance. c. Fully understands each policy d. Follows all policies and procedures e. Ensures all subordinates understand and follow policy 3. Many departments require all members to sign a document acknowledging that they have read and understand each policy and any new or amended policy. f. Some departments leave it to the officer to read and explain each policy to the crew members. g. An effective method is to have members individually read policy and fire officer lead group discussion to ensure understanding. 4. One method to reinforce safety policies is to watch videos of incidents and critique them based solely on safety policies. h. Often reveals significant differences between what should be and what is done 5. Sources for reviewing safety policies i. IAFC Near Miss Report of the Week j. Firefighter Close Calls website's the Secret List k. ESRI information l. STATter911.com videos m. NIOSH case studies n. Some of these provide training programs and teaching resources as well. 6. The fire officer must conscientiously ensure that all safety policies are followed in training activities. 7. It is impossible to write a policy to cover every conceivable hazard. o. Fire officer should use good judgment to identify hazardous situations and implement mitigating measures. 8. The fire officer should make sure that company members understand the need for safe work practices and develop an attitude that internalizes safety, rather than relying on the fire officer to be a "safety police officer." I. **Emergency Incident Injury Prevention** 1. Many of the same techniques that are used to prevent fire fighter deaths will also help prevent fire fighter injuries; however, they are not necessarily the same. 2. Physical Fitness a. b. c. d. 3. Personal Protective Equipment e. f. g. i. h. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. i. viii. j. ix. x. J. **Fire Station Safety** 1. Safety considerations also apply to the fire station department. a. b. 2. The station setting allows the fire officer to be even more proactive in enforcing safety policies than is possible at an incident scene. 3. Safety hazards at the fire station can have the same consequences as hazards encountered at emergency incidents. c. 4. Clothing d. e. f. g. h. i. ii. iii. 5. Housekeeping i. j. k. l. iv. v. m. n. o. p. vi. vii. viii. q. r. 6. Lifting Techniques s. Back injuries are serious and potentially career ending. t. Proper lifting techniques should be used. u. Never bend at the waist to lift; instead, bend at the knees and lift by standing straight up. v. Keep the back in a natural position. w. Seek additional help to lift heavy items. x. Fire officers should always reinforce proper technique and procedure to prevent injury. y. Fire officer must also supervise to reduce the risk of unjustifiable injuries, i.e., from horseplay. VII\. Infection Control A. Every fire department should have an infection control program that meets NFPA 1581. 1. Six components of an infection control program a. A written policy with the goal of identifying and limiting exposures b. A written risk management plan to identify risks and control measures c. Annual training and education in infection control d. A designated infection control officer e. Access to appropriate immunizations for employees f. Instructions for handling exposure incidents 2. Proper decontamination procedures are followed after emergency medical incidents or any situation where equipment could have become contaminated. g. Disposable items, gloves, and contaminated expendable equipment should be disposed of in a specially marked bag that is designed for that use. h. Patient compartments in ambulances should be properly decontaminated after every transport. i. Likewise, patient cots should be decontaminated after every call. j. Equipment that is designed to be decontaminated and reused should be cleaned only in an approved decontamination sink. k. Contaminated equipment should never be taken into the living area of the station or cleaned in a sink where food is prepared. l. Always follow written procedures and the manufacturer's guidelines for decontamination of medical equipment. i. Bleach and water solution is typically used. ii. Do not use this solution in turnout gear. 3. NFPA 1581 provides specific information on establishing an infection control program, including: m. Guidelines on equipment cleaning and storage n. Facility requirements o. Methods of protection 4. The fire officer should also consult departmental guides and policies for further details. B. Infectious Disease Exposure 1. NFPA 1581 provides a model program for situations where a fire fighter has been exposed to an infectious or contagious disease. a. b. 2. First step: wash exposed area immediately and thoroughly with soap and running water. c. 3. Fire department infection control officer should be immediately notified. d. e. i. 4. Document all exposures as soon as possible using standardized reporting form. f. g. h. i. j. 5. The record of an exposure incident will become part of the member's confidential health database. k. l. 6. Due to the hazardous nature of some communicable diseases, individuals who have been exposed to these risks are often required to report to the infection control officer. m. n. VIII\. Accident Investigation A. The fire department health and safety officer is charged with ensuring the following are thoroughly investigated: 1. Injuries 2. Illnesses 3. Exposures 4. Fatalities 5. Potentially hazardous conditions 6. Accidents involving fire department resources 7. The initial investigation of many situations is often delegated to a local fire officer. B. An accident is any unexpected event that interrupts or interferes with the orderly progress of fire department operations. 8. Includes personal injuries as well as property damage 9. An accident investigation should determine the cause and circumstances of the event and identify any corrective actions that are needed to prevent another. 10. The fire officer must ensure that all required federal, state, and local documentation is complete and accurate. 11. The result of an accident investigation should always include recommended corrective actions that are presented to the fire chief or the chief's designated representative. C. Accident Investigation and Documentation 1. Most fire departments have established procedures for investigating accidents and injuries. a. b. 2. At every investigation, it is the fire officer's responsibility to protect the physical and human resources of the department. 3. Investigation normally consists of three phases: c. d. e. 4. Each step is essential for the development of a comprehensive report. f. g. 5. Fire officer should always use standardized procedure if available. 6. Examination of the physical evidence h. i. j. k. l. 7. Witness interviews m. n. o. p. q. r. s. t. u. 8. Written documentation v. w. x. y. 9. As a fire officer, you have a duty to perform an initial accident investigation that is fair and unbiased. z. a. IX\. Postincident Analysis A. The incident safety officer provides a written report for the department that includes pertinent information relating to safety and health issues involved with the incident. 1. Including information about: a. b. c. d. e. X. Summary A. Risk management refers to the process of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the resources and activities of an organization in order to minimize detrimental effects on that organization. B. Fire fighters must be fully prepared to work safely in high-risk situations. C. Everyone Goes Home is a program developed by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to prevent line-of-duty death and injuries; it includes the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. D. The goal of www.firefighternearmiss.com, launched by the International Association of Fire Chiefs in 2005, is to track incidents that avoided serious injury or death, to identify trends, and to share the information with other fire fighters in a confidential and nonpunitive way. E. Sudden cardiac arrest accounts for the largest share of on-duty fire fighter deaths. F. The rate of fire fighter suicide exceeds the rate of line-of-duty deaths. G. Deaths from responding or returning from alarms continues a 5-year trend of low occurrences. H. An incident safety officer is a member of the incident command staff who monitors the scene, identifies and reports hazards to the IC, and takes immediate steps to stop unsafe actions and ensure that the department's safety policies are followed. I. Every fire officer should be trained to perform the basic duties of an incident safety officer and prepared to act temporarily in this capacity if he or she is assigned to fill this position by the IC. J. Some incidents, based on their size, complexity, or duration, require more than one safety officer. Assistant incident safety officers can be assigned to subdivide responsibilities for different areas and functions at incidents such as high-rise fires, hazardous materials incidents, and special rescue operations. K. Part of the incident safety officer's role is to ensure that an appropriate rehabilitation process is established. Incident scene rehabilitation provides for medical evaluation, treatment, monitoring, fluid and food replenishment, mental rest, and relief from climatic conditions of the incident. L. A safety program that is based on preventing fatalities is far from adequate. Every injury or near miss should be viewed as a potentially fatal or disabling situation, and injury prevention should be an equally important concern of the fire officer. M. The fire officer needs to fully understand each policy, follow all safety policies and procedures, and ensure that all subordinates fully understand and follow them. N. Principles that should be implemented to prevent injuries and deaths include physical fitness and consistent use of personal protective equipment. O. Safety hazards at the fire station can have the same consequences as hazards encountered at emergency incidents. P. The fire department, however, has control over the fire station environment at all times and has the ability, as well as the responsibility, to identify and correct any safety problems. Q. Every fire department should establish an infection control program that meets NFPA 1581, Standard on Fire Department Infection Control Program. R. The most important first step with any infectious disease exposure is to wash the exposed area immediately and thoroughly with soap and running water. If soap and running water are not available, waterless soap, antiseptic wipes, alcohol, or other skin cleaning agents can be used until soap and running water are obtained. S. The fire department health and safety officer ensures that all injuries, illnesses, exposures, fatalities, or other potentially hazardous conditions and all accidents involving fire department vehicles, fire apparatus, equipment, or fire department facilities are thoroughly investigated. T. The fire officer is usually responsible for conducting an initial investigation and for fully investigating many minor accidents. U. The incident safety officer provides a postincident analysis for the department in the form of a written report that includes pertinent information relating to safety and health issues involved with the incident.