STORY TYPE: Homeland Responder Brief #116/119 TRANSCRIPT: The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has really been busy the last couple of months in a variety of areas. One is of course in our primary mission of serving the families of fallen firefighters, and preparations for the October memorial activities in Emmitsburg. Plans are underway to honor 100 plus firefighters again, unfortunately, of those that died in 2005 and previous years and to bring their families to Emmitsburg for the National Memorial. That will occur on October fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, with a variety of activities, family day activities, grief counseling sessions, candlelight service and the national memorial tribute on that Sunday, where each family will come up and have an opportunity to be recognized for the sacrifices their loved one made. So work's underway for that. The other thing is the foundation just finished renovations of The Fallen Firefighters Memorial Chapter, which is located on the grounds of The National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, and that's going to become our permanent home. We just moved into there this week. We've been in a variety of different buildings on campus, including a double wide trailer for a while, temporary housing, and the foundation finally has a place to call home. Through the last two years we've been renovating it with everything imaginable, from a full fire protection system, sprinkler system, fire alarm system, elevators, ADA handicap facilities, all of that. We're going to have a place to work out of and provide our services. And I think that a lot of effort, a lot of activity, and a lot of success has been seen in the last couple of months with the Everyone Goes Home campaign: firefighter life safety initiatives. We were able to complete one of the major tasks of that project, which was to develop a training resource kit that was mailed to over 30,000 fire departments around the United States. And those kits were in development for the last couple of months with an array of subject matter experts that were putting together components to develop six plug and play programs, video activities, that cover and array of topics from situation awareness and self assessment, to driver, vehicle operator training, to fire prevention, that are ready to go, complete with a lesson plan, teaching aids, handouts. That station personnel could just put into a computer, CD/DVD set-up and run with. Also included was 12 individual lesson plans on topics related to the sixteen initiatives that make for a ready drill set to go - drill of the week, drill of the month, and all that material is being provided from a grant from The Department of Homeland Security, which is the fireaid grant, and funding for firemans fund insurers. And we're excited about that. That's been a major milestone for us and to get these solid materials out in the stations to be used to help raise awareness and to work at reducing firefighter fatalities, which is the ultimate goal of the program. Two years ago the foundation hosted the first national summit to talk about reducing firefighter fatalities. That was held in Tampa Florida, and we had about 250 representatives of every fire service organization in the country gathered together for two days to say, ok, what can we do to really make a difference in firefighter fatality reduction? And out of that summit came 16 life safety initiatives. The first, which was the one that percolated to the surface most quickly, that was talked about in all the different break out groups, was the need to change the culture of the fire service. Change the way we think. Change the way we act. Change the way we respond, and change the way we feel about line of duty deaths and the safety needs of our firefighters. And the initiatives go through everything imaginable from codes and standards, to training and research, vehicle operations, equipment apparatus, tools, anything imaginable are addressed in this all encompassing 16 initiatives. And those have become the true foundation of the Everyone Goes Home campaign and since that summit we have been working at a lot of the major tradeshows, through the fire service trade industry, through the media affiliates available to us to raise awareness about the initiatives, to raise awareness about holding people responsible and accountable for their own well-being, which is a cornerstone of the program. That's what the culture's about. You are responsible for your own well-being and the well-being of your crew. And your actions can affect the rest of the team that's out there trying to respond to an emergency. And to change the way we believe, and feel, about this wonderful work that we do of providing emergency services. And so those initiatives are being used to develop training programs, there's a website with a lot of resource material, monthly newsletters that are going out, all related on elevating firefighter awareness on safety. One of the - let me rephrase that. As a part of the year one project that we've been working on through the fire grant and fireman's fund insurance, related to the Everyone Goes Home Program was the development of a station training kit, resource kit for fire departments to use. We went through a series of surveys of, you could call it, or subject matter expert interviews to determine what it is, the rank and file firefighters, the men and women on the floor of the fire apparatus stations, riding in the front seats, riding in a bucket. There is a need to help better their training and their education related to firefighter safety. And the majority of the comments that came back from those reviews, was a complete kit that had already been through the development, that had all of the components, the lesson plan, teaching aids, the handouts, audio/visual support, and most importantly the research and references as to where it came from done. Station personnel are being asked to do more and more and more and unfortunately some of the quality training has gotten cut from the schedule because they don't the time to do that kind of homework. And it takes a lot of homework to put a good drill together. Granted you can go out and just practice with the tools, and practice your training, or those activities at the station. But to really get into the meat of some of the safety issues and some of the root causes of firefighter deaths in our country, you need to be able to get some of that homework done. And it just isn't always there. People just don't always have the time to do it. So, the theory behind the resource kits was to provide all of that to the stations, done, ready to go. And, it has development into two DVD's and a CD that were in these kits. And the DVD's have six plug and play training modules that are set up for station level drill, or a battalion level drill, or a community level drill. Ready to go. Love to be in D.C. but can't afford it, so I'm not even gonna go there. And it works. No, just Emmitsburg. We use a lot of fire stations all over the place. People let us use their facilities for meetings and activities so that works out real well. Within the training kits is a piece on self assessment. And that includes a variety of things; your training levels, proper tools and equipment, those components related to what would be the exterior environment, but also internally, your physical fitness - your shape - how well you are - how prepared you are. And we talk a little bit about the need to look at a health a wellness standard, having medical screenings done, because the leading cause of firefighter fatalities in the country is heart attacks, due to job related stress and activities. And, that's normally around half each year. 50%. And we have been working with a variety of subject matter experts to assess wellness programs, health and safety issues, and part of our year two program is to put out another round of training kits that specifically deal with the health and wellness component. and while I was here at the Firehouse Expo in Baltimore we've been meeting with a series of health and wellness persons, subject matter experts, to talk about that very development and we've got some components that are being put together that will make a nice piece that will be able to be used by any department, large, small, career or volunteer, that touch on the basics, which is exercise, nutrition, aerobic capacity, some evaluation techniques, medical screening, all the elements that are critical to ensure that your body is able to stand up to and perform based upon the needs of the situation, and the strenuous environment that we function in as firefighters. (Ron Siarnicki continues on a new subject = POVS) The second leading cause of firefighter fatalities in our country is are vehicle accidents. And we look at vehicle accidents as a whole. The leading contributory factor is those incidents involving personally owned vehicles, P.O.V.s. And that's normally responding to, or coming from, the scene or the station. There's a lot of discussion about what should or should not be allowed on a state by state basis for those operators of those vehicles. And we're not going to get into a debate if those people should have lights on their roof or not, but really look at the real issue. Excessive speed, and failure to use a seat belt are the two pieces. Whether you have a blue light on the roof of your car or not doesn't matter. It's how you operate that vehicle, and whether or not you're wearing your seat belt. The whole idea of emergency lights is to let people know that you are trying to get some place and they should offer you a courtesy of the right to the road, but it doesn't guarantee anything. And so changing that cultural thought, that just because I got lights on my car, or my fire truck, that I have full control of the roadway, is Not the reality. You're asking for someone to give you access to that lane. And the idea of get out of my way or I'll run you over has got to change, and we have that today. We have fire apparatus that have bumper stickers on the front of it that says "Having Fun at Other Peoples Expense." And that should make you think about the culture of the fire service when they say those things. "Having Fun at Other Peoples Expense" should not be something that we are endorsing or supporting, and that's part of their culture. And I don't want to harp because that's not really the intent, but to say that the factual side is that vehicle accidents, rollovers, crashes, all involve the decision making, of one that driver, and secondly that officer that is allowing that driver to perform in that fashion. That we continue to see speed, failure to wear a seat belt, lack of adequate training, or a complete understanding of how that vehicle's gonna operate under emergency response situations as contributory factors. Just yesterday we have a tanker overturn in the state of Alabama in which a 17 year old firefighter was killed. And the difficulty is you wonder why a tanker of all the vehicles, which has issues with stability no matter who makes them or how their put together. You have all that water, all that weight - You add the speed. You add curves in the road. They have the need for additional breaking distances. And you add a bunch of people trying to get to a fire, who should know that they are in a secondary response mode. Their not the first piece out. Well, even if they are the first piece out. All that weight you're not gonna stop it. And time and time again we see rollovers, tankers down ravines, tankers that leave the roadway surface, drivers overcompensate, the water shifts, and the next thing you know the tanker is on its side or on its roof, and the people inside are ejected, crushed, killed in some fashion. And we've got to stop it. We gotta change that. And I applaud departments that have taken policies that are related to secondary apparatus that don't respond. They go with the normal flow. And that on certain call situations people are looking at hot and cold responses. Most accidents involving engines and trucks, and responding vehicles actually happen in intersections , and that's because drivers assume that they have the right of way, or enter an intersection at such a speed that they can't control the vehicle when somebody else enters it. No matter how hard you try two vehicles can't operate in the same space at the same time. It's not gonna happen. What does happen is that they collide and somebody gets hurt or killed. In many of the cases involving vehicle accidents we see the failure to use seat belts contributing to the death. And a lot of times that's because the person is ejected from the vehicle, or propelled through the windshield, or ends up bouncing around inside the cab of the vehicle unprotected, with all the other tools and equipment that's in there that sometimes isn't bolted down or strapped down, that then become impaling objects floating through that cab bouncing off of the walls and the people inside, as this vehicle loses its stability. That's a grave concern. I can remember in my days with the fire service, people have tools that they carried, things in their pockets, all kind of attachments to their gear, and those are tools of the trade, but if their not secure when that vehicle breaks contact with the road surface they all start to move, and that dynamics contributes to the traumatic injury of firefighters, and, ultimately the death of those firefighters. So we gotta be cognizant of that piece, also the drivers have to be aware of their environment. We have seen cases where the drivers have backed over personnel that are outside the rig, the person trying to back them up into the station. They've pinned them between the rear tailboard and the column between the vehicles. They've driven over them backing up. They've driven over them going forward. And it's all about awareness and putting the emphasis on knowing your surroundings and your environment when you're operating that rig. You're responsible, and you need to be help accountable for your actions while operating. And yes, accidents do occur, but in reality a lot of them are preventable, and we need to take steps to reduce them. And to think smarter. And to think safer. And prevent the injuries and deaths that are occurring. As we continue to work on the Everyone Goes Home program, efforts are underway to create a state advocate throughout the country in all 50 states who will become a central focal point for those initiative implementation in that state. The foundation's been looking for individuals that are interested in serving in that capacity. And that person would then coordinate the delivery of programs and services, through the program, at a state level and kind of become the liaison for the foundation, to those fire service organizations in that locale. And there's a lot of information about the advocacy program. There's a lot of information about the Everyone Goes Home initiatives in totality at our website, and you can check that out at Everyone Goes Home dot com or find out more about the foundation at fire hero dot org. But just become an educated consumer. Learn all you can about the program and services that are being provided free. There is no cost for any of this. It's being provided simply and solely to reduce firefighter fatality's, and it's intended to help you be a better firefighter. So, if there is one thing I'd like to leave everybody with, it's to urge them to become more aware of what's out there and take advantage of it, because you have nothing to do but help yourself, and that's the message that I think is most important. TRANSCRIPT: The heart and health issue is a big one. That's on top. That's 50% and the next is vehicular situations and I just gave you those two examples. The heart issue, the health issue, there's only one way to solve that. Stop eating crap. Exercise a little bit and take care of yourself. I mean we can market all we want but it's a very personal type of injury or death also. Whereas I can tell you you must where a seat belt or you're not getting in my apparatus. I can tell you you must go to training or you not going on calls with us. But, you know what? I can't tell you you gotta lose weight or you can't respond. That's very difficult in a lot of departments. And some people would quit over that. You know what if I can't eat the way I want. The problem is though we're still killing these firefighters, with the heart issue, with the health issue. Now, if you look at a million plus firefighters in our country and you see we have about a hundred killed a year, that's not really a bad number, if you're in the insurance business. Ya know, I have a million customers and only a hundred claims a year, that's not bad. But what we have to think about is the injury and the disabilities which are just under a hundred THOUSAND a year. So that's really what we have to look at. Is, alright you didn't die from your heart attack, but now you're disabled. What's your lifestyle? Are you ever going to go to a fire again? What about your family? Ok You crashed your vehicle and you suffered a life changing injury. You lost your leg, or your crippled. You're not a line of duty death but look at the life change. Well, when people say it's only a hundred a year that's not so bad, but we're approaching almost a hundred thousand a year of injuries. So we gotta look at the bigger picture. One tenth of us are very seriously hurt every year. That's a big deal. (Billy Goldfeder continues on new subject = POV's) Well, volunteer firefighters using personally operated - Well, first of all, people want to regulate that out and I don't agree with that. In so many communities around the country they are volunteer fire departments. Now solutions are volunteers pull duty crews, spend time in the station, respond right away. But time is tough these days. Now, I'm an advocate for putting into stations, there's no question about it, but the reality is that volunteer firefighters must respond. Well, they're responding like police cars, responding like ambulances. The answer is training. If you're legally allowed to put lights and sirens on your car, that's fine, but Chief, don't allow these people to put them on their car until their certified, through a emergency vehicle operations course, annually have their vehicles inspected, things like that. So, that's, to me is a solution. Again, there are people who say if you get rid of lights and sirens on the volunteer cars, that will solve a big chunk of our problem. Well, it will but it will also delay response in some communities, so maybe we need to look at taking all lights and sirens off of fire trucks, of ambulances? Again, that's not a solution. The solution is training. Like almost all of our line of duty deaths, the solution is training. If you're interested in more of this gibberish - We invite your viewers to check us out at firefighterclosecalls.com, which is our website. Gordon Graham and I run that website and if you're interested in this type of discussion and these types of issues check us out at firehouse.com where we have a bi-weekly radio show called "Through The Smoke" so we invite you to check that out as well. (Billy Goldfeder comments on new subject = Physical Fitness) Physical Fitness is tough. Again, this is a training and leadership issue. When I in Virginia years ago, I had a Captain at one of my stations. Guy's name was Danny Corter. Danny was in great shape, and he had six firefighters on duty with him, career firefighters, and he have a number of volunteers that would run shift with them as well. And Danny made it where you had no choice. If you're going to ride in my apparatus, you're going to do some kind of physical fitness. That didn't mean you had to get on a treadmill, ya know, at eight miles an hour, for two hours. It meant you were going to do something. You weren't going to sit and watch TV. You were going to go for a walk for a half hour. You were going to help stretch some hose. I just heard one department recently, that said, I think this is really neat, if you're on duty and you belong in the fire department, if you're not going to do physical fitness, then you're going to do hose drills. You're going to pull several hose lines. You're going to stretch lines and you're going to climb ladders. It's the same thing. They're forcing them to do some sort of physical activity, some sort of physical fitness. This is a physically demanding job. Even our most out of shape firefighters will tell you that. But if we know that, we need to make sure that we're in some kind of reasonable shape in order to do the job. Which means, personally, I do my best and I'm pretty successful, about a half hour on the treadmill every day, about 20 minutes worth of weights and I try to eat right. Do I always eat right? No, of course not, but for the most part I eat salads. I try and eat chicken. I don't like fish so my wife has me take fish pills. Ok? But it's a whole attitude that, if you love being a firefighter, why wouldn't you try and minimize your chance of not being a firefighter due to your own actions? If that makes any sense at all? Where your seat belts. Slow down. Don't act like an idiot. Where all your protective clothing. Eat right. Exercise a little bit. And you can keep being a firefighter for a hell of a lot longer. TRANSCRIPT: Sure, I see the emergency services as a sports unto themselves. A traditional approach to exercise programs would be more of a body building based program where you just target one muscle, or try to isolate one muscle at a time, so that the muscle gets bigger and that you look better. A more athletic approach incorporates more function taking the tasks of each branch and kind of practicing them in the gym or a health club facility, so that when you have to perform them on the scene you're able to do so much better, much easier, and smoother. It depends on the person, him or herself. But exercise is one way where you can relieve emotional and psychological stress that a lot of the emergency responders just get from the job itself. I mean these jobs are stressful, and going beyond the job you have the person and you have life and you have all the stressors that come from life. So, that combined with just the stress of fighting a fire, or treating somebody who's in cardiac arrest, or chasing somebody down, or looking down the barrel of a suspect's gun, all that stress combined with what's going on in your life puts more of a workload on the heart, and as a result it eventually stops working. So, through exercise, exercise is a great outlet to help relieve stress, reduce high blood pressure, manage body fat levels, and makes the job, the physical tasks easier. The reason they should have a physical fitness program, is that each job, each branch of the emergency services is physical. You're always doing something, lifting a patient, dragging a hose line, even for police who sit in a car for a long period of time that takes a toll on their posture, okay, and when they get out of the car they have a gun belt, or a belt carrying some tools, and that weighs about 20 pounds so that puts some stress and some damage on their hips and their lower back, so the exercise program not only make their jobs easier but help increase their posture which is important in overall health. Well, I think time is a big limiting factor. It's used as an excuse not to exercise but if it's prioritized, it's a priority and you schedule it in each week you can get it done and you don't have to necessarily work just one muscle each time you go. If you work more movements and use more free weights you can achieve a lot in very little time. Aside from that, it's as a emergency responder, it's knowing what you're doing when you get to the health club, or when you have access to the gym equipment, so that you save your time and do what's right for your body. You don't have to necessarily look pretty, and look like a bodybuilder to be in the emergency services but your body has to be functional. Your body has to be a tool, and that's really the biggest benefit you can gain from a properly designed exercise program, is that you your tool is sharp and efficient, and ready to go when you need it. END |