NIOSH News: LODD Prevention report released

Thursday, January 8, 2009

NIOSH News: LODD Prevention report released

LODD Prevention - Leading Recommendations for Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities, 1998–2005

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) released “Leading Recommendations for Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities, 1998–2005,” that summarizes the most frequent recommendations from the first eight years of the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP).

It was compiled to help Emergency Services Sector (ESS) departments and agencies protect personnel, their foremost critical infrastructure, by developing, updating, and implementing effective policies, programs, and training to prevent Line-of Duty Deaths (LODD).

The report synthesizes 1,286 individual recommendations from the 335 FFFIPP investigations conducted through 2005.

The investigations, which involved 372 LODDs, encompassed circumstances such as cardiovascular-related deaths, motor vehicle accidents, structure fires, diving incidents, and electrocutions in career, volunteer, and combination departments in both urban and rural settings throughout the United States.

The recommendations were developed by NIOSH investigators using existing fire service standards, guidelines, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and other relevant resources. NIOSH personnel reviewed records, such as police, medical, and victims’ work/training records, as well as departmental procedures, and examined the incident site and equipment used, including personal protective equipment.

The Emergency Management and Response—Information Sharing and Analysis Center (EMR-ISAC) notes that for each of the ten recommendation categories that follow, the report presents an overview of the category, category recommendations, a case example of a fatality investigation report summary, ESS department self-assessment questions, and key resources.

· Medical screening

· Fitness and wellness

· Standard operating procedures and guidelines (SOPs)

· Communications

· Incident command

· Motor vehicle

· Personal protective equipment

· Strategies and tactics

· Rapid intervention team

· Staffing

The report (56 pp., 828.89 KB) is available at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2009-100/pdfs/2009-100.pdf.

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Thursday, January 8, 2009