Fire Service Challenges

Much like the firefighters in 911 (figure 1); many people would say that a firefighter’s health is very important. Life is a precious thing and before we sit around and let controlled burnings take control, we should protect the lives of those who protect us.

One could say the Fire Service possess one unique quality about how it operates daily and that is the culture and the community that lies within every department. Culture is defined as defined by Miriam-Webster “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations (Definition of Culture, 2017, para. 5).” The many diverse aspects of each department in still’s a variety of cultural differences separating one department from the next. At the heart of all departments, fire service culture is the men and women who work and train hard to serve their communities as prescribed by the Fire Chief. The Fire Chief, however,

There are many areas in the fire service where potential lawsuits and liability can arise; some of these areas include, but are most definitely not limited to negligence, hazing, and not following the fire department’s SOPs/SOGs. As our society has changed, so has its expectations of those in emergency services—while many in the community may think of firefighters as the pinnacle of what an upstanding citizen must look like, there are countless moral and ethical pitfalls that firefighters can fall prey to and diminish the reputation of the fire service.

Many scientists believe that the reasons may lie in the combination of the extreme heat and the physical stress involved.Dr. Helene Wilson of the British Heart Foundation theorizes that the toxins released during fires and inhaling smoke play contributing roles in firefighter mortality. The Foundation has commenced a study to determine why heart attacks are so prevalent while fighting a fire and what measures can be deployed to improve health outcomes for firefighters. Researchers hope to better understand how fire stresses the body and how to protect the health of firefighters. Initial research findings indicate that small changes such as drinking water more frequently may reduce risk.Sadly, all of these stressors and health challenges have led to other negative outcomes, including an increased rate of suicide among firefighters than experienced in past generations. The National Firefighters Foundation reports that in any year, a department is four times more likely to experience the suicide death of a member than a line-of-duty death.Stress, negative health changes, the physical rigors of the job, and mental health challenges are taking their toll on our nation’s bravest.The brotherhood (and sisterhood) of firefighting is unique, with a strength that is often not available in many other

We are the most technically advanced nation in the free world but yet we have not been able to reduce the number of firefighter fatalities over the years. Its one of the great mysteries of the world today. Our gear is better than what they wore thirty years ago, its better than what they wore ten years ago and we still lose an average of one hundred firefighters every year. I know that not all are dying in structure fires but just one is one too many.

According the agency of the Department of Homeland Security states that motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death for an on-line duty fireman. Other significant causes of death are: caught/trapped (10%), fall (5%), collapse (3%), and other (7%). Intentions of firefighters are to make the community safe as possible, but we the people need to think twice before we do anything else when dealing with fire. The other things that it 's a national problem for firefighters is not wearing their seat belts when driving out to an emergency. They are so focused on saving our lives when first it 's supposed to be the opposite, their safety is first, but firemen put their lives at risk.

Grey’s Anatomy, Chicago Fire, my life is nothing like that. Of course there are exhilarating moments on the scene of an incident or on the 5 Center floor of the intensive care unit, however, the realities of working as a fireman or in a hospital are not nearly as glamorous. Running into burning building and extracting people from impossible car accidents are not every day occurrences. In fact, seeing a building fully engulfed in flame is a rare sight that will leave you in awe nearly every time. On the first day at the fire academy I got a reality check about firefighting. At the beginning of each class we take a moment of silence for fallen firefighters. Nowhere in the job description does it say that you have to die in the line of duty,

The fire service has long-standing traditions dating back to the 18th Century, whether it is the color red on fire apparatus or the shape of their helmets. Some traditions are important in the American fire service while others traditions are dangerous or unneeded practices but still, exist for a variety of reasons. One of the biggest challenges to making changes requires the changing of the culture within the fire service.

During the month of October, 2008 we lost another fire fighter in a residential structure fire. The Victim was a 24 Y/O male fire fighter from Alabama who had been a volunteer with the department for two years. The firefighter training seemed to be standard for a new volunteer in the area which he served. As always it is tragic to lose a fire fighter and as always we try to learn from it.

The day of 9/11, I remember waking up to hearing the news on television that the Twin Towers were purposefully struck by jetliners. Then, I remember the news anchors on the television being dead silent as the towers crumbled to what is now known as, Ground Zero. I continued to watch in disbelief holding my mom’s hand asking what was exactly going on. She then walked me to elementary school down our block and it was the most eerie feeling of silence I have ever heard to this day. Wanting to be a Firefighter/Paramedic since the age of four years old, this event in history has impacted me in a drastic way. Three hundred forty three firefighters were killed by trying to answer the 9-1-1 call from hell. Each and every one of them did not question what they were up against. They knew that their duty was to respond and resolve the situation. In the video World Trade Center Dispatch 9/11/01, from the one minute mark of the dispatcher saying, “send every available unit you got to the World Trade Center” to the forty six minute mark of the dispatcher giving response to every company that was at the scene with none of them responding back; the audio was surreal and unnatural the entire time. This point is vital to include because it shows the extent of what was taking place. The New York City Fire Department needed an army of firefighters to be at the scene and

In the article, “Undulation Training for Development of Hierarchical Fitness and Improved Firefighter Job Performance,” a research was conducted when a critical problem emerged from the extraordinary job risks of firefighting. In this article, it was recognized that firefighting was a high risk occupation in which many activities were life threatening. Yearly incidences brought on from these life-threatening activities and conditions included cardiovascular disease from the inhalation of smoke as well as musculoskeletal injuries from the physical demands of the job. The problem was lying in the fact most fire departments were failing to adequately prepare the firefighters in terms of health and physical fitness to take on the

Through the Federal Emergency Management Agency-United States Fire Administration, Office of Reports and Data, the latest report showed a nationwide trend for the period of 2012-2016 that the number of structure fires with civilian fire related fatalities has declined overall 6.8% from 2012-2016 and the total number of fire related injuries increased slightly, 1.3%, for the same period. The Estiville Fire Department’s own data shows that in the same period our department had an increase from one (1) civilian fatality and ten (10) injuries requiring medical treatment in 2012 to four (4)

Fire Chief Rick Pavick gave me insight about general information related to the Texarkana, AR fire department. According to Chief Pavick, there are 57 full-time firefighters, however they are still understaffed by 16 at this time. The fires in this community is low in all categories but more house fires occur and is the primary concern. The average response time is 5 minutes on average. There is not a central water supply but there are fire hydrants. The Insurance Services Office (ISO) fire rating is a 5 for this community. The community’s low support for the department financially is related to the community not being aware of the needs of the fire department. The department does offer fire prevention education for the community and adequate

I truly enjoyed reading the material for this week 's discussion. I found it fascinating to read how these people of passion were so revered as leaders. Something I found difficult while reading the stories of these various leaders was the details of what they did within their respective industries that made them successful. Although I recognize the importance of the details, I found myself continually fanaticizing about how the many different approaches would directly translate to the fire service. Because of the uniqueness of the fire service as an industry, I found it easier to relate to themes and concepts rather than the details. 'Strengths Based Leadership ' by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie For example Simon Cooper stated: "people create memories, not things. If we ask guests what color the carpet was in their guest room, they probably won 't know. The real value comes from the ladies and gentlemen (employees) who bring that hotel to life. Ten percent is the platform, but the rest is people. (Rath & Conchie, 2008, p. 43) As I read this I couldn 't help but think of the fact that our customers in the emergency response world (fire service) likely remember more about how we treat them than what uniform we wear or what kind of apparatus we arrive in, so long as we bring true caring and compassion to their bedside. In addition Cooper 's people over platform approach was obvious in this Rath & Conchie description: "then when he talked of the night-and-day difference that a

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, NIOSH, along with numerous other Health organizations completed a study that showed the rate at which structural fire fighters are diagnosed with various forms of cancer compared to the normal population has increased dramatically since 2010. The study found that fire fighters are greater than 9% more likely to develop cancer, have a 14% higher mortality rate once they are diagnosed, and more than twice as likely to develop, two of the more preventable forms of cancer (Testicular and Skin). The International Association of Fire Chiefs along with the International Association of Fire Fighters has adopted strategies and guidelines to help reduce these statistics.