Safety, Culture, And Compensation

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.

Fire service personnel, regardless of rank have a duty to protect life and property from fire and other hazards. Other duties include carrying out risk assessments, enforcing fire legislation and educating the community. The fire fighters duties include attending emergency incidents, dealing with fires, flooding, chemical spillages, terrorist incidents and checking water hydrants. All members will need to be disciplined correctly to carry out every aspect of being a fire fighter.

After the fire, people had opened their eyes to workplace safety. This fire angered many citizens and felt that something needed to be done about it. As time went on, more people had recognized this issue. Workplace safety was improved, just by adding exits, fire drills, fire alarms, and working, steady fire escapes. The whole

This initiative emphasizes the importance of individuals holding themselves accountable for their own health, wellness, and safety. Additionally, this message needs to be derived and set forth by the administration of the department who should equally demonstrate the same behavior. A Fire Chief who establishes such expectations are the first in line to demonstrate their own accountability standards through their physical appearance and visible measures. For example, maintaining a healthy image resembling one of physically fit, and maintain and advocate healthy dietary eating habits both on and off the job. RMFD’s current Fire Chief emulates these standards. However, the Assistant Fire Chief and one of the Battalion Chiefs fall short, detouring the unity and strength behind the accountability maintaining a positive image.

In 2009, The National Fire Protection Agency released its 46-page presentation on potential performance measures relating to the core functions of the fire service. This document is available online www.nfpa.org. The document acknowledges there are vast differences across the country and no two fire departments are alike. However, specific value set’s lie within every department that can be held to measurable standards for statistical data input, referencing, and documentation. Maintaining higher standards does come at a price. The fire service, in general, is a costly profession to operate. Unlike the police departments and ambulance companies where vehicle and equipment cost is less

This paper explores the different aspects in living a firefighter’s life. The topics that will be covered are the various types of technology when being a fireman, the different tactics you see on a day to day basis, the physical abilities one must be capable of, and the types of equipment used. The technology used today to help fight fires is extremely progressed and different than it was even just ten years ago. If it were not for these new inventions, communication would not be as easy and complex for any fire station. Firemen face different obstacles every day and have to be ready to jump right in with whatever the circumstance may be. Tactics such as

Some would say that one is better than the other and some the opposite. In this paper, we will learn the importance of both and the difference in both. A firefighter is a firefighter no matter what his/her salary, or their level of training.

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

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.

For years if not decades, firefighters have responded to a reported structure fire that turned out to be a fully involved single room. This fire scenario requires a core set of fire tactics and skills to control and extinguished the fire, but is it this simple? Perhaps twenty years it may have been, but new dangers are lurking in every scenario and may have detrimental outcomes for unsuspecting and unaware firefighters and victims. The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) agency along with the Underwriters Laboratory (UL) have been conducting research to understand fire behavior and fire dynamics. This research is providing firefighters with new information about how and why

Most firefighters are known to not be open with sharing how they feel because it can possibly ruin their reputation as a firefighter and in the firehouse. It was not until military personnel were presenting symptoms that are currently known to be associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. Meroney presents the article with a list of the most common signs that can be observed in the firefighter. Signs such as substance abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, and loneliness, once these signs are present try to talk with the firefighter and see what is affecting them. They need professional help to cure this disorder. The fire service is known to be a large family that watches out for each other, the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation created the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. In which, number 13- behavioral health, this initiative helps prevents firefighter’s deaths. Meroney basically goes over the basics of

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

Validity claims are deriving from the potentially unbalanced and discriminative approaches to determining ones capabilities through and within the City of Lakewood’s firefighter program. Claims of standardized equipment restricting the physical capabilities of one’s movement is effecting ones results, however, fire retardant boots and gloves are required for the protection of firefighters during the course of duty and should not be compromised. The main purpose is to ensure the individuals are mentally prepared, conditionally effective, and supplied with the abilities to endure prolonged periods of exposure to highly intensified situations. Although such requirements are demanding, strenuous and potentially hurtful, it is extremely vital that when delivering products of public

Firefighters: Their job is to react when exhales are activated in an effort to control and extinguish their feelings. This is accomplished any numbers of way through alcohol or drug use, gambling, shopping, binge eating. We believe the firefighters are keeping us safe somehow however they are actuality obscuring our heart within us.

The greatest threat facing the Modern Fire Service is the rate at which firefighters are dying in the line of duty. Excluding the terrible event of 9/11 that occurred in 2001 that forever changed the dynamics of the emergency response services1, firefighter deaths have averaged around 100 fatalities each year for the since 1990. This unacceptable rate of firefighter deaths has found its way to be a benchmark in the industry. The problem is that the benchmark should be zero firefighter deaths while on duty and every year that there is a fatality is a year that the fire service has failed its members. The number one cause of firefighter related deaths yearly is proven to be medical, stress, or overexertion related fatalities2. All of these causes of firefighter deaths can be avoided with implementation of training and awareness.