Any suggestions?

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on November 28, 2008 at 5:36pm

Two things I can think of are example and training.

If a chief officer tries to get his/her troops to practice safe driving habits, wear PPE, etc then that chief BETTER be doing those things. Leadership by example is extremely important.

As far as training goes, showing the troops how to do things the right way, and what can happen if they do not, may be a lot more effective than by just saying "ya gotta do this." For example - when I teach response safety I show the previous year's apparatus accident photos and also the pictures of the people lost in the line of duty. I tell them that none of the people pictured ever thought it would happen to them. The troops get the message.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on November 28, 2008 at 5:39pm

How about bringing it up at the regular meetings...?? Or even start a regularly scheduled "seminar" and use it to stress safety and other issues that come up....Regular monthly/weekly training doesn't always have to be the latest greatest or the most complicated....we can get some good training and never leave the meeting room....I have seen many times at a fire scene that the most important thing was left on the truck......their brains.....lets slow down and think before we act...might save someone's butt.....Paul

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Permalink Reply by Rob on November 28, 2008 at 6:06pm

lead by example, most firefighters are followers. as much as i hate to say it. few are born to lead, the rest are born to be led. that, or if the issue is bad enough, and you could go above the fire chief and talk to town manager, selectperson, or mayor.

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Permalink Reply by FETC on November 28, 2008 at 11:30pm

Chief,

I teach a program called the Courage to be Safe from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. It is free. Go to their website and locate your state advocate and contact him or her directly. http://www.everyonegoeshome.com/partners/advocates.html

The Courage to be Safe program is 4 hours long and strikes home the safety aspect. It focuses on the 16 life safety initiatives and identifies the two leading causes of LODD being 1. Health / Wellness and 2. Motor Vehicle Collisions.

Great video and survivorship testimonials... I usually have a few tears shed during the memorial roll calls...

FETC

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Holderby on November 29, 2008 at 12:02am

Are you having a specific problem? Are you not successful in getting your people on board with particular issues or is this a general discussion?
Someone recommended the Courage to be Safe program. It is a good one. The Fallen Firefighters Foundation also has a a very good set of DVDs the "Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Resource Kit" Vol. 1-3. There are teaching aids on the website and they are FREE.
Yes you lead by example but sometimes you have to open their eyes first. Show them the LODD reports from last year.
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/statistics/report.shtm

Some how some way you have to make every fire fighter realize that their own personal safety and the safety of their fellow fire fighters lies first with them.
Good luck.
J

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Permalink Reply by Capt 723 on November 29, 2008 at 12:10am

We have a full time safety officer, he gets the floor for a few minutes at each one of our business meetings. Sometimes he talks about a recent call and sometimes it is just a quick reminder of something timely. If anyone has any comments this is the time to make them, so that all can discuss them as a group.

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Permalink Reply by Ted Bownas on November 29, 2008 at 9:46am

At my "day job" (non-firematic), we read a "Safety Rule of the Day" at the start of each shift. It's picked at random by the computer every day.

I'm thinking of implementing something similar with our SOG's at our monthly FD meetings. I've asked the chief if we can start taking our SOG's and reviewing one each month at our company meeting. This will (a) familiarize our firefighters with the SOG's, since presently they are handed out to new members along with our bylaws, and never heard from again, and (b) give us the opportunity to analyze, update and/or remove ones that are no longer followed for whatever reason.

One rule per month should only take ten or fifteen minutes to go over, so it shouldn't drag the meeting out as badly as if we sat down and tried to go through them all at once. Plus we can do it during pizza at the end, for positive reinforcement. :o)

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Permalink Reply by Joe Stoltz on November 29, 2008 at 12:13pm

Karl, has this information been of any help to you? I know it has for me. FETC's point about the Courage to be Safe program is something I am definitely going to follow up with. I have heard great things about it.

And Ted's idea about a SOG of the month also has possibilities. I know that railroads have done the safety rule of the day thing for decades. Who would have ever thought to apply that to the fire service? So much for being a FRN, right Ted?

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