Fire department operations, both on the incident scene and in non-emergency events like training, require a high degree of management controls to ensure personnel safety. The variety of activities that take place at complex incidents or large-scale training events can often exceed the capability of a single safety officer, and even the best intentioned or highly mobile safety officer cannot be everywhere at once.
Event Summary: Report No. 09-1008
“This was a live-fire burn using an acquired structure. The burn was conducted by the training division as part of a recruit training program. During the burn, we utilized diesel fuel to assist in ignition of the Class A material. A sprayer was used to add the diesel fuel to the material. [The ignition man] remained inside the room so he could add fuel if necessary. Staying in the room caused him to burn his foot through his bunker boots. The burn was severe enough that he required medical treatment for several months. There was a safety officer when the incident occurred, but now we have several safety officers anytime we have a live-fire burn.”
Comments
First of all, it sounds like this burn doesn’t comply with NFPA 1403 in that they used a combustible liquid to start the fire and the ignition man shouldn’t have been alone.
Additionally, to provide the highest assurance of member safety at large-scale and complex events, a second safety officer should be considered an essential component. If an incident has multiple high-risk activities or is spread over a large geographical area, incident commanders (ICs) can also consider creating a Safety Group made up of multiple safety officers (qualified personnel permitting). Multiple safety officers positioned strategically over the scene allow the group supervisors to focus on other tasks related to supervising their area of responsibility.
Preparation
- Establish criteria or a threshold in your department for increasing the number of safety officers so the IC doesn’t have to question this on the scene or drill ground.
- Ensure that the safety officer from each discipline (hazmat, confined space, high angle, swiftwater, etc.) at complex emergency scenes makes contact (and maintains regular contact) with the overall scene safety officer.
- Consider using additional safety officers for acquired structure burns.
- When training large numbers of personnel, assign an interior and exterior safety officer. This helps with accountability, provides another set of eyes and ears for the drill leader (IC) and provides additional management control.
In Closing
The message “Safety First” continues to be a controversial topic in many circles within the fire service. On one end of the safety spectrum is the “Safety Naysayer” who believes the safety emphasis has gone too far, that the act of firefighting is inherently dangerous and injuries and deaths should be an expectation. On the other end of the spectrum is the “Zealot” who the “Safety Naysayer” believes to be unrealistic. No matter where you place yourself on the safety spectrum, the debate should be boiled down to a very simple question: If there was a reasonable action that could have been taken to prevent an injury, then why not take the action and avoid the injury?
As noted in this month’s report, the ignition officer had to endure several months of pain and suffering to evoke a change in department practice. An additional safety officer could have been knowledgeable and skilled enough to intervene and prevent the injury.
Be vigilant. Stay focused. Share the knowledge.
