“Officer ejected from apparatus in serious condition”, “Firefighter died of injuries sustained from being ejected from engine”. These are headlines from 2014! Why is this still happening? Doesn’t every department in the country have a policy about seat belts? Didn’t we all sign a seatbelt pledge?
My answer to this question is “Culture” we don’t want to change. Culture is deeply ingrained in the fire service. Part of that culture is to not speak up. I talked before about the fear of speaking up or reminding our brothers and sisters to do things safely. Seat belts are one of those “things” we have a tendency to not help each other out with. Would you let your partner go into an IDLH environment without doing a buddy check? No, because we have always been told that being part of the team is doing that for each other. So, why not do a “buddy check” before the apparatus rolls off the apron of the station?
In many of these investigations it is reveled that someone had an opportunity to remind the person who was injured or worse, to put on their seat belt. But for one reason or another, they chose not to. A lot of people believe it is a personal preference to wear it or not. Not if it is a Policy that a seatbelt be worn at all times.
Before we get on any piece of apparatus we make sure we are wearing or at least have the appropriate PPE with us. That is just part of heading out, we have to do it and we always do it. Why have we not made a seatbelt part of our PPE? It is easy, the belt is right there, we don’t have to remember to put it in with us or grab it before we go. Why don’t we make this part of our initial training of our new people and part of the ongoing training of our seasoned folks? So, let’s just take the time to make seatbelts part of our PPE.