By Eric Valliere

It wasn’t that long ago that safety was merely a check box on the incident commander’s (IC) tactical worksheet. Within the Incident Command System, safety has always been the IC’s responsibility, but in the past, it was a passive process that was touched-on during the tailboard critique after the fire. Work Place Safety was the term most used and it pertained to more of an Occupational Safety and Health Association check-off at the fire station. I know you remember the person responsible for this check-off saying, “Let’s make sure those grinders at the stations have a guard on them.”

As we progressed and evolved in the fire service, we began to understand that safety needed to be a more engaging and active. How else could we begin reducing injuries and LODDs? To be successful, it needed to be addressed on the fire scene where it could make a difference and that meant additional training and a person assigned to that role at every fire scene. We rushed right into the process, got that person an Incident Safety Officer Class that had great information, and came with a certificate of completion, which proved they attended. Then we had this person respond on every fire as the incident safety officer (ISO) and figure out how to fit into the process. It was a start, but its success was sometimes questionable.

Today, the ISO should be trained in a program that is supported by an ISO text that aligns with NFPA 1521 Standards and has their competencies tested to receive an accredited certification from an organization like the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA, www.fdsoa.org/). This training gives our ISO the skills, knowledge, and abilities to operate effectively on a fire scene within the Incident Command System. This person has a segment of the tailboard critique and should assist with the deliveries of lessons learned on the incident--a more active process in safety.

Going beyond the ISO, the goal of every organization should be to have a safety officer that has this level of training, as well as knowledge and focus on Wellness/Behavioral Health, to support the ongoing needs of the emergency responder before and after the call. This person should track, trend, and complete root cause analysis on accidents/injuries to help reduce future issues. They are the Safety conduit for their organization and should have a con

A single vehicle rollover near Soap Lake caused a large wildfire Wednesday. The vehicle, which was occupied by two unidentified people, reportedly caught on fire after it rolled and came to a stop on the shoulder of the road, with the flames from the car igniting some nearby sagebrush and the fire rapidly spreading down a hillside.
- PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 2:06:55 AM - SOURCE: Columbia Basin Herald

Firefighters in central California are still struggling to contain a fire that officials have called a "firefight of epic proportions." The fire, which began Thursday just before 4 p.m. local time, continues to spread across Kern County and has destroyed 80 homes, Tyler Townsend of Erskine Creek Fire said this morning.
- PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: abc news

Just a week before a deployment plan goes into effect, the eight soon-to-be demoted captains have been told what their roles will be with the city’s fire department. Daniel Daugherty, president of the Watertown Professional Fire Fighters Association Local 191, confirmed that the captains will be renamed as “unit leaders” but will basically handle the same responsibilities they do now while on calls.
- PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: watertown daily times

Another former Providence fire chief is returning to his old department. Michael J. Dillon, who served in the fire department for 39 years before retiring as acting chief in 2013, is being hired to oversee day-to-day operations following the retirement of asst. Chief Scott Mello. Dillon’s official title will be operations chief and he’ll be paid on a per diem basis, according to Public Safety Commissioner Steven Pare.
- PUB DATE: 6/24/2016 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: WPRI-TV Providence 12