The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has partnered with San Diego-based company VaultRMS in the fight against firefighter cancer. NVFC members will be able to use VaultRMS’s Exposure Tracker Program for the extra low rate of just $1 per month for the first year and $2 per month after that so they can easily track their exposure to possible carcinogens over the course of their careers.

Cancer is one of the biggest threats to firefighter health and safety. Studies show that firefighters are at a higher risk of contracting multiple forms of cancer than the general population. A significant factor in this is that firefighters are routinely exposed to high levels of carcinogens found in burning building materials and other hazardous environments. While there are steps firefighters can take to help protect themselves, tracking their exposure is key in getting the appropriate benefits in the event of a cancer diagnosis.

“A recent study conducted by the National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health illustrates the relationship between time spent at fires and cancer rates among firefighters. All too often firefighters face a bureaucratic challenge to get timely benefits if they can’t provide documentation on the exposures they’ve gotten,” said Chris Memmott, Founder of VaultRMS.

Through the Exposure Tracker Program, firefighters and other first responders can track their toxic and communicable disease exposures and injuries. This allows them to better understand their risks, more effectively communicate these risks to their healthcare provider, and provide needed documentation to receive benefits if they contract cancer or other illness caused by on-the-job exposures.

“We feel that the people on the front lines volunteering to save the lives of others – such as NVFC members – should not have to battle for benefits and struggle to prove that their illnesses were work-related,” Memmott said. “With Exposure Tracker, firefighters can log the number of fires they’ve fought, the duration of their exposure, their role at the fire, and the ages of the burning structures they enter. This information is critical to get the benefits they deserve and provide data for further research.”

“The NVFC is committed to firefighter and emergency responder health and safety, and our partnership with VaultRMS will provide an affordable way for volunteers to efficiently and effectively track their exposures and analyze these exposure incidents over time,” said Heather Schafer, CEO of the NVFC. “The Exposure Tracker Program is a vital tool in the battle against cancer.”

An important step in addressing firefighter cancer is understanding risks, exposure rates, and other data. A large part of VaultRMS’ mission is to donate the anonymized datasets to cancer researchers to further the fight against cancer in the fire service.

To take advantage of the special NVFC member rate for Exposure Tracker, visit the Members-Only section of the NVFC web site. Learn more about membership and join at www.nvfc.org/BeYourBest.

About The National Volunteer Fire Council
The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) is the leading nonprofit membership association representing the interests of the volunteer fire, EMS, and rescue services. The NVFC serves as the voice of the volunteer in the national arena and provides invaluable tools, education, programs, and advocacy for first responders across the nation. Learn more at http://www.nvfc.org

About VaultRMS’ Exposure Tracker
VaultRMS launched the Exposure Tracker in January 2015 to give first responders a simple way to document and track al

In this series, Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar looks at the things that motivated and inspired instructors to present on their topics at FDIC International 2016. Segments will be posted on a regular basis up to and through the conference, April 18-23.

Paul Strong, Captain, Valley Regional Fire Authority, King County, Washington

RIC for Real: How Ready Are You to Save Firefighters’ Lives?

Thursday, April 21, 1:30 p.m.-3:15 p.m.

When it comes to a firefighter rescue, being average is not good enough. Our traditional way of training for rapid intervention in response to a Mayday needed revision. We need to incorporate realism and creativity and train in an elevated-stress environment. The more foreign you find it to work in an environment with stress, the more narrow your focus will become. Your brain will literally open up if it has been trained and prepared for accomplishing those tasks under stressful conditions.

Our approach to firefighter rescue has to be from a different mindset than the approach to civilian search and rescue. Because of personal protective equipment, firefighters are more likely to be alive and savable when things go bad inside the structure. But we know that our PPE has a limit. In particular, the amount of life (air) left in the downed firefighter’s bottle is the big concern. With the exception of serious traumatic injury, the downed firefighter most likely needs to be located quickly and provided with more air. If your crew doesn’t operate like a well-oiled machine, then the possibility of survival is reduced. Every slight delay in forward progress because of miscommunication, unfamiliarity of equipment, subpar skill level, or inadequate leadership will result in time being taken off the downed firefighters remaining life (air).

If we’re not honest with our knowledge, skills, and abilities then we’re lying to ourselves. Keep training, mix it up, get real, and be honest. We owe it to each other to be prepared. It is very important that our firefighters are aware of these facts.

In this series, Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar looks at the things that motivated and inspired instructors to present on their topics at FDIC International 2016. Segments will be posted on a regular basis up to and through the conference, April 18-23.

Tony Tricarico, Captain, Fire Department of New York

Elevator Emergencies

Thursday, April 21, 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

Back in 1980, a firefighter from Engine 42, Joe Aquino, fell down an elevator shaft. He was only 24 years old and did indeed survive and came back to work. I worked with him, and he told us of his experience. He worked for several years; as he got older, the injuries became too painful, and he had to retire. His story is one of many of the firefighters who have fallen down elevator shafts. Most do not live to tell their story.

As time went on and I transferred to Ladder 19, also in the South Bronx, I did a lot of elevator work. Those old salts who taught me how these elevators worked really knew their stuff. In the 1980s, things worked a bit differently than they do today, and we were doing many, many elevator rescues every year. I use the term “rescue” loosely. These were people stuck in elevators, and we were constantly getting them out.

We also did quite a few recoveries. We also responded to many fires in Project buildings elevators as well as in smaller buildings with elevators.

The FDNY has very definitive procedures for elevator operations, and I still have witnessed members from my own company just miss getting a limb severed.

As I traveled around, I realized that not all the companies are responding to elevator incidents as often as others. We all know that the less you do something, the more you need to train on that skill set and that not everyone is as good as those doing it all the time. I also realized that there are many firefighters who have elevators in their districts who never even opened an elevator mechanical room. That is the reason I started teaching elevator operations; everyone needs to know the basics.

Although my class goes beyond this information, every firefighter should at least know how elevators work, the variations on the mechanics, and the options they have when called to an incident or an emergency.  

Firefighters who work on elevators tell me how informative my class is, and they also give me additional information to include in the class. Unfortunately, there is only so much time in the class, but I change and update the lecture every year with new information I glean from the professionals in the elevator business. I have had departments of students who attended my class invite me to conduct classes for them.

In this series, Fire Engineering Senior Editor Mary Jane Dittmar looks at the things that motivated and inspired instructors to present on their topics at FDIC International 2016. Segments will be posted on a regular basis up to and through the conference, April 18-23.

Bryan Winzer, Fire Department of New York

Flashover Live and Death Decisions on the Fireground

Wednesday, April 18, 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

I was seriously burned in March 2004 at a private dwelling fire. After dealing with such a horrible painful injury and spending nearly a month in the burn center and months of physical therapy that, thankfully, led to a full recovery and the return to fighting fires. I felt the need to pass along the information I learned from this incident. FDIC is a great platform to accomplish this.

Firefighters are still receiving serious burn injuries at these types of fires. By presenting this information, I can make a difference in reducing burn injuries. I have also had the opportunity to work with some great fire service leaders on a burn prevention program called ‘To Hell and Back.’ We need to pass along any information we can through any means to prevent burn injuries. My class features also a case study in which a firefighter was seriously burned and another firefighter lost his life rescuing a trapped occupant. These stories hit home, and the students take the class seriously.

I have had very positive feedback from firefighters, who appreciate that the class is given by a firefighter who suffered serious burn injuries. The firefighters take the lessons learned from my experience and the experiences of other members involved in the case study presented in the class and apply them to their department to prevent burn injuries among their members.

Recently retired Seattle (WA) Captain Raul Angulo shared some more unique training scenarios in his Tuesday workshop, “More Drills You’re Not Going to Find In the Books.” Speaking to a full room, Angulo described various drills his company undertook to train on specific fire and rescue scenarios—such as a worker with his foot crushed in a steel-toe boot, an extremely long stretch in an nonsprinklered facility, and bridge jumper rescue scenarios (see video above).

Angulo, a longtime Seattle firefighter with 38 years of experience in the fire service, is a columnist for Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine and a training drill contributor to the Fire Engineering Web site.

More Drills from Raul Angulo.

Evelator and Stairwell Identification Drill

Roll-up Doors -- In or Out? Drill

Tiller Tape, Stripes, Markers and Other Uses for Tape