The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) and the Center for Firefighter Injury Research & Safety Trends (FIRST) at Drexel University have partnered to help you FOCUS on your safety culture. The Fire Service Organizational Culture of Safety (FOCUS) survey is the first safety culture tool developed specifically for the fire service through the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) R&D Program and will provide your fire department with objective data to assess your safety culture. FOCUS is a validated and reliable tool that allows an in-depth look into your department’s safety culture and its effect on job satisfaction/moral, engagement, and burnout in your department. To date the FOCUS survey has been administered in over 400 fire departments.

“…In my heart I believe that we promote a safe culture…, but it was gratifying to see that others in our organization believe this to be true also…I like the fact that I can now put actual numbers to what has previously been a ‘gut feeling’.” – Fire Chief

“We are very appreciative for the insight, and the data gives me a goal to shoot for and a way to measure it.  Some of the info I had a gut feeling about, but others were completely a surprise.” – Fire Chief

Through the AFG FP&S Program, FIRST is now enrolling up to 1,000 fire departments -- career and volunteer -- interested in administering the FOCUS survey on a first-come, first-served basis at no cost.

Participating departments will receive:

• Customized data showing your safety culture at department and station levels
• A comparative analysis of your safety culture to similar participating departments
• Objective evidence to inform safety related policy decisions
• Eligibility to send two members to FOCUS Culture Camp: a two-day intensive training on safety culture, the FOCUS survey, and how to interpret your results

Interested in learning more about administering FOCUS in your department?

Visit the FIRST Center: http://www.drexel.edu/dornsife/FIRST/our-projects/FOCUS

or FDSOA’s Website: https://www.fdsoa.org/

Taking Fire Service Safety Culture Science to the Streets: FOCUS 2.0

New Tool Helps Fire Departments FOCUS on a Safer Culture

Fire Departments Can Use FOCUS Survey to Examine Organizational Culture

By Frank R. Myers

Preventive inspections and maintaining everything from truck ladders to PPE may sound routine—until there’s a major problem. And once that problem occurs, the after effects in terms of litigation, reputation, and department disruption can be profound and long-lasting. How can you prevent this type of calamity?

It all starts with the morning inspection(s) after roll call and shift change. This is the time to assure your apparatus, power tools, hand tools, PPE, SCBA, etc. have been checked and viewed to ensure everything is in good working order. The unforeseen event cannot be avoided; events leading up to a mishap need to be sound and in place. Basically, a record and documentation of these important items showing that needed tasks are completed will confirm that you are operation-ready.

One event I remember was when Underwriters Laboratories would come out to test our ground ladders. They would use weights and measuring devices plus inspect the ladders to assure they were meeting the standards to stay in service. I also recall seeing them performing the “pump” tests, so they got their biannual certificates. Several times during the year, as with most departments, hose testing occurred (something everybody looked forward to—NOT!). This was a good time to train up-and-coming drivers.

To make sure you are abiding by all the requirements, have a proper system in place to track everything. Nothing requiring a scavenger hunt should get lost in the shuffle. Be able to show current status and location of assets at all times, on a moment’s notice. 

This is monumental if litigation occurs for any reason. These could be: failure of a structural component to a ground ladder or aerial device; an accident during routine movements or an emergency call/alarm, or a malfunction of gear/equipment/tools, etc. It doesn’t matter if it happens to our members or to the public/civilians. It works in the best interest for all and for the municipality as a whole to be prepared and up to speed.

No matter what your job description is—ambulance, law enforcement, or fire-rescue—an accident can occur at anytime to anyone. Remember, litigators go for the “deepest pockets.” They are good at what they do and are very successful at it, or else they wouldn’t be in business.

To know what some of these statistics are, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (US Department of Transportation), publishes them in their reports. Here are some findings:

Ambulance Accidents in the US

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released a report in April 2014 that provided an overview of the number of ambulance accidents in the United States. The agency studied the number of ambulance accidents over a 20-year period from 1992-2011. North-Western National also conducted a recent study of 466 ambulance accidents.

• There are an estimated 6,500 accidents involving ambulances each year.
• Thirty-five percent of crashes resulted in injury or fatality to at least one occupant of a vehicle involved.
• When injuries occur, there are, on average, three unique injuries per accident.
• On average, 29 fatal ambulance accidents produce 33 fatalities each year.
• On average, 2,600 people are injured in 1,500 ambulance accidents each year.
• Of those killed in an ambulance accident, 63 percent were occupants of a passenger vehicle; 21 percent were passengers in the ambulance; four percent were the ambulance drivers; and 12 percent were nonoccupants.
• Nearly 60 percent of ambulance accidents occur during the course of emergency use.
• Emergency medical personnel are at a higher risk of crashing when compared to other first responders.

Fire Truck Accidents in the US

According to data from the NHTSA and the United

Mike Richardson, Eastern Director, Fire Department Safety Officer Association (FDSOA), successfully introduced The 5 Reads class as continuing education for Incident Safety Officers who have completed FDSOA ISO training, at the annual Safety Forum in Orlando. The 5 Reads course is an eight-hour class and covers the Five Critical Factors in fireground reads: reading buildings, smoke, hazardous energy, risk and firefighters.

“We’re trying to fill that need between ‘I’ve got my certification’ and ‘How do I keep on top of my skills?’” said Richardson. “This has been the missing piece on strengthening the role of the Safety Officer today.”

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FDSOA Introduces 'The 5 Reads' Class in Orlando

Marinucci: We Need an Incident Safety Officer More Today Than Ever Before

Being an Effective Incident Safety Officer

The 5 Reads class was designed for ISO certified company officers, safety officers and chief officers and where they can learn to take their ability to Read 5 Critical Factors at any emergency response to the next level. Using the key information gained from reading those Five Critical Factors, plans can be formulated and actions taken to insure both effective and safe emergency response operations.

Richardson, division chief of Training and Safety for St. Matthews Fire Department, Louisville, spearheaded development of the new program, along with FDSOA Vice Chairman Eric Valliere, Scottsdale, AZ, Fire Department, and Western Director Scott Yurczyk, Seattle, WA.

“We created The Five Reads as a continuing education piece to build on the outstanding training programs developed by Dave Dodson’s Incident Safety Officer book,” said Richardson. “FDSOA offers the ISO certifications, but there was obviously a need for a program that would continue to add or advance the topics. Getting the certification piece is the first step. The Five Reads continues with updating skills and capabilities.”

“After the introduction in Orlando, we were encouraged by the feedback from the attendees. It seemed like it fit the needs of the people that attended,” said Richardson. “Going forward, the class will definitely help safety officers in continuing their education. Our game plan is to make this part of the annual Safety Forum conference and push it out to local and regional departments.

The eight-hour class reviews and emphasizes the significance of The 5 Reads which include:

• Risk: Identification, Evaluation, Prioritization, Mitigation, and Monitoring

• Buildings: Type, Era, Use, Size, Related Hazards and Predicting Collapse

• Smoke: Volume, Velocity, Density, Color, Influencing Factors, and Predicting Fire Behavior

• Hazardous Energy ▪ Kinetic; Thermal, Mechanical, Wind ▪ Potential; Chemical, Gravity,   Nuclear ▪ Kinetic & Potential; Electrical, Water

• Firefighters: Capabilities, Mental and Physical Status

The 2020 FDSOA Health and Safety Forum in Scottsdale will offer a one-day The Five Reads program on Tuesday, Jan 14 to those already ISO-certified.

The 2020 FDSOA Safety Forum will be held January 13-16, in Scottsdale, AZ. www.fdsoa.org Read more

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