ULM, GERMANY—“The City That Never Sleeps” places great demands on its fire department. For a few days, the world-famous New York Fire Department (FDNY) shared a personal, up-close experience with members of the Rio de Janeiro Fire Department. The trip to the Big Apple was the main prize for the “2015 International Fire Department Team of the Year”, which the South American brigade won for its successful fighting of a major fire in a shopping center. 

Close Contact with the FDNY
Ten firefighters from Rio de Janeiro embarked on their journey to North America to enjoy their victory prize. The trip will remain unforgettable for Renato Neves and his colleagues. “Although we all have the same goal, we reach it by very different means. The professional exchange with our colleagues gave us much that we can use for our work. We were especially happy about the warm welcome we received from the New York firefighters where we each expressed our complete solidarity.” 

In addition to meeting their FDNY colleagues, the Brazilians also visited the famous fire academy on Randall’s Island—the training center where all New York firefighters start their careers. Every day, firefighters practice subway rescues, ABC exercises, firefighting, and driver safety training here. Especially moving for the Brazilian brigade was the visit to the 9/11 memorial including the impressive museum. But, the winners of the Conrad Dietrich Magirus Award also had enough time left over for sightseeing—they were especially fascinated by the magnificent 360-degree view of Manhattan from the platform of the Rockefeller Center, but a walk through Central Park and a stop in Times Square were also important items on the agenda. 

The Conrad Dietrich Magirus Award is supported by the following companies in the firefighting industry: ENDRESS Power Generators, DÖNGES and LUKAS/VETTER.

On the Hunt for Brazil’s Successor: the 2016 Fire Department Team of the Year
Once again this year, fire departments from around the world have the chance to win the “Fire Department Team of the Year” title and visit the FDNY in New York. The application period begins on July 2 HERE. public fire departments. Any technically demanding missions can be submitted, as can innovative strategies, exemplary teamwork or unusual rescue operations. 

About the Conrad Dietrich Magirus Award
The Conrad Dietrich Magirus award was first announced in Germany in 2012 and has been organized on an international level since 2013. The competition is named for a pioneering firefighter who remains a role model for those in the profession no matter where in the world they work: Conrad Dietrich Magirus. The Ulm-based firefighter set his sights on making his job safer for himself and his peers. One of his many revolutionary inventions was the “Ulm turntable ladder,” which attracted

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