Risk management associated with emergency vehicle operation


DISCUSSION Relationship Between the Study Results and Findings of Others



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DISCUSSION

Relationship Between the Study Results and Findings of Others


The information gathered during this applied research project revealed accidents associated with emergency vehicle operation were of international relevance. Moreover, accidents associated with emergency vehicle operation have been an ongoing safety concern for a number of years in the United States. This concern has been documented (FEMA, 1997) and detailed (FEMA, 1994), and solutions have been forged (USFA, 1992). Despite the known risks and potential for liability, the emergency services community appears to be apathetic toward resolving the problem on a long-term basis.

This study indicates that the risks to people and property associated with vehicle operation in the fire service include serious injury and even death (NFDC, 2001). According to FEMA (1994), in 1989 alone 6,000 firefighters were injured responding to or returning from incidents. Injuries include but are not limited to brain damage, paralysis, loss of limbs, psychological, and emotional disturbance. In one twenty-year span, 160 firefighters were killed in fire apparatus accidents. Alarmingly, 41% of these were in tenders (FEMA, 2002).

Research also revealed that these risks extend to private property and the citizenry as well. For instance, three civilians and two firefighters were injured in Clintonville, Ohio, after the brakes on a ladder truck failed and the truck crashed into a restaurant (Jack Sullivan personal communication July 16, 2002). In yet another example, “a fire truck going the wrong way down a one-way street slammed into a 7 year old boy in front of his family’s Brooklyn restaurant.” The child suffered a head injury and broken ankle and was listed in critical, but stable condition at a hospital. The fire truck was returning from an earlier fire (Hays, 2002).

Data obtained during the research indicates that preventative measures include requiring fire service members to successfully complete driver-training programs that include standards such as NFPA 1002 Standard for Fire Apparatus Professional Qualifications and NFPA 1451 Standard for Fire Service Vehicle Operations Training Program (NFPA 1997). Furthermore, organizations must enforce reducing response speed and mandate use of seatbelts, a proven mechanism of surviving an accident (Perry, 1998). Stopping at intersections and railroad crossings, inspecting apparatus and station ramps, suiting up prior to responding, avoiding accident prone intersections, and knowing both driver and apparatus limitations can help prevent accidents as well (Hatton, 1999).

At least one organization suspends firefighters for failure to abide by their mandatory seatbelt regulation (Wilbur, 2002). Nearly two-thirds of the jurisdictions surveyed have reduced or eliminated the risks of vehicle operation through adoption and implementation of local driver training requirements. Almost half of those responding meet or exceed NFPA 1002 and 89% require a skill based competency. These driver-training programs are proven to reduce accidents (Wilbur, 1998).

Author’s Interpretation of Study Results


Clearly, the fire service must lead by example in motor vehicle accident and injury prevention. This can best be accomplished by following the law and wearing

seatbelts. Firefighters cannot promote the use of smoke alarms and other safety devices then ignore state laws. Excuses such as “ I have to get my SCBA on en-route” or “I cannot treat the patient strapped in a seat” are not legitimate reasons to violate the law.

The study revealed that the fire service is noticeably out of control at many levels organizationally. Fire service administrators have not unilaterally adopted driver training and professional qualification programs (USFA, 1989). Those that have been adopted are not being monitored for compliance. The high number of injuries and deaths evidences this when firefighters are ejected from vehicles (FEMA, 2002).

Company officers and drivers must be the first line of enforcement in reducing risk. Just as on the fire ground they are the eyes and ears of the Incident Commander, so too are they the first to notice safe driving violations. The fundamental purpose of standard operating procedures is to reduce risk (FEMA, 1996). Timely enforcement by officers and drivers is tantamount to risk reduction.

Furthermore, state and national training organizations in conjunction with local training officers and instructors need to adopt and implement a comprehensive standard such as NFPA 1451 for fire service vehicle operation and training.

Organizational Implications

The implication for M.C.F.D. No.1 is that if the organization desires to reduce liability and improve firefighter safety while reducing risk of serious injury or death, a proactive stance must be taken on driving fire apparatus. Toward that end the Fire District must develop a risk management plan to address the operation of emergency response vehicles and the people authorized to drive apparatus. Ideally, this comprehensive risk management plan would encompass initial and ongoing training, require certification and re-certification, involve a skill based competency with each type of apparatus and include a section on Oregon driving laws.

Many organizations have responded to the death and injury of firefighters through the investigation of accidents, the development of improved apparatus design, safety regulations, and national consensus standards such as those published by the National Fire Protection Association. Given these findings and the fact that M.C.F.D. No. 1 has a need for a comprehensive risk management plan, the district should act to reduce their liability and improve safety by developing an apparatus operation risk management plan.



RECOMMENDATIONS


If the fire service is to learn from our experience, then we must institutionalize methods of learning from our mistakes. George Santayana wrote in The Life of Reason “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Bartlett, 1992).

Marion County Fire District No.1 does not have a formal process to manage risk associated with the operation of emergency response vehicles and the people authorized to drive apparatus. Therefore, the following recommendations are made to improve firefighter safety and reduce or eliminate the risk of accidental injury or death:



  1. Adopt the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1451, Fire Service Vehicle Operations Training Program. Direct the training division and the operations division to develop a joint work group to implement NFPA 1451 within the organization.

  2. Adopt the National Fire Protection Association Standard 1002, Standard for Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualifications. Direct the training division and the operations division to develop a joint work group to implement 1002 within the organization.

  3. Assign to the district safety committee the task of developing an official risk management plan covering administration, facilities, vehicle operations, protective clothing and equipment, operations at emergency incidents, operations at non-emergency incidents, and other related activities. The risk management plan should include at least the following components: Risk identification, potential problems, likelihood of the occurrence, and severity of its consequences. Risk control techniques should include solutions to eliminate or mitigate potential problems and the implementation of the best solution. Risk management monitoring should be provided in conjunction with evaluating the effectiveness of risk control techniques.

  4. Launch a district-wide effort to enforce seatbelt use through a system of positive rewards for compliance and the discipline of violators.

  5. Revise district standard operating procedure No. 2.000 -1.4 Emergency Response in District Apparatus, to limit apparatus speed to no more than 10 miles per hour above the posted speed limit or basic speed rule, whichever is less.

  6. Require initial certification of all operators through the district training division and Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training, as well as re-certification with each type of apparatus annually.

  7. Direct the training division to implement a “Seven minutes of safety” program in which seven minutes per shift are dedicated to apparatus operator safety discussions or activities.

REFERENCES

Associated Press, (2002). Three Firefighters Hurt in California. Retrieved on August 13, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.topica.com/lists/firenewz/read.

Ayers, M. (1997). Establishing an emergency vehicle driver/operator program. Emmitsburg, MD: National Fire Academy, Executive Fire Officer Program.

Bartlett, J. (1992). Familiar Quotations. (16th ed.) Boston: Little, Brown, and Company.

Dykes, P. (2002, September). Ireland – Child killed in fire engine collision. Belfast Telegraph, Retrieved October 1, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.topica.com/lists/firenewz/read.

Fahy, Rita F. & LeBlanc, Paul R. (2000, July-August). 1999 Firefighter Fatalities. NFPA Journal, pp. 46-59. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Fire Administration (1994, April). EMS Safety Techniques and Applications. (FA-144-April, 1994) Emmitsburg, MD.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Fire Administration (1996, December). Risk management practices in the fire service. (FA-166-December, 1996) Emmitsburg, MD.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Fire Administration (1997, May). Safety and health considerations for the design of fire and emergency medical service stations. (FA-168-May, 1997) Emmitsburg, MD.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Fire Administration (2002). Firefighter Retrospective Study 1990-2000. (FA-220-April 2002) Emmitsburg, MD.

Federal Emergency Management Agency, United States Fire Administration, National Fire Academy (2000). Executive Leadership. (FEMA/USFA/NFA-EL-SM). Emmitsburg, MD: National Fire Academy.

$4.5 Million Awarded to Fire Engine Accident Victims. (1996, July). Fire Engineering 149, p34. Retrieved August 4, 2002 from EBSCO host database (Academic Search Elite) on the World Wide Web: http://www.ebsco.com.

Hatton, L. (1989, May). Preventing Accidents. Firehouse 14, pp 35-36.

Hays, E., McQuillan A., & Goldiner, D. (2002, July) Firenewz. Retrieved July 28, 2002 on the World Wide Web: http://www.topica.com/lists/firenewz/read.

Jenkinson, M. (1996, October). A Police Officer is Charged. Alberta Report Newsmagazine, 23 (1), 43, p.46. Retrieved August 4, 2002 from EBSCO host database (Academic Search Elite) on the World Wide Web: http://www.ebsco.com.

Kelly, J. (2002, August 20). Fire Truck Turns Over on Exit Ramp. The Northern Virginia Journal. Retrieved August 20, 2002, on the World Wide Web: http://www.jrnl.com/cfdocs/news/ffx/story.

LeBlanc, Paul R. & Fahy, Rita F., (2002, July). Full Report – Firefighter Fatalities in the United States 2001. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.

LeBlanc, Paul R. & Fahy, Rita F., (2001, July-August). 2000 Firefighter Fatalities in the United States. NFPA Journal, pp. 67-79. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.

Long, C. (2002). Four Members of Oregon Wildfire Crew Killed in Colo. Van Crash. Associated Press. Retrieved June 24, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.firehouse.com/wildfires/2002/6/21_Apvan.html

National Fire Data Center. (2001, August). Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2000. United States Fire Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Emmitsburg, MD: Author.

National Fire Protection Association. (1997). NFPA 1451: Standard for a Fire Service Vehicle Operations Training Program. (1997 edition). Quincy, MA: Author

National Fire Protection Association. (2001, July-August). U.S. Firefighter Fatalities in 2000.

Perry, D. (1998, March). Tanker operations: special handling required. Fire Engineering 151, p157. Retrieved August 4, 2002 from EBSCO host database (Academic Search Elite) on the World Wide Web: http://www.ebsco.com.

United States Fire Administration. (1989). Fire Apparatus/Train Collision Catlett, Virginia (USFA-TR-048, September, 1992). Emmitsburg, MD: United States Fire Administration.

United States Fire Administration. (1991, September). Emergency Vehicle Driver Training Instructor Manual (FA-110 September, 1991). Emmitsburg, MD: United States Fire Administration.

United States Fire Administration. (1992). Alive on Arrival. (USFA publication No. L-195, August, 1992.) [brochure]. Jessup, MD: Author.


United States Fire Administration. (2002, September, 18). USFA conducts Follow-on Meeting For Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative. [Announcement]. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved September 18, 2002, from the World Wide Web: http://www.firebulletin@orednet.org.

Washburn, A. E., Fahy, Rita F. & LeBlanc, Paul R. (1998, July-August). 1997 Firefighter Fatalities. NFPA Journal, pp. 50-62. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.

Washburn, A. E., Fahy, Rita F. & LeBlanc, Paul R. (1997, July-August). 1996 Firefighter Fatalities. NFPA Journal, pp. 46-60. National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, MA.

Wilbur, M. (2000, October). Preventing apparatus rollover fatalities and injuries: Protecting our own. Part 3. Firehouse 25, pp 28-29.

Wilbur, M. (1998, June). Response guidelines for personal vehicles. Firehouse 23, pp 47-50.

APPENDIX - A

Emergency Vehicle Operation Survey

The safe operation of emergency vehicles has become an increasingly significant hazard facing first responders. Concerns within the fire service and other organizations are being voiced about the maintenance of emergency vehicles, driver qualifications, level of training, and engineered safety systems. This survey, which examines risk management associated with emergency vehicle operation, is being conducted as part of the Executive Fire Officer Program within the National Fire Academy. I would appreciate your assistance in the completion of this questionnaire. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Sam Phillips – Training Officer, Marion County Fire District No.1, Salem, Oregon toll free at 1-877-446-0914.






  1. Does your state have a mandatory seat belt law?

YES NO

  1. Does your organization mandate use of seat belts?

YES NO

  1. Does your organization require ALL drivers to pass a driver training program?

YES NO

  1. Does your organization require ALL drivers to re-qualify on a recurring basis?

YES NO

  1. Check all that apply: Our driver qualification and training program meets or exceeds the requirements of-

    1. National professional qualifications such as NFPA 1002

    2. State professional qualifications with external oversight

    3. Local professional qualifications governed by internal policy



  1. Approximately how many hours of initial training do drivers receive?

    1. 8-12 Hours B. 13-20 Hours

C. 21-24 Hours D. 25-Plus Hours

  1. Approximately how many hours of continuing education and or skill practice (training) do your drivers receive on an annual basis?

    1. Less than 15

    2. 16 -25

    3. 26-40

    4. 41-60

8. Does your organization conduct regular or recurring DMV checks of licensed

drivers? YES NO



9. Does your organization have written standard operating procedures or guidelines

that governs drivers or their training? YES NO



10. Does each driver participate in a skill based driving course with each type of

apparatus they are approved to drive? YES NO


Please reply to: Sam Phillips – Training Officer

Marion County Fire District No.1

4910 Brooklake Road, NE

Salem, Oregon 97305





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