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Municipal Officials without adequate knowledge
News Releases
Report cites risks to public safety posed by budget cuts
Warns against decisions by municipal officials without adequate knowledge of fire safety and emergency response standards
.jpg "IAFC") November 4, 2011 – Failing to manage the challenges of budget cuts, rising call volume, personnel and equipment shortages, security issues and the overall expectation to do more with less, can leave individuals, fire departments and communities vulnerable to undesirable events, according to a new report being released today.
Fire Service Deployment: Assessing Community Vulnerability (PDF, 1 MB), a report on fire safety released by the Urban Fire Forum, an educational group representing metropolitan fire departments warned that, ”in many communities, the sustained economic recession is forcing decisions to cut fire department resources faster than fire service leaders can evaluate their impact.”
“The white paper report was prepared to provide municipal leaders relevant information to consider when making decisions about fire department resources in a strained economy. As fire chiefs, we recognize the stress of dealing with cash-strapped budgets, but there are some resources that must take priority particularly when the decision can put the public and firefighters at greater risk,” noted Chief Ned Pettus, Jr., president of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association.
Statements from the report
- Expectations placed on the fire service, including Emergency Medical Services (EMS), response to natural disasters, hazardous materials incidents, technical rescue and acts of terrorism, have steadily increased. However, fire chiefs are often faced with policies created by municipal officials who are challenged to balance community service expectations with finite budgetary resources and who do so without a solid technical foundation for evaluating the impact of staffing and deployment decisions on the safety of the public and firefighters.
- This is often a situation of planning fire department resources to budgets rather than budgeting to the proper plan. These whirlwind cuts can leave a community without sufficient resources to respond to emergency calls safely and effectively.
- If fire department resources are deployed to match the risk levels inherent to hazards in the community, it has been scientifically demonstrated that the community will be far less vulnerable to negative outcomes.
- You’re going to have longer response times and less quality of care and it’s going to be more dangerous to the public in general. While it might sound like a scare tactic, what it says only reinforces what the fire chief told city leaders when he warned them about the potential for big problems to emergency services if jobs were lost, saying, fewer personnel and EMS units responding increases EMS response time, which directly impacts survivability of individuals experiencing medical emergencies.
- It is imperative that fire department leaders, as well as political decision-makers, know how fire department resource deployment in their local community affects community outcomes in three important areas: firefighter injury and death; civilian injury and death; and property loss and environmental impact.
The report also recommends a framework for decision-making to ensure public and firefighter safety. The framework compiles relevant resources that must be considered in decision-making including industry standards, government regulations and science. Based on the resources available to decision- makers and fire service leaders, the report offers a suggested policy.
Suggested Policy
For 90 percent of all incidents, the first-due unit shall arrive on scene within a four minute travel time. The first-due unit shall be capable of advancing the first line for fire suppression, starting rescue or providing basic life support.
“Prior to the release of recent research reports supporting the ability of local community leaders to make science-based deployment decisions, a fire chief was often forced to act in the absence of complete information. Today, we have research, standards, and regulations that establish the complex links between resource allocation and the array of risks found in their communities,” said William "Shorty" Bryson, fire chief Miami Dade Fire and Rescue. “Many budget cuts already in place and others being made by elected officials [in the absence of informed technical knowledge of fire safety and emergency response needs] fall far short of these minimal considerations,” added Bryson.
About the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association
The Metropolitan Fire Chiefs (Metro) Association brings together fire chiefs from large metropolitan fire departments to share information and focus on major issues effecting policy changes in the U.S. and abroad. The Metro is a Section of both the NFPA and the IAFC and its members are the fire chiefs of jurisdictions with minimum staffing of 400 fully paid career fire fighters. For more information, contact Metro Executive Secretary, Russ Sanders.
About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.
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Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year
From the Sanford Firefighters Association
IAFF Local 1624
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Staffing Levels
Updated
On: Aug 15, 2011 (20:59:00)
INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGERS ASSOCIATION (ICMA) STUDY
Understaffing of fire departments is a nationwide problem. So much so in fact, that the ICMA has conducted studies to determine the effectiveness of fire companies based on staffing. This information was published in Managing Fire Services, 2nd edition. This international organization of city leaders recognizes the importance of a properly staffed fire department. This publication included this information:
1. Fire suppression operations have three basic functions: (1) RESCUE; (2) work involving ladder, forcible entry, and ventilation; and (3) the application of water. To raise ladders, ventilate, search, and RESCUE simultaneously takes quick action by at least FOUR and often EIGHT or more firefighters, each under the supervision of an officer.
2. If about SIXTEEN trained firefighters are not operating at the scene of a working fire within the critical time period, then DOLLAR LOSS and INJURIES are significantly INCREASED as is fire spread.
3. As firefighting tactics were conducted and judged for effectiveness;
5 -Person companies were 100% effective.
4 -Person companies were 65% effective.
3 -Person companies were 38% effective.
2 - Person Companies were less then 12% effective
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FD STAFFING
Updated
On: Aug 15, 2011 (21:06:00)
Who is NFPA
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a non-profit organization established to create standards of operation for fire departments throughout the country. The codes written by the NFPA are considered the standard that fire departments are expected to meet. These codes include everything from safety equipment worn by fire fighters, apparatus and equipment used in the fire service to minimum staffing of a career fire department. These codes not only protect fire fighters, but also protect citizens by giving cities standards of operation that are expected to be met. NFPA codes are not laws, but rather standards of quality to ensure the health and safety of everyone affected by any fire department.
NFPA guidelines are set up based on research performed by trained members of the association. Scientific research, such as fire behavior in different environments and how different synthetic materials affect the burn process, is used in part to establish these guidelines. Previous history of fire department responses across the country can help the NFPA to have standards of how many firefighters it takes to effectively perform necessary tasks. Independent studies performed by groups like the American Heart Association help the NFPA in writing codes regarding EMS response. NFPA is such a respected organization in the fire department community that many cities and departments are adopting strict NFPA guidelines to make their fire departments up to national standards.
WHY DOES THIS NFPA CODE MATTER HERE?
NFPA Code 1710-Standard for Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments- involves staffing of career fire departments. In this code, the NFPA has used scientific evidence, past history and first hand experience to establish the minimum number of personnel required to safely and effectively operate on a fire scene. NFPA 1710 guidelines say that a first arriving company must consist of 4 fire fighters and arrive within 4 minutes of the initial 911 call. For an initial full alarm assignment (any structure fire) minimum personnel on scene should consist of 15-17 fire fighters arriving on scene within 8 minutes of the initial 911 call
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LD 621 Pamphlet.pdf
