FIREFIGHTER ACCIDENTS, INJURIES AND DEATHS Firefighter I

FIREFIGHTER ACCIDENTS, INJURIES AND DEATHSFirefighter I

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Firefighter Personal Accountability SystemsMust effectively identify and track fire service personnel in fires and other emergencies while they are working within a hazard zone

• Structural fires• Anywhere a Self-Contained Breathing

Apparatus (SCBA) is utilized• Collapse zone• Should have a mandated Standard

Operating Procedure (SOP)

• Haz-Mat incidents within established hazard zones

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Firefighter Personal Accountability Systems (continued)

Passport System• Often referred to as a “tag” system in

the fire service• Officers maintain a “passport” list of

all personnel assigned to them• Before entering a hazard zone, his or

her passport or tag is left with an accountability officer who maintains a status board of those operating in the hazard zone

• Upon leaving the hazard zone, the firefighter’s officer collects the passports, and the status board reflects that accordingly

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Firefighter Personal Accountability Systems (continued)

Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) Tag System

• Includes more specific information than a basic passport system• Time of entry• Expected time of exit based on the

SCBA team’s supply status• All personal protective equipment

(PPE) is spot-checked prior to entry• Relief crews are often sent in

anticipation of the interior crews running out of air supply

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Anticipated Health Considerations with Long-Term Ramifications Diseases of concern

• Bloodborne pathogens – pathogenic microorganisms present in human blood that can cause human disease

• Airborne pathogens – viruses, bacteria, and other harmful organisms spread by tiny droplets sprayed when a patient breathes, coughs or sneezes. They are inhaled or absorbed through firefighter’s eyes, mouth, or nose

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Anticipated Health Considerations with Long-Term Ramifications (continued)

Communicable diseases of concern• Hepatitis – causes inflammation of the liver and comes in four forms

• Hepatitis A – acquired through contact with stool (feces)• Hepatitis B (HBV)

• Acquired through contact with blood and other bodily fluids• Known to live in dried blood for many days, posing a risk long after most other

common viruses would have died• Can be deadly• Can cause cancer of the liver• Hepatitis B shots are the only type of vaccination that keeps you from a disease

that can cause cancer.

• Hepatitis C• Is a sexually transmitted disease (STD)• The main mode of transmission is through intravenous (IV) drug use. IV drug

users have an 80% chance of contracting Hepatitis C in one year’s time

• Hepatitis D – can only be contracted if you have Hepatitis B; it is a sub-class of Hepatitis B

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Communicable diseases of concern (continued)• Tuberculosis (TB)

• An infection that sometimes settles in the lungs and can be fatal• Highly contagious and can spread through the air• If a patient has a productive cough, you are safest if you consider it TB

and use your Body Substance Isolation (BSI) kit

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Communicable diseases of concern (continued)• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is the name for a

set of conditions that exist when the immune system has been attacked by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)• It is a smaller risk to firefighters than TB and Hepatitis B or C because

the virus does not survive well outside the human body• Methods of exposure to firefighters include direct contact with blood

and/or bodily fluids through an open wound, a puncture wound such as an accidental needle stick, or splashes of blood or bodily fluid into a firefighter’s eyes, nose, or mouth

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Accidents and Injuries Common to FirefightersSprains and Strains

• Account for 50% of all firefighter injuries (IFSTA 2008)

• All firefighters should learn proper lifting techniques• Keep your back as straight as possible• Lift with your legs, not your back• Do not attempt to lift items that are too

bulky or heavy to handle yourself; instead get help

• Use a second person or mechanical lifting device to prevent back injuries

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Accidents and Injuries Common to Firefighters (continued)

Slips, trips, and falls• Often the result of poor footing

caused by slippery surfaces, uneven surfaces, or objects or substances on the floor

• Stress good housekeeping at the station and be aware on call responses

• Handrails, slide poles, and slides at the station must be maintained for safety purposes

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Heart attacks, strokes, and heat exposure account for 53.9% of all firefighter fatalities (IFSTA 2008)

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Vehicle crashes responding to and from alarms account for 21.7% of all firefighter fatalities (IFSTA 2008)

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• Firefighter deaths are caused by (from most to least common)• Stress• Responding and returning to fires• Falls or coming in contact with falling objects• Products of combustion• Building collapse

• Firefighter injuries are caused by (from most to least common)

• Wounds, cuts, and bruises• Strains and sprains• Smoke or gas inhalation• Burns• Eye injuries

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Rescue and Emergency Escape Techniques Emergency Escape

• Involves breaking through barriers (walls, doors, windows) if necessary to escape life threatening situations

• Necessary because of fire behavior (flashover, backdraft, etc.) or structural collapse

• May be necessitated because the firefighter becomes trapped, disoriented, or is running out of air supply

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Rescue and Emergency Escape Techniques (continued)

Personal Safety Systems (PSS)• The New York City Fire

Department system• To be used only once, and then

taken out of service• A belt-mounted nylon storage bay

with a heat sensor• An alloy steel hook attached to 50

feet of life safety rope with a stopper knot on the end, with a descender and a carabiner

• Can be used to escape from a building as tall as six stories or more

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Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS) Alarm – this is an electronic lack of motion detector that notifies personnel when a firefighter becomes motionless for 30 seconds

• Understand the proper use and operation of integrated units as well as single clip-on (detachable) units • Auto alarm activation• Manual alarm activation

• Must retrain with these semiannually

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Rapid Intervention Teams or Crews (RIT or RIC)• NFPA 1500 and the Occupational Safety and Health

Administration (OSHA) require firefighters to operate in teams of two or more when operating in an Immediately Dangerous to Life or Health (IDLH) atmosphere

• This includes building fires beyond the incipient stage• A RIT is comprised of two or more trained and

equipped firefighters outside the building prepared to make entry to rescue the entry team. This is now commonly known as the “two in/two out rule”

• RIT team members may have other assigned duties outside the structure, but they must be able to leave them to fulfill their primary assignment of rescuing downed firefighters

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Resources• 0135151112, Essentials of Firefighting (5th Edition),

International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA)• 0912212233, Safety and Survival on the Fireground,

Vincent Dunn• Photographs used with permission from IFSTA (slides: 3,

4, 16 and 17).

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FIREFIGHTER ACCIDENTS, INJURIES AND DEATHS Firefighter I