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2015 International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week Activity Ideas

The document discusses plans for the 2015 International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week. The theme is "Creating a Culture of Safety" with a focus on community safety, department policies and procedures, and individual responsibility. Suggested activities include reviewing safety reports and initiatives, conducting risk assessments, updating policies/procedures, safety training, advocacy, and ensuring proper maintenance and use of protective equipment. The goal is to change attitudes and behaviors to foster a strong culture of safety. Resources are provided on the Safety and Health Week website to help departments plan and conduct events for the week.

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76 views

2015 International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week Activity Ideas

The document discusses plans for the 2015 International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week. The theme is "Creating a Culture of Safety" with a focus on community safety, department policies and procedures, and individual responsibility. Suggested activities include reviewing safety reports and initiatives, conducting risk assessments, updating policies/procedures, safety training, advocacy, and ensuring proper maintenance and use of protective equipment. The goal is to change attitudes and behaviors to foster a strong culture of safety. Resources are provided on the Safety and Health Week website to help departments plan and conduct events for the week.

Uploaded by

Kanupriya
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2015 International Fire/EMS Safety and

Health Week
Activity Ideas
Theme for 2015 Safety and Health Week
The theme of this years Safety and Health Week is Creating a Culture of Safety.
This theme includes three key focus areas critical for creating a culture of safety:

Community: Preventing fires before they happen by working to enforce


building codes, advocating for key safety legislation, and conducting preplanning activities and community risk assessments.
Department: Creating SOPs/SOGs that re-enforce safety, developing health
and wellness programs, and making safety a critical component of training
initiatives and operations.
Individual: Taking personal accountability for safety by following SOGs and
procedures, protecting yourself form cancer with proper use of PPE, and
managing your health and wellness.

We can all do our part to improve the safety and health of our nations firefighters
and EMS personnel. If we work together and focus on what we can do in the
community, as a department, and for ourselves, we can bring about a culture
change, eliminate preventable tragedy, and minimize the immediate and long-term
risks of emergency response.

Safety and Health Week Goal


The goals of this years Safety and Health Week are to change attitudes and
behaviors to foster an environment that embraces safety and to proactively reduce
risk for personnel. Departments are encouraged to use this time to update their
policies and procedures to reflect these goals.

Preparation for Safety and Health Week


To promote Safety and Health Week in advance, utilize the posters, web banners,
customizable press release, social media plan, and other resources from the
Planning page of the Safety and Health Week web site at
www.safetyandhealthweek.org.
Use the week of June 14-20 to reinvigorate activities that focus on safety and
health, and then keep the momentum going all year long to create a safer,

healthier, and stronger fire and emergency medical service. These activities should
serve as a starting point to an ongoing focus on and commitment to the safety and
health of all personnel.
Before Safety and Health Week, the Fire Chief should send a department-wide
notification about the event. Special training sessions should also be scheduled for
during Safety and Health Week, making sure sessions are available to reach all duty
shifts. The Fire Chief should send out a reminder notice a week prior to the event
with any materials necessary to conduct training.

Resources and Tools


The Safety and Health Week web site (www.safetyandhealthweek.org) contains
resources that are available to help the fire service implement a culture of safety in
the community, the department, and for the individual. It also contains planning
materials to help you get ready for the week and promote your departments
initiatives. In addition, check back for information on special Safety and Health
Week events, including live webinars, the Safety and Health Week Quiz, and a
fitness challenge.

Activity Ideas
Consider the following activity ideas to help you implement Safety and Health Week
in your department.
-

Read the International Association of Fire Chiefs and U.S. Fire Administrations
report National Safety Culture Change Initiative to learn about the need for a
culture change in the fire service and what organizational leadership as well as
individuals can do to create this change and enhance the safety and health of
first responders.

Look at what your department can do to implement the National Fallen


Firefighters Foundations Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives, with a particular focus
during Safety and Health Week on Initiative #1, Cultural Change and Initiative
#15, Code Enforcement & Sprinklers. Find resources for all of the Firefighter Life
Safety Initiatives at http://www.lifesafetyinitiatives.com/.
o Resource Spotlight: Visit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundations
Everyone Goes Home web site at http://www.everyonegoeshome.com to
access additional Firefighter Life Safety resources and training that you
can implement in your department.

Conduct a vulnerability assessment for your department to identify, quantify,


and prioritize the vulnerabilities within your organization and what you can do to
minimize the existing risks and increase the safety of your personnel.
o Resource Spotlight: The Vulnerability Assessment Program is an online
risk assessment tool developed by the National Fallen Firefighters
Foundation with support from the U.S. Fire Administration and Honeywell
that can be used by fire department leaders to identify existing risks
within their organization that could lead to a firefighter injury or fatality
and recommend low- or no-cost solutions to reduce or eliminate the risks.

Conduct a Community Risk Assessment in your community to identify the fire


and life safety risks, prioritize those risks, determine how to prevent or mitigate
2015 Safety and Health Week Activity Ideas
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risks, and actions personnel can take to reduce risks and educate the community
on risk reduction strategies.
o Resource Spotlight: Vision 20/20 provides guides, training, tools, and
other materials to help departments with Community Risk Reduction and
fire prevention advocacy. Additional resources can be found on the Safety
and Health Week web site.
-

Provide advocacy resources and talking points to help your personnel promote
residential fire sprinklers in the community and with legislators.
o Resource Spotlight: The guide Residential Fire Sprinklers: A Step-byStep Approach for Communities, provided by the International Association
of Fire Chiefs and the National Fire Sprinkler Association, is designed to
help stakeholders support the process of developing, adopting, and
defending a residential fire sprinkler program in their community. The
National Fire Protection Associations Fire Sprinkler Initiative provides
resources to help individuals advocate for residential sprinklers.

Work with your local building or code official to host a training session at your
department that informs personnel how they can work with these officials to
enhance community safety and enforce safety codes.
o Resource Spotlight: The guide Understanding and Implementing the
International Fire Code, developed by the National Volunteer Fire Council
and the International Code Council, helps fire service personnel gain a
basic understanding of how to use a model fire safety code to ensure an
acceptable level of safety for both the public and firefighters. A companion
training webinar is also available in the NVFC Virtual Classroom.

Evaluate and update your departments policies and procedures to make sure
they are current and adhere to the strictest safety measures. Distribute a copy
to every member of your department and schedule a personnel training session
to go over the policies/procedures, stress the importance of adhering to safety
procedures, and make sure everyone understands what is expected of them.

Review NFPA Standards that relate to health and wellness programs, medical
evaluations, and proper use and maintenance of PPE and develop an action plan
for how your department can meet these standards if you find any lapses. All
NFPA codes and standards can be viewed for free at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.
o Resource Spotlight: The National Volunteer Fire Council and National
Fire Protection Association developed two guides for Understanding and
Implementing Standards, with a focus on NFPA 1500, 1720, 1851, 1407,
and 1021. The International Association of Fire Chiefs developed the Fire
Departments Guide to Implementing NFPA 1582.

Utilize the International Association of Fire Chiefs Rules of Engagement for


Structural Firefighting lesson plan to train your personnel on the Rules of
Engagement for Firefighter Survival and the Incident Commanders Rules of
Engagement for Firefighter Safety.

Distribute a copy of the National Volunteer Fire Councils B.E.S.T. Priorities for
Firefighter Health and Safety to all personnel and hang a copy of the poster up at
the department as a constant reminder of the best practices all responders
should adhere to in regards to Behavior, Equipment, Standards and Codes, and
Training.
2015 Safety and Health Week Activity Ideas
Page 3

Hold an educational session to review training ground safety. Enforce good


response habits in all trainings so that personnel are prepared when they go to
the scene. Emphasize the importance of proper and full use of PPE at all times
on the emergency scene, as well as during training exercises that simulate
emergency scenes. Safe habits practiced during training will translate to safe
habits on-scene. In addition, harmful contaminants can be present during live
training exercises, so a safe training ground includes proper use of PPE.

Read the Firefighter Cancer Support Networks white paper Taking Action Against
Cancer in the Fire Service. Distribute the 11 action items listed on the page
What Immediate Actions Can I Take to Protect Myself to all department
members. Make sure these action items are incorporated in trainings to prepare
personnel for response, and then enforced on and after the emergency scene.

Review the maintenance schedule for all of your departments PPE and make
sure your department is following manufacturer guidelines. Develop a plan for
replacing PPE as required based on manufacturer guidelines and safety
standards. Hold a training session or drill with all personnel to review proper
maintenance, use, and storage procedures for PPE.
o Resource Spotlight: The National Volunteer Fire Council offers an
equipment management template, equipment management webinar
series, and PPE quick tips video series that covers funding, replacing,
cleaning, storing, and regulatory standards for PPE. The National Fire
Protection Associations Standard 1851 establishes requirements for the
selection, care, and maintenance of structural firefighting protective
ensembles to reduce health and safety risks associated with improper
maintenance, contamination, or damage (access the Standard for free at
www.nfpa.org/ free-access). The Firefighter Cancer Support Networks
white paper Taking Action Against Cancer in the Fire Service discusses why
proper use, maintenance, and cleaning of PPE is so critical in protecting
firefighters from cancer.

Ask department members to take available online training courses that focus on
various elements of safety, health, and risk reduction.
o Resource Spotlight: Find online courses from the National Volunteer Fire
Council, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Fallen
Firefighters Foundation, Fire Corps, Vision 20/20, IFSTA, the National Fire
Protection Association, the U.S. Fire Administration, ResponderSafety,
Firefighters Support Foundation, and Fire Engineering, among others.

Participate in the Safety and Health Week webinars taking place June 16 and 18
at 11am EDT. Information on topics and speakers will be available soon on the
Planning Page of the Safety and Health Week web site.

Leading up to Safety and Health Week, challenge your members to take the
2015 Safety and Health Week Quiz, brought to you by the National Fire
Protection Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, and International
Association of Fire Chiefs. The quiz will test individuals knowledge of key fire and
emergency service safety and health facts. 200 randomly selected quiz takers
will receive a 2015 Safety and Health Week Challenge Coin. Information on the
quiz will be available on the Planning Page of the Safety and Health Week web
site starting in early May.
2015 Safety and Health Week Activity Ideas

Page 4

Fighting fires and responding to emergencies is a physically demanding job.


Being physically ready for the job at hand can help reduce risk factors for heart
disease, diabetes, and other potentially life-threatening conditions. Make sure
you and your department members are physically fit and ready to answer the
call by developing a health and fitness plan. Educate members on the
importance of proper fitness and nutrition, and implement an ongoing health and
fitness program in your department. Incorporate functional fitness into
department training, and encourage members to make simple lifestyle changes
that can improve their abilities to safely and effectively respond to emergencies.
o Resource Spotlight: The NVFCs Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program has
resources for implementing a department health and wellness program as
well as to help individuals take steps to improve their health and wellness.
A recent interview with Dan Kerrigan from the East Whiteland Fire
Department provides a Q&A on how one department was able to
successfully incorporate health and fitness into the culture of the
organization and make health and wellness a priority.

Coordinate a fitness challenge in your department or between multiple


departments in your area to encourage personnel to focus on fitness and heart
health. A national fitness challenge will be held in conjunction with Safety and
Health Week that will help provide motivational tools and challenge resources
your department can utilize. Information will be available soon on the Planning
Page of the Safety and Health Week web site.

Behavioral health is just as important as physical health and safety. Unchecked


behavioral health issues can lead to distracted behavior or carelessness onscene, physical health issues, broken relationships, and even suicide. Educate
yourself and your personnel on behavioral health issues to prevent future
tragedies. Set up an in-person training session to discuss important behavioral
health concerns such as stress, depression, PTSD, and addiction, teach personnel
warning signs/ symptoms and what to do if they identify a fellow responder in
trouble, provide a list of resources available for those who need help, and review
department policies and procedures concerning behavioral health.
o Resource Spotlight: The National Volunteer Fire Council offers the
Fire/EMS Helpline, behavioral health resource listing, online training for
behavioral health, Warning Signs to Know video, and other resources
through the Share the Load Program.

2015 Safety and Health Week Activity Ideas

Page 5

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