IAFF National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Report of the Month

Complacency and Apathy Set in During Special Operations Training
 

This new “Report of the Month” discusses the importance of maintaining situational awareness at all times during training. As the fire service continues to evolve and develop an “All Hazards” approach to doing business, fire fighters need to avoid falling prey to complacency and apathy. When operating in a Special Operations capacity, fire fighters sometimes fail to realize the real timeline that takes place in order to accomplish the goal and that fatigue can be a contributing factor to a near-miss. Fire fighters must recognize when they are training or running a call of this nature and stay focused at all times to avert injury or death.

Two decades ago, the fire service was called out for what has been termed a “routine call.” This could be a vehicle wreck, medical call, structure fire or even a cat in the tree. In today’s society the fire service has evolved into an all-hazards mitigation service for communities across the country. Each of these disciplines can be unique in their own way, but they all take specialized training and diligence in their applications to maintain fire fighter safety.

When operating on a call of this nature, fire fighters may be tasked with long operational periods without proper rehab due to staffing shortages or logistics. Whether it is training or real life application, fire fighters must stay focused and maintain a high level of situational awareness to avoid injury or death.

“My crew was performing a clean breach at an acquired structure. During the cuts, which took about two hours, there were several near-misses. First was the fatigue factor of the saw operator and the lack of interest of bystanders. The crews, while waiting for their turn, became complacent and apathetic. On numerous occasions they almost walked right into the saw, cords, hose and anything else that was there. I tried to stay diligent as the safety officer, but it was hard. Fire fighting by nature is high speed, high risk. This evolution was low speed, high risk and we definitely failed in regards to safety…In the future, cut time will be five minutes maximum, with rehab time of at least 15 minutes. Situational briefings need to be shared with one another during the change of cutters”.

To read the entire report, go to www.firefighternearmiss.com and click on search reports and in the keyword search, type breach. Curser down to report number 11-354.

Discussion Questions:

1. Chief Officers, does your policy for concrete breaching include set work times followed by rest?
2. Company Officers, how will you implement your IAP to make sure all members of your crew are engaged and safe on calls of this nature?
3. Fire fighters, what can you do to assist upper command in maintaining a safe scene?

Note: The questions posed by the reviewers are designed to generate discussion and thought in the name of promoting fire fighter safety. They are not intended to pass judgment on the actions and performance of individuals in the reports.

Stay safe - Don't forget to enter your near-miss report at www.firefighternearmiss.com