|
Near-Miss Reporting System Aims to Improve Fire
Fighter Safety
As a participating member of the
National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System Task Force, the
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) encourages its
members to help improve fire fighter safety by sharing near-miss
experiences so that all fire fighters and emergency responders can
help prevent unnecessary injuries and fatalities.
Ironically, improvements in personal protective
gear, equipment and training are putting fire fighters at greater
risk. Fire fighter injury and fatality statistics have steadily
increased over the last 15 years when compared to a decrease in the
number of structure fires.
Modeled after the Aviation Safety Reporting System,
the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System is funded by
grants from the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to
Firefighters Grant Program and the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company
and managed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).
The goal of this voluntary, confidential and non-punitive reporting
system is to improve fire fighter safety by collecting, sharing and
analyzing near-miss experiences that can assist in developing
strategies to reduce the number of fire fighter injuries and
fatalities.
A near miss
is defined as an unintentional unsafe occurrence that could have
resulted in an injury, fatality of property damage. Only a fortunate
break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or
property damage.
IAFF members can submit reports using one of three
options:
In addition, the IAFC distributes a “Report of the
Week” every Friday highlighting a near-miss report and a series of
follow-up discussion questions. To subscribe, email
nearmiss@iafc.org with the
words “Subscribe-IAFF” in the subject line.
For more information, visit
www.firefighternearmiss.com.
|
