“Best Practices” in Fire Service-Based EMS

September 7, 2010 -- The Fire Service-Based EMS Advocates Steering Committee has added a new feature to their website (www.fireserviceems.com). The steering committee will be gathering descriptions of “Best Practices” in Fire Service-Based EMS and posting them on their website for advocates and others to study.

These articles will be posted as they are received and made available for review as readers desire. This electronic format for sharing current EMS information is sure to be of benefit to all fire departments: large metropolitan, other fully career, combination, and volunteer. Individuals interested in submitting articles for consideration by the steering committee can do so by sending them to Chief Dennis Compton, Co-Chairman of the Fire Service-Based EMS Advocates Steering Committee at dcompton5@cox.net. Each article must be a maximum of 1,000 words and include a very brief Bio introducing the author. The decision of the steering committee concerning whether to post a particular article is final.

The steering committee is committed to sharing information about fire service-based EMS inside and outside the fire service community. Each submission will become eligible for recognition by the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) through their annual Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Honors Program.

Click here to read the news release.

New Residential Fire Study Shows Effects of Crew Size on Fire Fighting Operations

April 28, 2010 -- A landmark study released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) shows that the size of fire fighting crews has a substantial effect on the fire service's ability to protect lives and property in residential fires. Click here to read the news release.

Conducted by a broad coalition in the scientific, fire fighting and public safety communities, the study results found that four-person fire fighting crews were able to complete 22 essential fire fighting and rescue tasks in a typical residential structure 30 percent faster than two-person crews and 25 percent faster than three-person crews.

The report is the first to quantify the effects of crew sizes and arrival times on the fire service's lifesaving and fire fighting operations.

This and other scientific data in the report will help educate public officials, fire chiefs and other decision-makers on the importance of adequate staffing and deployment with respect to fire fighter and public safety.

Study investigators from NIST and the IAFF announced the results of the study at a press conference at the Hilton Washington in Washington, DC, before the start of the annual Congressional Fire Services Institute meeting of top fire safety officials from the across the nation.

Click here for the full report.

Read the May/June 2010 magazine story on crew size.

Watch a recent interview with Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell, Assistant to the President of the IAFF, discussing this important study. Dr. Moore was interviewed after giving a presentation at the IAFC's Fire-Rescue Med conference.  Click here to watch the interview.

The study is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters grant program.

See also the study web site at www.firereporting.org

Read General President Harold Schaitberger's blog, "Fire Fighter Staffing and Deployment Study Released"

Read the related report "Effect of Deployment of Resources on Cardiovascular Strain on Firefighters".

For more information, contact Lori Moore-Merrell at lmoore@iaff.org or (202) 824-1594.