TOPICAL FIRE REPORT SERIES May 2019 | Volume 20, Issue 1

Fire departments provide invaluable services to communities nationwide. To understand the full role fire departments play in a community, this topical report profiles fire department run activity as reflected in the 2017 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data. Download the full 10 page report PDF 296 KB AT A GLANCE

In 2017, fire departments responded to
26,880,800
incident calls
that were reported to NFIRS. This is a 5% increase over calls reported to NFIRS in 2016.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of the reported calls to fire departments required Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and rescue services.

Only 4% of all reported fire department runs were fire related.

About half (51%) of the reported calls were to residential properties. Only 3% of these were fire related.

In 2017, fire runs were more prevalent on the weekends, whereas severe weather calls occurred more frequently on Mondays than any other day of the week.

Approximately 8% of reported runs involved mutual or automatic aid.

This Bulletin is courtesy of the U.S. Fire Administration

The difference between being a “mentor” and being a “life-changing mentor” involves more than just showing up and showing the mentee how to do the work. It takes time, careful thought, an open mind and a caring spirit.

The heart of being a trusted mentor involves making yourself available to support and advise someone when they need it, delivering that support in a way that makes sense to them, and always keeping that person’s best interests in mind.

Here are some helpful tips that will support your growth as a great mentor:

Take the time to get to know your mentee and allow them to get to know you.

Not all people learn in the same manner or at the same rate. Understanding how to best communicate paves the way for a relationship that easily identifies early challenges. It also builds trust and comfort between the mentor and the mentee. Take a genuine interest in your mentee as a person. Remember that communication is a two-way street, and your mentee may have much to bring to the discussion.

Set expectations together in the very beginning.

Set the ground rules so there can be no ambiguity or misunderstanding of what is expected of both you and your apprentice. People will surprise you when they know how they are expected to perform.

Don’t assume anything about your mentee; ask.

Perspective is important to understanding. You are coming from a level of experience and education. Your trainee usually has no basis for truly understanding the “what” or “why” of the task they are trying to learn. It is easy to fall into stereotypes or not see a situation from another person’s perspective. But great mentors recognize that it is their responsibility to break through common assumptions by asking questions and digging deeper.

Know when to wait before giving advice.

Providing advice at the wrong time or in the wrong place will damage your credibility and the lesson to be learned. If you do not have the right information, experience or emotional state to react to a scenario properly, hit pause. Constructive, informed feedback should always be welcome from both of your perspectives.

Always be honest and forthcoming with your own lessons learned.

There is much to be gained by owning your past mistakes and failures. Hiding them will not help your mentee overcome the same errors you have made. There will be plenty of opportunities for your trainee to have their own challenges and discover the strength within themselves to overcome them, just as you had to do. Owning up to your blunders also solidifies your credibility as an honest human being.

Celebrate their achievements.

Dozens of studies have shown that self-esteem and actualization are more important than cash rewards. Building your mentee’s confidence, reinforcing good behavior, and keeping them focused and motivated satisfies that psychological need for recognition.

We cannot predict the world faced by this new generation. Being a great mentor is its own reward when you have provided your mentees with a base for understanding and tools for dealing with the challenges ahead.

This video is from the National Association of State Fire Marshals.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Ready 2 Help is Ready to Launch! 

After its unveiling at the Youth Preparedness Council Summit in July 2018, the Ready 2 Help card game is now ready to launch. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed Ready 2 Help in response to requests for a version of You are the Help Until Help Arrives for younger audiences. Until Help Arrives focuses on five simple steps that may save a life. Ready 2 Help builds on this model by teaching kids ages 8-12 five simple steps to stay safe and make a difference until help arrives. These five steps are: Stay safe, Stay calm, Get help, Give info, and Give care. Ready 2 Help is a card game where children work together and talk about what they would do in a real emergency. Ready 2 Help gives children the chance to practice communicating effectively in an emergency. With this practice, they can be confident and empowered to act. Ready 2 Help was designed for afterschool programs, extracurricular youth groups, and home play. In this way, Ready 2 Help sparks preparedness conversations among classes, youth groups, and families. However, anyone can play the game and learn what to do in emergencies. In addition to players, a facilitator leads the game and puts the five skills in context. Facilitators also encourage discussion about emergency preparedness. After reading the companion book, anyone can be a facilitator for Ready 2 Help. This includes parents, teachers, and even other young people. The card game and companion book are available to download for free at www.ready.gov/game. With the Ready 2 Help card game, FEMA adds to a large collection of youth preparedness programs and resources. These include the Prepare with Pedro: Disaster Preparedness Activity Book, Student Tools for Emergency Planning and Ready Kids. For more information on these programs and additional youth preparedness resources, visit www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness.

YOUTH SPOTLIGHT

Three Washington Students Selected for FEMA Regional Youth Preparedness Council

BOTHELL, Wash. – Three teens from Washington have been selected to be part of the inaugural FEMA Region 10 Youth Preparedness Council (YPC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Washington Emergency Management Division (EMD) announced August 29, 2018. The Region 10 YPC currently has nine members representing the four states in the FEMA Region—Washington, Alaska, Oregon, and Idaho. The 2018 Washington selectees are Gabrielle Karber of Vancouver, Teagan Grabish of Blaine, and Ritusha Samal of Redmond. FEMA created the National YPC in 2012 to bring together young leaders from across the nation who are interested in supporting and promoting disaster preparedness in their communities. By developing and implementing disaster preparedness projects to fit their communities’ needs, YPC members help build a culture of preparedness and develop habits early. Each year, young people in grades 8-11 apply to be part of FEMA’s National YPC. This year marks the kickoff of FEMA Region 10’s council, coinciding with National Preparedness Month (September) and Back to School safety campaigns throughout the Region. “In order for communities to become more resilient in responding and recovering from emergencies and disasters, we must find opportunities to build local capacity and a more inclusive culture of preparedness across the region, starting with empowering youth to lead amongst their peers, neighborhoods, and networks,” said FEMA Region 10 Federal Preparedness Coordinator Scott Zaffram. “I am excited at the prospect of these brilliant youth being invited to the table, representing their states and working side-by-side with emergency management officials, elected officials, and citizens in finding the best approach at motivating people to take action and to actively prepare for [disasters].” Region 10 selected the nine members based on their dedication to public service, community involvement, and potential to expand the impact of youth preparedness in their communities. Members of the FEMA Region 10 YPC will give a voice to the young people who could be impacted by disasters in the region. The other 2018 FEMA Region 10 selectees are: Shruthi Ananth of Portland, Oregon Gokul Srinivasan of Salem, Oregon DevRee-Jayden “DJ” Rapp of Meridian, Idaho Amber Blake of Meridian, Idaho Taya Warren of Sitka, Alaska Blake Rogers of Big Lake, Alaska “I’m pleased to see our state’s youth take personal preparedness so seriously,” said Washington Emergency Management Division Director Robert Ezelle. “Building resilient communities requires all of us. It’s exciting to see our future leaders take on this important challenge, and I thank them for their commitment to developing a safer, more prepared state.” All three of the council members from Washington have completed over 30 hours of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training in basic disaster response skills, which includes fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization, and disaster medical operations. Karber volunteered with the Red Cross and helped families affected by an apartment fire. Grabish has completed over 90 hours of nursing assistant training and has participated in the Map Your Neighborhood program. Samal has been instrumental in promoting Washington’s My Preparedness Initiative (MyPI) pilot program, educating her peers and delivering preparedness presentations to 12 additional households. “I’m impressed with the knowledge and energy that these young adults bring to the FEMA Region 10 YPC, and we are proud to work alongside them,” Zaffram said. “Additionally, we are pleased to announce that two National YPC representatives from Washington, Lathan Chatfield and Nicole Muñoz-Casalduc, will serve as mentors to our newly appointed council members.” The council reflects FEMA’s commitment to involve America’s youth in preparedness-related activities. It also provides an avenue to engage young people by taking into account their perspectives, feedback, and opinions. Council members will meet with FEMA Region 10 staff throughout their term to provide input on strategies, initiatives, and projects. Council members participated in the recent inaugural Region 10 YPC meeting at the FEMA office in Bothell. The meeting gave members the opportunity to share their preparedness ideas with state and federal partners, plan their culmination project, and meet with FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness staff who will serve as their mentors.

RESOURCES

Webinar: 2018-2019 Recommendations for Influenza Prevention and Treatment in Children: An Update for Pediatric Providers

When: September 27, 2018, 2PM EST

Organizations: American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Audience:  Pediatric providers

Website: https://emergency.cdc.gov/coca/calls/2018/callinfo_092718.asp

Description: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are collaborating to conduct a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) webinar on September 27th titled, “2018-2019 Recommendations for Influenza Prevention and Treatment in Children: An Update for Pediatric Providers.” During this webinar, subject matter experts from the AAP and CDC will discuss strategies primary care providers and medical subspecialists can use to improve flu prevention and control in children for the 2018-2019 season. The presenters will share AAP and CDC recommendations about influenza vaccination and antiviral treatment, including updated recommendations for the use of intranasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) in children. Registration is not required. Email DisasterReady@aap.org to receive a calendar invite with call-in details.

Tool: Family Reunification Following Disasters: A Planning Tool for Health Care Facilities

Organization: American Academy of Pediatrics in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Disaster Medicine

Topic:  Family reunification planning for hospitals

Audience:  Hospital staff

Website: https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/AAP-Reunification-Toolkit.pdf

Description: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Family Reunification Following Disasters: A Planning Tool for Health Care Facilities is meant to provide planning assistance for hospitals as they review and update their plans to provide information, support services, and safe reunification assistance to family members of patients who have experienced disasters.

SchoolPreparedness.gov Twitter Fest

Organizations: Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (REMS TA)

Topic: SchoolPreparedness.gov website launch and how it will supplement rems.ed.gov

Audience: Anyone interested in learning how to access Federal resources, interactive tools, training, and funding to support your school safety and emergency preparedness efforts.

Website: Follow the REMS TA Center on Twitter @remstacenter and email us at info@remstacenter.org for details on how to participate!

Description: Are you wondering how to access Federal resources, interactive tools, training, and funding to support your school safety and emergency preparedness efforts? Federal partners are developing a NEW site to ease the process. SchoolPreparedness.gov, the nation’s new virtual hub will launch this fall. Along with the REMS TA Center Website, schools, school districts, and their community partners will be able to use this hub to support prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts in their states, territories, and localities. To learn about this new site and how it will supplement rems.ed.gov, join the REMS TA Center and partners every Monday and Friday between August 6 and September 28 for a SchoolPreparedness.Gov Twitter Fest on School Safety and Emergency Preparedness to access resources from Federal partners to support your preparedness efforts. Follow #SchoolSafetyTopicoftheDay on Mondays and #SchoolSafetyResources on Fridays to join the conversation.

CONTACT US

Email: FEMA-Prepare@fema.dhs.gov

Online: http://www.ready.gov/youth-preparedness

Archived Issues: Click here

Subscribe: Click here

REGISTRATION IS STILL OPEN

BROOKHAVEN TOWN SAFETY OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
1070 Middle Country Rd. Suite 7-166, Selden, NY 11784
631-495-1313 www.btsoa.org
“Everyone Goes Home®”
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO:
The 2nd ANNUAL
“SAFETY OFFICER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FORUM”
brought to you by
The Brookhaven Town Safety Officers Association, Inc.
Hosted by the Coram Fire Department
303 Middle Country Rd.
Coram, NY 11727 (map)
September 29, 2018

FLYER 

Materials to use as you plan your Fire Prevention Week activities

September Fire Safety Resources
Fire Prevention & Safety | Sep. 4, 2018

Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fires can happen anywhere.

In a fire, every second counts. It is important for members of your community to know what to do if there is a fire. Fire safety education isn’t just for school children.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere,” works to educate people about three ways they can reduce the likelihood of having a fire––and how to escape safely if they have one:

LOOK for places fire could start. Take a good look around your home. Identify potential fire hazards and take care of them.

LISTEN for the sound of the smoke alarm. You could have only minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Go to your outside meeting place, which should be a safe distance from the home and where everyone should know to meet.

LEARN two ways out of every room and make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily and are free of clutter.

You can find materials to support your local campaign at
https://www.nfpa.org/fpw/about.html

To help you find the materials and learn how to use them, The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is offering a FREE webinar:

2018 FPW campaign and how to implement an effective campaign in your community
Hosted by:

Laura King, NFPA Public Education Representative and Kelly Ransdell, NFPA Regional Education Specialist.

Wednesday, September 5, 2:00-3:00 pm (EDT)

Register:

https://www.nfpa.org/Training-and-Events/By-type/Webinars/2018-Fire-Prevention-Week-campaign-and-how-to-implement-an-effect-campaign-in-your-community

2018 Desk Reference

Have you ever wished there was a source for accurate fire safety messages? Well there is! The 2018 Educational Messages Advisory Committee (EMAC) Desk Reference is available for download:

https://www.nfpa.org/Public-Education/Resources/Educational-messaging

The 2018 edition includes an illustrated explanation on how to tailor messages to your audience. There are also new chapters on college and university housing and wildfires, a section on portable cooking equipment and updates on educational messages for children and audiences with limited English proficiency.

Don’t forget about social media

Below are a few examples of materials you can use on social media to promote the fire prevention week theme as well as situational awareness.

You can find more social media cards and pictographs at the fire prevention and safety digital library, https://www.usfa.fema.gov/prevention/outreach/media/

New fire safety resource

USFA just completed production of a new home fire safety handout. This brochure includes some important ways to keep your home safe from fire. Also included is a foldout poster using pictographs. Pictographs can help overcome literacy barriers by communicating fire safety messages with pictures.

You can order the brochure from the publication center or download to print. Order now to ensure delivery by fire prevention week.

Join the fight!

Have you joined Fire is Everyone’s Fight?

Fire is Everyone’s Fight is a national initiative to unite the fire service, life safety organizations and professionals in an effort to reduce home fire injuries, deaths and property loss. The goal is to change how people think about fire and fire prevention.

Join the Fight and use the materials to educate your communities about the importance of fire prevention.
If you have any questions email Teresa Neal.

Link button
The U.S. Fire Administration recommends everyone should have a comprehensive home fire protection plan that includes smoke alarms, fire sprinklers, and practicing a fire escape plan.

This email was sent to scfiresafetyedu@gmail.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: U.S. Fire Administration · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Emmitsburg, MD 21727 · (301) 447-1000

Firefighting poses many hazards that come in a wide variety of work settings. One recent study focused on the scope and nature of fireground injuries to determine what steps fire departments can take to better mitigate hazards posed by certain risks.

To learn about the study’s findings, and suggested fire department interventions to mitigate fireground injury risks, read today’s Current Issues and Events article.

Article: Mitigating fireground injury risks: Suggested interventions FROM USFA

Home fire fatalities in the news

Information on home fire fatalities is compiled through a daily Internet search (Monday-Friday) of U.S. news media reports. The primary purpose of this information is to help raise awareness about the danger of fire and the frequency of home fire deaths.

25 home fire fatalities were reported by the U.S. news media for Aug. 26 – Sept. 1, 2018.

1,658 fire fatalities have been reported in 2018

We gather home fire fatality information from U.S. news media reports published within 24-48 hours after a fatal fire. These early reports provide only basic information about what happened, such as how many fatalities, when and where the fire happened, and the type of home, for example, a house, apartment or mobile home. Most fires require investigations that can take weeks or months to complete. For this reason, the information found on this page should be viewed only as preliminary, especially as it relates to the cause of the fire and the presence or absence of working smoke alarms.

For more information follow link:

Fire Fatalities

This article discusses the results of a pilot study where EMS providers used body-worn cameras (BWCs) to see if they could help to improve the accuracy of their prehospital documentation.

EMS prehospital care reports have not been the focus of much research but there is a growing awareness that health care documentation in general is often incomplete and inaccurate.

A team of researchers1 wanted to explore the role that memory error may play in how well EMS providers record prehospital care of patients. Inaccuracy in prehospital documentation can lead directly to negative patient outcomes and potential liability.

Memory is a reconstructive process and not an infallible recording device. Gaps in memory are inevitable and we unconsciously fill in such gaps on the basis of what happened during previous experiences. What causes these gaps in memory? Stress and fatigue are two of the main culprits and they affect even highly experienced paramedics.

The researchers set up a pilot study with Hennepin County (Minnesota) EMS paramedics, who were equipped with head-mounted BWCs attached to clear lens occupational safety glasses. After documenting the event from memory, paramedics then reviewed the video to make any corrections.
Research takeaways

This study showed significant errors in documentation by seasoned paramedics. Use of video review during the documentation process effectively reduced errors.

Recording EMS-patient interactions may improve patient behavior and resolve complaints against paramedics.

BWCs can be used for peer-review, mentoring purposes.

A surprise finding was the lack of narrative documentation. Current practice involving use of electronic checkboxes and drop-down menus discourages the capture of narrative feedback from the paramedics. Wider adoption of electronic technology could help fix this problem.

Learn more about this research
For more about this study, read “The Trip Report: Can Body Cameras Improve Documentation?”
This research article is also available through our library by contacting netclrc@fema.dhs.gov. Interested readers may be able to access the article through their local library or through the publisher’s website.
1Ho, J D., Dawes, D. M., McKay, E. M., Taliercio, J. J., White, S. D., Woodbury, B. J., Sandefur, M. A., Miner, J.R. (2017). Effect of body-worn cameras on EMS documentation accuracy: a pilot study. Prehospital Emergency Care: 21(2), 263-271.

LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION