News releases

Firefighter health and safety supported with NFPA podcasts
Daily podcast planned for Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week

June 17, 2008 – The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is joining the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) to bring special focus to firefighter and EMS health and safety, especially during the week of June 22-28 in recognition of Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week.

Developing a culture that embraces safety which is established through organizational action is central to this year’s theme. The three focus areas are: to fully implement NFPA 1500, especially sections addressing PPE; to fully implement the Wellness-Fitness Initiative; and to initiate an emergency vehicle policy that mandates seat belt usage by all firefighters.

NFPA will be releasing a podcast each weekday (June 23-27) during the observance to highlight an issue each day related to health and safety of fire service members. All podcasts will be available at www.nfpa.org/FSTpodcasts. The following podcasts are scheduled:

Monday, June 23
Medical issues for firefighters
Curt Varone, NFPA’s director of public fire protection discusses the most important medical related issues confronting firefighters with experienced doctors who are heavily involved in treating firefighters, Dr. Jon Mittelman and Dr. Thomas Gassert.

Tuesday, June 24
Apparatus Safety and changes to NFPA 1901
Carl Peterson, NFPA’s assistant director of public fire protection discusses apparatus safety, seat belt usage, and recent changes to NFPA 1901 with Robert Tutterow, fire department health & safety officer of the Charlotte, North Carolina Fire Department, and member of the NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Department Apparatus.

Wednesday, June 25
Wildland Firefighter Safety
Jim Smalley, NFPA’s manager of wildland fire protection introduces the Firefighter Safety in the Wildland Urban Interface program. The full program is available free of charge from https://www.cmsassociates.com/firewise.nsf/avcatalog?open#firefighter.

Thursday, June 26
Fireside Chat with Alan Brunacini
Curt Varone has a frank discussion with Retired Fire Chief Alan Brunacini on firefighter health and safety.

Friday, June 27
Live Fire Training and the 2007 Edition of NFPA 1403
Jim Smalley discusses live fire training with Fire Chief Ken Richards, Old Mystic, Connecticut; Training Officer Dan Rossos, Portland Fire & Rescue, Oregon; and Larry Hughes, North Carolina State Fire Marshal’s Office; all of whom serve on the NFPA Technical Committee on Fire Service Training.

Also available at www.fireservicetoday.org, viewable copies of NFPA standards, such as NFPA 1500, Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program; NFPA 1901, Automotive Fire Apparatus; sample SOP/SOGs; and other documents related to 2008 Safety Week.

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NFPA has been a worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 1896. The mission of the international nonprofit organization is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

URL: http://www.nfpa.org/newsReleaseDetails.asp?categoryID=488&itemID=39387&rss=NFPAnewsreleases&cookie%5Ftest=1