IAFF Resiliency Training
The IAFF Resiliency Training is designed for 40 in-person participants (or 25 students in the virtual format). Through a combination of self-assessment, didactic instruction, group discussion and video, participants will gain an essential foundation for personal resiliency on and off the job.
Curriculum
The IAFF Resiliency Training includes two components: pre-course content and classroom content.
Pre-course content includes an individual resiliency assessment completed online, followed by a one-hour video series on organizational resiliency. Classroom content will focus on six key concepts to gain resiliency building skills that can be applied both on and off the job.
The IAFF Resiliency Training will teach you to:
Assess your current level of individual resiliency
Respond to stress with positive, flexible thinking
Increase positive social interactions on and off shift
Experience more positive emotions during your day
Manage stress through tactical breathing, meditation and mindfulness
Challenge personal and occupational barriers to good nutrition and exercise
Build meaning and purpose in your daily life through spirituality
I.A.F.F. General President Emeritus Harold Schaitberger talks with IAFF members who have struggled and recovered from post-traumatic stress, one of the biggest but often untreated health issues among our ranks.
New NFPA 1710 Explainer Video
NFPA 1710 is the internationally accepted standard on minimum crew size and operational staffing for career fire departments.
Two exciting new data systems will ultimately help keep you safe, as well as give us the scientific data needed to hold communities accountable when it comes to public and fire fighter safety.
• Stronger and Safer – What happens at IAFF conventions affects us all
• Legislative Victories – Getting lawmakers to understand what we've known all along.
There is growing concern about behavioral health issues and the significant impact on wellness. The stresses faced by fire fighters, paramedics and EMTs throughout the course of their careers – incidents involving children, violence, inherent dangers of firefighting and other potentially traumatic events – can have a cumulative impact on mental health and well-being.
The IAFF continues to develop resources that educate and support members on behavioral health concerns. Check back often for updated information on behavioral health programs and resources.
Cancer Is the Most Dangerous Threat to Firefighter Health and Safety Today
Cancer caused 66 percent of the career firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2019, according to data from the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF). Heart disease caused 18 percent of career LODDs for the same period.
Cancer caused 70 percent of the line-of-duty deaths for career firefighters in 2016.
Firefighters have a 9 percent higher risk of being diagnosed with cancer and a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population, according to research by the CDC/National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH).
The cancers mostly responsible for this higher risk were respiratory (lung, mesothelioma), GI (oral cavity, esophageal, large intestine), and kidney.
Chicago Fire Department - Everyone Goes Home. A film by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in cooperation with the Chicago Fire Department. Directed by Rob Maloney.
SAN DIEGO FIRE ENGULFS FIREFIGHTER This fire occurred in South San Diego off Palm Ave. 04-05-2012. Looks like things are under control when the fuel tank lets loose and a firefigher finds himself surrounded by fire. This is a great video to show us how important PPEs are.
FIREFIGHTER FATALITIES AND INJURIES:THE ROLE OF HEAT STRESS AND PPE
More firefighters die in the line of duty from heart attacks than from any other cause. And slips, trips and falls cause a large number of firefighter injuries. While the origins of heart attack and slip, trip and fall may appear unrelated, previous research suggests that heat stress may be a common causal factor in both heart attacks and slips, trips and falls. Research further suggests that one common, critical factor can potentially mitigate both of these injuries and fatalities: modified personal protective equipment (PPE).
CAUTION URGED WITH COMPOSITE FLOORS
IAFC - December 4, 2006 -The Safety, Health and Survival Section recently became aware of a potential hazard to firefighter safety. They asked the IAFC to share the following notification with all members.
There have been several cases of firefighters falling through floors made of composite structural components and an even greater number of near-miss situations. This type of construction is being investigated as a contributing factor in a line-of-duty death.
There is a proliferation of engineered floor systems in residential occupancies across the United States. Many newer residential occupancies incorporate lightweight, engineered wood or composite structural components, including trusses, wooden I-beams and lightweight flooring systems. In most cases, these systems are structurally sound and designed to support the appropriate loads under normal conditions; however, they are likely to fail very quickly under fire conditions.
These components and systems are most often found in situations where applicable codes do not require any rated fire resistance between floor levels. They have much less inherent fire resistance than conventional wood joist floor systems and conventional wood decking. Remember – many codes do not require any fire resistance in residential floors!
In the several cases of firefighters falling through floors, those floors had been exposed to fire from below for relatively short periods. Sometimes the weakened area is relatively small and the damage is concentrated to the area immediately above the seat of the fire. Firefighters should pay special attention when entering above a basement fire, where the floor could have been weakened to the point that the weight of a firefighter could cause a localized failure, dropping the firefighter into a burning basement. This can occur with no indication of imminent failure from above.
Extreme caution should be exercised in any situation where entry is made above a basement fire. Conventional methods such as "sounding" ahead with a tool and checking for sponginess may not provide sufficient warning of a weakened floor. It is recommended to use a thermal image camera to sweep the floor for hot areas before entering and avoid any areas that appear to be hotter than the surrounding floors. Thick carpets or tile floors may compound the risk by making it even more difficult to detect hot spots.
In summary, members should consider the following regarding lightweight floor systems in residential occupancies:
Know the local codes that require fire resistive construction and/or limit combustible storage in unprotected basements.
Conduct pre-incident surveys of new housing developments to check the types of floor system being used.
Use extreme caution when fighting basement fires in all occupancies, including newer residential occupancies.
Work is being done by a number of our fire service partners to investigate this phenomenon and more information will be provided in the future.
New test results from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) confirm that portable radios used by firefighters can fail to operate properly within 15 minutes when exposed to temperatures that may be encountered during firefighting activities.
Firefighters rely on the radios to report their location and to communicate with other first responders as well as the incident command post or communications center. Performance problems with portable radios have been identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as contributing factors in some firefighter fatalities.
All seven of the firefighter portable radios tested by NIST failed to perform properly within 15 minutes when exposed to temperature levels encountered in "fully involved" fires, as when all the contents in a room or structure are burning. Four of the handheld radios stopped transmitting, and three experienced significant "signal drift," rendering the radios unreliable for communication.
The failures occurred while the radios were subjected to a temperature of 160 degrees Celsius (320 degrees Fahrenheit), termed Thermal Class II conditions.** The temperature is representative of a fully involved fire or conditions outside a room when its contents burst into flames simultaneously, a phenomenon known as flashover.
During the post-test cool-down period, three of the radios did not recover normal function.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the NIST tests further ongoing work to develop performance standards for firefighter portable radio equipment, which includes radios, wearable combinations of speakers and microphones, and related items. The existing standard provides only general guidance—that portable radios "be manufactured for the environment in which they are to be used."
NIST researchers are furnishing their test data and performance measurements to the National Fire Protection Association, which is developing a performance standard for portable radios used by emergency personnel.
As important, the NIST team designed a prototype apparatus to electronically control testing equipment intended to consistently create thermal conditions representative of typical fire environments.
All radios tested by NIST performed reliably when exposed to a temperature of 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) for 25 minutes, or Thermal Class I conditions, akin to a small fire in a room or fighting a fire from a distance.
No tests were conducted under more extreme fire conditions (Thermal Classes III and IV).
"Realistic and reliable performance tests provide clear design targets for portable radio manufacturers," explains NIST fire protection engineer Michelle Donnelly. "Standards incorporating these tests provide firefighters with the assurance that their equipment will perform as expected under specified thermal conditions."
CHIEFS SHOULD REVIEW REQUIREMENTS
FOR HANDLING E85 FUEL
FIRE ENGINEERING.COM - March 22, 2006 - The
IAFC would like to alert its members to the requirements for handling E85 fuel,
an alternative fuel composed of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
Recently, E85 has begun to appear in the Midwest, primarily the states of Illinois
and Minnesota.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation
(DOT), fires involving E85 should be treated differently than traditional gasoline
fires, because E85 is a polar/water-miscible flammable liquid. E85 is highly
flammable, and will be easily ignited by heat, sparks or flames. The DOT recommends
following Guide 127 in the 2004 Emergency Response Guidebook.
According to the ERG2004, public safety should:
Call emergency response telephone number on
shipping paper first.
As an immediate precautionary measure, isolate
spill or leak area for at least 50 meters (150 feet) in all directions.
Structural firefighters’ protective clothing
will only provide limited protection.
For fires, public safety should:
Be cautioned that these products have a very
low flash point; use of water spray when fighting fire may be inefficient.
For small fires, use dry chemical, CO2, water
spray or alcohol-resistant foam.
For large fires:
Use water spray, fog or alcohol-resistant foam.
Use water spray or fog; do not use straight
streams.
Move containers from fire area if you can do
it without risk.
For fire involving tanks or car/trailer
loads:
Fight fire from maximum distance or use unmanned
hose holders or monitor nozzles.
Cool containers with flooding quantities of
water until well after fire is out.
Withdraw immediately in case of rising sound
from venting safety devices or discoloration of tank.
ALWAYS stay away from tanks engulfed in fire.
For massive fire, use unmanned hose holders
or monitor nozzles; if this is impossible, withdraw from area and let fire
burn.
For spills or leaks, public safety should:
ELIMINATE all ignition sources (no smoking,
flares, sparks or flames in immediate area).All equipment used when handling
the product must be grounded.
Do not touch or walk through spilled material.
Stop leak if you can do it without risk.
Prevent entry into waterways, sewers, basements,
or confined areas.
A vapor suppressing foam may be used to reduce
vapors.
Absorb or cover with dry earth, sand or other
noncombustible material and transfer to containers.
Use clean non-sparking tools to collect absorbed
material.
For large spills, public safety should:
Dike far ahead of liquid spill for later disposal.
Water spray may reduce vapor; but may not prevent
ignition in closed spaces.
For evacuation, public safety should:
For a large spill, consider downwind evacuation
for at least 300 meters (1,000 feet).
If tank, rail car or tank truck is involved
in a fire, ISOLATE for 800 meters (1/2 mile) in all directions; also consider
the evacuation for 800 meters (1/2 mile) in all directions.
For first aid, public safety should:
Move victim to fresh air.
Give artificial respiration if victim not breathing.
Administer oxygen if breathing is difficult.
Remove and isolate contaminated clothing and
shoes.
In case of contact with substance, immediately
flush skin or eyes with running water for at least 20 minutes; wash skin with
soap and water.
In case of burns, immediately cool affected
skin for as long as possible with cold water. Do not remove clothing if adhering
to skin.
Keep victim warm and quiet.
Ensure that medical personnel are aware of the
material(s) involved and take precautions to protect themselves.
