Chapter 1
Introduction to the Safety Officer Role
Objectives
• Describe the emergence of the safety officer role in fire departments
• Discuss the history of the fire department safety officer
Objectives (con’t.)
• List the National Fire Protection Association Standards (NFPA) standards that affect and pertain to the incident safety officer
• Explain the need for an incident safety officer in empirical and image terms
The Safety Officer: An Introduction
• Safety officer: NIMS definition– Member of command staff– Monitors and assesses safety hazards or
unsafe situations– Develops measures for ensuring personnel
safety
The Safety Officer: An Introduction (con't.)
• NIMS (National Incident Management System)– Developed through Homeland Presidential
Directive 5– Mandates a consistent nationwide approach to
prepare, respond, and recover from domestic incidents regardless of cause, size, or complexity
The Safety Officer: An Introduction (con't.)
• Safety officer: NFPA definition– Splits role of safety officer for greater specificity– ISO (incident safety officer)
• Safety officer command role as defined by NIMS
– HSO (health and safety officer)• Manager of the fire department’s safety and health
program• Assigned and authorized by the fire chief
The Safety Officer: An Introduction (con't.)
• NFPA (National Fire Protection Agency)– For-profit association– Develops consensus standards, guides, and
codes for fire-related topics– Defined roles of ISO and HSO in NFPA 1521
standard• HSO/ISO division proposed by FDSOA
Figure 1-1 An effective ISO can reduce the chance of firefighter injury or death.
Figure 1-2 HSO and ISO functions.
History
• Late 1800s – early 1900s– Catastrophes led to the appointment of safety
officers in fire service for risk management• Collapse of Jennings building in 1854• Railroad car fire in Colorado Springs in 1898
– “Wall watchers”: stood at corners of buildings and watched for signs of building collapse during a working fire
Figure 1-3 A late 1880s fire officer – the first safety officer – shouts collapse warnings.
History (con't.)
• Industrial revolution and World War I– Need for safety officer increased for fire
departments and general manufacturing– Soldiers became mechanized
• World War II– Significant injury in support as well as combat
roles– Safety officer role became formalized
History (con't.)
• Factory inspections, posters and briefings– Result of females in the workplace, insurance
industry, and organized labor
• William Stieger Act of 1970– Occupational Safety and Health Act
• Equal rights for employers and employees with respect to safe working conditions
– Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
Fire Department Safety Office Trends
• FIRESCOPE program (1970s)– Used for multiagency incidents on the West
Coast– Recommended a safety officer or safety sector
• IFSTA Incident Command System manual (1983)– Safety officer position integral to command
Fire Department Safety Office Trends (con't.)
• NFPA 1500 adopted (1987)– Roots of risk management– Slow to catch on – Led to integration of safety officer role in fire
department culture – Primarily addresses HSO role
Fire Department Safety Office Trends (con't.)
• NFPA 1501– Addresses authority, qualifications, and
responsibilities of safety officer– Changed to NFPA 1521
• NIIMS (National Interagency Incident Management System) – Direct descendant of FIRESCOPE program
• NFPA 1521 leading the way in evolution of safety officer role
The Need for an Incident Safety Officer
• Role of safety officer based on a simple premise:– We (in the fire department) have not done a
good job of taking care of our own people
• Better equipment and fewer fires have not led to fewer firefighter injuries or deaths
Empirical Study
• Death and injury statistics– Do not include 9/11 deaths – About 100 firefighters die each year in line of
duty– Rate of injuries per 10,000 fires fought has
increased
• Use of an ISO can reduce potential threat to firefighters today
Figure 1-5 An average of 104 firefighters have died in the line of duty in the past ten years. (Source: United States Fire Administration.)
Empirical Study (con't.)
• Worker’s compensation– Statutory for each state– Rates set by NCCI and may be adjusted by
state for experience • NCCI rate * payroll * experience modifier
– Costly for fire department• Based on number and cost of claims• Can impact fire department employers and
employees for years
Image Study• Based on how the general public views
firefighters and how they view themselves– Injuries
• Stress in workplace: labor shifts and slowdowns • Concern, introspection, and trepidation after
accident
– Deaths• Private investigations, concern about liability,
demotions, suspensions, and terminations
– Both damage personal lives of firefighters
The Bottom Line• Fire departments must continue to improve
firefighter safety• An incident safety officer can make a
difference – right now• Goals of this book
– Share a systematic and meaningful approach to creating and implementing an ISO program
– Provide information to make sweeping changes in your department
Figure 1-6 The creation of an effective Incident Safety Officer program is the Incident Commander’s key to incident safety.
Summary• Safety officer
– Prevents injury and loss of life through risk management and hazard reduction
• Two specialties– HSO (administrative)– ISO (command staff)
• Strong need for ISOs on working incidents– Based on rising injury-death statistics and
associated costs
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