Independent Study Course, IS-368: Including People with Disabilities and Others with Access and Functional Needs in Disaster Operations, is a new, online training course available now. The course has been developed by FEMA and the Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in order to increase awareness and understanding of the need for full inclusion of disaster survivors and FEMA staff who are people with disabilities, and people with access and functional needs. The course provides an overview of disabilities and access and functional needs and explains how disaster staff can apply inclusive practices in their disaster assignments, and should be attended by all personnel involved in disaster operations at the Joint Field Office (JFO) as well as anyone else involved in disaster operations.

At the completion of this course, participants should be able to:

• Explain the importance of including people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs in disaster operations at the JFO and field locations.
• Describe how JFO and field staff can support and include people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs in disaster operations.
• Describe principles and FEMA initiatives that provide a foundation for the integration of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs in disaster operations.
• Describe the history of the treatment of and services for people with disabilities.
• Identify laws that provide the legal foundation for issues related to people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs.
• Describe the function of the Disability Integration Advisor.
• Describe personal actions to support the integration of people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs in the JFO and field disaster operations.

Participants can take the course, and the final exam, online. 

To learn more, NFPA also has an information and resource page on people with disabilities that includes an emergency evacuation planning guide. 

These are just a few of the comments that were spoken at a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)* for a fire fighter who recently retired from the service.

Why CISD… because Mike died suddenly and tragically a few weeks ago. Not because of cancer, not because of old age, but because he took his life!

We’ll never know exactly what the circumstances were behind the tragic ending. We can say with certainty that it wasn’t for his lack of love for Sue, his wife. That relationship was a model for everyone to admire. Mike and Sue loved each other and they loved their dogs. They hiked together. They did everything together. They just finished building a new home. She helped him through some pretty difficult times.

It might have been that the job finally ‘got to him’. It might have been that he didn’t have the job any longer, except as a memory. What’s noteworthy, is the different ways many of us who were at CISD expressed our emotions. One in particular may have caught your attention: “I’m pissed!”

This came from one of the new firefighters, but also a veteran of Afghanistan, and he’s seen what emotions can play out when under tremendous stress. He was pissed because he didn’t see it, Mike’s death, coming. Many knew that Mike was leaving the fire service after nearly 25 years. Many knew that he was seeking help. Many knew that he was leaving not because he wanted to. But many also thought that he had been preparing himself and was ready for the transition to civilian life. This guy was upset because he couldn’t do anything to help Mike.

This is not a eulogy. This is not a means to vent. This is not where this needs to end! This blog is to make all of us in the fire service and in public safety aware of the stresses of the job or home life or a combination and to say something, Out Loud, Early! Don’t hold it in, don’t be a hero. Get the help from others who have been there, from the professionals like EAP, and from the department chaplain.

There appears to be limited resources and information on the topic of Fire Fighter Suicide. I’ve listed a few below. Feel free to add to the list by leaving a comment below:

-[Tom McGowan | mailto:tmcgowan@nfpa.org]

NFPA is hosting a free webinar called Office Hours today at 2pm EST for all NFPA members. The topic for the webinar is the 2014 NFPA 921.  The presenters will be Technical Committee Chairman Randy Watson and NFPA Staff Liaison Orlando P. Hernandez.  The webinar will discuss the following points; 

• Issues surrounding 'Inappropriate Use of Process of Elimination'
• Benefit of newly added color photography
• Electrical Arcing
• Analyzing the incident for cause & responsibility
• New Fire Protection Systems chapter in support of NFPA 1033: Professional Qualifications for Fire Investigations

Register today! Have questions? Get the answers during the live event today by submitting questions to NFPAOfficeHours@gmail.com in advance or to Twitter (#OfficeHours) during the presentation. 

Last year, I interviewed Robert Feeney, a survivor from The Station Nightclub Fire in 2003, at the actual site of the blaze. The horror of that incident came flooding back to him while we were surrounded by a makeshift memorial of wooden crosses, stuffed animals, and weathered photos of some of the 100 victims who died from the fire. A decade had passed since the incident, but he remembers the details with vivid clarity.

This week marks the 11th anniversary of the fire, which is still one of the top 10 deadliest nightclub fires in U.S. history. Check out the story in NFPA Journal, and watch the video of Feeney at the site, which includes footage from the actual incident.

NFPA is hosting a free webinar called Office Hours on February 20, 2014 at 2pm EST, the topic for the webinar is the 2014 NFPA 921.  The presenters will be Technical Committee Chairman Randy Watson and NFPA Staff Liaison Orlando P. Hernandez.   The webinar will discuss the addition of the new Fire Protection Systems Chapter, Negative Corpus, Electrical Arcing and Analyzing the Incident for Cause & Responsibility. There will be a Question and Answer period at the end of the webinar.  Please join us for this free webinar by registering using the link below. 

 [http://events.thepulsenetwork.com/Attendee/Default.aspx?C=70000056&M=20000261&Mode=HTML | http://events.thepulsenetwork.com/Attendee/Default.aspx?C=70000056&M=20000261&Mode=HTML]

We saw this story on the news this morning, and knew that our first responder community would rally around this cause - so we wanted to share!

The mother of a little boy with leukemia said she wants his seventh birthday to be special, and is looking to first responders for help. Tyler Seddon will turn 7 on March 6, and his mother, Rachel, said she wants it to be the best day of his life.

“He goes crazy over firefighters and police,” she said. “We want this to be a special birthday, because you never know what could be next.”

Seddon said Tyler loves firefighters and other first responders, so she wants as many of them as possible to send him birthday cards.

Tyler needs a bone marrow transplant, and he is currently undergoing chemotherapy to buy him some time while the search for a marrow donor continues. A website, "Tyler's Troops," is currently being set up for more information. In the meantime a GoFundMe account was also started to help with donations for Tyler.

Any first responders who would like to send Tyler a birthday card can send them to 96 South Main St., Pascoag, R.I. 02859.

With the winter season in full swing, the use of heating equipment is on the rise. However, the coldest
season of the year is also one of the most dangerous for home fire risk due to the very appliances that keep us warm during these chilly months. In fact, according to the NFPA, half of home heating equipment fires are reported during the months of December, January, and February. Thankfully, the NFPA has released an extensive list of heater safety tips that, if followed, can help to ensure a safe and cozy winter season this year. 

Among the tips include:

• Test smoke alarms monthly
• Have a three foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional

To get the complete list of safety tips and other information about heater safety, read the full press
release.

The following proposed Tentative Interim Amendments (TIAs) for NFPA 101, Life Safety Code®, and NFPA 5000, Building Construction and Safety Code®, are being published for public review and comment:

• NFPA 101, proposed TIA No. 1130, proposed 2015 edition, referencing 12.4.1, 13.4.1, A.12.4.1, A.13.4.1
• NFPA 5000, proposed TIA No. 1131, proposed 2015 edition, referencing 16.4.1 and A.16.4.1

Anyone may submit a comment on these proposed TIAs by the April 18, 2014 closing date. Along with your comment, please identify the number of the TIA and forward to the Secretary, Standards Council by the closing date.

NFPA has issued the following errata on the 2011 edition of NFPA 86, Standard for Ovens and Furnaces:

• NFPA 86, Errata 86-11-1
  Reference: A.6.2.5.3
  Issuance: February 13, 2014

An errata is a correction issued to an NFPA Standard, published in NFPA News, Codes Online, and included in any further distribution of the document.

As part of the NFPA and State Farm partnership, a campaign focusing on wildfire education will become the first nationwide Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, slated to take place May 3, 2014. 

In an effort to assist with our Preparedness Day outreach and promotional efforts, State Farm will be providing monetary awards of $500 to 20 individual projects that will be undertaken during the May 3 event! To determine which community projects will receive the awards, a contest kicks off today. 

To enter, visit the NFPA/State Farm Wildfire Preparedness Day Neighborhood Project Award Promotion contest app powered by SnapApp through either:

• Entering through the website
• Entering through the promotion tab on NFPA’s Firewise Facebook page

From either location, you may post your neighborhood’s planned activity (or activities). Include your name and potential participants, your contact information, city and state, and how you will use the project funding. The deadline to post your project idea is March, 19, 2014.

Then, recruit votes! Encourage your friends, family, colleagues and neighbors to vote for your project idea through the contest app on the website or NFPA’s Firewise Facebook page. The deadline to vote for your favorite project is March 19, 2014.

Votes will be considered in NFPA’s final determination of the winning project ideas. 

For more information about the National Wildfire Preparedness Day and offcial contest rules, please visit www.wildfireprepday.org.

With the Firewise Challenge completed and Preparedness Day around the corner, NFPA is really excited
to announce that State Farm®, a leading provider of home insurance in the U.S., is generously providing monetary support for both campaigns. State Farm has a long history of proactive wildfire safety education to its policyholders in high-risk regions, including the use of Firewise materials and concepts. NFPA and the Wildland Fire Operations Division is incredibly pleased to partner with State Farm on these important campaigns! 

As you know, the Firewise Challenge is a campaign that began in 2013 as a way to encourage increased neighborhood participation in the national Firewise Communities/USA Recognition Program. Communities in the five states with the most participation will receive $5,000 each provided by the State Farm grant to implement safety projects including chipping of brush, removal of vegetative material and similar activities that will reduce wildfire hazards. Five additional communities will receive a runner-up prize of $900 to use on safety gear, tools or mitigation projects.

Visit the Firewise Challenge webpage to learn who the winners are! 

The second major campaign focusing on wildfire education is the first nationwide Wildfire Community Preparedness Day slated to take place on May 3, 2014. The national Preparedness Day gives people of all ages a chance to participate in a risk reduction or wildfire preparedness activity that makes their community a safer place to live.  A portion of the State Farm grant funding will be awarded to 20 neighborhood wildfire safety projects being implemented during the May 3rd event.

Information about Preparedness Day and how you can get involved can be found at www.wildfireprepday.org.

Read the entire press release about State Farm’s generous support of NFPA's wildfire campaigns and join us as we strive to hit all wildfire disasters out of the park!

If you are planning on attending FDIC April 7-12, 2014 in Indianapolis, IN stop by NFPA Booth 2601 in the Exhibit Hall. There will be staff from the Public Fire Protection Division to discuss fire service standards, Public Education programs, the new EV Project and other programs at NFPA.  Hope to see you there. 

Sam Davis (center) works at the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition booth during the 2013 International Builders Show. Photo: Sprinkler Age

Sam Davis, president of Island Harbor Construction in Cape Coral, FL, and Alan Carter, fire marshal of Cape Coral Fire Rescue and Emergency Services, were recently honored by the Florida Chapter of the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) for their support of home fire sprinklers.

According to an article in the new issue of AFSA’s Sprinkler Age, while so many in the home building industry spend time fighting against home fire sprinklers, Mr. Davis offers fire sprinklers as a standard feature in the homes he builds. Mr. Davis is also featured in the “Faces of Fire” campaign on NFPA’s Fire Sprinkler Initiative website, part of an educational campaign created to show the impact of home fire sprinklers.

Mr. Davis credits Chief Carter with his vision and support for the installation of home fire sprinklers in Cape Coral, saying the award he received “…would never had happened without the determination to see this through from a professional like Alan.” 

If you are following the buzz around the latest Undrwriters Lab (UL)  and National Institute of Standards  and Technology (NIST) research on fire suppression techniques, including transitional fire attack (starting outside then move in) and controling ventilation flow points, including the primary ingress door to a burning structure, you know not all firefighters are buying into the new research.

Capt. Dave Lablanc has a blog, The Backstep Firefighter , and he posted Don't Look Now But Someone Broke the Cookie Cutter , a pretty honest asessment of what I think many out there in the land of response are thinking.

Here's one of his thoughts:

What the UL/NIST studies have shown is that there is no silver bullet, no one thing you can change. The studies show that more than ever we need to look at and interpret what we are seeing. We need to think. We need to fight the fire in front of us, based on what we see, what we know and what we can do. The studies have shown more than ever that there is no one size fits all answer, no cookie cutter solution to today’s fire problem. Capt. Dave Leblanc

Check Capt. Dave's posting out, it's an interesting read.

Thanks to Jim from Rochester NY FD for sharing how they are using Narcan with impressive results!

An investigative report from an ABC affiliate in Chicago provides some harrowing accounts of fires that have occurred in the operating room (OR). One of the incidents highlighted in the story is of a firefighter who claims he was burned while having a catheter implanted in his chest.

These incidents, while few in number, exemplify potential dangers found in the OR. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that some or all aspects of the fire trianglea heat source (electrosurgical units or lasers), fuel (flammable drapery or antiseptics), and oxygenmight be present during surgical procedures. In response, the FDA has developed the Preventing Surgical Fires Initiative to educate health care professionals on the root cause of OR fires and highlights risk-reduction practices and safety procedures in line with provisions in NFPA 99, +Health Care Facilities,+ and NFPA 101^®, +Life Safety Code+^®.  <br />

Read the +NFPA Journal+ feature story highlighting the FDA initiative and how to develop a fire-risk assessment to safeguard hospital workers and patients. Also, check out the video of NFPA&#39;s Rich Bielen explaining how NFPA 99 mitigates these fire risks.

As the temperature drops outside, wood and pellet stoves may be fired up inside the home. What you may not realize is that heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires during the winter months.

We have a great safety tip sheet to remind you about how to stay safe this winter with your wood or pellet stove. Some of these tips include: 

• Have a QUALIFIED professional install stoves, chimney connectors, and chimneys.
• Stoves should have the LABEL of an independent testing laboratory.
• In wood stoves, burn only DRY, seasoned wood. In pellet stoves, burn only dry, seasoned wood pellets.

To download the entire safety tip sheet, visit our safety tip sheet page on the website. 

Firefighters and police unfurl a tarp during recovery efforts on January 25, 2014, at the scene of the fatal Residence du Havre seniors home fire in L'Isle-Verte, Qc. Saturday January 25, 2014. Photograph by: John Mahoney, The Gazette

Here's a sobering reminder of why NFPA's Fire Sprinkler Initiative works so hard to educate our lawmakers and communities about the life-saving potential of sprinklers. In this editorial from the Montreal Gazette, Christie Blatchford of Postmedia News pulls no punches while taking politicians to task for not getting serious about sprinkler requirements. And while her focus is on the tragic fire at a senior residence that killed more than 30 people last month, the theme of her argument is very similar to our efforts to get sprinklers installed in all new one- and two-family homes in the United States.

'The way Quebec politicians and others are carrying on, you’d think that the automatic sprinkler system was an untried, still slightly sketchy, cutting-edge technology and not one proven up the yin-yang in the 142 years since it was invented.

“It’s not a simple problem,” Quebec Health Minister Rejean Hebert told reporters Monday at L’Isle-Verte. “If it would have been simple, it would have been done.”

If the answer was simple? It couldn’t be more simple: Order all care occupancies housing those incapable of self-preservation — vulnerable by dint of age or physical or mental disability — to be retrofitted with sprinklers.

Or take what Premier Pauline Marois, who this weekend visited the site of the horrific fire that killed 32 vulnerable old people last Thursday, said. “If only we were able to stop this from ever happening again, this type of thing.”

If only we were able to stop such fires?

Automatic sprinklers do precisely that. They stop fires in their tracks, contain them and contain the spread of poisonous deadly smoke.'

Read the entire editorial from the Montreal Gazette.

The death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman has highlighted the availability of heroin and tragic outcomes resulting from addiction. Not even Vermont is immune from this crisis, having one of the highest per capita rates of heroin use in the nation, with thousands in treatment or in need of treatment.

The Quincy MA, Police Department (which also happens to be where NFPA is located), has pioneered a way for police officers, who often are first on scene of an overdose emergency, to adminsiter Narcan, a drug that immediately reverses the respiratory depression caused by an opiate overdose, such as heroin. In the three years QPD has deployed Narcan, it has been used 221 times and reversed 211 overdoses.

Today, more police and first responder agencies are carrying Narcan and using it succesfully. Just another example of how first responders adapt to the needs of their communities and save lives!

Read about how  Quincy Police Use Narcan to Save Lives .

Do you know of any first responder agencies deploying Narcan? Post their name here so they can be recoginized for their life saving efforts.

A tip of the helmet to the Quincy PD!

A new report, an "Evaluation of Fire Flow Methodologies" (PDF, 307 KB), authored by Matthew E. Benfer and Joseph L. Scheffey with Hughes Associates in Baltimore, MD, is now available for download. 

The basic method for controlling building fires by fire departments is through the use of water, which is typically applied with manual hose lines or water monitors. This water can come from a municipal water supply, a private water supply, or from the fire department itself (i.e., water tenders). In order to effectively fight a fire, the water supply available must be adequate for the threat from the building and contents. The water requirements for firefighting include the rate of flow, the residual pressure required at that flow, the flow duration, and the total quantity of water required. As described in the NFPA Handbook [1], the American Water Works Association (AWWA) [2] defines the required fire flow as "the rate of water flow, at a residual pressure of 20 psi and for a specified duration that is necessary to control a major fire in a specific structure." Each fire flow methodology may define the objective of the required fire flow differently. There are a number of methods currently used to calculate required water flow rates for sprinklered and non-sprinkleredproperties. These methods are, in general, based on decades-old criteria derived using data from actual fires. Over the years, building construction methods, building contents, and fire suppression equipment and tactics have changed.

The overall objective of this study is to assess the appropriateness of currently available fire flow methodologies. The first task in this project was a literature review of the existing fire flow calculation methodologies in the US and globally. The second task was a data analysis and GAP assessment to determine what additional information is needed to validate the existing fire flow calculation methodologies.

Download the full report from the Research Foundtion website. 

In her final column for NFPA Journal, Molly Mowery recounts her experience as senior program manager for NFPA's Wildland Fire Operations Division and involvement with the Fire Adapted Communities (FAC) Coalition. Utilizing a series of tools, FAC prepares homes, businesses, neighborhoods, infrastructures, natural areas, and surrounding landscapes for wildfires.

"If we really want to stimulate and accelerate public action, we need to combine education with a process for changing behavior," says Mowery. "This process requires many key ingredients, such as clarifying at the beginning stage what is important to our audience and exploring their values; developing practices instead of checklists; and leaving more time for implementation rather than getting stuck in the planning phase."

Read all of Mowery's final thoughts in the January/February issue of Journal.

This week, February 2-8, is the American Burn Association's Burn Awareness Week. Burn Awareness Week, is designed to provide an opportunity for burn, fire and life safety educators to unite in sharing a common burn awareness and prevention message in our communities. Burn Awareness Week, celebrated early in the year, is an excellent opportunity to “kick off” a year full of burn awareness education.

NFPA is proud to participate in this year's Burn Awarness Week by providing safety tips and information related to scald burns. Scald burns can be caused by any hot liquid, fluid, or vapor, including hot tap water, overheated beverages, steam, and hot oil. Interestingly, scald burns accounted for almost one-third (31%) of all non-fire burn injuries reported to hospital emergency rooms in 2012!

Take a look at our scald burn safety tip sheet for information on how to stay safe. 

In this video above (also seen on You Tube), NFPA's Amy LeBeau talks about the importance of testing the temperature of bathwater before putting children into the tub.

While investigating social media use during emergencies for my NFPA Journal feature, "#AreYouPrepared?," my research kept pointing me to zombies. Yes, zombies--those ghoulish creatures that refuse to rest in peace and have successfully invaded all forms of popular culture in recent years. They've also managed to grab the attention of social media users.

Let me explain: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a social media campaign in 2011 promoting emergency preparedness tactics helpful during a zombie takeover and other disasters. (NFPA has developed similar tips for emergencies.) Their philosophy was if you were prepared for the "dawn of the dead" (stellar zombie flick, by the way), you were prepared for tornadoes, fires, and other events. The CDC disseminated these tools and tips via its social media channels. What was the response? Check out the following video where I give an overview of the campaign:

For a recent example of social media's effectiveness, check out a recent Atlanta-Journal Constitution article on its use during the recent snow storm that sidelined Atlanta.