Health & Safety
A Fire Fighters Union-initiated lawsuit in New England could lead to changes for firefighting agencies nationwide.
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) has sued the National Fire Protection Association over a rule that sets the standards for the ideal protective material inside firefighting turnout gear. The IAFF alleges PFAs are the only component that can meet the criteria, therefore putting firefighters at increased risk of contracting cancer.
Click here for more information in a WPDE news article about the lawsuit.
Congressman Dan Kildee is fighting to remove PFAS chemicals from the environment, including from firefighting gear.
Kildee introduced the Protecting Firefighters from PFAS Act.
Click here for more on Kildee's efforts to protect firefighters.
The Firefighter Injury Research & Safety Trends program (FIRST), led by Drexel University Associate Professor Dr. Jennifer Taylor of Dornsife School of Public Health, is working to share fire fighter safety research findings with fire fighters nationwide.
FIRST is a research enterprise based at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, organized to support the United States fire and rescue service through objective data collection and analysis.Their goal is to make their research findings publicly known and free to access. An article on a recently published manuscript in the American Journal of Health Behavior can be found here.
Through a newly awarded Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) funded grant supporting FIRST's partnership with the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA), research on U.S. Fire Service safety culture will continue.
IAFF issues statement urging fire fighters, paramedics to hold Ebola stand-downs
Excerpted from ohsonline.com
The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is warning it is "highly likely that more individuals infected with Ebola will seek assistance from emergency response personnel as the disease spreads," and urging fire and EMS personnel to hold a safety stand-down and review all infectious exposure policies, procedures and guidelines.
The AFL-CIO union that represents more than 300,000 full-time firefighters and paramedics in the United States and Canada, has posted a statement which lists 11 minimum elements IAFF says those policies, procedures and guidelines should address.
They include: not returning to the firehouse if there is a potential exposure or the crew thinks they have been affected; developing policies for monitoring and management of EMS personnel potentially exposed to Ebola; fit testing all personnel for N95 respirators and appropriate eye protection; and establishing sick leave policies that are "non-punitive, flexible and consistent with public health guidance."
The policies should ensure fire and EMS personnel exposed to blood, bodily fluid, secretions, or excretions from a patient with a suspected or confirmed Ebola virus immediately:
• Stop working and wash the affected skin surfaces with soap and water and irrigate with a large amount of water or eyewash solution.
• Contact an occupational health supervisor for assessment and access to post-exposure management services.
• Receive medical evaluation and follow-up care as appropriate. Medical evaluations should include fever monitoring twice daily throughout the Ebola incubation period, which is two to 21 days.
Click here for a complete list of guidelines.
Consolidation trend continues for Michigan fire departments
As revenue to communities continues to evaporate, employers are looking for ways to cut costs. Unfortunately, fire services are not exempt from these cuts and the growing response is consolidation.
Michigan was particularly hard hit by the recession as communities try to come to grips with the lengthily loss of revenue due to the cap on property taxes caused by Proposal A of 1994. Until 1994, property was valued at half of its market value, or State Equalized Value (SEV). Now the growth in taxable valuable is limited to the rate of inflation or 5 percent, whichever is less. Since taxable value declined when the real estate market collapsed in 2007 and inflation remains around 2 percent, some communities have lost up to 20 percent of property tax revenue. In those municipalities, it could take up to a decade to fully recover the same revenues.
