At a press conference June 7 in Washington, D.C., the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the U.S. Fire Administration announced the national rollout of “Everyone Goes Home.” Montgomery County (Md.) also announced its fire department will serve as one of the first implementation sites.

The program calls for the fire service to implement 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives to reduce firefighter fatalities by 25% in five years and 50% in 10 years.

Backed recently by about $1 million in funding from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and the Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company, the NFFF plans include: 

• Developing "ready to use" training packages for distribution to about 30,000 fire stations across the United States.
• Developing the Everyone Goes Home Web site, which will provide timely information and downloadable materials for training and education.
• Four mini-summit meetings, each focused on a particular aspect of the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Project.
• Establishing two university-based research centers to develop projects relating to the 16 initiatives.
• Establishing a technology transfer effort to identify existing technology from the federal laboratory network that can be adapted to address firefighter safety priorities.
• Establishing a speakers bureau to provide presentations to as many fire service audiences as possible.
• Establishing the Firefighter Life Safety Seal of Excellence Award to recognize outstanding contributions to our efforts.
• Participation in fire service trade shows and meetings to promote the initiatives and to work with fire departments conducting demonstration projects relating to the initiatives.
  

Montgomery County leads the way
 
Montgomery County (Md.) Fire Chief Thomas Carr and County Executive Douglas Duncan announced Montgomery County Department of Fire Rescue Services has committed to fully implement “Everyone Goes Home” and to serve as a model for other fire departments around the country. MCFRS will be the first department in the Washington Metropolitan Area to implement the program.

According to NFFF Director Ron Siarnicki, the NFFF is currently working with other departments on implementing the program and the entire state of Pennsylvania is officially working on it under Fire Commissioner Ed Mann.

Montgomery County is a combination fire department that serves about a million people in a suburb of Washington with about 2,000 members, about half career and half volunteer.

Carr detailed specific actions his department is taking to implement each of the 16 initiatives. For example, for Initiative No. 2 (“Enhance the personal and organizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service.”), as of July 1 all volunteer members will be required to take annual physicals (career members were already required). It’s also instituting a risk management program with a private contractor, budgeting for safety officers (captains) in the upcoming year’s fiscal budget, and developing peer fitness trainers. The department also underwent a major reorganization in January to provide consistency and accountability from one county fire chief (previously that authority was dispersed).

To implement Initiative No. 1 (“Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety…”), the department will support and participate in the Near Miss Reporting System the International Association of Fire Chiefs is developing with a FIRE Grant.

The department is already a step ahead of many departments in Initiative No. 8 (“Utilize available technology wherever it can produce higher levels of health and safety.”) Montgomery County recently enacted a law requiring all newly constructed single-family homes to have residential sprinkler systems. On the heels of a fatal high-rise fire in an unsprinklered high rise, the department is pushing for legislation calling for retrofitting all residential high-rise structures with sprinklers. Currently about 100 of the 1,500 high-rises in its jurisdiction lack sprinklers.

The NFFF held the first two of the planned mini-summit meetings in San Diego on Feb. 1 and in Indianapolis on April 13. It plans to conduct the third minisummit July 29 in conjunction with Firehouse Expo in Baltimore.

The National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium was held June 2-3 at the National Emergency Training Center with funding from a grant from the National Institute for Science and Technology (see a report in the July issue of FIRE CHIEF).

See the "Everyone Goes Home" Web site updates, events and downloadable materials or e-mail everyonegoeshome@firehero.com.

For a copy of a document listing all actions Montgomery County Fire and Rescue is currently taking in support of the 16 initiatives, send e-mails to Peter.Piringer@montgomerycountymd.gov with the words “Everybody Goes Home” in the subject line.