Are you your brother's keeper? If the fire service is really the brotherhood — or family for those of us who try to avoid gender-specific terms — that firefighters nationwide talk about, then are you your brother's keeper?

Last month's issue of Fire Chief featured the article “To Die For” by Asst. Chief Brian Crawford of the Shreveport (La.) Fire Department. Crawford discussed what he calls the firefighter duty-to-die syndrome, in which “a firefighter believes that dying in the line of duty is part of the job or actually has a rewarding aspect.” Unfortunately, Crawford is correct, and that fact is pretty frustrating for a lot of people in this industry who are trying to keep firefighters and emergency medical personnel alive.

Apparatus manufacturers have added in warning lights, anti-rollover systems and endless electronics, yet firefighters and officers don't buckle their seatbelts and drive too fast. Equipment manufacturers now make smaller, easier-to-use equipment and better personal protection, but firefighters still push these tools beyond recommended user guidelines.

In 2004 the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation convened the first National Firefighter Life Safety Summit to support the U.S. Fire Administration's goal of reducing firefighter fatalities by 25% within five years and 50% in 10 years. Since then, a lot of time, effort and money have gone toward creating ways to save the lives of fire and EMS personnel. The first goal is two years away. Will we see that 25% reduction in firefighter fatalities? Firefighter deaths were 119 in 2004, 115 in 2005, 105 in 2006 and 44 as of May 31 this year. The downward trend has been steady, but there is still a ways to go.

As Congress directed, the NFFF continues to honor fallen firefighters with an annual memorial weekend. Travel, lodging and meals for immediate survivors of fallen firefighters are provided. The Fire Service Survivors Network provides a newsletter, publications and grief resources. Scholarships are awarded, and job training for survivors is provided. The NFFF also has created several training programs for fire departments. Taking Care of Our Own helps departments prepare for an LODD or serious injury; the Chief-to-Chief Network connects chiefs who have experienced a firefighter death; Everyone Goes Home revolves around the 16 Life-Safety Initiatives. That's a lot of effort to bury firefighters and take care of their survivors.

No one is more dedicated and committed to the mission of taking care of fallen firefighters' families than NFFF Executive Director Ron Siarnicki, who knows too many heartbreaking stories of firefighters' families devastated by loss. He also knows too well the statistics that show 75% of firefighter deaths are preventable.

The NFFF is following its mission to honor America's fallen firefighters by also raising awareness of preventable firefighter deaths. The NFFF has 46 fire service partners that are stepping up their own efforts to increase safety awareness among firefighters and EMS personnel.

For example, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the IAFC's Volunteer and Combination Officers Section organized a second International Fire & EMS Safety Stand Down for June 17-23, with the focus on training and safety. Dr. Burton Clark of the National Fire Academy created the National Seatbelt Pledge with a goal of obtaining one million firefighters' signatures by the end of this month.

All of these efforts are honorable, but doesn't preventing firefighter fatalities start with you? If you deduct the 20 heart attack- and stress-related fatalities and seven vehicle fatalities due to unbuckled seatbelts, the fatalities as of May 31 would be 17, not 44.

Are you doing all you can to keep your firefighters and EMTS safe? Do your officers understand your commitment to safety? Do you practice what you preach? If there were a Fire Chief's National Pledge to Safety, would you sign it? Would your lawyer let you sign it? What are you doing every day to improve the safety of your firefighters?

Imagine looking in the face of a devastated family member, knowing that you could have prevented a death or injury by enforcing the sops on seatbelts, speeding and alcohol use. Are you your brother's keeper, or is it only a brotherhood when someone gets hurt or dies?

The NFFF is following its mission to honor America's fallen firefighters by also raising awareness of preventable firefighter deaths.