When we looked at the floor plans for the larger facilities submitted for this year's Station Style Fire Station Design Awards, we usually could figure out which office belonged to the fire chief: often it was a corner office, frequently with space for an administrative assistant nearby.

But how do chiefs decide which officers receive an office? Assistant or deputy chiefs usually are in earshot, training and safety officers are along the hallway, and prevention and inspection are in some far-off corners. It might be worth re-examining some of these assigned spaces because based on what we've seen over the past two years, the safety and pub-ed officers should become the fire chief's new best friends.

In the just-over two years since the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's Line-of-Duty Death Prevention Summit in Tampa, Fla., the emphasis on preventing firefighter injuries and deaths has become a fire service mantra. Consequently, means of preventing fires, hazmat and rescue incidents, and many emergency medical calls also need to be revisited with a critical eye by the offices of prevention, education and inspection.

Although preventing responder injuries and deaths falls squarely in the office of the safety officer, the task in fact has no walls or boundaries. To do their jobs responsibly, safety officers need the full support of the chief and every officer, along with the authority to enforce safe procedures and implement disciplinary action if necessary — talk the talk, walk the walk and carry a sledgehammer.

I recently spoke at the annual meeting of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, a great gathering of dedicated safety officers from across the country. There were more than 100 in the audience. But if there are 30,000 fire departments across the nation, where were the other 29,900 safety officers?

Maybe they're looking toward their next position. In most fire departments, safety, pub-ed and prevention/inspection positions are career stepping-stones for future chiefs. In volunteer departments, the position of safety officer changes frequently or with each response. Consequently, experience is fairly short-lived, and once an officer moves on, the support may fade.

Why not once a safety officer, always a safety officer? Once a public educator, always a public educator? Many of the skills learned in these non-fire areas continue to be valuable to the department and the community. I learned the hard way that there are no “ex-Marines.” If we give out medals to firefighters for saving lives, we need some medals for safety officers saving firefighters' lives.

Fireground deaths have been significantly reduced from the levels of 30 years ago, but those due to heart- and stress-related causes have increased. I even have heard of a firefighter/EMT who recently died from hepatitis; this, too, was considered a line-of-duty death. It won't be long before firefighter deaths from cancer could be included in the statistics, presenting even greater challenges to preventive measures.

Manufacturers are addressing fireground safety more and more, from apparatus to turnouts. Although concern about safety on the fireground is critical, we can't forget that responders are vulnerable in a wide range of situations. Emergency medical technicians, paramedics, hazmat team members, and rescuers of every stripe, from water to confined space, need vigilance over all aspects of their response. Trained personnel are the most valuable asset in any department and at any emergency.

Finally, I understand a lawsuit is pending in which injured firefighters are suing their fire department because the officer in charge put them at risk in an emergency situation. Situations like this must be judged by determining if fire chiefs and officers lack common sense or training. If so, they have no business being responsible for the lives of firefighters and first responders.

And that, my friends, is a problem that also needs to be addressed.