For those readers who have said that losing 100 firefighters a year is a small ratio compared to the more than 1 million firefighters in the United States, I have a new statistic for you. A recent edition of our Command Post e-newsletter reported on a study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which revealed that 80,000 firefighters are injured each year. The report estimates that the cost for addressing and preventing firefighter injuries is between $2.7 billion to $7.8 billion per year.

Chief I. David Daniels of Fulton County, Ga., who is the chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Safety, Health & Survival Section, commented on the study. “For many years fire departments have suffered in silence with the impact of the 80,000-plus injuries every year,” Daniels said. “This report can be an important tool to help fire chiefs make an objective case for the importance of prevention of injuries and saving nearly a billion dollars to our nation's economy. It's also an important first step toward providing data for the fire service's renewed interest in research as a vehicle to reduce injuries and deaths in our industry.”

The release of the study ties in well with some new awards to recognize safety in the fire service. Co-sponsored by the Fire Department Safety Officers' Association, the IAFC Safety, Health & Survival Section will present the awards Aug. 12 at its first annual meeting in Denver.

The three award categories are: Safety Officer of the Year, to the safety officer who has made a significant contribution to his or her organization and/or the fire service as a whole in health and safety; Fire Service Executive Safety Award, for the fire chief of a department that has demonstrated a unique commitment to fire service health and safety; and the Fire Service Organizational Safety Award, for organizations that have demonstrated a commitment or significant contribution to fire service health and safety.

Nominations are being accepted at IAFC headquarters until May 30. For details, download the PDF from www.iafc.org/downloads/awards/2005healthsafety.pdf.

“For too long, the focus of safety in the fire service has been on our failures,” said Daniels. “These awards are a form of positive reinforcement for those agencies that have made a commitment to the safety, health and survival of their members. It is also important that the fire chiefs of this country take their rightful place at the head of the line when it comes to recognizing safety in the fire service as an industry.”

As part of that industry, fire service manufacturers have a long history of safety products and of supporting the NFPA. The bar has been significantly raised over the last few years. Last year, the Fire & Emergency Manufacturers & Services Association put forward its Personal Responsibility Code to increase emergency responders awareness of their responsibility and role in their own personal safety. It's available at www.femsa.org/prc.html.

Years ago, I suggested that one way to get the message of seatbelt safety across was to tape a reminder to the seatbelt strapping. While the latest NFPA 1901 revision stipulates that all new apparatus should have red seatbelts so the officer can see quickly if firefighters are belted, few departments will retrofit red seatbelts. Why not strip fluorescent tape on the old seatbelt?

I mentioned this idea to several people who agreed, but said the tape wouldn't work. The team at Rosenbauer's Central States Division figured out how to make the idea work. Rosenbauer will give away almost 15,000 bright-red seatbelt wraps bearing the “Everyone Goes Home” message at FDIC Booth 6340 in Indianapolis.

“Safety doesn't belong to any one company, any one organization or any individual,” said Harold Boer, president of Rosenbauer's Central States Division. “It belongs to all of us. As a fire chief, the son of a firefighter, and the father of firefighters, the goal of ‘everyone goes home’ has a very real impact on me.”

The belt wrap mentions seatbelts, but it's really a message about safety. Everyone goes home to enjoy life, family and friends. At least one of these belt wraps in each cab could be a reminder we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. Secure your own first.