By now I'm sure you've heard that a consortium of fire service organizations has called for a stand down. On June 21, non-essential operations will cease to devote the day to safety. The impact that the Stand Down for Safety has on your department rests on your shoulders, chief.

This stand down is a natural outgrowth of last year's summit on line-of-duty deaths organized by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. In March 2004, nearly 200 representatives of fire and emergency service organizations met in Tampa, Fla., to formulate 16 Life Safety Initiatives.

Following that summit, a number of attendees agreed with me that it was a good meeting, but they felt that the fire service won't change. I disagreed then and disagree today. There is change — one person and one department at a time, but it's not enough.

To that end, every issue of Fire Chief this year has included a Safety Initiative article written by a member of the IAFC'S Safety, Health and Survival Section focusing on one of these initiatives. And this month, our cover lists the firefighters who have died in the line of duty as of May 7. Unfortunately, we could have added more names after we went to press.

Fire Chief's commitment to safety goes back a long way. When we introduced In Service in 1993, we believed fire chiefs needed to be aware of the importance of preventive maintenance and of building safety into their apparatus specifications. In the past 12 years, what's changed in how you buy apparatus? “It's more complicated,” says one chief in Pennsylvania. Complicated? It's an investment that deserves time because fire department responsibilities have become more, well, “complicated.”

And we're not the only ones who see a need for cultural change. The National Volunteer Fire Council deserves a big gold badge for not just talking about firefighter health problems, but taking action. With the help of a FEMA grant, the NVFC created a resource guide that includes practical steps and suggestions regarding heart health, diabetes and smoking cessation. It's available for download at www.healthy-firefighter.org. The NVFC also is providing cholesterol and blood pressure screenings and body-mass analyses at four national trade shows across the country, no pre-fasting required. The next screening will be offered Aug. 11-13 at Fire-Rescue International in Denver.

Do members of the fire service care about their health? So far, almost 7,000 fire personnel have participated in the NVFC testing at trade shows, and the NVFC has distributed more than 6,500 resource guides.

How about vehicle safety? What started out as a one-time seatbelt awareness campaign has taken on a life of its own. In April, I described how my idea to encourage seatbelt use in fire trucks was picked up by Rosenbauer America. They gave away 15,000 seatbelt wraps at a recent trade show and took orders for 1,000 more. In six weeks, more than 20,000 seatbelt wraps will have made their way onto fire apparatus. Will that red-and-white reminder save a life? My bet says yes.

Of course, Rosenbauer is not alone. Other manufacturers have made considerable investments in technology, and they continue to seek ways to build safety into their products. The Fire and Emergency Manufacturers & Services Association created the Personal Responsibility Code to remind firefighters and emergency workers of the importance of being trained to use equipment and tools correctly. Download your copy at www.femsa.org/FEMSA_PRC.jpg.

June 21's Stand Down for Safety will come and go. I hope that your department will observe the suggested list of activities for the event, on that day and in the future: from the moment of silence for LODDS to the review of safety in procedures; from the safety check of apparatus and equipment to the preparation and enjoyment of healthful firehouse meals.

Look at the cover again. Every name means that a fire chief had to go to that firefighter's family and tell them that their love one was dead. Every name means a funeral needed to be organized and a eulogy written. Every name means an inquiry would be held to determine the cause of death. How many of those deaths could have been prevented?

You don't practice safety, you live it — every moment of every day. Accept nothing less. It's a long walk to the front door of a fallen firefighter.