Firefighter safety should be a top priority when personnel arrive at an incident, said Karen McHale, a chemical engineer and a volunteer firefighter with the Clear Creek (Colo.) Fire Authority. In her experience the majority of on scene accidents are sprains and strains, not the severe accidents where firefighters are burned or suffer from smoke inhalation. In fact, at almost every incident at least minor injuries occur, she said.

“It’s these minor things that start adding up and are the hardest to treat,” McHale said.

Accidents can happen simply from wearing bulky fire boots, which can hinder balance when they are walking over debris in dark residential corridors or climbing ladders.

Firefighters should practice slipping on ladders, falling or rappelling in their bunker gear so they know what to expect, McHale said. In addition, chiefs need to oversee training programs and ensure they are evolving, as often personnel become numb to the same safety lessons.

“There are a million fire safety programs out there,” McHale said. “I think it gets to the point where firefighters become numb and they don’t absorb it anymore.”

McHale said that sometimes it is best to mix up training by offering safety lessons one day and on scene management or leadership courses the next in order to break up the monotony.

“You have to give them that mental break from what they do every day and have them do something else,” she said.

McHale also said fire chiefs should tap into young firefighters’ innovation when it comes to safety. Firefighters have invented ways to improve safety out of necessity, such as securing flashlights on a rig to building snorkel hydrants in snow-covered terrain so they can access water. In addition, fire chiefs need ensure their firefighters practice safety techniques, either through hands-on training or online learning like webinars.

“Safety has to be practiced,” she said.