Over the past several years, NFPA firefighter fatality reports have identified that 10%-12% of annual deaths occurred during training. This is a situation that simply shouldn't be tolerated.

The causes of these deaths vary, from falls and vehicle accidents to medical events and live-fire tragedies. While our profession has to accept a certain level of risk on the fireground, we have an absolute responsibility as fire chiefs to ensure that all training activities are conducted safely. We also must be certain that any potential hazards on our training grounds are mitigated effectively.

Recent events involving recruit firefighters in training, one resulting in a fatality and the other in a critical injury, again remind us of how utterly preventable these events can be. Both of these incidents involved metropolitan fire departments that surely had the resources and experience to carefully evaluate their training programs before such tragedies occurred.

In one case the fire department was conducting a “Hell Night” where instructors put the recruits through an eight-hour series of aggressive, non-stop training exercises. During the October evening, seven recruits were transported to hospitals suffering from dehydration. One was admitted in critical condition and remained in a coma for several weeks. According to newspaper accounts, the exercises included a one-mile run in full bunker gear while wearing SCBA. By most definitions this event would be called nothing short of hazing.

In another case, a recruit firefighter died during a live-fire exercise after becoming disoriented in a simulated ship's hold. Newspaper accounts indicated that instructors were unaware the victim was in trouble or missing. According to the local newspaper, the fire chief had received an anonymous complaint letter two months prior to the death stating “the recruits are constantly mentally and physically abused” by their training officers.

Both of these cases surely will be investigated in great detail and probably result in litigation, or perhaps criminal charges. If the details are as reported, they will be added to the long list of tragic, yet preventable, deaths and injuries. To make the training grounds safe, there are some basic principles and individual responsibilities that the fire chief and all officers of a fire department must undertake to prevent death and injury to our firefighters.

Fire chief's responsibility

The fire chief establishes the proper safety culture in the fire department, determining how safe the organization will be. The fire chief must implement policies and establish standard operating procedures related to safety, as well as hold members of the department accountable for violations of safety rules and practices. All training programs must be reviewed to ensure that proper practices are being taught, reinforced and followed.

Training academies and recruit-training programs have a history of creating their own cultures. Left without oversight and guidance by organizational policies and proper procedures, the recruit-training program can easily evolve into rites of passage, unsafe practices and other abuses of new firefighters. Fire chiefs must undertake a thorough review of the entire curriculum based on safety standards, policies and practices. The training staff needs to understand that hazing, horseplay or rite-of-passage ritual activities are strictly forbidden and will result in substantial disciplinary consequences.

Fire chief also must keep an eye on training officers who manage recruits with an autocratic, military style, as that can lead to verbal and physical abuse of trainees, along with unsafe training practices. While strong and direct supervision of recruits is essential for situations that involve known hazards, such as live-fire exercises, it must not be abusive — an “in your face” approach is abusive. The objective is to teach the recruits how to work safely, not push them to the point of injury. Intimidation is not appropriate for the drill yard or classroom environment. The fire chief must ensure proper balance and fair treatment of recruits.

Fire chiefs should walk the talk by scheduling time early in every recruit class to welcome the new recruits and describe the department's safety culture. This message is an important reminder for the training staff as well as an essential message for the new members of the organization.

Standards and procedures

All training should be conducted in compliance with NFPA standards and other recognized professionally established guidelines.

NFPA 1582, Comprehensive Occupational Medical Programs for Fire Departments, should always be applied when selecting firefighters to identify hidden medical problems. The IAFC/IAFF Wellness-Fitness Initiative CPAT exam also should be used as part of the hiring process. The NFPA standard for live-fire training evolutions, NFPA 1403, must always be applied for that high-risk training.

Standard operating procedures are an essential component for creating a training culture based on proper safety practices. Procedures provide the clarity and foundation for how recruit training, as well as all department-wide training, will be conducted. For recruit training, procedures should clearly define how the recruits will be tested, evaluated, disciplined, and ultimately graduated or terminated. They should describe the proper and fair treatment of recruits and must specifically prohibit abusive conduct, rituals or hazing.

Safety procedures must be systematically applied to all training activities. They should identify all exercises considered high-risk or conducted in a potentially hazardous environment that require a safety officer to be present. Procedures also must require at least one training officer to be the designated safety officer for all other training activities. Procedures also must require an effective rehab operation for all outdoor training.

One essential component of a safe culture is a procedure that allows any firefighter to say no to an unsafe practice or situation, without retribution. Should a recruit or any other firefighter raise a concern about a safety issue, the training officers must stop the activity, evaluate it and then decide on the safest course of action.

Safety officers

The department safety officer must review all training programs, beginning with the recruit curriculum, to ensure the inclusion of appropriate safety topics and a proper focus on safety.

A qualified and designated safety officer must always be on scene for all live-fire training to ensure compliance with safety standards. The same requirement applies to any other training that involves known hazards, such as above-ground rope training or aerial ladder training. A complete safety briefing should be conducted before this type of training starts. The designated safety officer must check and confirm that all equipment, such as power saws and outriggers, and support mechanisms, such as rope anchors or RITS, are working properly and are in place.

If the situation requires more than one safety officer, sufficient staff must be assigned. At least one recruit training officer should be designated as the class safety officer to manage a standard and consistent approach to safety issues during training activities, such as ensuring that the rehab function is established and properly managed.

Any accidents or injuries that occur during training must be reported and then investigated by the fire department safety officer. The fire chief will be responsible for holding accountable any officer or member who's involved in any safety violations. Appropriate corrective action should follow.

Training officers

Selection of training officers is critical to the success of any fire department. Training is not the place for the fire chief to exile problem officers and malcontents. The selection of training officers sends a message about the department's commitment to quality training, as well as the safety of members.

All training officers should meet NFPA's Instructor I qualification as a minimum. They must be well-informed about all existing safety standards and guidelines. Instructors must have a demonstrated history of a good safety attitudes and application of good safety practices. They also should have a demonstrated history of treating employees fairly and with proper respect.

The goal of the recruit training officer is to produce qualified and successful firefighters in the safest possible manner. It's not the goal of the training officer to eliminate a given percentage of recruits to have a “quality class.” Establishing such a quota system has been known to lead to abuses of recruits and wrongful termination.

Successful training is also a partnership between the training officer and the recruit. If the recruit is committed to overcoming a shortcoming and is progressing in that direction, the training officer should continue working with the recruit rather than wash the firefighter out for convenience. If the recruit fails to progress, the department has a far stronger case for termination.

As fire chief, the first question I always ask my training staff prior to the termination of a recruit is to describe what they did to try to make the recruit successful. I want to be absolutely sure that the organization did its best to produce a successful recruit, but the recruit failed anyway.

Troublesome training

Training conducted in adverse weather can be considered high-risk. This is particularly applicable to training in hot and humid weather, but also applies to cold or wet weather operations.

For training in hot weather, the department must have an established procedure that identifies the restrictions that apply and the rehab function that must be provided. These procedures should limit the type of outdoor training that can be conducted, based on daytime temperatures and the heat index. As the weather heats up, restrictions should begin. For the first level of restriction, outdoor training may be permitted without full bunker gear — wearing helmet, gloves and boots only — for exercises that don't involve live fire or similar hazards.

Based on the heat index and the type of physical training being conducted, a limit should be applied to the continuous time a firefighter can engage in training before a required break and rehab. The hotter the weather, or the more intense the physical activity, the shorter the period before rehab must be conducted.

Training in the morning hours can reduce the heat risk but may still require restrictions. Even modest warmth in the morning can create risks to firefighters engaged in heavy physical training. At some point, based on rising temperatures and the increasing heat index, all outdoor training should cease.

The proper rehabilitation of firefighters in training is just as important as when operating at a fire. The same rehab procedures should be followed for training and actual emergency operations, especially during hot weather.

The rehab function in training must be structured. Following each training period, firefighters should be sent to a rehab area for fluids, cool down, rest and medical evaluation before resuming training. One training officer must be designated to supervise rehab. Evaluation should follow medically recognized rehab guidelines based on adequate hydration, pulse rates, blood pressure and body temperature.

All firefighters need to be trained in the need for fluids and rehab, as well as in recognizing the symptoms of dehydration and heat exhaustion. Firefighters in general and recruit firefighters in particular are notorious for not advising training officers when they're approaching exhaustion or dehydration, feeling ill, or injured. A structured rehab process is a form of mandatory hydration and evaluation.

The recruit firefighters also have to accept some responsibility for their own safety. To that end, their curriculum should include a briefing on recruit firefighter responsibilities early in the class.

They are responsible for complying with all legitimate training and instruction. This includes complying with all safety policies, procedures and practices. To remain safe, students must also advise an instructor of any evolving health concerns or injuries.They should clearly understand the policy that authorizes saying no to any unsafe practices, conditions or abusive behavior by instructors. The students must understand that they are responsible for learning and progressing to success. Failure to learn, which includes learning how to be safe, is cause for corrective action, including termination.

Criminal and civil liabilities

The death of any firefighter always has a devastating emotional affect on a fire department. If negligence is involved, it can result in substantial criminal and civil liabilities. Many careers have ended after negligence was identified.

In one fire department where a firefighter died in a live-fire training exercise, the assistant chief was found guilty of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to 75 days in jail and five years of probation. This was based at least in part on a failure to comply with NFPA 1403.

In another case, a recruit was critically injured after falling from a 35-foot ground ladder during a training exercise. The investigation revealed that the firefighter had become severely dehydrated from training in hot weather while wearing full bunker gear for a long period. The recruit simply passed out on the ladder and fell to the pavement. The investigation identified the lack of a proper rehab function for hot weather. In this case, the fire department was fined $25,000 by the state's occupational safety and health agency, and the firefighter was awarded $1.8 million in a civil suit.

The responsibility of the fire chief goes far beyond believing that training is reasonably safe, all things considered. Training activities must be conducted in an environment where the fire department has the absolute ability to anticipate and recognize any hazards, as well as to implement appropriate safety procedures that will prevent injuries or fatalities. Fire chiefs must make this a reality. There are no excuses for firefighters being injured or killed in situations that we create.

---

Chief Gary P. Morris is the immediate past chair of the IAFC Safety Committee and chief for the Rural/Metro Fire Department, responsible for Maricopa and Pinal Counties, near Phoenix, Ariz. He previously was fire chief for the Seattle Fire Department and retired after 30 years with the Phoenix Fire Department as an assistant chief.