FIRE CHIEF Editorial Director Janet Wilmoth’s “Personal Responsibility” editorial from the May 5, 2006, issue of Command Post generated a number of reader comments.

“A Fire Apparatus Safety Meeting was held as part of FDIC in Indianapolis last week. Anyone interested in apparatus safety was welcome. It was meant to be an informal meeting to discuss firefighter safety issues that are related to the design of fire apparatus. Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out as expected … (Read Wilmoth’s editorial in its entirety here.)

Taking ownership
Here in little ol' Chesterfield County (Va.) Fire and EMS, we not only wear our seatbelts, we come to a complete stop at all stop signs/signals under emergency conditions, still wear full PPE (yep, including SCBA), and even do physical training every day. Do you think there is any correlation to our exceptional safety record? When everyone else is "standing down" this June and taking the day to do what they should be doing throughout the year, we are going to be celebrating!

Our motto is "Great Service, by Great People." The people get all the credit because it’s the people who take ownership of their own safety. As you said — "what a concept." And, I don't even have to fine them $600 if they don't!

Chief Paul W. Mauger
Chesterfield (Va.) Fire and EMS

All sides
If you can filter out some of the comments made by Lt. Mike Wilbur and see the problems, that might help.

I support all of the initiatives for safety. Is there a seatbelt equipment issue? I think so. Yes, the seat belts should be a different color.”

“See him fishing for the buckle?" This is so true, I see it every day. Yes, the longer stems on the seatbelt's buckle would help.

Are the seats wide enough? This is a problem and the solution is to look at this from a safety point. What are we expecting out of our officers and firefighter in their seats? Looking up preplans and street addresses [and] researching information en route to a call. Can this be done safely while buckled and seated? The job task in the seat is what the problem is.

Putting your gear on while en route or while the vehicle is moving is out. Get dressed before you go or stop the vehicle if you’re on the road or get dressed when you get there.

So why did I e-mail you on this? Because we need to take that "Personal Responsibility" on all sides to make it safe.

Capt. Richard G Miller, Training
City of Fairfax (Va.) Fire Department

It comes down to training
&hellip: Why is it that we as the fire service can find an excuse on why we should not have to do something rather than putting the same into action and simply complying?

I have only been in the fire service for 15 years (nine as a paid on-call and six full-time as our department’s training officer), but did the fire service go through this same amount of pain when SCBAs were mandated? I came aboard just at the tail end of the implementation of the rule removing tailboard riding, and there was quite some grumbling about that.

I suppose it has a lot to do with the fact that someone is telling us as the fire service what to do, but what happened to common sense? Oh, that's right, if common sense were common, we would all have it.

In a nutshell, it comes down to training. We did the same with SCBA, didn't we? Train, train, and train some more. As Billy Goldfeder states it on the “FireFighterCloseCalls” site, “every day is a training day. No more whiney assed excuses!” Couple this with having management and senior officer staff that instill the importance and back it up with SOPs and SOGs and corrective action programs, we could make this issue go away very quickly.

We did this in our department: 1) the apparatus was not supposed to leave without having everyone buckled — officer responsibility; 2) the chief or senior officer staff would request an apparatus returning from a call to stop and a spot check was completed.

Individuals not wearing seatbelts went through a corrective action program. Problem resolved. The seatbelt should be the first thing we put on when we get in a vehicle, and then the SCBA.

Thanks for letting me vent, but for our paid on-call department, this is one of the first principles we cover when the new staff member hits the apparatus floor.

Lt. Martin Freibergs, Training
Hales Corners (Wis.) Fire Department

Nothing works without self-discipline
… I could not agree more. Personal responsibility — what a concept!

Nothing we do — and I mean nothing we do — will ever work if people in this business do not have the self-discipline to be responsible for themselves.

Departments spend money on accountability systems that range from a simple cow tag to the handheld electronic barcode reading device tied to computers — and for what? So we can leave them hanging on our coats or helmets where they never get collected!

Ed Mann
Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner

Experience speaks
… I insist our firefighters are securely belted in before the engine or vehicles roll. After 43 years in the fire service, I can attest to this fact for certain: If there is a fatality, they were wearing NO BELT!

If they survived, they can thank the emergency equipment we insist they wear and use. I totally disagree with Lt Wilbur.

Joseph "Fireman Joe" Stambush,
Chairman, Kentucky Fire & Life Safety Programs
Kentucky Fire Association

Just a volunteer
I am "just a volunteer."

I have taught new drivers to ambulances and fire apparatus. Many are now career firefighters. I believe in seatbelts for everyone. I, too, find it hard to find mine in some of our seats, front seats, rear seats, jump seats.

How I long for two belts, one from above each shoulder, that have separate latches on each hip side. They would be joined by a chest strap.

I know of two recent incidents where unbelted firefighters survived.

I know of several incidents where houses burned to the ground without any injuries to the occupants. There were no smoke detectors. Should we stop recommending smoke detectors?

Bob Lucas, President
Cos Cob (Conn.) Fire Police Patrol