NSC Safety Month – Use Down Time to Practice General Safety

June is National Safety Month.  The National Safety Council is focusing their efforts on employee wellness, ergonomics, fall prevention, and driving safety.  We’re going to take a look at some more specific ways that you can be safer at your job.  There are everyday hazards on your job – these lead to injury and sometimes even death.  We’re not talking about the “big jobs” you are always anticipating.  We’re talking about daily occurrences.  It’s easy to not worry yourself about these, and instead only focus on preparing for the “big job,” but don’t just do that.  Think about, and prepare for, these daily hazards in your down time and you will be safer every day.

Check out this article on the topic:   

On the Line: Waiting for the Big One (Fire Engineering, Dec. 2011)

They focus on knowing your area, knowing where your water supply will come from, apparatus safety on scene, knowing how use the tools available to you, and basic firefighting skills (standpipe operations, foam application, and ladders).  We’ve compiled online and TCFP Library resources surrounding these issues for your easy reference.  Please contact our library for assistance in finding similar resources on any topic of interest to you. 

Know Your Area & Pre-Planning

Overcoming Challenges to Scene Access (Fire Engineering)
NFPA 1620: Standard for Pre-Incident Planning

How to Apply NFPA 1620 to Pre-Incident Planning (Fire Chief, 2011)

Pre-Planning For Your Life (Firehouse, 2008)

PRE-INCIDENT & FIRE SAFETY SURVEYS 

Know Where Your Water Supply Is Coming From

Modern approaches to suppression (FireRescue1, 2011)
How to determine selection of water application (FireRescue1, 2011)

Effective Use of Master Streams (Firehouse Magazine, 2011)

WATER SUPPLY
COORDINATED FIRE ATTACK
FIRE STREAMS
WATER SHUTTLE & RELAY PUMPING

Apparatus Safety on the Scene

VEHICLE OPERATIONS AND SCENE SAFETY 

FIREFIGHTING TACTICS AT VEHICLE FIRES, PART 1 

HIGHWAY SAFETY FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES 

SAFE PARKING: TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

TEN CONES OF HIGHWAY SAFETY 

Standpipes

SPRINKLERS AND STANDPIPES 
STANDPIPE OPERATIONS  

Foam Applications

COMPRESSED AIR FOAM: VOLUME 1 AND 2 

FOAM FIRE STREAMS 

Ladders

LADDERS 1
LADDERS 2
Drill:  Ground Ladder Carry/Raise (Fire Engineering)

Drill: Are You Smarter Than a Rookie Firefighter? Ground Ladder (Fire Engineering)

Emergency Egress on the Fireground: The Ladder Bail (Firehouse)

What tools could you use more practice in using?

What’s your favorite basic training drill?

Where can you, and your fellow firefighters, improve when it comes to day-to-day practices?