6742 Ch 2 PowerPoint

1. Fire Department Incident Safety
Officer
Third Edition
Chapter 2 — Safety Concepts

2. ‣ Describe the safety and health practices accepted by the risk-
reduction industry.
‣ Identify management principles needed to promote safety in
the response environment.
‣ List the three components of the safety triad for the
operational environment.
‣ Differentiate formal and informal processes as well as
procedures and guidelines.
‣ List the qualities of a well-written procedure or guideline.
Knowledge Objectives (1 of 2)

3. ‣ Discuss the external influences on safety equipment design
and purchase.
‣ List and discuss the three factors that contribute to a person’s
ability to act safely.
‣ Define risk management.
‣ Identify and explain the five steps of classic risk management.
‣ Describe the hierarchy of controls used to reduce accidents
and injuries.
Knowledge Objectives (2 of 2)

4. ‣ Many fire officers would prefer to skip the theory
‣ ISOs must be well-grounded in recognized safety concepts
– Safety triad
– Five-step risk management model
– Risk/benefit thinking
Introduction: Theory Versus Reality

5. ‣ Creating a safe operational environment is dependent on
three components: procedures, equipment, and personnel
The Operational Safety Triad
Courtesy of David Dodson
Courtesy of David Dodson Courtesy of David Dodson

6. The Operational Safety Triad: Procedures
(1 of 4)
‣ Formal (written) process
‣ Defined in writing and can take on many forms:
‣ Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
‣ Standard operating guidelines (SOGs)
‣ Departmental directives
‣ Temporary memorandums
‣ Some fire departments recognize both procedures
and guidelines

7. ‣ Informal process
– Operation or process that is part of the department’s
routine but that is not written
– Typically learned through new member training, on-the-job
training, and day-to-day routine
The Operational Safety Triad: Procedures
(2 of 4)

8. ‣ Writing SOPs
– Perform a needs
assessment and flag areas
in which firefighters and
officers need guidance
– Look at external influences
The Operational Safety Triad: Procedures
(3 of 4)

9. The Operational Safety Triad: Procedures
(4 of 4)
‣ Qualities of a good SOP
– Simple language and clear direction
– Tested technique and easy interpretation
– Applicability to many scenarios
– Specificity only in relation to critical or life-endangering
points

10. The Operational Safety Triad: Equipment
(1 of 2)
‣ Department mission
‣ Scope of offered services
‣ Equipment necessary
‣ External influences
‣ Look at required equipment
‣ Equipment maintenance
‣ Complete documentation of repairs and maintenance is
essential

11. ‣ Seven items to consider when writing equipment guidelines:
‣ Selection
‣ Use
‣ Cleaning and decontamination
‣ Storage
‣ Inspection
‣ Repairs
‣ Criteria for retirement
The Operational Safety Triad: Equipment
(2 of 2)

12. The Operational Safety Triad: Personnel
(1 of 4)
‣ Training
‣ Specific qualities should be present in the training
‣ Clear objectives
‣ Applicability to incident handling
‣ Established proficiency level
‣ Identification of potential hazards
‣ Definition of the acceptable risk to be taken
‣ List of options, should something go wrong
‣ Accountability to act as trained

13. ‣ Training
‣ The training program must
include the right subjects
‣ Training vs. education
The Operational Safety Triad: Personnel
(2 of 4)

14. ‣ Health
‣ Safety and well-being of firefighters are enhanced when they
improve their overall health
‣ Physical health
‣ Annual health screening, vaccination and immunization
offerings, fitness, education, rehabilitation
‣ Mental health
‣ Training firefighters to recognize incident stress signs and
symptoms; professional and peer outreach options,
including for firefighters’ families; accessing local and
national resources
The Operational Safety Triad: Personnel
(3 of 4)

15. ‣ Attitude factors
‣ Safety culture
‣ Death and injury history
‣ Example set by chiefs, line officers, and veteran
firefighters
The Operational Safety Triad: Personnel
(4 of 4)

16. Five-Step Risk Management (1 of 7)
‣ Risk management is the
process of minimizing the
chance, degree, or
probability of damage,
injury, or loss.

17. ‣ Step 1: Hazard identification
‣ Identifying hazards
‣ Primary function of an ISO
‣ Real-time process
‣ Spot current and evolving hazards
‣ Loss history
‣ Spot trends
‣ Identify hazards
Five-Step Risk Management (2 of 7)

18. ‣ Step 2: Hazard evaluation
‣ Value is established
‣ Frequency (probability: high, medium, low)
‣ Severity (harmful consequence or cost)
‣ Risk matrix can be plotted
‣ Judgments
‣ Training
‣ Education
‣ Intuition
Five-Step Risk Management (3 of 7)

19. ‣ Step 3: Hazard prioritization
‣ Divide the matrix into three
hazard classes
‣ The ISO must address
Priority 1 hazards
‣ Some Priority 3 items may
not get addressed
Five-Step Risk Management (4 of 7)

20. ‣ Step 4: Hazard control
‣ Overall strategy is called mitigation
‣ Design
‣ Guard
‣ Warn
‣ Complex hierarchy
‣ Eliminate through design
‣ Substitute
‣ Isolate
‣ Adopt engineered controls
‣ Apply administrative controls
Five-Step Risk Management (5 of 7)

21. ‣ Step 4: Hazard control (cont.)
‣ Countermeasures are actions used for mitigation
‣ Hazard reduction
‣ The fire service mitigation hierarchy
‣ Elimination
‣ Reduction
‣ Adaption
‣ Transfer
‣ Avoidance
Five-Step Risk Management (6 of 7)

22. ‣ Step 5: Hazard monitoring
‣ Changes in equipment, staffing, and procedures:
‣ Create hazards
‣ Alter hazards
‣ Eliminate hazards
‣ The ISO is always monitoring hazards
‣ Cyclic thinking
‣ Fire is dynamic
Five-Step Risk Management (7 of 7)

23. Risk/Benefit Thinking
‣ Weakness of the five-step model
‣ No provisions for acceptable risk-taking
‣ Simple question
‣ Are the risks being taken by firefighters (hazard
exposure) worth the benefit that can be gained (such
as saving another human)?