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Ditm 615 0902_lydic
- 2. What do these professions have in common? firefighter baker athlete
- 3. What is heat stress? Major forms of heat illness: Heat cramps Heat exhaustion Heat stroke
- 4. Why is this important? Supervisory responsibility
- 5. Duty to Protect Health and Safety OSHA “general duty” clause NFPA Standards Supervisory responsibility
- 6. Benefits of Providing Rehabilitation Protect health and safety Maximize work times Customer service “Right thing to do” Protect department Supervisory responsibility
- 7. Risks of Not Providing Rehabilitation Standard of care Potential lawsuits •Firefighter Dies in Training •Maryland Parents Sue County Supervisory responsibility
Editor's Notes
- In all of these professions, workers have died from heat stress.In 2001, a baker died from heat stress in Ontario, CanadaIn 2004, this bakery was fined $215,000 for failing to implement a heat stress programSeveral football players, both school and professionals have died of heat stress over the past few years. Cory Stringer’s widow attempted to sue the NFL. Maryland firefigher dies from heat stress during training. The parents sue the department for $1,000,000 for negligence.
- Anyone in a supervisory position has the responsibility to care for the health and safety of those they are responsible for.
- NFPA standards and guidelines suggest that workers and supervisors should be aware of the signs and symptoms of heat stress to protect themselves and those that they supervise. OSHA “general duty” clause places a duty on employers to take reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of workers.NFPA Standards require rehabilitation: Rehab to be provided where required (1500) Is part of tactical level management (1561) Provides a “Recommended Practice for rehab (1584)
- Chief Officers must understand that proper rehab is not a waste of time. Even those that have limited resources need to know that ultimately, you can have a firefighter perform his or her tasks safely and longer if they have been provided with good rehabilitation.Will protect firefighters’ health and safetyCan maximize cumulative work timesProvide better customer serviceIs the right thing to doWill protect department against potential liability
- Perhaps the question we need to ask here is when will the failure to provide adequate rehabilitation to prevent heat stress become the “standard of care” that would be expected of a fire department. In all likelihood, this will become the case when a few organizations are found negligent for failing to provide an adequate heat stress prevention program. Seattle Fire Department was recently fined a substantial sum for failing to provide such a program. Examples:Firefighter Dies in TrainingRecruit firefighter Andrew Waybrightcollapsed during a training exercise in extreme heatCivilians stopped to help - offered to call 911Were “shooed” away by Academy personnel and told recruit was “played out”Pronounced dead at hospital - temperature was 107.4°FThis case might become a piece of case law that will later define what is expected of supervisors regarding the prevention of heat stress.Maryland Parents Sue County Over Son’s Death During Firefighter TrainingTraining Officer alleged to be “an untrained leader, for failing to provide hydration, failure to carry basic first aid, and failure to inform recruits of the exercise session”.Failed to meet duty “to provide training exercises in a reasonable and safe manner such that they did not endanWaybright’s parents suing for $1 millionger the health of the recruits”. As mentioned earlier, the law expects us to take all reasonable precautions to protect the health and safety of workers. Cases like this one will likely set the tone to determine what is reasonable and hence what is expected in this area.