POOR STAFFING = DEADLY OUTCOMES?

FIREHOUSE.COM - Our "stand" on staffing has been real clear for several decades. It takes well- led, well-trained firefighters to fight fires based upon the pre-required tasks. How many do you need? Figure out the tasks and apply that number. If you have a small, single-family dwelling (1,000-square-foot, wood-frame dwelling in a hydrated area) fire that requires three handlines, use the guide to fire flow, it is here.

But let's look at that small house fire. What tasks do you want to perform and how many firefighters do you need minimally on the first alarm?

• Water supply (1 firefighter on the hydrant)

• Pump operator (1 firefighter)

• 3 handlines (3, 1 3/4-inch lines w/3 firefighters each= 9 firefighters)

• Force Entry, Search (2 firefighters)

• Vent (2 firefighters)

• Command (1 incident in front and one rear sector supervisor to allow for a 360 of the building) (2 firefighters)

• RIT (3 firefighters)

You need at least 20 firefighters at the very minimum for your first alarm assignment. And that's just on the initial dispatch. If there are multiple calls or any indications of a working fire, double or triple that staffing number. And while those numbers are a good start, they are for a small single-family dwelling. We are not even including an aide at the command post, safety officers, rehab, EMS and other tasks. Now do the staffing math for an occupied four-story ordinary construction multi-family dwelling.

The Globe in Boston as well as Firehouse.com is reporting that staffing is again being pointed at as a possible reason why a civilian died in a fire. In Gloucester, MA, a 70-year-old man was killed Saturday after his four-story apartment building burned right near the Gloucester Fire Department (GFD) headquarters on a night when the GFD acknowledges that they were understaffed by at least two firefighters.

As it should have been, the truck company responded to rescue the man at about 1230 hours yesterday but as it shouldn't have -it had only a single firefighter assigned to it because the other two crew members had been sent to unrelated emergencies. The driver, firefighter James Capillo, had to recruit two police officers to help him set up a 35-foot ground ladder below the victim's window.

Witnesses saw Taylor waving his arms through the smoke, but by the time the ladder was set up, he had disappeared. Firefighter Marc Nicastro went inside as other firefighters below urged him to stay out. The young firefighter reached Taylor's side, but the disabled man was too heavy to move. Firefighter Nicastro had to retreat as the room was about to flash. His efforts were clearly heroic in spite of a local government and community that continues to vote down the needed funding to provide the staffing needed.

The GFD, that has had staffing shortages since voters rejected a tax increase in 2004, confirmed that there were only 15 firefighters working Friday night. Minimum staffing levels in the union contract call for at least 17. Initially, the chief said only a handful of the on-duty firefighters went to the scene because the caller had only reported a smoke alarm going off. The chief acknowledged that the shortage of firefighters could have made the fast-moving fire more difficult to contain at first. Other firefighters from 17 towns and government agencies eventually came to assist.

Mayor John Bell said, "We have suffered from the same pain as most of the other cities and towns in Massachusetts, which have been cut back in local aid over the past six or seven years." Things are not great relative to funding levels," he said. "Cutbacks have been made against increased levels of health insurance, energy costs, contractual agreements." He expressed his support of the fire department's response to the fire. "My hats are off to the entire fire department," he said. Hmmmm.

It is difficult to think that most departments these days can expect to provide all the needed staffing to handle all the emergencies. But when it comes to fire response, planning ahead and a true automatic mutual aid system (where your neighbors are dispatched at the same time you are to provide the minimally needed staffing) between departments can help solve the problem potentially saving civilian as well as firefighters' lives.

How much staffing do we need? Well-that depends on what is reported to be on fire. Do the fire flow and task math (and do it well before the fire!). The above example we provided for a 1,000-square foot dwelling has a very significantly different first alarm requirement than the first alarm assignment in an occupied multi-family dwelling. For the multi-family dwelling, you may need 40 or more firefighters on the first alarm...if you want to have a shot at performing the needed tasks simultaneously. After all, you can perform all the tasks with just 10 firefighters, eventually and at the risk of lives including your firefighters...and often you will simply run out of building as it burns down while you try and do the work of 40-50 firefighters with a half dozen.

Folks who do not support this concept of "full" first alarm assignments often want to "wait until we get there and see what we really need" Why? Isn't the person on the phone saying their house is on fire isn't good enough?!

Or, "we don't want to risk all that equipment on the road." Why? Just slow down, drive sanely, stop at red lights (stop on red or someone is dead) and stop signs" That's a training and supervision issue. Not a "too much equipment on the road" issue.

Or, "we don't want to bother or neighboring fire department" Why? What else were they doing besides listening to your fire and wishing they could come help as you try and do the work of many with few?

When taxpayers say no, sometimes we need to do what they ask, provide the level they asked for and make it clear what we can do with what they provide us with-and what we cannot do. Firefighter Nicastro went above and beyond attempting to save that man. He went above and beyond even though the majority of taxpayers told him not to. The voters and elected officials decided a level of staffing and that's the level of service they should get. No emotions. It's simple math.

Fortunately, for most communities, there are other "Marc Nicastros," firefighters who are willing to do what it takes in spite of it all...even though that firefighter shouldn't have had to be predictably placed in that position.

Fortunately the poor staffing issue didn't cost Marc his life this time - but it may have cost Mr. Taylor his. Some say you just can't say that, that you just really never know if the correct staffing would have mattered in saving a life.

The simple response to that is to ask the naysayers what they want when their loved ones are inside the house? That's the real answer. Ask them what they want responding when their kid, their wife, their husband, their Mom or Dad, whoever they say "I love you" to...when they are trapped in a dwelling fire. No dramatics. No nonsense. Just answer the question. What do you want responding, how many do you want and how long do you want them to take to get there? And when they, the firefighters, arrive, what tasks do you want them performing for those who you love?

Simple questions on the issues of staffing, costs of staffing, what the taxpayers expect and the potentially deadly outcomes.

That's really the issue and the questions that have to be asked-and answered. Unless we want to start discussing mandatory retroactive fire sprinkler systems...and that's a completely different.

This page tells about fire department National Staffing Standards.
These standards are defined by NFPA 1710.
It also tells how the Washington Township Fire Department compares
to these national standards.

NFPA 1710 Fact Sheet for the Public

Who is the NFPA?

     The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a non-profit organization established to create standards of operation for fire departments throughout the country. The codes written by the NFPA are considered the standard that fire departments are expected to meet. These codes include everything from safety equipment worn by fire fighters, apparatus and equipment used in the fire service to minimum staffing of a career fire department. These codes not only protect fire fighters, but also protect citizens by giving cities standards of operation that are expected to be met. NFPA codes are not laws, but rather standards of quality to ensure the health and safety of everyone affected by any fire department.

     NFPA guidelines are set up based on research performed by trained members of the association. Scientific research, such as fire behavior in different environments and how different synthetic materials affect the burn process, is used in part to establish these guidelines. Previous history of fire department responses across the country can help the NFPA to have standards of how many firefighters it takes to effectively perform necessary tasks. Independent studies performed by groups like the American Heart Association help the NFPA in writing codes regarding EMS response. NFPA is such a respected organization in the fire department community that many cities and departments are adopting strict NFPA guidelines to make their fire departments up to national standards.

Why does this matter here?

     NFPA Code 1710-Standard for Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments- involves staffing of career fire departments. In this code, the NFPA has used scientific evidence, past history and first hand experience to establish the minimum number of personnel required to safely and effectively operate on a fire scene. NFPA 1710 guidelines say that a first arriving company must consist of 4 fire fighters and arrive within 4 minutes of the initial 911 call. For an initial full alarm assignment (any structure fire) minimum personnel on scene should consist of 15-17 fire fighters arriving on scene within 8 minutes of the initial 911 call.

     Presently in Washington Township due to staffing numbers, the first arriving company consists only of 2 to 4 fire fighters. However, due to understaffing, the number of personnel on scene are not up to the standards that are nationally accepted. Typically, we run with not less than 3 at all times.