Fairfax, VA – A recommended activity schedule for the 2006 International Fire Fighter Safety Stand Down has been developed and is posted online athttp://www.iafc.org/standdown. The Fire Fighter Safety Stand Down, scheduled to start June 21 and continue until all personnel and duty nights have been covered, is sponsored by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the IAFC’s Volunteer and Combination Officers’ Section (VCOS) in partnership with nearly 20 national fire service organizations.
The activity schedule includes suggestions for drills; topics for discussion; vehicle and equipment safety checks; healthy meals; and physical activities.
也posted on www.iafc.org/standdown are a number of firefighter safety resources on emergency vehicle safety, including:
- Training and drill topics;
- Accident reports;
- SOPs/SOGs;
- Articles; and
- Posters and handouts.
Links to vehicle safety programs include theIAFF Emergency Vehicle Safety Program,USFA Emergency Vehicle Safety Initiative, and theNVFC Emergency Vehicle Safe Operating Program.
The activity schedule and resources were developed by the IAFC’s Safety, Health and Survival Section and the IAFF Department of Occupational Safety, Health and Medicine.
The 2006 Stand Down sponsors and partners urge all fire departments in the United States and Canada to suspend all non-emergency activity and instead focus entirely on fire fighter safety. This year’s Stand Down will focus on emergency vehicle safety, including seatbelt usage and safe driving through intersections.
“Sadly, 106 firefighters died in the line of duty last year. Many of the accidents occurred in department vehicles,” says IAFC President Chief Bill Killen. “We want to focus on areas of safety where we can have the most impact.”
“We must take dramatic steps to reduce the fire fighter death and injury rates,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “While firefighter safety must be part of everyday life in the fire service, the Safety Stand Down raises awareness of the issue and calls international attention to the unacceptable number of firefighter line-of-duty deaths.”
“Every day, firefighters handle dangerous situations. We must make significant changes to our culture to prevent future deaths and injuries and reinforce the message of safety in everything we do. Ask yourself each day, ‘What can I do to promote safety?’ And then do it,” said Chief Timothy Wall, chair of the IAFC’s Volunteer and Combination Officers’ Section.
