BY SHANE M. RUTLEDGE
Over the past 100 years, many modern improvements have contributed to the safety of firefighters-the National Incident Management System, the Incident Command System, advances in our personal protective equipment, and a countless number of safety improvements in our response apparatus. Yet with all these advancements, each year there are approximately 100 firefighter fatalities and 81,070 line-of-duty injuries, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.1 Pick up any magazine or read any fire-related manual, and the associated facts will show that we are not dying from new causes; they are the same causes that have happened in the past. We must ask ourselves, "Why is it that we allow this to continue when we know the exact cause of each event? Why isn't safety the primary value within our occupation?"
Consider the double-fatality training event that happened on January 25, 2009. Members of a Texas fire department were familiarizing themselves with a newly purchased aerial ladder platform apparatus when, suddenly, two members were thrown from the platform-both falling 83 feet to their deaths. Were these members practicing safety during their training session? Was a safety officer assigned as they were performing the unfamiliar operations? What was the fire department's safety culture during this tragic event? The intent here is to not lay blame but rather to prevent future mishaps. Below is the description and an analysis of the incident, some additional facts, and the recommendations on how departments can prevent similar safety violations within their organization.
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