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Near Miss Hits New Milestone

The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System reached another milestone this month when it posted its 2000^th report to the website. Report #08-511 was submitted on October 14, 2008. It documents a highway incident that has a favorable outcome because the crews maintained situational awareness and employed best practices to avert injury. Visit www.firefighternearmiss.com to view the report. The reporter notes:

“Situational awareness is a key. The cold, the bridge, the sprinklers, time of day are all contributing factors to a potentially bad outcome. Something had already gone wrong for someone and that's why we were there anyway. Preparation and knowing how and where to position and what the created safety zones are leads to going home the next day… A couple of seconds sooner or later and this would have been a tragic event instead of property damage only.”

            Comments from around the fire service industry are hailing the achievement as a sign that the fire service, particularly users of the system, recognize the value of sharing experiences and how contributing these experiences is a change toward a safer fire service. IAFC President, Chief Larry Grorud said, “Although mistakes are inevitable, if you are trying to get things done, the key is to learn from them. The firefighter near-miss program provides an excellent forum to do just that from individuals who share their experience so that we can learn and be safer if faced with similar situations.”

Ed Mann, Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner, added, “The fact that we now have 2000 near misses reported means many things to many people. In my eyes it means the fire service is talking and taking action regarding safety. This is a shift in our culture and will no doubt assist in obtaining the goal of reducing line of duty deaths.”

Danielle Cagan, National Heritage Program Director at Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company said, “We proudly support the near-miss program as part of our efforts to improve firefighter safety and reduce line of duty deaths.  This is a significant milestone and each new report allows more firefighters to learn from each other’s experiences.”   Fireman’s Fund® generously provided funding for the development of the program and since 2004, has awarded more than $20 million in grants to support the fire and emergency services.

            Finally, a line firefighter shares his thoughts by commenting, “2000 reports submitted with one goal in mind and that is to share a lesson learned with my brothers and sisters in the fire service that will hopefully prevent them from injury or harm.”

            “Near Miss” as the system is coming to be known, continues to become a more familiar tool for firefighters and fire and emergency departments to use. Data from the system has already made its way into the fire service in the form of case studies for fire service texts, training curricula, CEUs for FDSOA members, and drills, data for departments to use as they build their safety programs, and even as references for SOP development.

            Near-miss has many elements to officer the fire and emergency community through aspects like our resources page. The resources page has useful tools such as power points, photos and original pieces like the 2009 near-miss calendar. The Near-Miss Calendar, “Safety 24/7/365”was such a success last year that we are bringing it back to share with the fire and emergency community for 2009. A copy can be obtained one of three ways, first through the resources section of www.firefighternearmiss.com; second they will be inserted in each November issue of Fire Rescue Magazine, and by e-mailing us at nearmiss@iafc.org with requests. If you have any questions please contact us at nearmiss@iafc.org or call 703/537-4848.

About the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System
The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System is a free, voluntary, confidential, non-punitive and secure reporting system with the goal of improving firefighter safety. It is funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program and is managed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. The program is also supported by FireFighterCloseCalls.com in mutual dedication to firefighter safety and survival.

International Association of Fire Chiefs

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