Pass It Along

The Department encourages all members to participate in both reviewing & contributing to the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System. This is an excellent website that is easy to navigate.  Familiarization with this program will help promote discussions on near-miss incidents as well as other safety concerns.

-Assistant Chief Allen S. Hay, Fire Department of the City of New York (NY)

 

Reporting, collecting and using this data enhance our ability to learn to work more safely.  We will never know the firefighters we are helping but they are out there.

-Report Submitter

 

As a result of reading this near-miss report, I was able to pass along information about a potential hazard.

-Commander Kip Stanger, Marietta Fire Department (GA)

 

Our job is to save lives & property.  It's also our job to help our fellow firefighters & this is one of the best ways to do that."

-Report Submitter

 

To hear seasonsed firefighters talk about cultural change, risk management, the big picture and slowing down has been very encouraging.  Near-miss reports are a great tool and I encourage every department to incorporate them into their training programs wherever they can.

-Tim Sendelbach, International Society of Fire Service Instructors

 

I got my crew together to watch me fill out the report to show how easy it was to submit a report.  We reviewed the incident and then did a search of similar reports.  I think this is the best way for people to get over any concerns about submitting a report.

-Report Submitter

 

Our department receives notification of new near miss reports from multiple sources. It is not uncommon for several reports to circulate through our department email system. We read and share the information throughout our district and learn valuable lessons from each report. Thank you for providing this invaluable service to fire departments everywhere. I often access the system through the Western Fire Chiefs Association “The Daily Dispatch” link to your site. The reporting system is a great resource for our department.  

Lt Rolland Watt , Training Division - Marion County Fire District No.1  (OR)

 

We use the Report of the Week as our weekly safety briefing.  There have been days when I can hear them still discussing the incident hours after the briefing.  I have had zero work-related incidents this year largely due to this program."

-Chief Thomas J. Braumiller, Pine Bluff Arsenal Fire & Emergency Services (AK)

 

I use the keyword search to find reports for my training needs.  It is easy to use, and I can quickly scan a lot of reports to find the ones I want to use."

-Report Submitter

 

This is the perfect place to research case study information.

-Captain Mark Turvey, Friendswood Volunteer Fire Department (TX)

 

My department has been using the system for more than a year and we are seeing positive results because of it.  We use the Report of the Week regularly for training bulletins.

-Report Submitter

 

Near-miss can help keep us all aware of potentially hazardous situations and help us fulfill our goal of ‘everyone goes home.’

-Firefighter Will Schwisow, Hobbs Fire Department (NM)

 

I was motivated to file a report because we were very close to being in a serious accident.  This was a way for me to get information out to other firefighters to prevent similar incidents.  It was very easy to enter a report.

-Report Submitter

 

Our department receives near-miss reports and shares the information throughout our district.  Thank you for providing this invaluable service to fire departments everywhere.  The reporting system is a great resource for our department.

-Lt. Rolland Watt, Marion County Fire District No. 1 (OR)

 

While we have always known that firefighters have had near miss-and direct hit events, there has never been a systematic and analytical way of determining what the issues really are. Actually, it seemed that few even wanted to talk about it...until now. The National Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System, well lead by the IAFC staff-and the reportees behind it, are helping bring us closer to the solutions that will significantly reduce firefighter injury-and death. With now over 500 documented cases, the foundation to the solution is well formed.

 -Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder, Loveland-Symmes Fire Department (OH)

 

The system is very useful in learning what situations / issues other departments and firefighters are encountering.

 -Assistant Chief Robert Piechura, West Allis Fire Department (WI)

 

The Near Miss Reporting System is a monumental achievement in the history of fire service safety. Finally the fire service now has a place to document, analyze and learn from our rich history of "kitchen table stories".   Some day, when firefighter fatalities are but a memory in the American fire service the Near Miss System will certainly be one of the major forces behind the change in safety culture.

-Chief I. David Daniels, International Director-IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section

 

I would like to thank your reviewer number one and firefighter near-miss reporting system. Com. I recently submitted a near miss, which turned out to be three near misses in one. The reviewer identified who he was and made me feel a lot better about how I felt. Gave me ways to try and fix some of the problems we where having. Sounded very professional and very knowledgeable and very concern and sensor.This web site will say lives, I believe it, people like me that run into that safety roadblock, can now have a way to express there frustration without felling bad. I thought maybe I was part of the problem but reviewer number one assured me I was not. He made me feel I was part of the solution and that I should not give up.  Again thank you firefighter near-miss reporting system and reviewer number one, your doing a great job keep it up.

-Report Submitter

 

The concept of near miss reporting is fantastic. Our safety committee has been working to provide this type of reporting internally to raise awareness in the department. The ability to do this as an industry and nation wide is fantastic. On behalf of the Albuquerque Area Fire Fighters Local 244 I believe that this project is very helpful in our cause to protect the safety of our members.

 

-Lieutenant Jim Dye Bernalillo County Fire Department (NM)

County Chapter President IAFF 244

 

Given the fact that in BC we have no NIOSH, OSHA or NFPA compliance requirements, we often struggle to find comparables.  With only the Provincial WCB Act to rely on for enforcement, it is difficult to find help with F/F’s issues that have some fact based evidence.  From the little I have been exposed to so far with your program, I am confident that there will be information that will apply to us in Surrey, which will save one of our own from serious injuries.

-Mike Starchuck, Secretary IAFF Local 1271

 

The National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System will be beneficial to firefighters all over the world.

-Edward A, Kelly, President IAFF Local 718

 

Having the ability to learn from brothers and sisters in the fire service about near miss events is essential. We must know about near miss events to break the cycle of line of duty injuries and deaths. The near miss reporting system is a great resource and will help reduce injuries by conveying information to all ranks of the fire service.

-Jay Blake, IAFF Local 1664

           

The Fire Fighter Near Miss Reporting System allows Fire Fighters and Fire Officers to realize cause and effect without having to suffer possible mental and/or physical trauma through personal experience. Reading through the reports reinforces the manylurking dangers and pitfalls that exist in our world and in many instances opens our eyes to chain of events that had not occurred to us previously.  This reporting system is a valuable tool and should be utilized by every fire department rank to inform, teach and reinforce how dangerous the job can be.  Near-Miss will be incorporated into our training program.

-Dominic Cutaia, President IAFF Local 1579