Memories of FDIC
The week before last I was fortunate to attend three days of classroom instruction and meetings with outstanding instructors at the Fire Department Instructors Conference in Indianapolis. My interest (as you might guess) was directed toward those classes pertaining with emergency responder liability issues, the number of which has grown substantially in the last few years. According to schedule these sessions were limited to an hour and forty-five minutes in length, but the information (as one instructor pointed out), if presented fully, would fill the entire conference and perhaps a college course curriculum. Nevertheless, I brought useful materials and suggestions home to my department to reduce exposure to risk and minimize potential liability in several areas, including the following:
.jpg)
On a topic that is definitely gaining more attention these days Lt. Michael Wilbur (FDNY) gave a relevant talk on Developing a Risk-Management Program for Emergency Vehicle Driving. He stressed the need to maintain not only detailed training records for operators but to document all apparatus use by each member indicating the run type (Code 1 or 3) and the miles driven. Lt. Wilbur also reviewed the NFPA standards for emergency vehicles and their operators and discussed the “due regard for safety of others” standard of care used in court proceedings. Interestingly, we learned that 28% of all emergency vehicle accidents happened while the apparatus was in reverse – for which there should be no excuse! Finally Lt. Wilbur explored the issue whether AOs should be CDL certified.
Deputy Chief (Ret.) John K. Murphy (Eastside WA Fire and Rescue), an attorney, provided insight from a legal as well as an operational perspective on Training Officer Liabilities. His discussion revolved around the premise that liability prevention is about meeting or exceeding expectations. NFPA standards regarding qualifications of instructors, use of a safety officer, rules for live fire exercises, and wellness considerations were reviewed. Chief Murphy stressed that the training event should be planned to manage the unexpected.
I was also very excited and pleased to meet Chief David “Chip” Comstock, Jr. (Western Reserve Fire District, Poland OH), also an attorney, whom I had occasion to communicate electronically with years before when the National Association of Fire and Emergency Service Attorneys was just getting off the ground. Chief Comstock’s talk on The First Amendment and the Firehouse explored issues such as freedom of speech and association as contrasted against a department’s right to maintain order and discipline. It was a discussion that could have lasted days!
.jpg)
Finally I must publically thank hosts Rhett Fleitz (The Fire Critic) and John Mitchell (Fire Daily) for allowing me to participate as a guest on their Firefighter Netcast BlogTalk Radio show to discuss the legal rights and ramifications of Distribution of Photos and Videos Taken by Firefighters at Work. Not only are Rhett and John professional firefighters by day but they have become webcast personalities in their own right among fire and EMS listeners. Thanks again, guys, for your hospitality and courtesies.
.jpg)
Because formulating policies and procedures based upon known risks may be too late, subjecting both departments and personnel to possible civil and criminal sanctions, it is incumbent that emergency services anticipate changes in technology and be prepared to meet standards for services based upon changing laws to remain viable and competent operations. The Law Office of Fred Simon will assist emergency services to recognize the importance of planning and be a resource for solutions to address these challenges and evolving liability concerns.
Effective and responsible communication with the media by emergency services is a necessity for maintaining cooperation and obtaining (as much as possible) fair reporting. However, the general public’s need to know must be balanced by a department’s protection of individual privacy rights, honoring privileged information, and the preservation of evidence for proper authorities. For these reasons it seems, PIOs or Public Information Officers were born..jpg)
Our department’s Mission Statement contains six succinct, but equally important directives, one of which is “solve the problem.” No customer or patient can be satisfied unless first responders solve their problem. The most efficient and effective path to that result is by adhering to department SOPs.
As the old saying goes, “what if you gave a party and nobody came?” Well, what if you had a fire and nobody came? Sounds incredible but it happens.
In our department we are fortunate enough to provide annual physical examinations (including sight and hearing tests, TB test and blood work analysis with physician review) plus professionally administered stress tests to our members. In addition, we require the completion of an annual physical agility course (tailored to job specific activities) to assure a level of fitness sufficient to engage in fire suppression work. In fact, our department won’t even allow a member to start the agility test without predetermined acceptable (blood pressure and pulse rate) vital signs..jpg){kind=small}
On a recent visit to Arizona my wife and I had a chance to attend an open house at Carefree Fire and Rescue, took a tour of the station, exchanged tee shirts and discuss its operations. One interesting topic involved run volume and the nature of their emergency responses. Like most departments, in terms of numbers Carefree Fire answers mostly medical calls. What was surprising however was the second most common emergency response – not fire, not hazmat. It was (rattle)snake removal! No doubt this service requires a different sort of specialized training; a service that I would gladly leave to others, thank you very much.