March 2015 - Council on Firefighter Training

Council on Firefighter Training
Your Hood and What You Should Know
GREETINGS OKLA- and bring you the latest information.
HOMA FIREFIGHT- The following is article by Guy Lucas.
ERS!
Guy posted it on the Firehouse blog.
The Yukon Fire
Structural firefighter hoods aren’t
Department
re- going away, nor should they. Hoods
cently opened its stand as a key form of protection for
Command Training a firefighter’s neck, ears, head, and
Center (CTC). After face. There is no doubt fire hoods have
a near miss on a helped prevent countless burn injuries
Jon Hansen, COFT
structure fire (see throughout the years - that is the good
Executive Director
picture), Chief Kevin part.
The bad part is that structural fire
Jones was committed to finding a bet- hoods, unlike structural turnout gear,
ter way to manage fire and emergency are without any type of water repellent
operations. After lengthy research, finish or barrier. The result is a single
Chief Jones selected the “Blue Card or double layer hood, wrapped around
Hazard Zone Management System”. the head and neck, with no way of preThe program is designed to manage lo- venting smoke and moisture, and the
cal, NIMS type 4 and 5 incidents. These 2 Incident
Types account for 99%
of any fire department’s
incident activity. Training
is conducted through a
50 hour on line course
and 24 hours of evaluated simulation training.
The Yukon facility is a
regional CTC, and will be
open to fire departments
across the area. The
Midwest City Fire Department is also opening
a regional CTC at Rose The house fire where Yukon Firefighters
State College in Mid- were almost trapped inside. This event
west City. Contact Major motivated Chief Jones to adopt the Blue Card
Kyle Trumbly, Yukon Fire Management System. Training Officer or Midwest City Fire Chief Jarett Metheny for a tour or information contaminants within the smoke and
about their facilities. We are currently moisture, from penetrating through the
working with the Tulsa Fire Department material towards the skin.
For anyone questioning whether or
on a CTC in their new training center.
COFT has put 75 Oklahoma Company not this topic is a big deal, I would ask
and Chief Officers through the online you the same question I have heard Jim
portion of the Blue Card program to Evans of Citrosqueeze ask on numerous
occasions: “If you had a newborn baby,
date.
would you feel comfortable wrapping
SO YOU THINK YOUR HOOD IS SAFE?
that baby up with your PPE (in this
As we have promised in the past, case a fire hood)?” If the answer is no
COFT will continue to make sure you and in part because of the dirt and carhave the latest information on Fire Ser- cinogens you suspect are on your hood
vice Cancer issues. Please take advan- - why would you pull that hood over your
tage of the resources we currently have head?
available. We will continue to research
This has been a hot topic - one that
is currently being investigated by a task
group from the NFPA 1971 committee. Led by Jim Reidy of the San Antonio, Texas, Fire Department, the driving
force behind the need for a solution lies
in the higher percentages of cancer
diagnoses among those in the fire service compared to the general public.
As stated by Reidy, “While our cancer
LODDs don’t die on the fireground, they
do die from the fire. Anything we can
do to better protect our brothers and
sisters in the fire service, anything we
can do to lower our chances of getting
cancer, needs to be done even at a potential increased cost; what’s the life of
a firefighter worth?”
So what can be done?
The NFPA 1971 task group for
hoods has been meeting and exploring ways to address this problem. Currently, there are a couple options on
the table:
1. Apply a durable water repellent
(DWR) finish to the outer layer of the
knit hood material which would prevent
or reduce contaminants/carcinogens
from flowing towards the skin. This may
not be the perfect solution but it might
be the most economical one. This also
might be the solution that would be the
most comfortable and easiest to implement across the board. On the other
hand, this option might not do enough
to prevent contaminants and carcinogens from reaching the skin. Only time
will tell.
2. Add some type of barrier in between the two layers of hood material.
This solution would help protect the
wearer from blood borne pathogens
and carcinogens the same way moisture barriers work in structural turnout
gear. This also might be the most effective solution for preventing moisture
and carcinogens from reaching the skin.
On the other hand, this solution may be
more costly and may be uncomfortable
to the point fire fighters wouldn’t want
to wear them. The answers to these
potential concerns will only be known
after prototypes have been developed
and wear trials conducted.
Until a solution is found, firefighters
in San Antonio have found another way
to improve health and safety. San Antonio has bought two hoods for each firefighter in an effort to allow the hoods to
be washed and cleaned from dirt and
carcinogens after every fire. After the
fire, the hoods are washed at the station. When a firefighter’s hood is being
washed, they have a new/clean hood
to use. While this system isn’t perfect,
it reduces the amount of carcinogens
in contact with the firefighter’s skin and
the amount of time carcinogens are in
contact with the skin. SAFD’s hood program is a good example of how thinking outside the box can lead to better
health and safety for fire fighters.
The goal here is improved health
and safety for all firefighters. While the
journey towards this goal is never fast
enough and often not as economical as
we would like, achieving this goal is non
negotiable. Until a more permanent
solution is found, ask yourself what you
can do at your station or your department to keep your hoods cleaner, or
your gear cleaner, similar to the efforts
being made in San Antonio. One thing
is certain; doing nothing is not a good
option.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Don’t forget the Bob Smith Wildland Roundup hosted by the Atoka Fire
Department March 13,14, & 15. We
will be processing Volunteer Training
Incentive forms for all attendees. Mark
your calendar now for the Annual Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Conference, April 1518 in Weatherford. Chief Dennis Rubin
will be back for some great educational
programs.
Please continue take care of each
other! Buckle up, slow down, and don’t
forget situational awareness in or
around the hazard zone. Hope to see
you soon.
Remember, there is no reason to
repeat bad history.
JON
405-620-6262
jonh@coft-oklahoma.org
www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org
Council on Firefighter Training
Calera FD Earns Master Firefighter Certifications
Chief Bryan
Norton presents the
Firefighter of the Year
award to Lieutenant
Wines.
Firefighter Preston
Barkley receives a
Distinguished Service
Award from Chief Norton.
Calera Firefighters awarded COFT Master Firefighter Certifications.
Yukon Fire Opens Regional Command Training Center
Yukon Firefighters participate in a
Command Training Center Simulation.
Major Kyle Trumbly briefs
the news media and
guests before a Hazard Zone
Management demonstration.
Fire Chief Kevin Jones and Yukon Fire Officers who have completed
Blue Card certification along with Blue Cards, John Brunacini and
Yukon City Manager Grayson Bottom. www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org
Council on Firefighter Training
Destry Horton Wildland Fire School
Hosted by
Federal Wildland Fire Instructors teach safe back burning.
Student’s practicing with “Drip Cans”.
Small Engine operations. Attacking safely from the burned side.
BE CAREFUL & SLOW DOWN when driving
around heavy smoke conditions. You can
barely see the command vehicle & brush
pumper on the left side of the picture.
Situational awareness all the time!!!
Background, Live fire training at Fort Sill.
Practicing back fire and small engine operations. Luther Firefighters prepare to light
back fires with a drip can.
COFT staff assisting Volunteer Firefighters
with Earned Training Incentive forms on site
at Ft. Sill. If we missed you in Lawton, we will
see you in Atoka March 13, 14 & 15!
www.COFT-Oklahoma.org • 405-601-8862 • fax 405-601-7996 • email contact@coft-oklahoma.org