Report on Residential Fireground Field Experiments
(Chief Randy Bruegman, President of CPSE and CFAI-Risk, was a featured speaker at the press briefing for the release of the NIST Report on Residential Fireground Field Experiments. The following are his comments presented before a meeting of major fire service stakeholders.)
When NFPA 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment for Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments, was passed in May 2000, there was a great deal of debate and in some cases fear by those in local government about how the standard would be applied. Much of the discussion revolved around the fact many of the standards that are adopted more on experience than on good science.
After listening to the level of debate for several months, as second vice president of the IAFC, I approached the Board of Directors and asked for their support of a study on community risk, the deployment of resources, and the impact on firefighter safety and outcome. With their support, we began outreach to stakeholder groups, such as the National Institute Standards and Technology, Worchester Polytechnic, specific groups within the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the Center for Public Safety of Excellence (CPSE). A subsidiary of CPSE, CFAI-Risk was fortunate to be awarded a grant to begin this study. Phase I included a significant industry literature review, the development of a risk model for communities, and the design of a survey that is being completed right now by over 400 departments nationally, which will provide the basis for comparative analysis of actual emergencies to the report released today on the fireground field experiments.
The overarching objective of this multi-phase study is to develop a modeling system by which a community can make quality judgments as to the deployment of the resources versus the risk protected. All too often departments with varying degrees of community risk, staffing, and deployment often approach the problems in a very similar manner. This increases the risk to the community and to firefighting personnel. This study, as well as future related studies, will put science behind the discussion of community risk versus the deployment of resources and match deployment of manual suppression forces to the risk found in a community, taking into account such factors as fixed fire protection, public education, engineering, and enforcement.
The release of the report on Residential Fireground Experiments provides very insightful data, which can be used by local fire chiefs, city and county managers, and elected officials to assess their ability to protect the most common fire responded to in the United States, which is the residential dwelling. It is our hope with the release of this report and future research, a model will be developed for local government to use to enable fire departments, cities, counties, and fire districts to design an acceptable level of resources based upon community risk and service provision commitment.
Over the past three decades fire department response has expanded from fire prevention and fire suppression to include a multiple of other community risks, such as emergency medical services, hazardous materials response, special rescues and operations. Today, these demands and public expectations placed on local fire departments continue to rise as threats to communities from both natural and manmade disasters including terrorism have reached new heights. This multi-phase study on firefighter safety and deployment conducted under grants from the Department of Homeland Security Assistance to Firefighter Grant Program will provide much needed research for local government to meet these changing service demands, which are delivered at the local level.