12. Violent Incident Response

National protocols for response to violent incidents should be developed and championed.

From the beginning of America’s fire service, firefighters have been responding to incidents that were the result of, or caused by, an act of violence. Fire departments respond to a wide range of events from the simple Saturday night altercation at the corner bar, to the events like: Watts, Columbine, Oklahoma City, 9/11, Webster, NY, or Gwinnett County, GA. On most occasions, the fire department responds, renders service, and returns to quarters. Unfortunately, over our history, not every member has been able to return home due to factors associated with violence.

In March 2006, former Peoria (AZ) Fire Department Fire Inspector Howard M. Munding produced a thesis titled “Violence Against Firefighter: Angels of Mercy Under Attack.” In the thesis, he quotes the stunning statistic that an estimated 700,000 assaults occur on paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) annually. Additionally, according to a 2008 National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Firefighter Fatality Report, 32 firefighters died from assaults while on duty in the report’s 32-year history. At the end of 2010, that number grew to 34, or one firefighter per year. In order to ensure that we meet our mission, to make sure everyone goes home, we offer the following strategies designed to reduce the likelihood of injury or death from responding to incidents of violence.

• Improved understanding and application of Dynamic Risk Management
• Initiate or improve communication with the local law enforcement component.
• Define and expand role of dispatchers in reducing risk
• Prohibit single (person) resource response to violent incidents
• Require use of an Incident Management System
• Communicate directly with Law Enforcement component prior to operating at an incident of violence.
• De-commit personnel and equipment and leave if violence commences or reoccurs during fire department operations
• Obtain stakeholder understanding and buy-in of response and deployment policies including non-response and non-engagement at incidents of violence.

Implementing these strategies will help reduce the likelihood of fire service members being injured or killed during a response to a violent incident. The 12th Initiative expands our understanding of how and where firefighters can be injured and demonstrates the need for the development of national protocols regarding violent incidents.

Latest Initiative 12 News

• Help Shape the Future of the Fire Service – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will host the National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium virtually in February and March to prioritize research that promotes firefighter safety, wellness, and efficiency.
• Responding to Mass Violence Incidents: A Conversation with Those Who Have Been There – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Medical University of South Carolina’s National Crime Victims Research Center have produced a webinar focusing on several events that occurred where small and medium sized fire departments found themselves in the middle of some of the nation’s most horrific human tragedies.
  » Watch the Webinar & Download the Sample SOG
• Promoting a Better Safety Climate for the Fire Service During Global Pandemic, Civil Unrest, and Wildland Fires – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the First Responder Center for Excellence (FRCE), once again, collaborated with Firehouse® and published the 2020 Fire Service Health & Safety Report. The 32 page report, which appears in September’s issue of Firehouse®, includes 13 articles written by respected leaders, authors and experts, covering a diversity of topics, including women in the fire service, the power of podcasts in promoting safety and health and changing the very culture of safety among the nation’s fire departments.
• Message to the Nation’s Fire Service from Chief Ronald J. Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation – Our mission also includes a focus on keeping firefighters safe. We urge each of you and your department to remain ever watchful and do all you can to return to your families safe and healthy. With that in mind, we’ve put together some important resources that may help you.
• Fire Hero Learning Network Registered Users Surpasses 100,000 – Since Fire Hero Learning Network went live, registered users have earned over 130,000 online learning certificates of completion. The knowledge gained from the modules better positions firefighters and officers as leaders in health and safety training in their respective departments.
• Improve the Decision-Making Skills and Safety of Your Firefighters – Earlier this fall, the September issue of Firehouse Magazine featured the 2019 Fire Service Health &and Safety Report. This 32-page supplement contains 15 articles by some the fire service’s most respected authors and some of its rising stars.
• Send the Everyone Goes Home® Program Your SOPs – We’re collecting information about SOPs on cancer reduction, violent incidents, mental health, and response policies to highlight best practices.
• Two Organizations Selected Co-Recipients of the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award – The Florida Firefighters Safety and Health Collaborative and the Denver Fire Department will receive the award at the 31st Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner on April 25, 2019, in Washington, DC.
• Are you part of a High School Fire or EMS Cadet program? – The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is planning the 2019 High School Fire and EMS Cadet Program Symposium and have developed a survey to identify specific areas of interest.
  » Take the Survey
• CFSI and NFFF Accepting Nominations for the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award – Co-sponsored by CFSI and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award was established in 2009 to recognize public safety organizations for outstanding contributions to the advancement of firefighter health and safety. Deadline for nominations is Dec. 6, 2018.