FIRE FIGHTER FATALITY INVESTIGATION AND PREVENTION

Our Work, Reviewed

Progress Report and Proposed Future Directions – 2011

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is committed to ensuring that the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) is meeting the needs and expectations of the U.S. fire service. NIOSH has sought public input to help plan and direct the goals and objectives of the FFFIPP since the program was initiated in 1998. NIOSH received public comments on the FFFIPP in January 1998, March 2006, and November 2008.

Most recently, in November 2008, nineteen fire service representatives attended a FFFIPP public stakeholder meeting held in Chicago. The organizations represented included the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the United States Fire Administration (USFA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the ISO, the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF). Several of these groups made presentations and all contributed comments to the docket.

The primary modifications made to the FFFIPP following the November 2008 stakeholder meeting were to finalize the FFFIPP strategic plan, add information on pending investigations to the FFFIPP website, modify the fatality investigation reports to create an executive summary and clearly identify contributing factors, and to continue to increase the depth of the investigations through expert consultation and increased attention to the identification of contributing factors such as fire growth.

NIOSH is again seeking stakeholder input on the progress and future directions of the NIOSH FFFIPP to ensure that the program is meeting the needs and expectations of the U.S. fire service, and to identify ways in which the program can be improved to increase its impact on the safety and health of fire fighters across the United States.

This document summarizes modifications and future directions to the FFFIPP.

Progress Report and Proposed Future Directions – 2011 [PDF 64 KB]