Category: 2019 Safety Stand Down

The 40 members of the Laguna Beach (CA) Fire Department focused on exposure risk reduction and actions to prevent occupational cancer during the 2019 Safety Stand Down. They reviewed the best practices for occupational cancer prevention and took specific steps to improve the safety of their members. This included the following:

• Wipes placed on all apparatus for firefighters to use post-fire.
• Added 6 mil trash bags to apparatus to bag up contaminated PPE and equipment when carrying them back to the station.
• Sent out all PPE to their vendor to be properly laundered.
• Emphasized the need for all personnel to “shower within the hour” after responding to a fire scene.
• A second phase of the initiative will begin shortly that includes improving gross decon practices.

All members of the department were also assigned videos and documents to review during the week that were taken from the Safety Stand Down web site.

To increase their cancer prevention efforts throughout the year, the department will utilize training bulletins as well as focus on awareness, actions, and accountability. They are also assisting neighboring agencies in developing operational policies to reduce cancer and exposure risks.

The Harrisonburg (VA) Fire Department takes health and safety very seriously for its 100 career members. For Safety Stand Down 2019 they developed a packet of information that was handed out to all personnel on each shift. The packet includes exercise examples, sample meal plans, cancer awareness and prevention information, the department’s cancer prevention policy, and additional resources for cancer prevention. Other departments can utilize this material for their own firefighter health and wellness initiatives. Download Safety Stand Down packet.

In addition, the department developed two podcasts as part of their safety Stand Down program. One podcast features Bryan Frieders, president of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network; listen here. The other podcast features Dr. Denise Smith from Skidmore University; listen here.

The Valley Safety Officers in Arizona focused on “Crew Based Accountability” for the 2019 Safety Stand Down. In addition to releasing the above video, the organization also distributed a Safety Stand Down bulletin with resources and information for all members to review and discuss. View bulletin.

The Baltimore County Fire Department is a combination department in Maryland with 3,000 members. The department has an on-going focus on health and wellness for its members, including requiring annual physicals, an annual physical fitness self-assessment, and completion of an operational readiness course while on-duty. All stations/shifts are required to complete a minimum of 10 hours per month of physical fitness training.

The department will use Safety Stand Down 2019 to focus attention on exposure risk reduction and cancer prevention for its members. Signs are posted at the entry to all living areas of the department’s stations prohibiting turnout gear beyond that point. Posters, including the 11 Best Practices for Firefighter Cancer Prevention, will be hung in all fire stations. During the week of June 16-22, each shift will review PowerPoints, videos, and other information from the Safety Stand Down web site. In addition, specific tasks will be completed each day of the week, including a wipe down of interior/exterior helmets, audit of Plymovent systems, wipe down of apparatus cab interiors, laundering of all bedding/towels, etc.

To ensure that firefighters are best protected from exposures, the department will be rolling out a new SOP on firefighter decon during the week. The SOP focuses on wet-soap decon on the fire scene and showering post-fire. Decon kits (bucket with garden hose, scrub brush, dish detergent, and FireWipes) are being distributed to all engine companies. This SOP will be reviewed and practiced department-wide.