Firefighter Rescue Surveys submitted to date |
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“While reported home fires and home fire deaths have been cut roughly in half since 1980, the death rate per 1,000 reported home fires has remained fairly consistent and was slightly higher in most recent years than it was in 1980. It appears that most of the reduction in fire deaths over the past decades has been due to a reduction in fires rather than the prevention of harm after a fire is reported” (NFPA, Home Structure Fires, 2019, p. 1)
The American fire service has never been able to determine if operations are actually saving more civilians from fire. The absence of operational direction provided by the traditional reporting mechanisms has never been called into question because there has never been a comparison.
The NFIRS data collection system is qualitative and centered on reporting negative information; losses, fatalities and injuries. This provides a myopic view of the problem and compromises solutions. This is a tragic disservice that undermines the crucial work of America Burning which called for a reporting system “to be established to provide a continuing review and analysis of the entire fire problem”” (National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, 1973, p. 9)
The United States Fire Administration, who controls the parameters of the
NFIRS, most recently stated “The lack of data, especially for these residential fatal fires masks the true picture of the fire problem” (National Fire Data Center, 2018, p. 9). A shame that 45 years of reporting has not moved the needle.
There is a void of qualitative information in fire reporting, and a nearly absent basis of information on rescued victims. In 2016, a group of firefighters who had been collecting firefighter rescue reports decided that news reports alone were not providing enough detail in regard to where the victims were located, how they were removed, and the outcome. To address this gap, the group developed the Firefighter Rescue Survey.
The survey provides an online platform for the firefighters who performed a rescue to provide information on the operation and outcome. Since its inception there have been roughly 1500 surveys submitted, containing firsthand reports of location, conditions and the process of civilian rescues by firefighters. While the data set is small in comparison to NFIRS, the quality is high. The Fire Engineering February 2020 article Search and Rescue by the Numbers demonstrates proof in concept for that value.
As the demand for evidence-based operations increases, the supply of data must rise to meet it and the Firefighter Rescue Survey is the source. Support the mission and report your rescues through the survey or download the Rescue Reporting SOP template to institutionalize rescue reporting in your department.
The American fire service has never been able to determine if operations are actually saving more civilians from fire. The absence of operational direction provided by the traditional reporting mechanisms has never been called into question because there has never been a comparison.
The NFIRS data collection system is qualitative and centered on reporting negative information; losses, fatalities and injuries. This provides a myopic view of the problem and compromises solutions. This is a tragic disservice that undermines the crucial work of America Burning which called for a reporting system “to be established to provide a continuing review and analysis of the entire fire problem”” (National Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, 1973, p. 9)
The United States Fire Administration, who controls the parameters of the
NFIRS, most recently stated “The lack of data, especially for these residential fatal fires masks the true picture of the fire problem” (National Fire Data Center, 2018, p. 9). A shame that 45 years of reporting has not moved the needle.
There is a void of qualitative information in fire reporting, and a nearly absent basis of information on rescued victims. In 2016, a group of firefighters who had been collecting firefighter rescue reports decided that news reports alone were not providing enough detail in regard to where the victims were located, how they were removed, and the outcome. To address this gap, the group developed the Firefighter Rescue Survey.
The survey provides an online platform for the firefighters who performed a rescue to provide information on the operation and outcome. Since its inception there have been roughly 1500 surveys submitted, containing firsthand reports of location, conditions and the process of civilian rescues by firefighters. While the data set is small in comparison to NFIRS, the quality is high. The Fire Engineering February 2020 article Search and Rescue by the Numbers demonstrates proof in concept for that value.
As the demand for evidence-based operations increases, the supply of data must rise to meet it and the Firefighter Rescue Survey is the source. Support the mission and report your rescues through the survey or download the Rescue Reporting SOP template to institutionalize rescue reporting in your department.
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Contributors: Brian Brush Midwest City Fire (OK) Jeffrey Bryant Jr. Aurora Fire (IL) Nick Ledin Eau Claire Fire (WI) Jason Marshall Eagan (MN) Justin McWilliams Clackamas Fire (OR) Trent Morrison Web Dev (OR) Brian Olson Eagle Fire (ID) Shane Thomas Clackamas Fire (OR) Lane Zahourek Cedar Rapids (IA) |
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