FIREWIRE Magazine Winter 2019: Celebrating 5 Years | Page 42

FRESH
AIR
HEALTH & SAFETY
Originally published in Spring 2017
By David Pingree
By Chris Larrison
A little over one year ago, San Bernardino County Fire
recognized a need to replace our aging self-contained
breathing apparatus (SCBA) inventory. In an effort to obtain
the best replacement for this essential piece
of equipment, a committee comprising all
the interested parties was formed. The
SCBA committee, in conjunction
with support services, was
tasked with researching and
testing SCBAs that met the
most current NFPA standard.
However, ultimately this
is a good-news article,
because the committee
feels as though County
Fire has stepped up
and, by making this
particular purchase, put its
firefighters’ input and safety
paramount. This, despite the
fact that perhaps not all will find
perfection in the new product.
Here are some thoughts on the
process, and what to expect next.
Once the newest SCBA standard was released by NFPA, all SCBA manufacturers
were researched. Suppression personnel thoroughly tested and rated seven SCBAs
based on comprehensive criteria. All the manufacturers provided a quality product.
County Fire personnel rated the MSA G1 SCBA higher than the comparative SCBAs.
This in no way diminishes the quality of the other products; the testers rated the
MSA highest, therefore we should buy it. Simple, right? Someone write a check
and let’s get these new packs on rigs.
ABOUT OUR NEW SCBAs…
AND A LITTLE ON THE
COMMITTEE PROCESS
major SCBA investment. Echoes of this are sometimes the virtual voices in the ear
of the committee as it works to make the best possible choices, and it focuses your
attention, to say the least.
The committee is confident that with the this purchase its voice was
not ignored, that a full consideration was made, including
fiscal impact, but the other major factors as well. When
the product is of such vital importance, those factors
cannot be ignored, and the department felt that this
was a “do right by our people” kind of decision.
SBCoFD firefighters, engineers, captains, chiefs,
support staff and Local 935 put in many hours
and immeasurable dedication to getting a
product onto our backs which would inspire
confidence in each wearer.
This was a long, difficult
struggle, with numerous
setbacks. Of course, great
struggles often produce
remarkable achievement,
and maybe County Fire
culture says keep fighting if
what matters is making things
better and safer.
Of course, it’s not actually over.
The purchase is being finalized as this edition of
FIREWIRE goes to press. An implementation plan will
evolve, but expect some of the following:
1. Staggered purchase period. The quantity is greater than what MSA has in stock;
however, the company was not given forever to complete its commitment.
2. Training. With the first set of deliveries will come the first training rollouts.
Stand by. There are numerous steps, checks and balances that lead to purchasing any
new product, especially one that represents such a significant financial commitment,
and especially when 700-1000 is the quantity to be purchased. As frustrating as
this process may be, there are very good reasons for it. Fiscal responsibility is a
primary concern of any public agency. There must be due diligence in spending funds,
and everyone at SBCoFD takes pride in providing the highest level of service while
maintaining a fiscally responsible budget. No system can or will ever be perfect. It
is not about finger pointing, and it is not about us versus them. The system does
not always give us what we want. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t exist; it has value,
namely by providing accountability. 3. Implementation. When training is complete, and enough have been delivered,
MSA will be the new bottle on our backs.
However, if you’ve been here or elsewhere in the fire service long enough, you
can point to times where, at least from your perspective, the committee process
broke down, was corrupted, or maybe even ignored, to serve the fiscal imperative.
Some felt that may have been the case, accurate or not, with County Fire’s prior Engineer Chris Larrison started his fire service career as a paid call firefighter at Station 10
in Phelan back in 2004. Currently assigned to Station 311, Chris serves as a recruit tower
instructor, and is also a regular contributor here at FIREWIRE. Chris lives in Apple Valley with
his wife Kristi and their two kids.
42
FIREWIRE • Five Year Anniversary
EXPOSURE
REPORTING When Being Brave Isn’t Enough
C alifornia
Professional
Fi r efig h t ers
Special thanks to Deputy Chiefs Don Trapp and John Chamberlin for their tireless
support. Thanks also to Captains Armando “Blue” Rodriguez and Pat Fleckenstein for
their dedication to making sure that our suppression personnel have the equipment
they need to do their job safely.
AS
firefighters, we put ourselves in dangerous situations on a regular
basis. We understood when we sent in our application that we would be going
inside burning structures, working in freeway traffic at vehicle collisions and generally
moving towards potentially deadly situations while others ran the opposite direction.
We still know that and accept those risks to help others. But there is a very real,
tangible and preventable hazard that the vast majority of us are ignoring and it
is literally killing firefighters all around us. That avoidable danger is exposure to
products of combustion. On fires, research indicates we are removing our breathing
apparatus too soon, when CO levels remain high and toxic gases are abundant. There
are times we don’t even don an SCBA for vehicle dumpster or other small fires. And
raise your hand: have you ever seen or heard of a firefighter lighting up a smoke
during overhaul?
An insidious form of exposure then occurs when we return
to the station after a call, as we hang up our turnouts. The
carcinogenic material from the fire is still in the fibers of our
gear, waiting for us when we don our coats and boots again.
And again, and again…and so on.
DOCUMENTATION DETAILS
For those who aren’t aware, Local 935 dues include enrollment for every member in
the Personal Exposure Reporting program. This website tracks and records any and
every exposure you log and sends you an annual exposure summary at the end of
every calendar year for your own records. There are boxes to check for every type of
exposure from structure fires, car fires, hazardous materials incidents, brush fires
and just about anything else you could come in contact with on the job. PER keeps
a digital record of your exposure history and they highly recommend you maintain
a hard copy of all your annual summaries as well. In the event you need to show
proof of exposure for any reason, you’ll have it.
With cancer rates
disturbingly high,
firefighters need to
refocus on safety
and documentation
Constant exposures, perhaps especially when we’re unsure
they’re occurring, take a toll. Are we doing enough to take the
danger seriously? According to a major Centers for Disease
Control/NIOSH study of over 29,000 firefighters who served in three major U.S. cities
between 1950-2009, members of our profession report a much higher rate of cancer
diagnoses than the general population. The rate of mesothelioma was stated as twice
that of the national average.
I know every firefighter understands the dangers of these gases and materials, but
we often see one another take unnecessary risks, often to save time, often to feel
less encumbered in our work, perhaps because we don’t think it will happen to us.
But we have a number of our brothers in service who either have been or are going
through frightening and debilitating cancer battles. It can happen.
CANCER DOESN’T LOOK COOL
There are a few simple steps that we can take to protect ourselves. First, use the
personal protective equipment that was provided to us. That includes staying on your
SCBA until there is adequate ventilation in a structure. Just because the fire is out
doesn’t mean the air is safe to breathe. It doesn’t cost us anything to fill bottles but
it could save your life.
Second, we can wash our gear after a fire. Yes, this would be easier if we all had a
second pair of turnouts, and the department is working on that, but there is loaner
gear around and if you make it a priority you can keep your turnouts clean. And don’t
forget the liner in your helmet; melanoma on the forehead and the back of the neck is
rampant in the fire service because firefighters are aren’t washing their helmet liners.
Finally, and this is what I really want to focus on, we need to document each and
every exposure we have during our careers. That basic car fire you ran the other night
might not seem like a big deal, but the noxious chemicals emitted from a burning
vehicle are deadly. That dumpster fire you had to deal with might have seemed
harmless but what was really burning in that thing? Plastics? Diapers? Drug-filled
syringes? Take the extra time to go on air and then document it when you get back
to the station.
Speak to any firefighter who has had to argue a case in court
and that person will tell you that the burden of proof rests
squarely on your shoulders. Finding incident numbers and
data related to your case may be your job alone.
Also, some of us don’t think brush fires are a reportable
incident, which is not accurate. Tree sap is essentially a
pesticide and products of combustion still exist from anything
that burns. And what’s really burning, anyway? I was assigned
to structure protection group during the Blue Cut Incident and
on the surrounding acres that were burning were old cars,
sheds full of chemicals, used tires, plastic toys and a host of synthetic materials.
And the best I could do for protection was pull up my collar and close the shroud
on my helmet. In many cases, we are having significant exposures on brush fires
because we don’t work with breathers in that element. The one thing we can do is
report it.
HANDS ON
The PER website is easy to navigate. Once you log on to www.peronline.org you
can set up a username and password. After logging in you click the tab to create a
new report. Each report will ask for the date or dates of the exposure and have a
series of boxes to check to identify what the exposure was and what symptoms, if
any, you may have experienced. You can be as detailed as you want, depending on
the call type and how significant you feel your exposure was; it’s really up to you. It
is highly recommended to include the incident number so make a note of that as
you get back from the call. Once the form is completed and saved it is added to
your record. Logging one exposure might take you ten minutes at the computer, well
worth the time if you ever need it.
IMAGINE RETIREMENT
The fire service is an amazing career and I think we can all agree that we love what
we do. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that retirement is coming one day for all
of us. In your career of 20-30 years, how many things will you have been exposed
to? The diesel exhaust, the smoke, the chemicals the bacteria and viruses; it adds
up and takes a toll on your body. The statistics back that up. And when you clock out
for the last time at the end of your career you don’t want to spend your time battling
debilitating disease processes because you couldn’t be bothered with safety gear
on calls. Wear your PPE and record every single exposure you have during your
career. Our families deserve as much and the guys still on the floor would much
rather hear that you’re spending your retirement enjoying life rather than suffering
through rounds of chemo and cancer treatments.
David Pingree is a FIREWIRE assistant editor.
Winter 2019 • FIREWIRE
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