fsmt281 week 5 forum

Week 5 Forum – Fatality, Near-Miss Investigation and Grant Support
Since there are 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives and only eight weeks of class, we are going to discuss two initiatives per week in the forums.  

Along with the required weekly readings, you should be using the website Everyone Goes Home.  The website is an excellent source of information, for you, that is devoted to the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.  When using the Everyone Goes Home website, be sure to look at each of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives sections.  Also, be sure to click on the Resources section of that website as it contains downloadable text and video resources that will provide you with additional information to answer the forum questions.
Initiative 9 – Fatality, Near-Miss Investigation
Fewer words invoke more fear than the word investigation.  The fear is that an investigation could conclude with the allocation of blame for something we did or were a part of.  Although it is true that a component of investigations is to find fault where a fault exists, it’s not limited to liability.  Another valuable component is to search for and identify the actions and contributing factors that allowed an event to occur.  By performing an investigation and recommending policy changes, we can reduce the chances of another injury, death, or near-miss.  The 9th Initiative asks us to learn from our mistakes – the only way to do this is to thoroughly investigate every near-miss, significant injury, or fatality.
After reading the required weekly readings, and reviewing the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives section regarding Fatality, Near-Miss Investigation on the website Everyone Goes Home, write a post that achieves the following:
1. Discuss the reasons for thoroughly investigating firefighter fatalities, injuries, and near-misses. I offered up a brief explanation of this question above but I want you to be more specific.
2. Please read the case study below and answer the following questions:
Case Study:  At the top of the steps, you find a second fire victim and alert your lieutenant.  The heat is becoming more intense, and you know you’ve only got one shot to get the victim out before you will have to leave the house.  You hear your lieutenant yell that he is going down the stairs and heading to the front door for more help.  There is zero visibility, but you feel the abandoned hose line, at your feet and follow it to the first floor.  As you make the bottom of the steps, you continue to follow the hose line, dragging the victim.  Suddenly you realize there is a problem.  You should have made it to the front door by now, and you worry that you may have followed the wrong hose line deeper into the house.  You hear your lieutenant calling you from a different direction and quickly divert to the sound of his voice.  You’ve never been so relieved to find a front porch in your life.
     A. Does this meet the criteria, for a near miss?
     B. Potentially, what could have happened?
     C. What is the benefit of completing a near-miss report?
Initiative 10 – Grant Support
One of the unique aspects of emergency services is making do with what is available.  Firefighters are great at adapting to and overcoming difficulties in the present situation.  There’s nothing wrong with being creative as long as risk management safe procedures are utilized.  Grant money, though not a culture changing event in the fire service, can go far in helping departments implement safe practices.  The 10th Initiative asks us to examine the grant process and look for opportunities to make improvements in safety.
After reading the required weekly readings, and reviewing the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives section regarding Grant Support on the website Everyone Goes Home, write a post that achieves the following:
1. Please read the case study below and answer the following questions:

Case Study:  Last week, you and your lieutenant successfully rescued two fire victims from a burning home but had a near-miss that could have ended in a tragedy.  As a result, your crew decides to sit down together and complete a firefighter near-miss report.  While completing the form, you explain how you had followed the wrong hose line, ultimately dragging a victim deeper into the home rather than out the front door.  Under the “lessons learned” section, you consider ways to prevent the same thing from happening in the future.  Your crew discusses new equipment that has recently been introduced to the fire service that could have helped mark the exit better and possibly made it clear for you which way was out.  Unfortunately, budget cuts have virtually eliminated the possibility of purchasing any new equipment this year.

     A. What other funding options do you have?
     B. Which organizations would be most likely to fund the new equipment?
     C. How do grants work, and what strategies help improve the chances of a successful application?