IFSJ Exclusive: The good practice guide to fire safety

by Breaking NewsIFSJ ExclusivesSafety

IFSJ takes a look at the IWFM’s Fire Safety Management good practice guide produced in partnership with PlanRadar

On Monday 23 January, the first of several pieces of fire and building safety legislation arriving in 2023 came into force in the UK. In order to help facilities managers stay up to date with the latest statutory guidance and industry best practice, the Institute of Workplace and Facilities Management (IWFM) published a newly updated ‘Fire safety management’ good practice guide (GPG), developed in partnership with B2B software company and fire consultancy specialists PlanRadar.

The guide sets out the key requirements for managing fire safety in England where the Regulatory (Reform) Fire Safety Order 2005 applies and provides core good practice and signposting for facilities management professionals, those with Responsible Persons duties, and those acting on behalf of Responsible Persons (RPs).

The GPG has been updated to include requirements from the Fire Safety Act 2021, the Building Act 2022, and the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, and outlines the relevant legislation for Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

Responsible Persons

The Fire Safety Order requires an RP to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks relevant persons are exposed to in order to identify the fire precautions they need to take to be able to comply with the requirements and exclusions required of them by the Fire Safety Order.

The aim of new regulation is to improve the communication of fire risk information between RPs and residents, such as providing up-to-date electronic building floor plans to local fire services and including a hard copy of floor plans on-site in a secure information box. RPs are also required to monitor lifts and firefighting equipment operation on a monthly basis and carry out repairs as needed. Facilities managers are responsible for understanding all the fire risk elements of an asset and keeping track of all installation, maintenance, and replacement data.

A facilities manager can be an RP, and so the definitions for a Responsible Person is wide-ranging. Where a facilities manager is not the RP, the scope of the risk assessment must be clearly defined in writing. It will therefore be essential for facilities managers to have a clear and accurate definition of the exact role they, or any other property manager, have agreed to undertake on behalf of the Responsible Person.

“The risk of potential prosecution and heavy fines will provide motivation to improving the lax approach to safety checks.”

Part of the idea is that by placing increased emphasis on the RP, the risk of potential prosecution and heavy fines will provide motivation and should go some way to improving the lax approach to safety checks – particularly around fire doors. A full, tamperproof audit trail of all completed work will be instrumental in meeting these new legal requirements.

What does the guide cover?

The guide provides UK-focussed guidance and signposting for facilities management professionals, those with RPs duties, and those acting on behalf of RPs, so they can meet the latest fire safety legislation requirements.

It was updated following the tragic loss of life from 2017’s Grenfell Tower fire, policy changes resulted in several pieces of legislation being introduced or updated. The guide supports IWFM members and the workplace and facilities management sector in learning and complying with those wide-ranging changes to fire safety.

“Workplace and facilities managers play a critical role in driving fire safety within workplaces and residential buildings,” says IWFM. “As a professional body, it’s IWFM’s duty to support our members when keeping people safe. Upskilling people and driving competence was a core pillar of Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety; providing guidance is one such route towards continuous learning and becoming more competent.

“IWFM helped to shape both Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review, and the various pieces of legislation that resulted from it, including the Building Safety Act 2022.”

On how IWFM it ended up working with PlanRadar, it adds: “IWFM engages in strategic partnerships with leading innovative brands to help us enhance our research and insight offering, provide greater value to our members, and strengthen our voice for the workplace and facilities management profession.”

A new era of compliance

PlanRadar says that 2023 heralds a new era in fire safety and compliance and so Facilities Managers (FMs) need to be on top of the new legislative detail to maintain and future-proof their buildings and assets: “The focus is on increased accountability to create a safer, smarter, and more responsible industry, with tough repercussions for those who fall short.

“Fire safety standards and knowledge vary wildly between businesses and these new regulations represent a step towards safer construction. By partnering with the IWFM, PlanRadar can help provide some clarity and guidance around the new key requirements for managing fire safety in the United Kingdom.”

Incorporating a digital-first approach will also help to fill the skills gap left by a lack of fire engineers.

Businesses now need to be solutions-driven, with a requirement for digital systems which can capture and record to be in place from 23rd January 2023 to ensure ongoing compliance with the Fire Safety Regulations. PlanRadar says that incorporating a digital-first approach will also help to fill the skills gap left by a lack of fire engineers and eliminate human error throughout fire safety assessments.

The consultancy adds: “The combination of our digital platform and the IWFM´s new guidance ensures that FMs have the best knowledge and best practice at their fingertips. At PlanRadar we try to make working together easier and equipping our clients with both the relevant legislative guidance and a sophisticated, flexible platform ensures they can simply and quickly create the relevant tamperproof audit trail they need to create a golden thread of information throughout the build-lifecycle.”

This article was originally published in the April edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

IFSJ Exclusive: Closing the legislative gap with Evac+Chair

by Breaking NewsIFSJ ExclusivesSafety

Evac + Chair looks at how the safety and lives of the UK’s disabled workforce are at risk in an emergency

Risky Business, the study from Evac+Chair International, found that one quarter of UK business decision makers do not know how many disabled and mobility impaired people there are within their organisation. Almost a third (29 per cent) have only “some” or “very little” understanding of their responsibilities, with one in 10 either not prepared, or unsure if they are adequately prepared, to safely evacuate employees needing assistance.

82 per cent of organisations surveyed are now calling on the Government to provide more clarity on their responsibilities surrounding fire safety, while more than two thirds (67 per cent) think that evacuation equipment should be a legal requirement.

Gerard Wallace, Managing Director of Evac+Chair International, says there are more than 4.8m disabled people in UK workplaces and this figure is rising and that those responsible for their safety are falling short, with a clear lack of knowledge, understanding and investment amplifying risk in emergency situations.

“Our findings show that safe evacuations for all clearly needs to move higher up the agenda.”

“Despite recent tragedies highlighting how important it is to be prepared to safely evacuate everyone from multistorey buildings, our findings show that safe evacuations for all clearly needs to move higher up the agenda,” says Wallace. “Our report makes the case to the Government for better education and a firmer legal landscape.”

This research surveyed 490 small and medium business decision makers across the UK about emergency evacuations. It covered legislation, awareness, preparedness and challenges facing firms when navigating their responsibilities around the safety of the disabled community.

Key findings

  • 25 per cent of decision makers are not aware of the number of mobility impaired people at their organisation.
  • More than two-thirds of decision makers (67 per cent) think there is a culture of fire safety non-compliance or looking for loopholes in the business community.
  • 29 per cent of organisations have only “some” or “very little” understanding of their obligations when it comes to safe evacuations.
  • 10 per cent of businesses are either not prepared, or unsure if they are fully prepared, to evacuate mobility impaired members of staff.
  • Almost one in five (19 per cent) say their organisations’ fire safety plan does not take into consideration temporary mobility issues.
  • Two-thirds (68 per cent) think that fire safety legislation does not do enough to protect people with mobility issues.
  • More than two thirds (67 per cent) think that having an evacuation chair should be a legal requirement.

New risks

Fires may be the most obvious and prevalent need for an emergency evacuation, but other risks are becoming increasingly possible, with flooding and extreme weather are expected to become the norm as Met Office research indicating that there is a greater risk of flash flooding and fire in the future. Energy shortages are also increasing the likelihood of blackouts, which are a trigger for emergency evacuations.

The research highlights a clear link between a lack of awareness and a lack of preparedness, with only one in five decision makers showing understanding of their organisation’s obligations when it comes to evacuation, whilst one in ten businesses are either not prepared at all or not sure they are prepared to evacuate disabled or mobility impaired members of staff.

Who is responsible?

An employers’ legal responsibilities under The Fire Safety Act in 2021, as explained by the London Fire Brigade, are to: “Ensure your premises reach the required standards” and “Provide employees with fire safety training – this usually includes induction training, covering general fire awareness, extra training if the level of risk increases as a result of changes to business operations and supporting employees to meet their fire safety duties. This could include training to carry out a fire risk assessment or for fire warden duties.”

Whoever is the appointed responsible person is required by law to carry out a Fire Risk Assessment to identify the risks and hazards in the premises they are responsible for. If a business has five or more employees, this Fire Risk Assessment must be recorded.

Grenfell’s legacy

Last year, disabled campaigners launched a legal challenge against the Government for failing to implement the Grenfell Tower inquiry’s call for evacuation plans for disabled people in high-rise buildings. The decision is expected imminently.

According to the report, more than one quarter (27 per cent) of respondents do not have someone solely responsible for evacuations, while one in five (19 per cent) do not take temporary mobility challenges – such as pregnancy or a broken leg – into consideration in their safety plans.

On regulation, 68 per cent think that fire safety legislation does not do enough to protect those with access needs, while the cost of equipment and a lack of information were cited as the biggest challenges for business leaders to develop suitable emergency evacuation procedures.

Sarah Rennie, accessibility consultant and fire safety campaigner of Claddag, which represents disabled and older people impacted by the #BuildingSafetyCrisis following the Grenfell Tower disaster says that the disabled community, which makes up one in five of the working age population, is placed in danger every day because of building design and management practices.

“The vast majority of us become disabled during our lives so it’s important to expect colleagues to need support next week which they might not need today,” says Rennie. “Any day of the week you should expect a disabled visitor, supplier or client to enter the building. Businesses must have practices in place to plan for known-unknown scenarios like this.

“The disabled residents who died in Grenfell Tower had no effective plans to escape or aids to do so. If we do not change our practices then we have to take personal and organisational accountability for future preventable deaths and life-changing injuries. In workplaces, we need to ask ourselves what our practices say about how we value the lives of our disabled colleagues, visitors and friends.”

Call for action

The report highlights the statistic that over two thirds (68 per cent) of respondents think that current fire safety legislation does not go far enough, whilst the majority (67 per cent) of respondents believe that having an evacuation chair should be a legal requirement.

The majority of respondents believe that having an evacuation chair should be a legal requirement.

Wallace adds: “Current legislation is not fit for purpose, offering little clarity to businesses and those responsible for multistorey buildings. This ambiguity, and the fact that provision of appropriate equipment is not a legal requirement, is clearly enabling a ‘slippery shoulders’ culture within businesses.

“Businesses are calling for more guidance and urging policymakers to make the law work harder for those facing access barriers. It’s time to close the legislative gap.”

Contact Evac+Chair on +44 (0) 121 706 6744 or enquiries@evacchair.co.uk and visit evacchair.co.uk for more information.

Evac+Chair at The Health and Safety Event

Evac+Chair will be showcasing their full range of evacuation chairs at the Health & Safety Event. Their team of experts will be available to discuss your evacuation requirements, provide information about training, maintenance and how to ensure you are prepared for safe evacuations. Live demonstrations will be taking place daily, giving delegates the opportunity to experience the world-renowned Evac+Chair themselves!

Evac+Chair is the original manufacturer and global leader in emergency evacuation chairs for the mobility impaired. Underpinned with over 40 years of experience in the design and manufacture of evacuation chairs, Evac+Chair is trusted and relied upon in emergency situations to assist in saving lives. With a wide range of accreditations, Evac+Chair prides itself on its superior product quality.

Their lifesaving products are installed in a variety of environments including offices, hotels, schools, colleges, sports stadia, retail outlets, factories and various healthcare settings worldwide.

To meet the team and find out more information on their products and services, please visit stand A20.

IFSJ Exclusive: What can we learn from the Notre-Dame fire?

by Breaking NewsIFSJ ExclusivesSafety

Steve Emery, Chair of the IFE Special Interest Group for Heritage Buildings, looks at what we have learned about fire since the 2019 Notre-Dame disaster

Global professional body, The Institution of Fire Engineers, has 10 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) that examine intricate subject areas of fire engineering. The Heritage Buildings SIG was set up by IFE member, Steve Emery, in 2008 whilst he was Fire Officer for English Heritage, and subsequently Historic England. Emery has also been employed as Oxford University’s Fire Officer, as well as boasting a 30-year career at Avon Fire Brigade, the last 12 years of which he served as Fire Officer for Bath – a World Heritage Site for its many listed buildings.

As a fire engineer with a specialty in heritage buildings, it was natural that Emery became interested in the catastrophic Notre-Dame fire which decimated one of Paris’ most historic landmarks. Iain Hoey, IFSJ Editor, caught up with Emery for the fourth anniversary of the Notre-Dame fire to find out what caused its collapse and how cathedrals and other heritage sites can avoid a similar fate.

When did you become interested in Notre-Dame?

I was a matter of interest for me because the vaults collapsed, and I wanted to know why. Traditionally, there will be a collapse if you have a point load on one side of the vault: it weakens that side and the other side collapses on it in on it. Alternative, the conoid – where the vault joins the walls – fills up with water and you have an imbalance. Before the fire, everything was in equilibrium: the walls were standing, the vaults were intact. Something happened to put it out of equilibrium. I wondered if the heat of the fire could have affected the limestone in such a way that it was weakened.

Can you explain the structure of Notre-Dame and similar heritage sites?

As part of Oxford University, we employed an intern for two weeks: Claire Ballantine – a postgraduate students from the School of Geography who investigated what stones the English cathedrals were built of, where the stones came from, and whether the quarries were still open.

Ballatine carried out a scoping study, testing four types of limestone in a furnace, including chalk – chalk limestone is much lighter than other limestone, and so it has been used for vaulting in heritage buildings. The problem with chalk is that it becomes soggy when it gets wet. We already knew that when the limestone is heated, it gives off ferric oxide which makes it more porous. When limestone gains porosity it loses its strength.

I started to look into how the vaults were staying up. Essentially, vaults are pushing against the walls, and the walls are stopping the vault from spreading by either having flying buttresses or being buttresses themselves. The Notre-Dame vaulting system is sexpartite. From the crown of the arch down to where it joins the wall is five metres, which is a tremendous depth.

How does a collapse occur?

If you’ve got flying buttresses and the vault collapses, then the flying buttress is trying to push the walls in. If, because of the collapse, the timbers have fallen to the floor, the radiated heat from that pile of roof timbers that is now the floor is then radiating heat onto the pillars on each side, which are holding the roof up.

The flying buttresses at the top are pushing the wall in. Meanwhile you’ve weakened the wall at ground floor level. There is then a real danger not just of having a vault collapse, but the whole wall collapsing. The more vaults that collapse, the worse the situation is.

If you’ve got a solid buttress that is on a firm foundation, when you take the vaulting away it is self-supporting and stays upright. It is only a problem when you’ve got flying buttresses.

In the early days after the fire at Notre-Dame, there was a real danger of the walls collapsing. After a while they managed to put some wooden supports underneath the flying buttresses to keep them up so they don’t push the walls.

How are the columns which support buildings affected during a fire?

The outside of the column, whether it’s decorative or smooth, is ashlar. It is a finished stone which is around four inches thick. The inside of the column is filled with rough limestone i.e. chunks of limestone, with a lime mortar. Over the years, with vibration from e.g. lorries and trains, the lime mortar becomes loose, then it starts to fall down. You end up with cracks inside the pillar and eventually all you’ve got is the outer skin of the pillar holding the weight of the roof up. When heat is impacting the columns and weakening it by making it more porous, the four inches outer skin is being eroded.

What happens in a fire when the roof falls in?

It is critical that you can keep the roof intact so that timbers is not falling down to the floor and spreading the fire. You ideally want to separate the high fire load of the roof from the low fire load in the rest of cathedral. Otherwise, you will have molten lead from the roof falling down onto firefighters below, which is a real danger as it will go straight through a helmet.

If a vault collapses, it introduces fresh air underneath the fire which is then turning a fire that might only be 600 degrees essentially into a forge where you pump air in underneath and the heat increases rapidly.  

In July 2021, the city of Paris was sued for lead contamination from Notre-Dame. For that to have happened, the temperature in the cathedral roof must have reached that where molten lead becomes vaporised. That is 1,700 degrees. The fire vapourised the lead which went up with the smoke. It then turned into dust as it cooled, the dust then fell onto the streets outside, heavily contaminating the tarmac.

How can we prevent fires in heritage buildings?

There haven’t been many cathedral fires in the world – we’ve only lost or had roof fires 69 times in the last 1000 years according to historical records.

We do, however, need to be careful about the presence of contractors carrying out restorative work. Many of these buildings have stood for over 600 years or more, but if you bring in hot works, or cold works such as the use of disc cutters, this creates a fire risk. All contractors – including for cold works – should have a hot works permit.

If somebody is carrying out hot work on the outside of a building, for example patching the lead roof, you need somebody inside that can access the risk area. Ideally, there should be a method being able to get water to any fire risk area via a system of ladders or internal scaffolding.

If an event a fire does happen, how should it be tackled?

Having information about the building is the number one priority for all fire rescue teams. They should have site specific risk information at the ready. They need to be aware of access to the roof. Most cathedrals had dry risers put in in the 1950s post-war after the use of incendiary bombs, but they’re not always in the best place.

If you took Bath Abbey, for example, the spiral staircases are at the east and west of the church, meaning they don’t go up in the central crossing and there’s nothing to allow access in the crossing, which is where the dry riser is. In this case, if firefighters will need to use the spiral stairs to get onto the roof, meaning they will be going across the burning roof before they can plug the hoses into the dry riser, which is not practical.

Canterbury Cathedral has had its roofs compartmented. They cut a hole in the roof to install a water mist system which – water mist is a practical solution as it reduces the risk of flooding. The only downside to it is the hole that has been made may does not allow them to look into the roof, so they might be directing the water mist at something that is not on fire.

Finally, built into most cathedrals ­but not all – at the bottom of the conoids is a scupper: a hole that goes through the outside wall to drain the water away. Fire teams also need to know whether the water that you’re putting on is going to leave and not flood, creating imbalance and causing the vaults to collapse.

With almost 12,000 members, the IFE continues to promote, encourage, and improve the science, practice and professionalism of fire engineering, acting as a beacon of established expertise and guiding the way to a fire safe future.

For more info on the IFE, visit their website for further information.

Himachal Pradesh schools and hospitals face fire safety lapses

by Featured NewsSafety

Fire safety lapses in government schools and hospitals across the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh are putting the lives of students, workers, and visitors at risk, according to a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as reported in the Hindustan Times.

The report revealed that only 55 of the state’s 2,806 government schools and none of the 99 major government hospitals had obtained fire no-objection-certificates (NOC). Additionally, the report found that the state’s fire department lacked provisions to enforce compliance and penal provisions for non-adherence to fire safety norms.

The Himachal Pradesh Fire Fighting Services Act, 1984, empowers the department to examine premises for compliance with fire safety norms, but the report found that it had not conducted vulnerability analysis of fire-vulnerable buildings or identified hazardous industries or high-rise buildings, despite recommendations by the Public Accounts Committee.

The report also revealed that 23 fire control centres did not have adequate and reliable sources of water, and only 85 firefighting vehicles were available against an approved fleet strength of 11. Against a sanctioned strength of 938 posts for operational staff, 257 (28%) posts were lying vacant, adversely impacting the capacity of fire control centres.

The audit found that the department did not conduct any physical assessment test for firefighters in the 2018-21 period. Furthermore, the unique toll-free number (101) assigned to attend first information about fire incidents had not been made available in any of the fire posts across the state, and the report warned that this could result in information delay and delayed response to fire incidents.

The National Disaster Management guidelines recommend provisions in the legal framework/Fire Act of the state requiring mandatory department clearances for all high-rise buildings, colonies, residential clusters, business centers, malls, etc. However, the CAG report suggests that defaulters continue to have a free pass, putting the lives of students and workers at risk.

The report’s findings highlight the urgent need for action to ensure that fire safety standards are met and enforced across the state’s government schools and hospitals.

More than 900 affected by Grenfell settle claims

by Featured NewsSafety

More than 900 people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire have reportedly agreed a settlement of civil claims.

The fire, which occurred almost six years ago on 14 June 2017, claimed the lives of 72 people and displaced hundreds more.

The victims and their families have been seeking compensation for the losses and damages they incurred as a result of the tragedy.

According to the lawyers, the compensation to be received by the 900 claimants is to be distributed based on their specific circumstances. However, not all victims of the fire are included in the settlement.

The settlement is said to include compensation for the victims and their families, as well as funding for community projects and improvements to fire safety measures in the area.

The settlement was welcomed by the victims and their families, who have been fighting for justice and accountability since the tragedy occurred.

The Kensington & Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO), which was appointed by the local council to manage its housing stock, acknowledged that a “monetary settlement cannot compensate for the loss and trauma” experienced by those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire. However, the spokesperson welcomed the settlement as a move towards providing justice for the affected individuals.

The cladding giant Arconic said it was among the firms that were involved in the high court case and had agreed to the settlement. A spokesman for Arconic said: “Arconic continues to express its deepest sympathy to the Grenfell residents and their families, and appreciates the importance of this milestone for providing a resolution that lessens the delay and stress to claimants that would result from protracted legal proceedings.”

IFSJ Exclusive: Preliminary Exposure Reduction

by Breaking NewsIFSJ ExclusivesSafety

Tonya Herbert, President at Thin Red Line Decon, looks at building decontamination habits to reduce firefighter health risks

Today’s fires produce a toxic soup of dangerous chemicals, likely because of the changing landscape of building materials and furnishings. While turnout gear effectively protects against thermal exposure and hazardous fluids, it may not protect against absorption of soot. Emerging research suggests that dermal absorption of toxins is a greater route of exposure than inhalation or ingestion.

The NFPA 1851 standard encourages ‘Preliminary Exposure Reduction,’ defined as ‘techniques for reducing soiling and contamination levels … following incident operations.’ A recent study affirmed this need for fireground exposure reduction interventions. 

Changing your behavior to make preliminary exposure reduction a habit can seem daunting; however, making tiny marginal improvements consistently can yield significant results. A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough to become automatic.

A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough to become automatic

The first step in a habit loop is the cue. A cue gets your attention and tells you what to do next. It predicts a reward. Cravings are the second step. They are the motivational force behind every habit and without them, we have no reason to act. These first two steps compromise the “Problem Phase.” The third step of a habit loop is the response. This is the actual habit you form, the action you perform (in this case, decontaminating). The final step that closes the loop is the reward. This is the end goal of every habit. These last two steps form the ‘Solution Phase’. 

To build better habits, you need to build a better system, one that sets you up for success. At first, these tiny habit routines may seem insignificant, but they build on each other, compounding, and can lead to remarkable changes.

Make it obvious

The process of changing behavior starts with awareness. Start by analysing your current decontamination protocol. What do you do between coming out of an IDLH environment or ending suppression activities and returning to the station? By becoming aware of your habits, including whether or not you perform the desired habit, the time at which you perform the habit, and where you perform the habit, you raise them from an unconscious level to a conscious level.

When you make a specific plan for performing a new habit, you are more likely to follow through

To make a new habit obvious, create an implementation intention, which is a plan you make beforehand about how, where, and when you intend to act. For instance, your implementation intention may be ‘Before I come off air, I will enter the ‘green zone’ (or decontamination area) and perform preliminary exposure reduction.’ Or ‘As soon as I doff my gear, I will wash my hands and face with soap and water’. When you make a specific plan for performing a new habit, you are more likely to follow through.

A second strategy is to pair the new habit with a current habit. Habit stacking works by finding one you have mastered and concisely tying the new behavior into it. For instance, “After loading hose back on the truck, personnel will use wipes to remove soot from permeable areas of the body.”

To increase your odds of success, try designing your environment to provide multiple cues. Considering that over half of the brain is devoted to processing visual information, a visual cue may be the most important tool for making a new habit obvious. Try placing a sticker that reads “Did You Decon?” in a location where you will see it before climbing back onto the engine.

Make it attractive

Desire is what drives most behavior. The more attractive an opportunity is, the more likely it is to become habit-forming. If you anticipate that a particular habit will be rewarding, you are more motivated to repeat that action.

An improvement in long-term health is delayed gratification. To make post-fire decontamination more desirable, a firefighter must feel satisfied immediately. Therefore, it is important to develop a protocol where a firefighter feels clean. From the brand of wipes to the detergent you use, it is important to include the field personnel in the selection. Buy-in is critical.

Another way to make the new habit more enticing is to pair an action you need to do with the one you want to do. The first thing you want to do is get into rehab, cool down, and get a drink. If you pair your on-scene decontamination with your rehab routine, you will probably perform it more regularly. As you enter rehab and doff your gear, your next step should be immediately wiping down your skin, especially before you ingest any food or drink.

The desire to fit in within the fire service is strong. When unsure how to act, we look to the group we are a part of for clues. If our behavior is rewarded with approval, praise, or respect, it becomes more attractive. Inversely, when behavior is mocked or criticised, it is unattractive. Therefore, it is critical that influencers within the department, particularly the company officers, support and model the decontamination protocol.

While making a new habit attractive is one strategy, making a bad habit unattractive is another approach. The Boston Fire Department has employed this technique in their Memorial Wall, displaying hundreds of black and white photos of the members of their department who have died in the line of duty from cancer. By highlighting the consequences of a negative habit, they have made it much less desirable. It is an incredibly compelling tactic, one that is hard to ignore.

Make it easy

The key to mastering a habit is to start with repetition, not perfection. You may not have all the details of the decontamination protocol figured out; you just need to start practicing it. The more frequently you perform the behavior, the more automatic it will become. For instance, if you decontaminate every time you handle a nozzle, even for a dumpster fire, soon you will be decontaminating without even thinking about it.

The more friction there is to engage in a behavior, the less likely you are to act on it. Therefore, two other critical components in this third step of the habit loop are to make it convenient and to prime the environment. If your department uses a decontamination bucket, at the beginning of every shift, make sure the necessary components are in the bucket – wipes, a hose, a nozzle, cleaning detergent, a scrub brush, and clear bags for dirty gear, etc. Place the bucket where it is likely to be seen and utilised. Upon return to the station after a call, the bucket should be immediately reset after personnel and gear are fully decontaminated.

A habit is much more likely to stick if it takes less than two minutes to accomplish. If on-scene decontamination is too big of leap, start smaller. Place a wipe in the pocket of your bunker jacket or bunker pants. This makes it convenient, and you have primed the environment. If it doesn’t require much effort you are more likely to stick with it.

Make it satisfying

The final step of the habit loop is to make it satisfying – making it satisfying increases the likelihood of repetition. Additionally, and not surprisingly, the highest value is placed on instant gratification, not on future gratification.

The highest value is placed on instant gratification, not on future gratification

This can be accomplished in multiple ways. First, choose methods and products personnel find pleasing and effective. If you feel you are cleaner, smell better, and feel fresher, the positive sensory perception makes it easier to adopt the habit. The pleasure sends a signal to your brain to repeat this behavior.

Using a habit tracker can also provide instant gratification. There are multiple exposure reporting systems available to the fire service, such as NFORS (National Fire Operating Reporting System) Career Diary and Enviage’s Exposure Tracker. By utilising one of these exposure reporting systems on an individual level, not only are you documenting critical information should you ever be diagnosed with an occupational illness, but you can use them to track your preliminary exposure reduction habits.

Having an accountability partner, such as the company officer, can increase the chances of successfully establishing a habit. A company officer who models appropriate behavior or who calls out members who are not decontaminating can have tremendous influence on the process.

By creating a routine that is manageable, easy to do, and requires as little energy as possible, you can make a preliminary exposure reduction habit stick. When this habit sticks, you can reduce your risk of occupational illness giving you a better chance to live a quality life, long into retirement.

This article was originally published in the April edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

NVFC calls for increased funding for hazmat response training

by Featured NewsSafety

Chief Comstock urged the Committee to increase funding for grants provided through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

On March 22, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on “Improving Rail Safety in Response to the East Palestine Derailment.” The hearing brought together experts and stakeholders to discuss ways to enhance rail safety in the United States.

Among the witnesses who testified at the hearing was Chief David Comstock of the Western Reserve Joint Fire District in Ohio. Chief Comstock appeared on behalf of the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) to raise awareness about the critical funding needs of the fire service for first responder training, equipment, and health screenings.

Chief Comstock’s department was one of over 50 fire departments that responded to the train derailment in East Palestine, OH. Speaking at the hearing, he stressed the need for better training and equipping of firefighters to respond to hazardous materials incidents, particularly to derailments in rural areas. These incidents are usually served by volunteer departments that often lack sufficient resources, tax base, and manpower to handle largescale incidents.

During his testimony, Chief Comstock highlighted a number of fire services priorities as potential solutions to this need. He urged the Committee to increase funding for grants provided through the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), as well as the Assistance to Firefighters Grant and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant.

Chief Comstock also spoke to the Committee about the NVFC’s efforts to increase hazmat response proficiency throughout the United States with the Partners in Training (PIT) Crew program. This program offers 15 in-person hazmat train-the-trainer opportunities across the U.S. at no cost to departments. Chief Comstock emphasised the importance of training being available at no cost to volunteer departments, which often lack a tax base to support this type of training.

Furthermore, Chief Comstock noted that firefighters face a higher risk of developing cancer compared to the general public. He urged Congress to fund baseline and follow-up health screenings for firefighters who have been exposed to hazardous materials incidents. These screenings would help protect firefighters and save resources by preempting potential health complications like cancer.

The NVFC will continue to work with Congress to address the issues and priorities that were discussed in the testimony. The hearing was an opportunity for the NVFC to raise awareness of the critical funding needs of the fire service, and the organisation will continue to advocate for the resources necessary to keep first responders safe and prepared for hazardous materials incidents. The full hearing can be viewed on the Committee’s website.

Exclusive: The story of Burned Protecting the Protectors

by Breaking NewsSafety

IFSJ Editor Iain Hoey sat down with Elijah Yetter-Bowman to find out about the story behind their documentary Burned: Protecting the Protectors

Growing up, Elijah Yetter-Bowman was torn between two futures. Their childhood was spent engaging with the arts, theatre, and other spaces that intersected with creativity. However, when they were a teenager, they learned their mother had developed a rare autoimmune disease. This led to a revelation about the shortcomings of medicine for the treatment of rare diseases and so Yetter-Bowman shifted their focus to applied medical research.

Nearing the end of their education as a pre-med student, Yetter-Bowman became involved in the broader environmental issue of forever chemicals, also known as PFAS. In 2017, they learned that their hometown in North Carolina had been exposed to a myriad of PFAS through the local drinking water supply over the course of 40 years.

This served as the breaking point: “I had a background, both in arts and communication as well as the nitty gritty organic chemistry of how these things work. It felt like there was an opportunity to communicate and convey steps to take action for a really complicated problem. I didn’t really look back after that.”

Since that pivotal moment into what was intended to be a one-or-two year endeavour, now elongated into five and a half years and counting, Yetter-Bowman has dedicated themself to raising awareness of forever chemicals through documentary films including the recently released Burned: Protecting the Protectors.

The firefighter’s wife

The 30-minute documentary follows Diane Cotter, a hairdresser and wife of a lifetime firefighter Paul who developed cancer. Following Paul’s diagnosis Diane sought to understand why occupational disease such as cancer is such a common issue in the fire service and if there was more to the story than just exposure to the products of combustion.

Despite being neither college educated nor having a background in chemistry, Diane had a hunch that there might be something else going on and so began to research firefighter turnout gear and the prospect that it might contain harmful chemicals. She presented her research to Applied Nuclear Physicist Graham Peaslee who, touched by her story, decided to look into it.

“The initial test was horrible,” says Yetter-Bowman. Peaslee’s test revealed a high signature of PFAS in firefighter turnout gear. “This was not something that otherwise he had seen reported anywhere. There was no real disclosure within the fire service.”

“This was not something that otherwise he had seen reported anywhere. There was no real disclosure within the fire service.”

Diane and Peaslee found a non-profit who was willing to pitch in money. They carried out a peer reviewed study which was the real turning point. There is a clip in the documentary where Peaslee says he was nervous to report the findings, even though it was peer reviewed, because no one else had ever said this before.

The immense concentration of PFAS that were found in the turnout gear were some of the highest levels of fluorine Peaslee had ever seen in any kind of textile. They had discovered huge amounts of a well-established harmful compounds on all layers of turnout gear, that had likely been present in gear dating back to the 1970s.

Yetter-Bowman summarises: “Taking all that into perspective, we’re essentially saying that this person who did not go to college, had no chemistry background, but had a hunch that maybe there’s another contributor to firefighter cancer and occupational disease, decided to investigate. She was told not to, she was dismissed, she was gaslit for many, many years.

“They had discovered huge amounts of a well-established harmful compounds on all layers of turnout gear.”

“Her character was directly attacked by members of the fire service and she continued to persevere. She found a person to test it, the tests found that she was probably right, this was peer reviewed, and now it’s been published multiple times and replicated.”

Grant Peaslee’s peer reviewed study was followed up by one of his peers, Jennifer Field. Field carried out a different type of analysis which showed that the high level of PFAS found – shockingly – in the original study were far below the reality.

Securing Mark Ruffalo

The original intent, Yetter-Bowman tells, was to make a film that comprehensively covers the whole issue of forever chemicals, to disillusion it, and to make it accessible. That film is still in progress under the title Gen X. The initial plan saw the third act of Gen X serve as the big reveal of the presence of PFAS in firefighter turnout gear.

Yetter-Bowman said they felt an ethical quandary after filming had completed: “It didn’t make sense to wait. Feature documentaries take a long time to finish. We had a moment where we thought, ‘Why are we waiting with an indefinite timeline to get this out when we could just make a specific message for the people who desperately need it?’” The documentary team decided to put Gen X on pause and got to work on finishing Burned to get the message to firefighters as quickly as possible.

During the development of Burned, Yetter-Bowman worked closely with Rob Bilott, named by the New York Times as ‘The Lawyer Who became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare’ for taking on an environmental lawsuit into the company’s long history of chemical pollution, and the subject of 2019 film Dark Waters in which he is played by Mark Ruffalo.

“We had jokingly thought, oh, it’d be great to get Mark involved with Gen X,” Yetter-Bowman tells – and is it transpired, this is exactly what happened. When Ruffalo’s involvement was secured and the team were finally able to get in a room with him the idea to make Burned a standalone piece was not in motion. “The decision to make Burned essentially came at the end of the Gen X interview with Mark,” Yetter-Bowman reveals.

“When we finally got in a room with Mark it was very obvious that he only does this because he’s trying to fix this problem.”

“Clearly there’s a strong motivation that he has as an activist. He said, ‘I have this ability to reach the public, fix the problem’. When we finally got in a room with Mark it was very obvious that he only does this because he’s trying to fix this problem.’” Ruffalo is a named producer of the documentary.

‘Incredibly moved’

In January 2023, the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) hosted the world premier of Burned: Protecting the Protectors at the 2023 Affiliate Leadership Training Summit in Las Vegas. After the premiere the number of requests to access the film exploded. “A lot of people basically said, ‘I just saw this film and I want to take it across my community and continuously screen it’,” Yetter-Bowman tells.

They share a letter they received from an attendee of the screening which reads: “I was incredibly moved by this documentary … In fact, it has changed my life so much that I’m not even sure I can look at my job the same way. Today was the first day I put on my gear at work knowing the cancer I may be adding to my body. This has been a wake up call for me and I now feel morally obliged to inform every single person in my almost 3000 member department about the dangers of PFAS in our equipment.”

The production company, Ethereal Films, had originally planned to host their own screenings everywhere but due to the overwhelming response that has become impossible. Instead, Yetter-Bowman says they are providing the tools that they believe are most essential to host educational events to help spread the message as widely as possible: “If we can do that and can continue to work on this, this type of project and we’re happy.”

Yetter-Bowman adds the only thing that one thing they kept in mind during the making and distribution of the documentary is to try to be constructive about what can be controlled and how things can move forward: “PFAS is such a big deal. There’s a lot of different intersections, as Burned lays out – there is a huge level of particular exposure that firefighters face because of their gear – and it’s very actionable.

“There is so much collective bargaining power that firefighters had as an occupation and the union is already trying to stir this up to say, ‘Every manufacturer that makes gear or that makes the textiles stop using harmful substances’.”

Burned: Protecting the Protectors is now available for departments, non-profits and other organisations via www.etherealfilms.org/license-request.

This article was originally published in the April edition of IFSJ. To read your FREE digital copy, click here.

London Fire Brigade launches #ChargeSafe campaign to reduce E-bike fires

by Featured NewsSafety

London Fire Brigade has launched the #ChargeSafe campaign in a bid to reduce the number of E-bike fires across the capital. Firefighters across the city are meeting delivery drivers as part of the campaign which launched last week.

It aims to highlight the fire risks associated with lithium batteries which are commonly used with e-bikes.

The outreach work with delivery drivers follows incidents where fire crews have found delivery bags at the scene of fires. Firefighters from 102 fire stations are distributing leaflets at restaurants, takeaways and bars. The info contains a QR code which links to important safety information.

London Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Dom Ellis said: “We are focussing on reaching out to delivery drivers using e-bikes, and the companies that employ them, to reduce the risk of fires.”

London Fire Brigade is partnering with delivery companies like Just Eat, Deliveroo and Uber Eats to provide safety information to their drivers about the risks of e-bike fires, as part of the #ChargeSafe campaign.

The Brigade has attended over 158 e-bike and e-scooter fires from the start of 2022 to March 2023, resulting in 78 injuries and some fatalities. Most people injured in fires related to e-bikes and e-scooters are in their 20s, and the fires often occur in homes where multiple adults live together without children.

Charging batteries is the most risky time for e-bike and e-scooter fires as this is when batteries are most likely to fail. The Brigade wants employees who buy e-bikes for work to be aware of how to use them safely and is distributing leaflets with QR codes containing safety information.

London Fire Brigade’s Advice to e-bike users

  • Never block your escape route with anything, including e-bikes and e-scooters.
  • Store them somewhere away from a main through route, like in a safe location such as a garage or shed.
  • Do not modify or tamper with your battery. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
  • Converting pedal bikes into e-bikes using DIY kits bought online can be very dangerous and poses a higher risk of fire.
  • Check that your battery and charger meet UK safety standards. 
  • Watch out for signs that the battery or charger aren’t working properly, like if they are hot to the touch or have changed shape.
  • Always use the correct charger and buy an official one from a reputable seller.
  • Be cautious when purchasing batteries from online marketplaces or the internet as they may not meet safety standards.
  • Let the battery cool before charging as they can get warm during use and may be more susceptible to failure if charged immediately.
  • Unplug your charger once it’s finished charging and always follow manufacturers’ instructions.
  • Fit smoke alarms in areas where e-bikes or e-scooters are being charged and ensure they are tested regularly.
  • Use the London Fire Brigade’s free online home fire safety checker tool to check your home’s safety.

New fire safety guidance comes into force on 1 October 2023 in UK

by Featured NewsSafety

New fire safety guidance, which includes the requirements for fire risk assessments, will come into force on October 1, 2023 in the UK.

The new guidance, called the Building Safety Bill, will replace the current regime established by the Fire Safety Order 2005. The Building Safety Bill is part of the UK government’s reform program in response to the Grenfell Tower fire.

The new legislation aims to strengthen fire safety in high-rise buildings, and to ensure that residents and owners are kept informed about building safety risks. The new guidance also aims to improve the regulation of building safety across the country.

The Building Safety Bill will require the responsible person to appoint a competent person to carry out fire risk assessments in high-rise buildings. The responsible person will also be required to provide information about the building’s construction and maintenance, as well as any safety measures and equipment in place.

The new legislation will also require owners and residents to provide information about their occupancy of the building, and to report any changes that may affect fire safety.

The Building Safety Bill will introduce a new safety assurance regime, which will require building owners and managers to assess and manage the safety risks of their buildings.

The safety assurance regime will also require owners and managers to take appropriate measures to mitigate any risks identified. In addition, the Bill will provide for more stringent requirements for building safety during construction and refurbishment projects, and will strengthen the powers of regulators to enforce safety standards.

The new guidance also includes the introduction of a new Building Safety Regulator, which will be responsible for implementing and enforcing the new safety regime.

The Building Safety Regulator will have powers to impose penalties on building owners and managers who fail to comply with the new safety requirements, and to take enforcement action against those who breach the regulations.