IAFC Position: Firefighter Safety and Prevention of Firefighter Injuries and Deaths

IAFC Supports the Need for Constant Scrutiny and Upgrade of Policies/Practices Related to Firefighter Safety and Prevention of Firefighter Injuries and Deaths

Prevention of injury and death of firefighters should be the highest priority of the fire service. Firefighters must be fit and well equipped, adequately trained to address the emergency challenges they face without becoming a victim of the circumstances they are attempting to control. It is a policy of the IAFC to place firefighter safety and wellness as the lead priority when developing standards of operation and incident action plans.

It is an IAFC goal to reduce the annual death and injury rate by encouraging the United States Fire Administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other organizations associated with the fire service to improve fire safety measures and encourage improvements in personal protective equipment, emergency response equipment, training systems and research.

The IAFC will continue to collect and distribute information about safety measures for fire service personnel, and will encourage the United States Fire Administration (and other related agencies) to investigate and report on any fire service line-of-duty deaths that occur in the United States. Upon investigating fire fighter line-of-duty deaths, the IAFC will promote the methods of preventing and mitigating the actions that led to these deaths.

The IAFC also encourages the development of consistent and formalized standards for recognizing and honoring those firefighters who die in the line of duty.

SUBMITTED BY: IAFC Policy Task Force
ADOPTED BY: IAFC Board of Directors, January 2002