Thank you to IAFC members and the many individuals and organizations within the fire and emergency service community who have stepped up to demonstrate their support for the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System. In an effort to keep everyone up to date on this issue, we are pleased to report the following developments:
- Emergency IAFC-based funding has secured the short-term continuation of the program. Server maintenance was completed last Friday with little disruption to service and the program remains operational.
- A Near-Miss Sustainability Task Force has been created and is quickly moving forward. The small group of research, technology, and fire and emergency service subject matter experts will convene this afternoon to manage the short-term action steps and begin discussions surrounding options for long-term solutions.
- The staff and the task force members have been revisiting work that has been ongoing since the program’s early years to seek long-term, non-grant funding. As federal and private sector resources were reluctant in the past to finance a successful program that already had funding, the IAFC is revisiting these conversations to explore possible interest in the changed environment.
- Program specifications: While many well-meaning individuals have stepped forward to offer support or recommend cost-cutting procedures, many have been surprised by the scope of the data-intensive research, technological infrastructure and hands-on support required to manage this national program. We also have had offers that would leverage the program for profit, make substantive changes to the proven and successful model, or otherwise impact the integrity of the system. In order to keep this work focused on positive and productive solutions, the IAFC will issue a set of program specifications later this week to help individuals and organizations that want to put forward proposals. If you are interested in receiving a copy of the specifications, please email atippett@iafc.org and a copy will be forwarded to you after the task force approves the final document.
- The IAFC is meeting with federal grant program staff this week to discuss the submitted proposal so that the IAFC may consider how it approaches future grant opportunities.
The IAFC will continue to provide updates on this issue as the work continues. Again, we thank each of you for your support, especially those who have come forward to offer help or taken the time to write us in support of the program. Here are just a few comments that captures the spirit of why the IAFC is not only seeking solutions, but doing so in a way that preserves the high quality of service that the community has come to expect.
I just heard that funding for the Fire Fighter Near-Miss Report of the Week is disappearing. I sincerely hope that does not come to fruition. … The resources like http://www.firefighternearmiss.com/ or the Report of the Week, are excellent ways to help others who may or may not have found themselves in a similar situation avoid injury, accident or incident. It raises our awareness and opens our eyes to something outside our normal environment. - Missouri
I have been a volunteer firefighter for 32 years. After hearing and signing up for it, the near misses shared have saved my [!&&] as well as my fellow brothers and sisters…-Pennsylvania
I read the articles produced by this program quite often. At a time in the Fire Service where funding is scarce for Local Government organizations, the Near Miss program provided myself, my crew, and many of my fellow Department members valuable training. -California