NIOSH Firefighter Reports Need Overhaul

NIOSH is tasked with performing line of duty death investigations when firefighters are involved. While the team does a fine job of gathering facts the presentation, and how it can relate to firefighting on the ground leaves much to be desired.

While the very broad nature of recommendations are understandable it would serve the fire service if pointed recommendations could be made allowing fire departments to use the reports as training tools. This would require the input of line firefighters.

We propose creating three groups of reviewers:

1. Urban
2. Suburban
3. Rural
4. Wildland

After gathering the factual information NIOSH could send it to the members of the appropriate panels for them to read over, make comments and provide their analysis based on their experience level. This would make a valuable addition to the factual narrative or can be included at the end of the report.

Allowing veteran firefighters to provide commentary wouldn't be the same as a formal critique of tactics. Instead it would serve to provide commentary that relates the circumstances in terms firefighters can understand.

Comments

[uk-fb-buff]

"Branch off" the NIOSH FF LODD Investigation to the USFA in a manner that FF input to the reports can present a better picture of the ivestigation.

[John Mitchell]

I respectfully disagree with your assertion that NIOSH's presentation of the facts and how they relate to "firefighting on the ground" leave much to be desired.

What are needed are facts. What is not needed is spin. I don't need a panel of "experts" to interpret the facts. With the summary, the details, the timelines, the pictures, the interviews, and the resulting recommendations, I find them comprehensive and perfect for training on my department.

I value the NIOSH reports for the conclusions they derive from the facts. Leave that alone.

If there is a group or groups of "experts" that feel they have what it takes to make the facts "more real", or to dress them up or dumb them down, then I have no problem with their input, as long as it is seperated from the clean report issued by NIOSH.

Such opinion is counter to the value of the NIOSH reports.

[Clevelandff]

Many NIOSH reports do leave a lot to be desired. I have read reports that say nothing about poor firefighting tactics but give long comentaries on lightweight construction. We should all be familiar with the dangers of this construction. I feel that investigations into LODD should focus on the tactics that put firefighters in danger when attacking fires in this type of construction. NIOSH should provide us with information that we can use to help prevent further deaths and injuries.