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SHWT Meeting Missoula, Montana

**November 5 -- 9, 2001**

**Attendance Members:**

Paul Broyles NPS, NIFC

Pat Haddad NPS, Arizona

John Gould BIA, NIFC

Gene Madden FL State

Chuck Whitlock USFS, MTDC

Stan Palmer BLM, NIFC

Ed Forrester WI State

Michelle Ryerson-Grett BLM, NIFC

**Guests:**

Al King NPS, NIFC

Wayne Bushnell USFS, Alaska

Ed Hollenshead USFS, Arizona

Mike Smith NV State

Sue Ellis Fire Management, Victoria, Australia

Shannon Martinez USFS, R-5

Chad Fisher NPS, NIFC

Mike Apicello USFS, NIFC

George Jackson USFS, MTDC

Tom Taylor USFS, Washington

Charlie Gripp USFS, California

Stephen Fisher Volunteer FF/EMT, Oregon

Jeff Skussel USFS, R-1

## November 5, 2001, 1300-1700 hrs.

OLD BUSINESS REVIEW

# Safety Gram -- Stan Palmer

Safety Gram Update, October 22, 2001 (Handout #2). 16 incidents, July
/August heavy month. 9 entrapments, 15 fatalities.

# Driving Regulations -- Stan Palmer

The draft regulations will be sent to the driving regs task group and
Safety & Health Working Team (SHWT) for review and comments. Please
reply back to Stan Palmer by first of February. There is no mention of
cell phone usage, radios or other potential 'distractions' mentioned.

**Historical Wildland Firefighter Fatality Report (1910 -- 2000) -- Stan
Palmer**

Additional information has been added which includes a number of
additional fatalities during the CCC era. This will be available by mid
winter on the web site.

# MTDC brochures/publications -- Chuck Whitlock

There are about 13 MTDC publications that will be linked to the SHWT
website.

Such publications will include: fire shelter training information,
Africanized bees, smoke issues, fatalities link, 'fit to work', heat
stress, urban interface safety issues, various Tech Tips etc.

**Safety Poster -- Chuck Whitlock**

7 safety tips were originally created. When all posters are created, the
SHWT intends to make them available through PMS and on a link on the
SHWT home page.

# 

# CD-ROM Project -- Paul Broyles

The rewrite of the wildland fire safety CD-ROM is on track. There are
seven groups of modifications.

***ACTION: Beta testing of this product from the wildland fire community
(firefighters, smokejumpers, managers) will be sent out soon for review.
Comments will be coordinated by Dave Aldrich (anticipated time frame for
Beta test is mid December).***

# Bandana Update -- Paul Broyles

The photo finish product was submitted to PMS but the product was
denied. It was suggested by the team to have a link to the bandana on
the SHWT home page so individuals that are interested can download the
artwork.

***ACTION: Michelle will research the possibilities of getting this
product on the web site.***

# Sanitation Issues - Michelle Ryerson-Grett

Jan McCluskey, CO in Boise, will take our suggestions for mandatory
handwashing stations provided by national kitchen contractors. McCluskey
also mentioned that porta-potty sanitation is not part of the national
contracts, but should be reviewed prior to EERA's being issued.

Next national contract meeting with McCluskey, COTR's, FDUL's, FACL's
and LOGS' will be in February 2002 in San Diego.

# Incident Response Pocket Guide -- Paul Broyles

Jim Cook has the lead for getting this IOSWT product out and available
in final format. It will be finalized in late November and sent to PMS
for publication -- available 2/1/02.

# IBPWT Memo -- Paul Broyles

Tory Majors, Chair for IBPWT, has proposed (Handout #4) a joint meeting
with the SHWT to discuss two items that both the SHWT and IBPWT are
involved in:

-   the review and potential rewrite of the Agency Administrator's Guide
    to Critical Incidents.

-   the requirements for line qualified EMT's for emergency assignments
    and the state laws surrounding their use.

ACTION: Paul will send representative(s) to their next meeting in
January, or will invite the IBPWT to our next team meeting in Tucson,
February 26-28, 2002.

ACTION: Stan Palmer will send the draft of Agency Administrator's Guide
to Critical Incidents for review by the team. Comments are due to Bob
Ashworth by January 1, 2002.

# Safety Reporting System R-5: Shannon Martinez and Charlie Gripp

(Handout #5 -- Safety Management Software) (Handout #6 -- Documentation
form for injury) (Handout #7 Sample Report)

Shannon walked the team through the Safety Management Software reporting
system that is being developed in R-5. This documentation will be able
to track all simple and major medicals that occur on an incident and
will allow fire safety officers and managers to review and address those
medicals that may otherwise have been overlooked. This system is being
designed to be user friendly and comprehensive. The data inputted will
create a myriad of reports, such as nature/type of injury, agency,
dates, type of incident, number of days worked etc. Much discussion
revolved around the benefits of this online reporting system and if this
can be incorporated with the federal reporting system, Safety Management
Information Systems (SMIS).

***ACTION: Michelle will consult with the SMIS group to see if this fire
particular data can be incorporated with this already existing reporting
system. For more information on the software:***

> ***Ray Richeson***
>
> ***RMS Software Publishing Systems, Inc.***
>
> ***PO BOX 480482***
>
> ***Denver, CO 80248-0482***
>
> ***303-297-2720 or 888-766-0220 ext. 108***

# SAFENET Update -- John Gould

John met with the NWCG parent group in November to update them on
SAFENET. Concerns by NWCG were identified around litigation, liability,
accuracy, prompt agency notification and responses to corrective action.
The SHWT team also has concern that the original intent and value of the
SAFENET reporting system does not get compromised. Along with a
disclaimer, there is a suggestion that a state representative should be
on the review process before the information is released.

***ACTION: John Gould and the FFAST team will consult with a legal
representative for advice on how to avoid litigation and the possibility
of creating a disclaimer that will be posted on SAFENET reports. John
will report back to the SHWT at the February meeting with the update and
solicit other*** ***suggestions/parameters from the team.***

***ACTION: Paul will meet with the parent group to make***
***recommendations as to how the SAFENET program can continue
effectively***. ***The SHWT will ask the NWCG to endorse the program as
an important safety initiative for all wildland fire fighter's, the
reporting system was identified by the Tri-Data Report Phase III as a
high priority need for the wildland fire community. The management and
daily administration of this program should appropriately reside with
the FFAST team. The SWHT will propose a time period between notification
and publication.***

# FFAST Update -- John Gould

SHWT had a display at the Safety Conference. "6 Minutes for Safety"
training program continues to be successful and regularly updated. Core
objectives are being developed for the mandatory 8 hour refresher
training.

# Safety Officer Course (S-404) Update -- Stan Palmer and Gene Madden

The final draft is ready to go PMS in December. There is some concern
that the team recommendations have not been incorporated into the new
course.

## November 9, 2001, 0800 -- 1200 hrs.

***[(note:SWHT attended the Wildland Fire Safety Summit November 6-8,
2001)]{.underline}***

# Safety Gram Update - Stan Palmer

The 2001 Safety Gram will be available by mid January 2002.

There was additional discussion as to the categories of the Safety Gram
format.

ACTION: Gene, Chuck and Stan will re-evaluate the current criteria for
each category in the Safety Gram and develop a written standard, which
will be consistent with definitions. The SHWT will review the proposal
at the next meeting in February. This information will eventually be
posted on the SHWT web page. Due date: February 11, 2002.

# EMT certifications - Gene Madden

Gene wrote a position paper (draft Handout \# 7) identifying the
background and problems around certification issues with some
suggestions for resolution. It is realized that this concern will likely
require legislative relief for fire and all risk incidents.

***ACTION: The team will review the draft and solicit comments as
appropriate. A consolidated draft proposal will be presented to the
IBMWT and NWCG. Due date: comments to Gene by December 3, 2001.***

***ACTION: Gene will draft a memo and forward this draft to Dr. John
Jui, Portland, Oregon, for his review and comments.***

***ACTION: Paul and others from the SHWT will attend the IBMWT and NWCG
meeting the week of January 14^th^ in New Orleans to bring them up to
date on this issue.***

# 

# Safety Conference Recommendations - Paul Broyles

The SHWT has been tasked with the following items:

***ACTION: Chuck will draft a memo to MTDC/Brian Sharkey to request a
tech tip on personal responsibilities for nutritional requirements,
supplements.***

***The SHWT will continue to support MTDC's research on optimum
operational period lengths, fatigue, and physiological limits.***

**30-Mile Incident Report - Paul Broyles**

The SHWT reviewed the Action Plan in anticipation of NWCG tasking the
team to address issues brought forward in the report.

# Hard Hat issues - Paul Broyles

Concerns were brought up after an accident occurred in California as to
what are the review, field testing standards, policy and/or updates on
hard hat care and replacements. At this time, the national cache does
not have an automatic replacement schedule for hard hats. MTDC has
issued a Tech Tip in the past.

***ACTION: Chuck will review and update the Tech Tip with MTDC, and
issue a new one.***

***ACTION: The SHWT will send out the update as a safety bulletin. This
update will also be made*** ***available*** ***on the SHWT web page.***

# Contractor/EERA's safety concerns -- Michelle Ryerson-Grett

The concern is that local districts are not reviewing contractors for
safety and contract compliance before they are signed up and dispatched
to a fire. There appears to be assumptions made as to state/county
compliance once the contractors have arrived in fire camp.

ACTION: Michelle will draft a memo to the IBMT, to address these
concerns and to solicit input for an issue paper which will be presented
to NWCG.

# Crew Cohesion Issues - Paul Broyles

The concern was initiated from Jerry Williams, USFS Fire Director, as to
cohesiveness of different types of crews.

Dr. John Driessen, MTDC, will draft a discussion paper outlining these
concerns/case studies on the negative and positive effects of crew
cohesiveness or lack of same within a crew/module/team and it's
implications and present this paper at the next NWCG parent meeting.

White Paper suggestions:

\- Case study of 30-mile and several other incidents where crew
"cohesion" was an issue

> \- Discuss negative and positive characteristics of crew cohesion
> related to wildland fire crews (including initial attack modules, hand
> crews and contractors).

\- Effects of crew cohesion between unlike types of crews on incident
management.

\- Recommendations for improvement.

***ACTION: Chuck will have the MTDC video "Making of a Crew" sent to all
team members of the team.***

ACTION: George Jackson, MTDC, will work with Dr. Driessen on the white
paper for NWCG.

# Fire Shelter Update - George Jackson

Fire shelters that have been issued with the improper casing will be
available for replacement through the cache system. There are currently
40,000 new shelters available for exchange.

The procedures and latest companion document on fire shelter updates
will be issued through a national cache memo, and subsequently put on
the SHWT web site and through the safety alert system. This information
should be out by the week of December 19^th^ to all agencies.

ACTION: MTDC is working with the Fire Equipment Working Team and the
caches to issue directions on replacement/exchange.

**Next Meetings:**

February 26-28, 2002

Tucson, AZ

April 22-26, 2002

San Diego, CA

October 7-11, 2002

Anchorage, AK

**Conference Calls**:

December 12, 2001

1300 MST

208-387-5998

January 30, 2002

1300 MST

208-387-5998