USFA

N e w s i n R e v i e w

An Electronic Newsletter for First Responders and Allied Professionals

U.S. Fire Administrator Stresses 

New Campaign to Lower Firefighter 

Death Toll

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has joined with the National Fallen 

Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) to spearhead a first-of-its-kind campaign to lower 

significantly the number of firefighters who die in the line of duty each year. Last 

month, more than 200 fire and emergency service representatives from some 100 

organizations and departments gathered in Florida in support of USFA’s stated 

goal to reduce firefighter fatalities by 25 percent within 5 years, and 50 percent 

within 10 years.

The summit attendees subsequently produced a preliminary report that detailed 

initiatives and recommendations for drastically reducing firefighter fatalities and 

injuries. This month, a follow-up meeting was held in Arizona to review the 

report and begin putting action behind the words.

According to a report released in late 2003, 105 firefighters lost their lives while 

on-duty in the U.S. in 2002 – nearly a quarter of those while fighting wildland 

fires. In 2003, another 110 firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty. The 

USFA has been tracking and analyzing firefighter fatalities for 26 years. Almost 

2,500 firefighters have died on duty in the past 2 decades.

Volume 2, No. 4, April/May 2004

In This Issue:

16th Executive Fire Officer Program

Graduate Symposium Held 2

Fire Department Census Announces

New Registration Numbers 3

IGA Announces Hometown Proud

Marketing Event 3

NFIRS Program Management Course

Vacancies 4

New Online Course Helps Schools

Develop Effective Emergency Operations 

Plans 5

Society of Fire Protection Engineering

Principles of Fire Protection

Engineering Course 5

New Online Course for Federal Disaster 

Workers 6

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

and USFA to Honor 109 Firefighters 6

National Capital Region’s Incident

Management Team Receives Training 6

Volunteer to support local

emergency responders, disaster

relief and community safety!

President Bush spoke on volunteerism 

at the Pennsylvania State Association 

of Township Supervisors on April 19. 

At his side was Hershey Volunteer Fire 

Department Chief Patrick Leonard. 

For more information on the President’s volunteer initiatives, please visit 

the Citizen Corps and Freedom Corps

Web sites.

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50

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Firefighter Fatalities 1977-2003

20 year trend

10 year trend

19771979199519811983

1985

19871989199120031993

1997

1999

2005

2001

Fatalities

Year
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11. Develop and champion national standards for 

 emergency response policies and procedures;

12. Develop and champion national protocols for response 

 to violent incidents;

13. Provide firefighters and their families with access to 

 counseling and psychological support;

14. Provide public education with more resources and 

 champion it as a critical fire and life safety program;

15. Strengthen advocacy for the enforcement of codes and

 installation of home fire sprinklers;

16. Make safety a primary consideration in the design of 

 apparatus and equipment.

The summit’s entire report is posted at www.firehero.org.

16th Executive Fire Officer Program Graduate 

Symposium Held

The 16th Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) Graduate 

Symposium was held successfully on April 16-18, 2004. 

The largest attendance in the history of the symposium was 

recorded, with more than 190 alums participating. This 

year’s program included a keynote presentation entitled 

“Ethics Based Leadership,” delivered by Dr. Jim Reese of 

Williamsburg, Virginia; a presentation by Dr. Amy Donahue 

on the Columbia Shuttle recovery efforts, with lessons 

learned; a discussion of current USFA Incident Management 

Team (IMT) initiatives; and a presentation on professional 

development by Dr. Denis Onieal, National Fire Academy 

(NFA) Superintendent.

During the symposium, a field trip was used as a metaphor 

to examine the process of coaching and its relationship 

to feedback. Symposium participants actually traveled by 

bus and train, with a brief program being presented in 

Biglerville, Pennsylvania. On April 17th, the Broadway play 

“The Guys” was presented by a professional cast. Playwright 

Anne Nelson also was present, as the participants discussed 

the implications of the play and how writing can be used to 

reinforce and change culture. USFA Deputy Administrator 

Charlie Dickinson spoke at the symposium banquet and 

recognized both the 2003 EFOP graduates in attendance 

and the four Outstanding Applied Research Award winners. 

The National Society of Executive Fire Officers presented 

the first A. Don Manno Outstanding Research Awards to the 

same recipients.

“FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security are firmly 

behind the USFA’s efforts to solve this continuing and heartbreaking problem,” said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary 

of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and 

Response. “We need to work together to reduce the death 

toll of these American heroes.”

Sixteen initiatives came out of the summit. USFA official 

acknowledge that many will take a huge commitment of 

energy and resources over several years, and some will cause 

controversy and some discomfort as they go against longheld traditions.

“We need not shy away due to either the size of the 

commitment or the fear of controversy,” said U.S. Fire 

Administrator R. David Paulison. “We can no longer accept 

that dying on the job is a normal way of doing business. 

Yes, the work is inherently dangerous and no, the death toll 

for firefighters will never be zero. But firefighters are dying 

unnecessarily and that must stop.”

Briefly, the initiatives are:

1.Define and advocate the need for cultural change related to 

safety, leadership, management, and personal responsibility;

2.Enhance the personal and organizational accountability 

for health and safety;

3.Focus greater attention on the integration of risk 

management with incident management at all levels;

4.Empower all firefighters to stop unsafe practices;

5.Develop and implement national standards for training, 

qualifications, and certification;

6.Develop and implement national medical and physical 

fitness standards;

7.Create a national research agenda and data collection 

system that relates to initiatives;

8.Use available technology to produce higher levels of 

health and safety;

9.Investigate all firefighter fatalities, injuries and near 

misses;

10. Ensure grant programs support the use of safe practices 

 and/or mandate safe practices as an eligibility 

 requirement;
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The closing presentation was offered by Washington Post 

writer David Von Drehle, during which he told the story of 

his 2003 book, “Triangle: The Fire That Changed America.” 

Von Drehle asserted that Triangle led to extensive reform 

throughout America and was actually a prelude to President 

Franklin Roosevelt’s “New Deal.” During the symposium 

program the four Outstanding Applied Research Award 

winners presented their papers as well.

Fire Department Census Announces

New Registration Numbers

The National Fire Department Census had 22,250 registered 

fire departments on April 1, 2004 – approximately 75 

percent of U.S. fire departments. This is an increase from 

2 years ago, when only about half of all of the nation’s fire 

departments had submitted information for the census.

The fire departments registered with the census represent 

some 41,000 fire stations and more than 1 million 

personnel, including career, volunteer, and paid-per-call 

firefighters; civilian staff; and non-firefighting volunteers. 

The departments are located in all 50 states, the District of 

Columbia, and U.S. territories. The census is managed by the 

National Fire Data Center, part of USFA. The census database 

provides a directory of registered fire departments, and 

includes basic information including address, department 

type, Web site address, and number of stations.

“USFA staff members plan to use the census data to conduct 

special studies, guide program decisions and improve our 

communication with fire departments throughout the 

country,” said U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison. 

“The census is also a valuable resource for departments 

and we encourage fire departments to access the census 

information on the USFA Web site and to register if they 

have not already done so.”

Percentage of Fire Departments Providing

Specialized Services

Specialized Services Provided Percentage

Vehicle Extrication 71.1

Fire/Injury Prevention/Public Education 55.4

Basic Life Support 54.4

Wildfire/Urban-Wildland Interface 53.1

Fire Investigation/Fire Cause 

Determination

35.8

Fire Inspection/Code Enforcement 34.8

EMS Non-Transport Response 33.6

Technical/Specialized Rescue 32.7

Departmental (in-house)Training Academy 26.4

EMS Ambulance Transport 20.6

Advanced Life Support 20.6

HAZMAT Team 15.7

Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Program 14.2

Airport/Aviation 7.3

Fireboat 3.4

Census data, including a breakdown of participating

departments, can be found at:

www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/fdonline/

IGA Announces Hometown Proud Marketing Event

IGA today announced the second annual Hometown Proud 

marketing event will be held in participating IGA stores 

April 25-May 8, 2004. The marketing event serves the dual 

purpose of promoting the necessity of fire safety education, 

while honoring the heroism of those who keep our IGA 

communities on the leading edge of fire prevention.
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For Hometown Proud 2004, IGA has partnered with 

FEMA to help communicate the IGA event to firehouses 

across America. Red Oval Family partners Kraft Foods, 

the Coca-Cola Company, Campbell Soup Company, LEGO 

Systems, Inc., and Timex Corporation will be sponsoring the 

marketing event.

“Volunteer fire departments are a way of life in many of our 

IGA areas,” said IGA Area Director George Beaver. “In some 

cases, the same person who bags your groceries is the person 

who saves your house, or your life, when a fire breaks out. 

This marketing event is designed to help these heroes spread 

the word about fire safety.”

The event centers on the essay contest, which asks families, 

in 200 words or less, to answer the question: “How Does 

Your Hometown Proud Family Contribute to Community 

Fire Safety?” The Grand Prize winning family receives a trip 

to Walt Disney World. Seven first place-winning families will 

receive ticket packages (one per IGA Region) to the Grand 

Ole Opry and Opryland Hotel as well as $1,000 donations 

to local firefighters in each winner’s area. In addition, 10 

special LEGO “Firefighter” prizes will be awarded in each 

IGA’s region from randomly drawn essay contest entries.

“The number of people who lose their lives or are injured by 

fire each year paints a very tragic picture in this nation,” U.S. 

Fire Administrator R. David Paulison said. “It is our sincere 

hope that projects like this will help to create an awareness 

to the dangers of fire, and what each of us can do to protect 

our lives, the lives of our neighbors, and the lives of our 

firefighters who respond to emergencies throughout the 

country.”

IGA is the world’s largest voluntary supermarket network 

with aggregate worldwide annual retail sales of more 

than $21 billion. The alliance includes more than 4,000 

Hometown Proud Supermarkets worldwide, supported 

by 36 distribution companies and more the 55 major 

manufacturers, vendors, and suppliers.

NFIRS Program Management Course at the

National Fire Academy Still Available

There are several vacancies available for the upcoming National 

Fire Incident Reporting System Program Management (NFIRS) course 

scheduled to be held at the NFA in Emmitsburg, Maryland, 

from August 8 to 20, 2004. Contact NFA’s Admissions 

Office (www.usfa.fema.gov/fire-service/nfa/nfa.shtm) for 

more information on applying for this and other NFIRS 

training courses.

This 2-week course enhances the knowledge and skills 

of those individuals responsible for managing NFIRS in 

their organization, and/or the training of field-level data 

collection and reporting staffs. Students are expected to have 

completed either the new online NFIRS Self-Study course 

(lstrng1.fema.gov/LearningSpace5/Program/UI/Main/

Themes/Kendall/Main.asp), the Introduction to NFIRS 5.0 2-day 

class, or equivalent, prior to attending this course.

The NFIRS management in R-499 receives information 

about the NFIRS capabilities, data collection and analysis, 

and the available reporting features. Focus is on the higherlevel competencies required to train others in data entry, 

collection, and reporting, and to develop decision packages 

based on local, state, or national data and trends.

Other NFIRS-related training materials, such as the CDROM-based NFIRS Program Managers Toolkit and the 

new Geographic Information System Tutorial also on 

CD-ROM are available from USFA’s Publication Center 

(www.usfa.fema.gov/applications/publications/).

NFIRS 5.0 is a modified and improved system that has 

been designed as a tool for fire departments to report 

and maintain computerized records of fires and other fire 

department incidents in a uniform manner. Intro to NFIRS 

5.0 was developed by USFA in partnership with the National 

Fire Information Council.

The new NFIRS 5.0 system, in addition to many code 

improvements, provides additional modules to meet the 

increasing demands of fire departments today. It has been 

designed to expand the collection of data beyond fires to 

include a full range of fire department activity on a national 

scale. Included is an expanded utility for users of the system 

at both the state and fire department levels. The recent 

addition of an Emergency Medical Services module, along 

with the inclusion of Department Apparatus, Wildland, 

and Personnel modules, ensures greater usefulness of the 

system.

Intro to NFIRS 5.0 will enable the fire service to examine 

trends, which will help reduce the loss of life and property 

by fire throughout the United States.
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New Online Course Helps Schools Develop

Effective Emergency Operations Plans

The Emergency Management Institute (EMI) has unveiled an 

online, independent study course that will help educators 

and first responders develop effective emergency operations 

plans for the wide array of potential emergencies that 

schools face.

The online course, IS 362: Multi-Hazard Emergency Planning 

for Schools, is based on a traditional classroom course that 

FEMA has been offering for 9 years. The online course 

describes emergency management operations, roles and 

responsibilities, explains how to assess potential hazards 

schools face, and explains how to develop and test an 

emergency operations plan. While the course takes an allhazards approach to emergency planning, it does include a 

lesson on planning for terrorism.

The course takes between 6 and 8 hours to complete;

those successfully finishing it receive a certification of

completion. The course is located at:

www.training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is362.asp

Society of Fire Protection Engineering (SFPE) Principles 

of Fire Protection Engineering: A Distance Learning 

Pilot Program

Register now -- Enrollment is free! Be among the first 

to participate in SFPE’s first Web-based distance learning 

program on Principles of Fire Protection Engineering. 

The pilot is funded as part of a USFA grant to the SFPE. 

Participants are required to complete a course evaluation 

survey designed to help improve the program for future 

users.

The course is open to individuals interested in gaining or 

refreshing basic to intermediate knowledge of principles of 

fire protection engineering. It is intended for those who 

have design, enforcement, or advisory responsibilities; fire 

protection engineers; architects; fire prevention personnel; 

and others concerned with fire protection. It consists of 10 

self-paced modules:

1.Combustion and Ignition Phenomenon – Theories of 

diffusion, flame combustion, fire dynamics, suppression 

theory, and suppression agents.

2.Fire Endurance Evaluation – Review of the development 

and application of standard and innovative fire endurance 

test procedures for building assemblies including doors, 

windows, walls, floors, and ceilings.

3.Construction and Structural Features – Performance of 

basic construction materials in the fire environment. The 

fire compartment involvement process and the concept of 

designing building compartmentalization.

4.Materials Applications – Evaluation procedures for flame 

spread, smoke production, and toxicity of interior finish, 

floor coverings, and furnishings.

5.Fire Protection Design Evaluation – Procedures for the 

evaluation of fire safety. Smoke management systems 

design principles and evaluation techniques.

6.Life Risk Analysis – Human tenability limits. Human 

behavior variables in fire incidents including convergence 

clusters, social inhibition-facilitation, altruistic, and 

nonadaptive actions.

7.Detection and Alarm Systems – Review of the types 

of detectors and laboratory evaluation test procedures. 

Reliability and installation design characteristics.

8.Sprinkler System Developments – Characteristics of 

design and approval of the various types of sprinklers and 

water mist nozzles with application implications.

9.Design of Water Suppression Systems – Design of 

sprinkler and water mist systems with review of standard 

procedures and innovative research applications.

10. Egress and Exits – Basic theoretical code concepts with 

 examination of egress components and design 

 variables.

Those participating in the pilot save $600 on classroom 

registration, tavel costs, and Continuing Education Units.

The SFPE Distance Learning Program on Principles of Fire 

Protection Engineering pilot program filled completely in 

the first 2 days of open registration. If you would like to be 

placed on the wait list for the course, or for notices of future 

offerings of the course, please contact igordon@sfpe.org 

with your contact information.
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New Online Course for Federal Disaster Workers

A new course is now available online to introduce the FEMA 

disaster response workforce and others involved in disaster 

response to the Incident Command System (ICS). The 

course, IS-100, does not replace the IS-195 Basic ICS course, 

but serves as a companion especially developed for federal 

disaster workers.

The length of the course will vary by individual, but takes 

an average of 2-1⁄2 to 3 hours to complete. This course is 

designed to give an introduction to the principles, common 

terminology, and position responsibilities when responding 

to an event using the (ICS). The course specifically discusses 

major ICS functions and their primary responsibilities, ICS 

organizational units, span of control, major incident facilities 

and the function of each, what an Incident Action Plan (IAP) 

is and how it is used, and the common responsibilities 

associated with incident assignments from a federal disaster 

response workforce perspective.

Access this course through the NETC Virtual Campus, located 

at: www.training.fema.gov/emiweb. From this site, click 

on “NETC Virtual Campus” and follow instructions for new 

students. Once you have entered the virtual campus, go to 

“Course Catalog,” select the “IS-100” course and click on 

“enroll.” You must begin with Lesson 1, and work through 

the course in the designated sequence. At the bottom of 

“Learning Home” you will find phone numbers and an email address for assistance.

To receive course credit, you must complete all four lessons 

plus the summary and post-test. EMI’s Independent 

Study Office will notify you via e-mail of your successful 

completion of the course, and will send you a course 

certificate.

Questions can be directed to the course manager, Linda 

Choha, at (301) 447-7686 or linda.choha@dhs.gov

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and USFA to 

Honor 109 Firefighters during 23rd Annual Memorial 

Weekend, October 2-3, 2004

The NFFF and the USFA have announced that they will 

honor 106 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2003, 

along with three firefighters who died in earlier years. These 

brave men and women will be honored at the 23rd Annual 

Memorial Weekend to be held October 2-3, 2004. Most 

events will be held on the NFA campus, site of the National 

Fallen Firefighters Memorial, in Emmitsburg.

“Every time a firefighter loses his or her life in the line of 

duty, all of us should stop and acknowledge the sacrifice, the 

loss of one more true American hero,” said NFFF Executive 

Director Chief Ron Siarnicki. “The Memorial Weekend is 

when our country pauses to remember what the brave men 

and women of our firefighting community do for all of us.”

The number of firefighters killed in the line of duty last year 

is slightly higher than the annual average of 100 firefighter 

fatalities per year. There were seven multiple fatality incidents 

which accounted for 20 deaths, or 19 percent of all 2003 

fatalities. The state of Oregon suffered the nation’s greatest 

number of line-of-duty firefighter deaths (13) followed by 

the states of Pennsylvania and Texas (8 fatalities each).

“All firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice in 2003 

will be remembered for both their contribution and their 

loss,” said NFFF Chairman Hal Bruno. “We need to honor 

their memories by never forgetting them or those they 

left behind, and we do that by providing support to their 

families and friends.”

U.S. Fire Administrator R. David Paulison agreed. “One 

of the saddest responsibilities as USFA Administrator is to 

participate in the remembrance of those firefighters who 

have given their lives in service to their communities,” he 

said. “It is my sincere hope that the day will come when, 

regardless of the emergency, all firefighters go home safely.”

For more information on the 23rd Annual Memorial 

Weekend, visit www.firehero.org

National Capital Region’s Incident Management Team 

Receives Training from USFA

USFA delivered vital training in mid-April for the 

National Capital Region’s newly formed regional Incident 

Management Team (IMT). The training, focused on both 

natural and man-made hazards, is being held in Loudoun 

County, Virginia, with instructors from USFA.

“The goal of the IMT training program is to develop state 

and regional teams to function under the National Incident 

Management System during a large incident or a major 

event,” said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland 

Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response. “This 
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training is important for those emergency response leaders 

who will function in an incident management role in and 

around the nation’s capital.”

The National Capital Region’s IMT is comprised of 40 senior 

fire, emergency medical system, and law enforcement officials 

from 11 jurisdictions in the Washington metropolitan area. 

The team’s role is to support a local jurisdiction and/or 

agency in managing large or complex emergency incidents 

or events. The team would provide support in such areas 

as operations, planning, resources, and administration. The 

team also may be involved in the preparedness planning for 

mass gathering events in the Washington area.

Following the 7-day course, the IMT members will receive 

position-specific training for the individual functions they 

will perform at an incident, and will work with seasoned 

incident management personnel at major national incidents 

(such as wildland fires or other disasters) to gain hands-on 

experience.