Linda Stone and I have been retained to manage year 4 of the Everyone Goes Home ® program. For starters, we recognize that this is a very large task that is going to require the support and effort of many others. Further we understand the importance of the program to help to reduce the unacceptable number of line of duty deaths for firefighters. With that said, what can you expect?

First, you will get a sound effort. Linda and I have agreed to commit our energies to this program with hopes of making a difference. We also will include others, those with expertise and energy to offer to the program. We understand the urgency of the assignment and are working hard to learn the federal grant system and the projects identified in the year 4 application. We will evaluate those with the help of our leadership team to determine which items are valid, which ones need to be adjusted and which ones need to be abandoned. The question we must answer when we do the evaluation will be "will it make a difference?"

While LODDs are not often easily classified in simple terms, one could argue that they occur for one of two reasons - complacency or a lack of competence. The complacency can happen when people expect incidents to be routine. It can also come into play when firefighters believe they can't be hurt because of who they are. The competency issue is based upon a combination of training, education, practice and experience. Fewer calls or low frequency events require better and more training and practice.

With this simple explanation, one could deduce that the efforts of the Everyone Goes Home ® program need to address this issue. Our intent is to continue to raise awareness to minimize complacency and to offer tools to help with the preparation of firefighters to do the job. More will be coming in the next few months. It will take the participation of many to make a significant difference. We believe it can happen and look forward to taking on this challenge. In the meantime, feel free to contact Linda at 248-506-3401 or lstone@everyonegoeshome.com or me at 248-231-8422.