Everyone Goes Home - Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program

By Freddy Howell, Fire Chief, NSB Kings Bay, GA

On Friday March 6th, the spring weather rolled into the National Fire Academy (NFA) in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Along with it came fire service personnel from around the country ready to spend their sunny weekend inside an auditorium and classrooms on a quest to save lives. These 150 plus fire service members came to share a common goal of "saving our own" through the Everyone Goes Home^® Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program. The purpose of the Summit was to learn, to educate, to network, and to find every way possible to reduce line-of-duty deaths (LODDs).

The Summit began with a welcome reception and dinner Friday evening at Tom's log cabin across Tom's Creek on the edge of the NFA campus. During the social we were welcomed by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Executive Director Ron Siarnicki. Chief Siarnicki welcomed everyone to the Safety Summit and introduced various special guests. Next, Rich Marinucci, Everyone Goes Home^® Program Director, welcomed everyone and introduced Billy Hayes Everyone Goes Home^® Advocate Program Manager and also introduced other Everyone Goes Home^® Core Team members. After all the introductions, a delicious dinner was served and the attendees got a chance to talk with old friends and meet some new people as well.

Early Saturday morning after breakfast, the general session opened with awards being presented to individuals who have gone above and beyond to spread the word about the Everyone Goes Home^® program. Afterwards a very inspirational message was given by the Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran entitled "The Spirit of the American Firefighter." After a short break, Brian Bulger from the Ventura County Fire Department discussed the 16 firefighter life safety initiatives and how they relate to the wildland firefighting domain. Then to complete the morning session J. Gordon Routley discussed the relationship of the 16 firefighter life safety initiatives and the Charleston incident.

After lunch, the Everyone Goes Home^® regional and state advocates convened for a large group meeting. Later they separated by their regions to discuss issues, concerns, and ideas as related to the Everyone Goes Home^® program and reducing LODDs. Some of the ideas discussed included: acquiring more Everyone Goes Home^® state advocates and increasing the number of Courage to be Safe (SM) instructors in each state so that more trainings can be held. Another item mentioned was that the Regional and State Advocates have access to a conference call tool that enables them to hold meetings and discussions. Also, they reminded everyone that the Courage to Be Safe(SM) website is available for all needed resources. To round out the discussion, a reminder went out to the advocates of each state to submit a completed report for each state by the 5th of every month. While the advocates were in their meetings, the rest of the general attendees met in the auditorium for a presentation by Rich Marinucci (Everyone Goes Home^® Program Director) about "The Everyone Goes Home^® Program: Making a Difference."

"The best part about the index card exercise that Chief Dennis and I conduct is that we simply facilitate the use of the knowledge and experience that the attendees bring to the class. The answers are in the room, it's all about applying a systematic process to put those answers into action." - Advocate Program Manager Billy Hayes

For the next part of the day, the summit attendees were assigned to different breakout sessions. The session I attended was Breakout Session #3 which was a two-part session. The first part was presented by Kevin Roche from the Phoenix Fire Department. He discussed firefighter deaths over the last five years by breaking them down into different areas and causes. Then for the second part of the session, Everyone Goes Home^® Advocate Program Manager Billy Hayes and Ron Dennis, Everyone Goes Home^® Regional Advocate, facilitated a safety concerns & solutions class which, showed us an excellent idea on how to get audience class participation. The other breakout sessions included Courage to Be Safe(SM) refresher course with Bob Colameta, Courage to Be Safe(SM) Program Manager, and Focus Groups with Research Consultants Jane Bullock and George Haddow.

Sunday morning we gathered back in the general session to begin the final day of the three day summit. The session opened with a presentation by John Tippett (IAFC) updating us on the Firefighter Near Miss website.

The second presentation of the day was "The Art of Influence" presented by Howard Cross of Howard Cross and Associates. Howard told the story about the USS Greenville Submarine that happened under commanding officer Scott Waddle. He then spoke about the types of influence present before and following the incident and then compared those influences to those of the fire service. He also told the story of Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, who was the first advocate for hand washing as a means to reduce childbed fever and how ineffective Dr. Holmes was at sharing his findings.

After a short break for a group photo, Chief Dennis Rubin (DC Fire/EMS) finished out the session with his inspirational and informational "Rube's Rules for Implementing the 16 Initiatives."

To close the seminar, Rich Marinucci thanked everyone for coming and wished them a safe trip.

About the Summit Presenters

Brian Bulger
E-mail:brian.bulger@ventura.org

Kelvin Cochran
International Association of Fire Chiefs: Former First Vice President-IAFC 2007, Second Vice President-IAFC 2006; Past Chairman of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Section; Southeastern Division IAFC; Safety, Health and Survival Section; Georgia Fire Chiefs Association, Metro Atlanta Fire Chiefs Association; Member of the Board of Visitors, National Fire Academy. Authored two chapters for Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Chief Fire Officers Desk Reference: Chapter 1-Leadership and Management and Chapter 25-The Fire Chief of the Future

Bob Colameta
E-mail: bobc@publicsafetyedu.com
Bob serves with the Everett Fire Department (MA) and is the President of Maxmedia3.com and the Public Safety Education Network. He has served as Region I Advocate for the Everyone Goes Home® Program. Bob currently serves as the National Program Manager for the Courage to Be Safe (SM) Program.

Howard Cross
E-mail: howardcross@msn.com
Howard has been in training and development for more than twenty-five years, during which time he has worked with clients that include a number of Fortune 500 Companies, non-profit groups, fire and emergency response organizations, and state and federal agencies. Since 1987 Howard has been an instructor at the National Fire Academy in Maryland, teaching Executive Fire Officer Programs. He is in demand as a national speaker, delivering special event, keynote, and closing addresses to large and small groups worldwide. He is the co-author of The Group Games Collection, a book on team building activities.

Ron Dennis
E-mail: ronboden@cox.net
Ron Dennis is currently the Executive Director for the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association, a position he assumed in September of 2008 after retiring as the Assistant Chief for Avondale Fire-Rescue, Arizona. Prior to coming to Avondale, Ron was with the Lake Havasu City, Arizona Fire Department for fifteen years where he served as a Battalion Chief, Training Officer, Operations Division Chief and Technical Services Division Chief. He is a 33-year fire service veteran and has worked for four Arizona fire departments during his career as a firefighter, company officer, training officer and command officer. Chief Dennis is a 1994 graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer program and holds an Associates Degree in Fire Science from Rio Salado Community College and a Bachelors Degree in Fire Administration from Cogswell Polytechnic College. He also completed the Certified Public Manager Program through Arizona State University. Ron has taught extensively throughout Arizona as a Fire Science Program Associate Faculty member for several community colleges, the Arizona Division of Emergency Management and the Arizona State Fire Marshal's Office with emphasis on Firefighter Safety and Survival, Strategy and Tactics, Incident Command, Officer Training, Instructional Techniques, Hazardous Materials and Building Construction. Chief Dennis is a member of the Arizona State Fire Training Committee which plans and coordinates the annual Arizona State Fire School. He is the Region 9 Advocate for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's Everyone Goes Home® Program and has presented safety, leadership and command training programs for Fire Rescue International, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, the Alabama Fire Chiefs Association, the Georgia State Fire Academy and the Florida State Fire College. For the past four years he has served as a presenter for the Regional Battalion Chief Academy, sponsored by the Peoria, Arizona Fire Department. Chief Dennis was the recipient of the inaugural joint FDSOA/IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section Fire Safety Officer of the Year Award in 2005.

Billy D. Hayes
E-mail: bhayes@everyonegoeshome.com

Rich Marinucci E-mail: rmarinucci@everyonegoeshome.com
Chief Richard Marinucci currently serves as Chief of Department in Northville Township Michigan. Prior to that he served nearly 25 years as the Fire Chief of Farmington Hills, Michigan, a 125 member organization serving a population of 85,000. Chief Marinucci is a past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and served as Acting Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Fire Administration while serving as Senior Advisor to the Federal Emergency Management Agency Director. He provided testimony during this period to a number of legislative and congressional committees and supported the creation of the Blue Ribbon Panel, America Burning Recommissioned, and Action Plan processes. Chief Marinucci served as Chairman of the first Commission of Professional Credentialing and was one of the first 15 Chief Fire Officers to be designated in 2000. He has earned Bachelor of Science degrees from Western Michigan University, Madonna University, and the University of Cincinnati.

J. Gordon Routley
J. Gordon Routley is a fire protection engineer and has served as Fire Chief in Shreveport, Louisiana; Assistant to the Fire Chief in Phoenix, Arizona; and Safety Officer in Prince George's County, Maryland. He is currently working with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation on the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Project and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Safety, Health and Survival Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Dennis Rubin
E-mail: dennis.rubin@dc.gov
Dennis L. Rubin is the Chief of the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department for the District of Columbia. He was named as Mayor Adrian Fenty's top choice to head the agency in March 2007. Chief Rubin is now responsible for the management and supervision of more than 2000 employees and an annual operating budget in excess of $170 million. The resident population of Washington D.C is approximately 600,000, but the influx of federal workers and tourists can expand the daily population to 1.5 million. The agency is the nation's first responder, responsible for safeguarding the US Capitol, the White House, and other precious landmarks, schools, businesses and homes.

John Tippett
E-mail:jtippett@iafc.org
John Tippett is a battalion chief for the Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Service and a project manager for the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Tippett's 30-plus years of service include assignments in the Operations Division, the positions of Shift Deputy Safety Officer, Lead Instructor, Apparatus Specifications Committee co-chair, Safety Officer for Maryland Task Force 1 (FEMA USAR) and Task Force Leader for MD-TF1. His IAFC career includes: introducing Crew Resource Management to the Fire Service, Fire Prevention improvements in Native American Lands and the National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System.