NWCG Safety and Health Working Team

2008 Risk Management Summary

The Safety and Health Working Team members recognize the importance of trend
tracking and trend analysis. Trend analysis is a critical component of a risk
management program.
The purpose of this summary is to provide firefighters and fire and safety program
managers with a snapshot of the previous years statistics.

Nationally, through NWCG Safety Gram data, 25 wildland fire fatalities occurred in
2008. This was a significant increase from 2007 and a slight increase from 2006.

Fourteen fatalities were related to aviation, with nine of those occurring in a

single accident in Northern California.

The second leading cause of fatalities was medical emergencies (2 heart attacks,
1 aneurism) that accounted for three fatalities.

Although the number of fires and number of acres burned in 2007 far exceeded what
was experienced in 2008, the number of fatalities experienced in 2008 was greater
than the previous year (and greater than the 17 year average of 18 fatalities). This
appears to be evidence that there is not a direct relationship between fatality rates
and number of fires or acres burned.

The number of entrapments declined significantly in 2008 from the previous two
years. Seven entrapments involving 22 personnel were reported, with one death
occurring. This is actually a decrease from the 17-year average. It is impossible to
pinpoint the cause(s) for this, although it may simply be that fewer firefighters were
exposed to extreme fire behavior in 2008 than in the two previous years. The chart
below shows the number of personnel involved in entrapments from 2006 through
2008.

Other noted Safety Gram trends:

There was an increase in injuries, and one fatality, all caused by hazard trees
and tree felling.

There was a spike in firefighter burn injuries most sustained from stump hole
and ash pit incidents. Part of the reason for the increase may have been better
reporting since the implementation of the interagency standards for burn injuries.

Also, even though we saw a high number of driving accidents, the number of
fatalities associated with vehicles was also considerably lower than the 17-year
average.

There is a trend of an increasing number of accidents involving heavy equipment

(e.g., dozers, water tenders, graders). This can be attributed to the increased
use of these types of equipment on incidents.

SAFENET report submittals increased from 118 in 2007 to 143 in 2008. SAFENET
reports can contribute to key nationally trend information. Leading SAFENET
categories were:

Communication issues radio and repeater malfunctions; frequency and tone

issues

Poison oak

Equipment powered hose rollers, tires, radios

Human factors and leadership

Fire behavior

Issues with oil and gas fields

Noted trend of misuse of SAFENETs. The system provides a mechanism for

identifying safety and health issues, but is not intended as a blog for personal
opinions and attacks. SAFENET can and has made the job of firefighters safer,
but the key is the quality of the SAFENET submission.

SAFECOM submittals are also on an upward trend with 959 submitted during 2008.
Areas of most concern are:

Controlled Flight into Terrain (human factors)

Operations (helicopter external loads)

Operations (high, hot, heavy)

Thorough pre- and post-flight inspections have been successful in identifying

critical safety of flight issues.

Radio frequency congestion continues to be a problem during times of high fire

activity.

The SHWT makes every effort to provide information and tools to assist the wildland fire
community to increase safety and health awareness and accident/injury prevention. The
following websites provide resources in this regard:
Safety and Health Working Team (SHWT):
http://www.nwcg.gov/teams/shwt/index2.htm
Federal Fire and Aviation Safety Team (FFAST):
http://www.nifc.gov/safety/ffast.htm
Wildland Fire Safety Training Annual Refresher (WFSTAR):
http://www.nifc.gov/wfstar/index.htm
6 Minutes for Safety:
http://www.nifc.gov/sixminutes/dsp_sixminutes.php
Hazard Tree and Tree Felling Task Group (HTTF):
http://www.nwcg.gov/teams/shwt/httf/index.html
Incident Emergency Medical Task Group (IEMTG):
http://www.nwcg.gov/teams/shwt/iemtg/index.html
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC):
http://www.wildfirelessons.net/Home.aspx
Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC)
Fire Tech Tips and Health and Safety Publications
http://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/ (when prompted use t-d for username and password)
Safety Gram
http://www.nwcg.gov/teams/shwt/safetygram2.htm
SAFENET:
http://safenet.nifc.gov/
SAFECOM:
https://www.safecom.gov/
Aviation Systems Safety-Risk Assessments:
http://www.blm.gov/nifc/st/en/prog/fire/Aviation/safety.html
FireFit:
http://www.nifc.gov/FireFit/index.htm