Supporting AFM's Programs

Thank you for being a part of AFM! - maybe you are regular donor and friend of ours, maybe you supported a team member that has trained firefighters in Africa, or maybe you have been part of an AFM event. Whatever your involvement - you are part of the work that is helping to develop fire services in Africa.   Thank you! I’m writing to ask you to continue to be part of the impact that AFM is making in Africa by giving financially to AFM.

Nearly every day I hear stories of firefighters that feel empowered to do their jobs in Africa.   I hear stories of community members who have started coming alongside the fire service in Africa and I learn about communities where lives have been saved due to the fire prevention work that is ongoing.   Your support to AFM makes all of this possible!

This is just SOME of what’s happened already this year:

• The Tochi and José Fire Safety Show is making a huge impact in Kenya with the Kenya Burn Society reporting that they have seen a 60% reduction in burns requiring hospital care compared to this time in 2022. We have 7 new episodes coming out by the end of 2023 to further expand our impact.

• 400 sets of firefighter personal protective equipment are being sent to Nigeria as part of a public-private partnership with FCT Fire Service, AFM & the Institute of Human Virology.

• AFM’s weekly online trainings are averaging over 65 training participants each week!

• AFM’s mission trip to Malawi in June resulted in training at all of the fire stations in Malawi and over 80% of the municipal firefighters in Malawi receiving training!   Our team members were encouraged to see the growth of the firefighters over the past year.   In addition to training we were also able to begin a mentoring program for the fire chief’s that we plan to grow in the coming year!

Every person needs to be safe from harmful fires. Africa Fire Mission is working to empower people with knowledge of how to harness fire for good: light, heat, cooking, so that they can be safe and secure in their homes. We are partnering with firefighters to ensure that they have the knowledge, training and equipment to effectively protect those they serve from unwanted fires and other disasters.  Will you help us continue to provide life-saving trainings and equipment in Africa?

Here are some ways your donations will be put to work:

• $25,000 provides funding for a Fire Safety Advocate in Africa.

• $5,000 allows us to produce an episode of the Tochi and José Fire Safety Show

• $200 allows to provide one hour of online training & certificates to 80 firefighters in Africa

• $50 helps us provide one set of firefighter PPE to firefighters in Africa

• $25 allows us to print one copy of our training of trainer’s curriculum so that firefighters and community members can train their community in fire prevention.  

• $10 provides one firefighter with safety gloves and eye protection

Our goal for this campaign is $50,400 – which will allow us finish our year strong and enables us to continue to expand our reach (requests are coming from Ghana, Nigeria and Zambia to expand our work). Will you help us continue to Train, Empower, Support and Encourage firefighters and communities in Africa with a gift to support the growth in our ongoing work?  

Here are some ways to contribute:

• Become a monthly donor or make a one-time donation - DONATE HERE >

• Mail a check to us:   P.O. Box 53242, Cincinnati, OH 45253

• Double your impact with matching funds from your employer

• Donate stock:   email me and I’ll send you the details

• Designate a gift to Africa Fire Mission in your estate

• Introduce us to individuals or businesses that might be interested in partnering with us financially

Thank you for providing firefighters and other first responders in Africa with the training and equipment they need to thrive and flourish and provides community members with life-saving fire prevention trainings.                                                                             

Please contact me directly if you have any questions about our programs and how you could get involved in our work!

With Gratitude, Nancy

Nancy L. Moore, LISW-S; Co-Founder & Executive Director

nancy@africafiremission.org

(513) 620-4236

SAVE THE DATE!

AFM’s annual event – The “Chama” -  Saturday, October 14, 2023

Cincinnati Fire Museum.

Using EXIT Principles in Motor Vehicle Accidents

Many patients will require extrication following a motor vehicle collision (MVC) however, little information exists on the time taken for the various stages of extrication. Dr. Tim Nutbeam, Rob Fenwick and their research team conducted research on the time it takes to extricate a patient and the positive results that reducing time for extrication may have on their health. 

The EXIT Project - Using EXIT Principles

 by : Dr Tim Nutbeam and Rob Fenwick

In this article, we are going to take a brief look at the main EXIT Principles – identified during Evidence Based Research in the UK – and from two different perspectives. We’ll also see how these principles can be put in Practice. Find out more here.

The Rescuer’s Perspective

The main principle identified in the research study was that rescuers should reduce extrication times by recognizing that the patient movement minimization approach (MMA), which focuses on potential damage to the patient’s spinal cord, was never justified.

The research findings point to the idea that MMA should be replaced with a primary emphasis on rapid patient self or assisted extrication, if medically appropriate and where they can follow instructions and also move their legs.

Where this is not the case, they should be extricated by rescuers focussing on the minimization of time rather than movement, with the creation of the minimum necessary safe extrication space.

In terms of clinical care, this latter practice is facilitated by :

-        medical and fire rescuers working together to develop and manage a patient centred extrication plan

-        medical and fire rescuers being aware that frequent stops for medical observations will extend the extrication time, thereby delaying arrival at hospital and so should be kept to a minimum

-        limiting care to only the clinical interventions necessary to allow safe extrication.

-        medical and fire rescuers being aware of the signs of patient deterioration and notifying the senior clinician if these signs are seen.

The Patient’s Perspective

The principle here is to meet both the physical and emotional needs of the patient. The EXIT researchers consulted with past trauma patients and found that this often tends to be poor or gets missed, because the main rescuers focus is on (extensive) space creation activities.

In response to these findings, EXIT is a patient-centred practice and allocates a dedicated ‘extrication buddy’ to the patient. Pivotal to the buddy’s role is communication; establishing a connection with that vulnerable person, including being in the car with them, using their name, explaining what’s happening and advocating on their behalf with the rescue team.

The ‘buddy’ should also use clear language, give assurance that any co-occupants and pets are safe and allow patients to call family or other close contacts.

Patient privacy is also important and so limiting the ability of the public to record events (and subsequently post them on social media), perhaps via the Police attendance, may be necessary. Note that this restriction also applies to the rescuers and their respective organizations.

Conclusion

The EXIT Principles identify that while we must care for the patient’s needs, where they present with any evidence of injury, that they should be considered as time-dependent and efforts must be made to minimise their extrication time. The quickest way to enable this is assisted self - extrication, as rescuer-extrications can be complex and take longer to perform, and so should only be employed where self-extrication is not feasible.

Learn More > The EXIT PROJECT

Confined Space Rescue: Reasons for Technical Rescue Operations Failures

Conducting a confined space rescue is a risky endeavor that requires great skill and patience.

Many times we have seen numerous rescue attempts fail due to the lack of patience and skill

being exercised by rescue personnel. In training of technical rescue operations, we instruct

upon how we want to avoid a failed rescue attempt by recognizing certain attributes that are

lending to the overall situation. The acronym FAILURE is used to describe these certain

attributes that can be present at each confined space rescue operation. The acronym FAILURE

stands for:

F – Failure to understand the environment

A – Additional medical implications not considered – dust, crush syndrome

I – Inadequate preparation

L – Lack of team work, training

U – Underestimating the logistical needs

R – Rescue vs. Recovery

E – Equipment not mastered

The first important consideration of the environment is the atmosphere inside and around the

confined space. Monitoring the atmosphere is sometimes overlooked by responding personnel

and thus leads them to become victims as atmospheric conditions overtake. The basic four gas

monitor will be a benefit as it will detect for percentage of oxygen, carbon monoxide, hydrogen

sulfide gas and lower explosive limits. Ideally, conditions should be 0 % for hydrogen sulfide, 0%

for carbon monoxide, 0% for LEL and 21% for oxygen. An increase/decrease of 1% in any

category is equivalent to 10,000 ppm of a contaminant in the ambient air. Even though there is

just a 1% difference between normal and acceptable limits, doesn’t mean that it is safe to

enter. Using hydrogen sulfide as an example, it only takes between 1000 to 2000 ppm to cause

death in a few minutes which is less than 1%.

The letter “A” represents a lack of consideration for additional medical implications that are not

being considered. The majority of confined space rescues involve a person who is overcome by

a toxic environment or a lack of oxygen within the space. Very few incidents involve medical

reasons as the catalyst for the rescue operation. When we think of medical reasons we are

considering falls, traumas, and cardiac arrest. These types of incidents represent a very low

number of why we have a confined space rescue. However, when there is a confined space

rescue operation initiated, these factors must be considered and answered.

The letter “I” is in reference to inadequate preparation. What makes a confined space rescue

incident worse is the lack of preparation for the worse to happen. Many workers will enter into

a confined space thinking that it is only another routine day. There has been no time taken to

prepare for the actual rescue of that worker. Gaining entry into a confined space is the easy

part, getting the entrant out of the confined space when something goes wrong is the hard

part. Adequate preparation must be taken to ensure that the question of “How do we get the

entrant out” can be answered before the entrant goes in.

The letter “L” is for a lack of team work. During a confined space rescue incident, there needs to

be one person one charge who will be your Incident Commander. This person will be the one

who will make the final decisions on how to affect the rescue, which person will do what tasks

and oversee the whole operation from start to finish. When you have emotions taking over

certain members of the team, they seem to want to control the operation and start to ignore

the Incident Commander and start to implement what they think is best and should be done. At

this point communications starts to break down, and mistakes start to occur.

The letter “U” is for understanding the logistical needs. It is wise to expect the worse and be

prepared for it rather than being unprepared and expecting the least. Many times rescue crews

are responding to a call not prepared for what they are going to be faced with. For a confined

space rescue incident, the crews responding need to expect the worse. This way they will be

prepared when arriving and ready to act without hesitation.

The letter “R” is for rescue vs. recovery. Establishing the mode of operation at the onset of the

effort is vital to the success of it. The Incident Commander needs to determine right away

whether they are going to be conducting a rescue or a recovery. This determination will set the

pace of the operation and it needs to be communicated to everyone on site very clearly..

Would be rescuers soon become the victim as they are overcome by toxic atmospheres found

within the space. According to statistics from NIOSH, 60% of confined space fatalities are would

be rescuers.

The letter “E” is for equipment not mastered. Confined space rescue teams use lots of different

equipment to aid them with their operations. The equipment used needs to be mastered by all

those who are expected to use it. This only occurs through training and practicing with the

equipment on a regular basis. The time to learn how to use a certain piece of equipment is on

the training grounds and not at the confined space incident.

About the Author:

Mark van der Feyst is a 25 year veteran of the fire service and is currently the Senior Battalion Chief at the Six Nations Fire & Emergency Services in Canada and a part time firefighter with the Fort Gratiot Fire Department in Michigan. He has worked in both the USA and Canada for various fire departments and holds a Masters of Science degree in Safety, Security & Emergency Management from Eastern Kentucky University.

Malawi: How the Future of Their Fire Service is Bright

By: Brad Banz

I was blessed to be a part of the recent AFM team that travelled to Malawi in June. During our trip, our team split up to visit all four fire brigades in the country. We shared our knowledge and provided equipment to better allow them to execute their jobs.

I have been working with AFM, almost since their beginning, making my first trip to Kenya with Dave and Nancy Moore in 2015. I have been travelling to Kenya since 2009, working in the Mathare Valley with church mission groups. My interest in the Kenyan fire service was boosted after a trip to Kenya was cancelled in 2013, due to a victim of a fire in the airports arrival hall the day before we were to arrive. What does this have to do with Malawi, you might be asking? In terms of resources, the Malawi fire service is where Kenya’s was 10 years ago.

As I alluded to earlier, Malawi has four fire brigades for a country of 18 million people. The firefighters have no uniforms, their apparatus and PPE are donated from other countries. From what I could see, less than half of the apparatus’ were in working condition. The fire brigades do not have their own stations, but are instead collocated within public works facility, using whatever leftover space is afforded to them. While the state of the fire brigades are saddening, they are not surprising. Malawi has the 12th poorest household income in the world.

Something that also stuck with me was an interaction I had with one of the firefighters. While firefighters were building a wood fire to heat the cooking oil for our fire prevention demonstration, one of them shared with me that his wife woke up every morning at 5, built such a fire, heated water, and put in a basin so he could bathe and got to work. This is an example of how little their firefighters are getting paid in this country. Living in homes without hot water is a struggle very few of us can relate to- and it reminds me of how blessed I am to have the resources I have. Despite these limitations, like most firefighters, they get the most they can out of the resources at hand.

Zomba firefighters stopped a fire in a small attached building from spreading to a much larger one. The Lilongwe Chief was summoned to city hall to answer for a fire that burned the top floor of a six story building. His firefighters couldn’t get to the sixth floor because they didn’t have the hose. Using what they had, they confined it to the top. What Malawi does have is firefighters who are eager to do the job. This is the best resource any fire brigade can have.

After visiting both, Malawi and Kenya are very different countries with different challenges. Our team all talked about how we could fix the problems, but it is a complex issue that will require that both us as westerners and the Malawians both quit creating a mindset of dependency and start helping them to develop. The changes that we have seen in Kenya are what the Malawi fire service can use as a benchmark to learn from.

Serving Firefighters in Malawi

June 5, 2023 a team of eight instructors for Africa Fire Mission set off from their homes in the United States, Germany, and Kenya. Our team members come from diverse experiences in the fire service.

We set off, with most team members having more than 30 hours of travel, to serve the firefighters in Malawi. There are 4 fire brigades in Malawi - Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Zomba and Blantyre and we were able to provide training at each station. After arriving in Malawi - our team divided into 2 smaller teams and traveled to each city.

Training topics and practical application was customized for each department and included: hazmat, rope rescue, hose management, ladders, interior search and rescue, CPR, first aid, and community fire prevention. While they were in Malawi the team went with the Fire Brigade to nearby schools and practiced showing the children fire safety!

Our team found it encouraging to see how the firefighters had furthered their trainings form our work in 2022 and improved their skills. Firefighters in Malawi work so hard and deserve the respect that they are gaining from their communities! Chief Mike Kull said, "It is such a pleasure working and training with these firefighters who are so dedicated to their profession and so willing to learn and train." Additionally, we were able to donate 15 sets of PPE to the firefighters this year and are making arrangements with the help of Malawi Goodlife to send more equipment to the fire service from Germany.

Chief Mike Kull trained in Blantyre and Zomba and blogged about his experience. If you’d like to read more about AFM’s mission to Malawi, check out Chief Kull’s blog: Far Off Chief.

Electric Vehicle Fires

By: Chief Hank Clemmensen, AFM Board Chair

With adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) increasing around the world, firefighters need to be aware of the dangers they present and the unique challenges associated with extinguishing an electric vehicle fire.  Training and preparation is critical to prepare for advancements like the introduction of electric buses in Kenya.  Is your fire brigade prepared to respond to incidents for electric vehicles? Start training specifically for EVs, now reading this detailed article on EV fire attack and extrication basics by Patrick Durham.

https://www.firerescue1.com/electric-fire/articles/electric-vehicle-response-fire-attack-and-extrication-basics-PwPBmx8uuMuMOR2G/

Keeping Firefighters Safe through PPE Donations

If you are a firefighter you probably know that gear expires. Maybe reading this, you are learning about the fire service and this might be new information to you. Either way, in the United States, NFPA codes dictate how long firefighter equipment can be used and when it needs to be replaced. For good equipment, the reason equipment expires is largely with the thought that within 10 years there are very likely new equipment safety technologies to keep firefighters safe.

Many firefighters in the world don’t have the luxury of new gear every 10 years. Additionally, much of the 10 year old gear is still effective in keeping firefighters safe from fire even if it is not the newest technology. As a result, Africa Fire Mission has partnered with fire departments across the US (and in Germany) to get quality used personal protective equipment to Africa.

In September 2022, AFM had a team visit FCT Fire Service in Abuja, Nigeria. While there, I asked one of the firefighters to allow me to inspect the label of his Turnout Coat. Bold of me, but important to the work that we do to understand the needs of the firefighters. When he a allowed me to look - I was expecting to see a label dated 30 years old based on the PPE I was looking at - instead there was no date and the label said that the garment was actually a “Firefighter Costume” with NO international approvals or rating. Our team educated the firefighters about their current equipment limitations and have been helping to advocate for a public private partnership with the Institute of Human Virology- Nigeria to support training and equipment for the fire service in Nigeria.

We are excited to have the opportunity to send over 300 sets of PPE to the Institute of Human Virology, Nigeria. We will load a 20 foot container on August 5, 2023.

We need your help! We have most of the equipment we need for this shipment, but still need about 160 fire helmets! If you know a fire department that has decommissioned fire helmets that are still serviceable, please contact us and we will determine the best way to get the equipment to us in Cincinnati, Ohio.

We also need volunteers to help us load the equipment on August 5th! You can sign up to help by clicking this link:

Trauma: Who, What, Where, When and Why?

Trauma is a word that seems to get used more and more these days; heal your trauma, childhood trauma, vicarious trauma... What to do with trauma?

 Eleven years ago, I started my career as a full-time firefighter. Out training around trauma consisted of looking at horrible pictures and hearing a few stories of bad calls.  At that time, the only experience I had with dead people was at the few funerals I had attended. I had never placed my hands on a dead body before becoming a firefighter, and there was no preparation for the psychological aftermath of some of the events that would happen in my life.

 Fast forward to now, and that surely is not the case. There have been hundreds of dead bodies, and I can't even count the number of times I have done CPR.  However, up until just a few years ago, I still didn’t fully grasp what Trauma was, let alone how it shows up, where one might find it and why it tends to linger around. 

 Through a long journey of healing, research and life experience, I have understood what my trauma means for me in this life.  The thing about exceptional experiences, like trauma, is that once they have occurred, there is no erasing them.  Now, this doesn't mean it has to remain the same forever and ever.  The beauty of the human mind is that we can create perspective.  Take politics, for example. The same people and the same problems have different perspectives on how to solve the issues.  A lesson I have learned through my trauma experience is that this approach can take one out of dark times and into brighter days.

 In December 2020, I was a part of a crew that extracted a woman from a house fire.  The scene was a known homicide, the victim was beaten and burned to death.  The image of her body and her children standing on her lawn stayed with me for a long time; they were hard to shake.  At the same time in my life, I owned a Gym, and the closures from the pandemic were wreaking havoc on my finances, my stress and my relationship; this traumatic experience put me over the edge.

The shift that happened through various therapies was very subtle yet extremely powerful.

 It was this:

  Why is this happening FOR me? vs. Why is this happening TO me?

For vs To:

 The understanding of this came from experiencing trauma's impact on my life.  Let's break down the who, what, where, when, and why of trauma.

 Who is Trauma? 

 Weird question, right? Too often, we become our trauma; it victimizes us, and we fall into the trap of continually asking ourselves, why did this happen to me?  We create an entire identity around our trauma and allow that story to infiltrate our lives.  Unfortunately, most of the time, this takes on a negative narrative that can lead to dark places of unhappiness, anxiety and depression; that is what happened to me.  Once I learned that I am not my trauma, it enabled me to separate from it.  From this place of separation, I could now view it as something different.

Our Trauma comes from an experience; it sticks around and hunts us because of the narratives our mind places on the traumatic experience. By learning to change this narrative, we can change how we perceive the experience of trauma in our life.

 What is Trauma?

 Is the Trauma the event that occurred? Perhaps and if that is true that trauma is the event, then why do we continue to suffer from the trauma after the event takes place?  I sat down for dinner three days after extracting a dead, burnt person from a house fire. My wife had made roasted chicken for dinner.  The traumatic experience was now over; however, my entire body was shaking, my heart was pounding, and I could not bring myself to eat as I was on the verge of vomiting, just from the look of the chicken on the table. My children were trying to talk to me as I stared blankly at the food before me, not hearing a single word.  I was having physical, emotional and psychological responses to the event that had occurred three days prior.  The trauma was alive and thriving within me.

 Trauma is the emotional, psychological and sometimes physical response to a traumatic event. After the event has taken place, it now remains an experience in our lives.  We do, as humans, have the ability to change how we respond to this event.  Knowing that our response is adaptable is the first step in helping heal from any horrible event.

 Where is Trauma?

 If trauma isn’t the event but how we respond to the circumstance that has already happened, then where is it? Where is the trauma?

There is no correct answer here because how trauma shows up is different for everyone.  My experience showed up in several ways, constant anxiety, insomnia, outbursts of uncontrollable crying in the middle of the night, depression, yelling and swearing at my children (they were 3 and 6 at the time), negative self-talk, negativity towards others, and playing the victim card.  There were moments when I was playing with my kids, laughing and rolling around when out of nowhere, the thought of that night would enter my mind and rob my children of their father.  One of the most potent therapies I did was Neuro-Linguistic Programming or NLP.  It worked by changing my image of the dead body to a pair of jeans and a wreath of roses.  I know it sounds weird, but it worked.  Every time that thought enters my mind, I think of a pair of jeans and a wreath of roses. 

 When looking to talk to a professional, find one who practices NLP.  It worked wonders for me.

 Why?

 This question was probably asked ten thousand times, “Why is this happening to me.”  One evening in bed, I broke down and asked this question to my wife, and her response changed my life.  She said, “Maybe it's not happening to you; maybe it's happening for you.”  As I explored this perspective shift, I kept finding positive reinforcement.  “Maybe this happened to show me that even when horrible things happen, love still exists,”  the proof being the person's children crying on the front lawn. 

 When?

 We never know when or how our past experiences will show up in our lives.  Lots of the time, it happens unexpectedly.  As a first responder, finding tools to help manage our stress and anxiety helps to mitigate our trauma when it shows up.  We train to prepare for the unexpected; our mental health and trauma are no different.  By consistently working on healing and discovering new tools that work for us, we can shift our mindset around what trauma is, how it shows up, and where to find it.   We can begin to shift our perspectives about why our trauma has happened for us, not to us.

 Trauma is no joke. As a firefighter, I don’t believe we have enough education or tools to help us deal with and manage our trauma.  My best advice is to start exercising your relationship with trauma before it happens.  Learn how to breathe, talk to a professional early, and know that there is always another way to view what has happened. 

The entire city would burn down if we waited for the fire to start to learn how to put out the fire.  Learn the tools before the trauma occurs; if it already has, there is no time like the present to start.

 About the Author

Brandon Evans is a professional firefighter, father, and Founder of Fire to Light, a research and development organization specializing in preventative mental health of firefighters.

Brandon works to raise awareness around trauma in firefighters, helping to identify what it is, where it shows up and what we can do about it, before and after.

Through sharing stories, experiences and tools, Brandon hopes to help reduce the rates of suicide and PTSD amongst firefighters globally.

Fire Dynamics

By: Mark van der Feyst

Rapid fire developments (RFD) are when we have a sudden and immediate change in the fire environment. At one moment we have thick, dark, black smoke with intense heat and the next second, we have a ball of fire from floor to ceiling – this is an RFD.

Every fire department will face RFD’s no matter what type of structure they are dealing with – if it has four walls and a roof, then there is the space and environment for an RFD. The different types of RFD’s are going to be flashover, back draft, and smoke explosions. The three are different in how they develop and react but are the same with the outcomes – deadly outcomes. RFD’s produce RIP’s (Rest In Peace) for the fire service.

Of the three RFD’s, flashover is going to be the one that will occur the majority of time at any and every structure fire. So, what is a flashover? A flashover is the simultaneous ignition of unburned fire gases within a room. It occurs when hot gases rise to the ceiling and spread out across the walls. These hot gases are what we call black smoke – unburned particles of combustion. As it spreads out across the ceiling and the walls, it starts to heat up the items found within the room such as the paint on the walls, the furnishings, clothing, mattress, flooring material, etc. – until they all reach their ignition temperature. Once they are all at their ignition temperature, an RFD occurs.

Before a flashover occurs, there are warning signs that are presented or given off by the fire to indicate that flashover is impending. These warning signs are presented to us both visibly and tactically – our eyes can see and our bodies can feel them.

·       Heat buildup – based upon the temperature range of flashover, there will be a period of time when excessive heat buildup will occur. This heat buildup will descend down towards the lower levels of the room pushing the firefighter down to the floor. This will be the result of radiant heat being produced by the unburnt particles of combustion spreading out from ceiling to walls and then down to the floor area. When this quick increase in heat occurs, and it is an intensive heat; flashover is impending. 

·       Roll over – this is a visible indicator as it reveals itself in the smoke. A roll over or flame over is when small gaps open up in the smoke layer allowing air to mix with the unburned particles of combustion and ignite. Small flames can be seen in the midst of the smoke for momentary periods of time and then disappear. When this occurs, this is a warning sign that flashover is coming.  

·       Thick dark smoke – this is also a visible indicator as it will present itself outside the building as well as inside the building. On the inside, you will not see anything except total blackness: but on the outside, you will notice this. Whenever you have thick dark, acrid black smoke pushing out from a structure under high pressure and with high velocity, flashover is impending. This is an outside warning of what is waiting for us on the inside.

What has been described above are the common signs that we will see and feel at every fire – it is important for the firefighter to learn and understand the basic concept of what a flashover is before being able to learn the actions that can be used to aggressively cool the fire or escape the situation if warranted.

About the Author:

Mark van der Feyst is a 25 year veteran of the fire service and is currently the Senior Battalion Chief at the Six Nations Fire & Emergency Services in Canada and a part time firefighter with the Fort Gratiot Fire Department in Michigan. He has worked in both the USA and Canada for various fire departments and holds a Masters of Science degree in Safety, Security & Emergency Management from Eastern Kentucky University.

From Ideal to Real

By: Rabbi Howard A Cohen (Deputy Chief, ret.) AFM Virtual Training Coordinator

As first responders we are required to absorb an overwhelming quantity of data.  As good as our intentions are to remember all that we are taught, the reality is that we forget details.  This is why constant reviewing, drilling and periodic recertification is so important.  Even with doing our best to keep our skills sharp and our knowledge base current, the reality is that we cannot possibly be experts in every situation we might encounter in the course of work.  For example, though we may have a solid understanding of basic first aid principles, we are not doctors and therefore are limited to the extent that we can help a patient in the field.  Even if we were trained to the level of a medical doctor, in the field far removed from a hospital facility, we would still be limited with what can do.  We do not work in controlled environments or under ideal conditions.  No matter what the situation or our skill level, our response is always on a spectrum that moves from the ideal to the real.

Every three years I re-certify as a wilderness first responder.  Every three years I’m embarrassed to admit how much I’ve forgotten.  Although I wish my memory was such that I was better at calling up a lot of details and data that I rarely ever use, I don’t worry about it.  Why? Early on in my first responder career I was taught two important lessons.  The first lesson is that an emergency response in the field will always be somewhere on the spectrum from the ideal to the real.  As emergency responders we do the best that we can with the tools and knowledge that we have on the scene. This is what it means to move from the ideal to the real.  Remember, as first responders, our objective is keep the patient alive long enough to get to advanced medical care.  It is not our job, nor do we have the skills, to fix or heal patients.  Our job is to stabilize, comfort, and transport our patients.

To do our job well as first responders we do not need a medical education. This brings me to the second important lesson I have learned in my career as a first responder:  Pay special attention to the three big systems: circulatory, neurological and respiratory and do whatever you can do to keep them functioning.  The vast majority of injuries to people are not life threatening.  However, any significant trauma to one or more the three big systems has a high probability of being life threatening.  If a person is bleeding, stop the bleeding.  You do not need to know how to suture.  You do not need to know how long to keep pressure on an open wound.  You only need to know that you have to “plug” the hole where the bleeding is coming from.  If your patient is not breathing you don’t need to know how to do a tracheotomy.  You just need to know what to do to open her airway because if you can’t get your patient breathing she will die.  Ideal to the real.  Remember, it is not our job, nor do we have the skills, to fix or heal patients.  Our job is to keep them alive and as comfortable as possible as we get them to advanced medical care.

As first responders we will always strive to respond with the very best of our abilities.  That’s what we do.  However, the reality is that we are generalists trained to respond to a mind boggling variety of emergency situations that always happen under less than ideal conditions.  Ideally, we might want to respond in a certain way, in reality, the situation and our knowledge level will determine our response.  Therefore, it is important to remember that emergency medical responses in the field always fall somewhere on the ideal to real spectrum. Our goal is to do the best that we can with the tools and knowledge we have on the scene.

About the author:

Howard joined the fire service in 2001 to serve as chaplain of his local fire department. Twenty years later he retired as his department's deputy chief.  Howard planned to join Africa Fire Mission on a trip to Zambia but Covid interrupted those plans. He has since traveled twice to Kenya with AFM. He is regular AFM blog contributor and webinar instructor. Outside of the fire service, Howard serves as rabbi to Congregation Shirat Hayam in Duxbury MA. He also has a leadership and mental fitness coaching practice called code3leadershipcoaching.

Got L.C.E.S.?

By: F. R. Montes de Oca, EFO, MESH, CPM 

Previously published in The Pennsylvania Fireman

In a former life I wore many hats – firefighter, paramedic, chief training officer and fire chief, to name a few.  Now, I spend time researching and sharing information I hope in some small way assists those now holding the line in the trenches.

  A few years back as the fire chief of a department whose 1,500 square mile response area included sixty miles of the Florida Turnpike, I listened intently when units responded to motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) on this limited-access, high speed roadway.  Every day, typical traffic on this motorway consisted of semi-tractor trailer rigs speeding well over the posted limit. And to make the situation even more challenging, there was never a shortage of families travelling up and down the spine of Florida with visions of Mickey Mouse in their sights. Mix a collection of church and retiree vans filled with Mickey fans rocketing to the world-famous vacation destination just south of Orlando, and you’ve got a recipe for disaster.

  Shortly after receiving a delivery of several engines and ambulances decked out with the latest DOT and NFPA lighting packages and exterior high-visibility markings I received the call every fire chief dreads. “Comm to Chief 1, Engine 6-2 has been struck on the turnpike by a van.  Significant damage. No injuries reported. Standing by for follow-up report and will update you.” 

  Prior to this report from Comm, Engine 6-2 arrived on the scene of a minor MVA. During initial size-up, Engine 6-2 and Medic 6-2 was sideswiped by a church van.  Damage occurred to both engine and medic unit, but fortunately no responder injuries.  A few van occupants were slightly injured.

  Now to keep the incident a bit more interesting, this event occurred a few weeks following the catastrophic damage of another recently-delivered engine.  On the morning of this event the turnpike was enveloped in a thick blanket of smog;  the result of smoke from a weeks-long underground peat bog fire combining with early morning fog.  Following the closure of the turnpike twice and receiving pressure from the Governor’s office, state highway patrol ordered the thoroughfare reopened. Shortly after this, a car struck a slowed semi hauling lumber at a high rate of speed.  All four occupants of the car died on impact. While Engine 5-7 was sizing up the scene the officer sensed an eerie quiet combined with a faint, low frequency rumble and ordered all crew members off the road.  Within seconds another lumber hauler struck Engine 5-7 severely damaging the unit, but no responder injuries. Immediately, the officer requested an additional engine and medic unit to assist.

  Within one week of the event, I convened a meeting of senior officers along with training staff to discuss and develop an enhanced limited access highway operational policy.  The result was the beginning of a policy based on the LCES practice utilized by wildland firefighters.

To paint a better picture of the department, its response area includes a large rural setting of approximately 1,500 square miles resulting in a very active annual fire season. In addition to the typical structural, medical and special services training regimen, members were well-versed in wildland firefighting procedures and tactics included in the National Wildland Coordinating Group (NWCG) S-130 and S-190 curriculum. During one of the highway policy discussions a young training officer whose focus and experience was wildland operations suggested we look at LCES.  Several of us collectively stared at him in puzzlement. Quickly an “aha moment” look appeared when the group realized the suggestion had legs.  Below is a summary of the outcome that assists firefighters operating at limited access, highspeed thoroughfares.

  As a result of researching and transforming the LCES concept into a traffic safety policy, we discovered the teachings of Paul Gleason, an avid wildland safety proponent and veteran wildland firefighter who defined common WUI hazards and solutions. This is the abbreviated version of the new LCES strategy for MVAs, which can be applied to essentially all fire service emergency scenes.

  Upon arrival at an MVA the size-up includes applying the LCES policy. This includes the company officer and crew members quickly surveying and establishing an immediate refuge point.  The most common and readily-available refuge point is over the guardrail considering elevation and not compromising patient care. All engines whose first-due areas included high-speed, limited access routes would be assigned an extra member to play the role of lookout.

Lookout at all turnpike and similar responses is posted to the rear of the unit closest to oncoming traffic. The Lookout’s sole assignment is focusing on approaching traffic. At any sign that oncoming traffic poses a direct threat to the scene the Lookout would utilize a handheld, portable airhorn. Upon hearing the airhorn signal, all members immediately begin moving to the designated refuge site. In the department’s command system, Lookouts are considered Assistant Safety Officers whose sole function is spotting approaching traffic threats.

Communication(s) at the commencement of operations and throughout the operation the company officer communicates to on scene members keeping them abreast of possible threats. Active communications is a conduit to deliver safety and operational messages throughout the event. Safety Officers (assigned to multi-alarm incidents) would work in tandem with Command and the Lookout to maintain a high degree of safety and threat awareness.

Escape Routes in almost all cases were the closest, most direct access to a refuge point using the guardrail as a striking buffer.  Integral to the safety plan was reconning the area focusing on safety threat potentials along the highways. Another, more succinct definition by Paul Gleason, “Escape routes are the path the firefighter takes from their current locations, exposed to the danger, to an area free of danger.”

Safety Zones during this time were locations where responders threatened by oncoming traffic or similar threats could find refuge. During highway operations this was often “over the rail”.

What evolved as a concept, quickly terminated into a policy aimed at saving lives during often chaotic times. As the department began exploring other on scene protective techniques, vehicle positioning was incorporated into the practice.  And as Traffic Incident Management (TIM) continues to gain traction across the country, I suggest any and all objectives and strategies included in that extremely successful campaign be incorporated.

In a recent publication, I stated that Fire and EMS departments are living, breathing organisms whose members wish to serve their communities and feel proud of their accomplishments.  This is a constant that I have found throughout my travels and discussions with peers and colleagues.  As is said among campers; “Leave it better than you found it.”

Go forth and be safe.

About the Author: Frank Montes de Oca served as a firefighter/paramedic for over 38 years and appointed fire chief in Springfield, Ohio and Osceola County, Florida. His last appointment was as Emergency Services Director in Orange County, North Carolina.  Throughout his career he has been deeply engaged in developing firefighter safety training, leadership development and organizational change. Chief Montes de Oca is an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy and qualified to present training programs for Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. He can be reached at frm1@me.com or www.responder1.org.

Africa Fire Mission Supports Fire Service Development with White Papers

Africa Fire Mission Supports Fire Service Development with White Papers

by Nancy L. Moore, LISW-S, LCSW, CPCC, Executive Director and Co-Founder of AFM

It’s hard to believe that Africa Fire Mission has been working in Africa for over a decade. Since 2012, we have been working closely to provide training and consultation to the Fire Service in Africa. While our largest program is in Kenya, we have also worked directly in Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia. We have provided consultation or equipment in other countries across Africa as well.

As we support the fire service, we continue to look for ways that we can grow our impact. Our next step in supporting the African fire service in developing communities is by providing more advocacy resources that will help leaders in Africa to be able to support a well functioning fire service. In order to support our advocacy efforts, AFM is drafting white papers to help provide quality information for African leaders to support decision making with developing programs, making equipment purchases or accepting used equipment donations.

All too often AFM has seen situations when fire service leaders know what they need and have a hard time articulating the need or justifying the costs of quality programs and equipment to the government officials making the budgetary decisions. Our hope is to provide quality information that is designed to support these advocacy efforts.

Our first white paper is now available and addresses the need for a quality Breathing Apparatus Program. Let us know what you think. More importantly, please utilize the white paper as a tool for advocacy when you need support!

The Value of a Quality Breathing Apparatus Program

The Value of a Quality Breathing Apparatus Program 

Executive Summary 

Firefighters often fight fires in conditions immediately dangerous to health and life. In these circumstances, quality firefighting personal protective equipment (PPE) provides firefighters with critical protection that significantly improves firefighting effectiveness while also protecting firefighting personnel’s health and safety.  In particular, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, frequently referred to as Breathing Apparatus (BA), is a critical component of PPE that isolates the firefighters from hot and toxic gases. It is the single most beneficial piece of safety equipment for a firefighter. 

Effective firefighting operations have the essential BA equipment needed to fight fires as well as staff trained in how to use BA equipment and conduct routine maintenance to ensure its proper functioning. 

Motor Vehicle Accidents

by: Mark van der Feyst

Whenever dealing with vehicle accidents, here are a few items to consider.

The Isolation Zone

In both vehicle extrication and hazardous materials situations, setting up your different work zones are important. These zones help with maintaining and isolating the initial problem. The three common zones that we have all been taught are the hot zone, the warm zone and the cold zone. The cold zone is the last zone between the situation and the general public. A fourth zone should also be established called the Isolation Zone. This zone acts as a buffer zone between the situation and the general public. It also allows for scene expansion and also for running room for the just in case moments. Whenever you are setting up your zones, be sure to establish an Isolation Zone.   

HID lights

Many new cars today are being outfitted with new technology such as HID lights. HID lights are High Intensity Discharge head lamps that provide bright light for all times of the day or night for driving purposes. The light replicated by these headlamps resemble the brightness of the sun at noon time. Essentially these lights are an arc light using less energy to produce a brighter light. The danger with these lights is when the vehicle has been in a collision or accident and the responding fire department has to work on the vehicle. These lights can and will electrocute a firefighter because of the amount of power that resides in them.  A HID light takes 12 volts from the vehicle and steps it up to 25,000 volts – this is where the danger comes in. As taught to me by Matt Stroud, do not stand in front of HID lights or any head lights for that matter to ensure that you are not in the danger zone of these potential lethal hazards.      

Popping the door with webbing        

When we are extricating a person from a vehicle and we have to force open a passenger door, there is a large amount of potential energy waiting to be released when the door does give way. We have been taught to use our body by leaning backwards into the door while the other firefighter operates the hydraulic tool. Instead we can avoid bodily injury that can result from that technique and use webbing to aid us. Webbing can be wrapped around the car post and the door post at the same time using just a girth hitch. As the door is being forced open, the girth hitch will also loosen with the operation allowing the door to travel its needed direction but will contain the door from flying open when the door is finally released. This also keeps the other firefighter back away from the operation and not right up close getting in the way.

Popping the door with a squash/tennis ball

When forcing open a passenger door on a vehicle, the toughest part of the operation is getting the door to separate from the Nader bolt. This latch can be a burden on the firefighter who is trying to open the door with a set of hydraulic tools. We try with the spreaders and we also will resort to using the cutters to cut through. One simple trick that was shown to me was the use of a squash/tennis ball or a similar ball. The squash/tennis ball can be wedged underneath the door handle allowing the door handle to remain in the open position. By doing this, it releases the door’s latch from the Nader bolt making the door easier to open with the tools.       

About the Author

Mark van der Feyst is a 25 year veteran of the fire service and is currently the Senior Battalion Chief at the Six Nations Fire & Emergency Services in Canada and a part time firefighter with the Fort Gratiot Fire Department in Michigan. He has worked in both the USA and Canada for various fire departments and holds a Masters of Science degree in Safety, Security & Emergency Management from Eastern Kentucky University.   

Suicide Warning Signs

by: Jeff Dill

Recognizing Suicide Warning Signs in Firefighters and EMTs 

Behavioral health is a key component of an overall firefighter health and wellness program. Unfortunately, it is a difficult subject to discuss – many factors affect a firefighter’s ability to understand when a fellow brother or sister is suffering, but that does not make it any less critical an issue.

By far, the number one comment by fire and EMS chiefs associated with departments that have suffered a loss is that they didn’t realize or recognize the warning signs that their member was displaying until after the loss had occurred.

The Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) tracks and validates FF & EMT suicides in the United States. A key component is validation: Whether we receive a confidential report, text message, or phone call of a tragic event of a suicide, confidentiality is always maintained.

FBHA has traveled across North America presenting behavioral health workshops with an emphasis on suicide awareness. Our workshops focus on warning signs and actions to take when a brother or sister is in need of help, and I’d like to share them with you here:

 Top 5 Warning Signs – Think “RAILS”

 1.     Recklessness/Impulsiveness: These might be subtle signs such as purchasing guns when a person has always been against them. Riding a motorcycle recklessly or charging into burning buildings against policy or procedure.

 2.     Anger: Suppressed anger or explosive anger from seemingly minor issues can be a dangerous sign. Displacement (directing one’s anger at someone else instead of the intended person) is often observed. Displacement is most often directed at a FF or EMT’s family.

 3.     Isolation: becoming distant from their career company around the station or volunteer firefighters who don’t participate in drills or calls as much. Members might even display isolation around their family. They lose interest in family activities.

 4.     Loss of Confidence in skills and abilities: Several FFs and EMTs have advised FBHA they lost confidence in their ability to get the job done due to concentrating on emotional or personal issues they were battling. A seasoned FF who can’t remember how put an engine in gear to pump is an example.

 5.     Sleep Deprivation: Loss of sleep can indicate stress, anxiety, PTS or several other emotional issues a member might be struggling with and not realize.

Recommendations:

 When you see someone struggling or just off their game, follow these recommendations as a starting point:

 1.     Be Proactive; Be Direct: We do this when responding to emergencies. We need to take the same approach when our brothers or sisters appear to be struggling.

 2.     Direct Questions: Remember these two questions if a member comes to you with suicidal ideations.

 a.     Do you feel like killing yourself now?

b.     Do you have a plan? 

 A “yes” to either one of these questions means you need to engage your department procedures or protocols if in the firehouse. If outside of the department then they need help immediately. NEVER leave them alone!

3.     Compassion: The theme in our workshop is: Be Direct and be compassionate. Stay in the moment when talking to them. It is the most difficult type of conversation but always speak from the heart.

 4.     Discretionary Time: If a member comes to you to talk about a difficult issue they are struggling with and you have never dealt with this type of issue, then let them know but also use discretionary time. Do not make statements just to fill a void. For example: I never realized you were struggling with this issue and I don’t have a lot of knowledge on this problem, but let me find out a little more about it and we will talk later. (If this is a crisis moment then do not leave member alone)

 5.     Walk the Walk: The number of firefighters, officers and EMTs/paramedics who help their brothers or sisters out by taking them to AA classes or counselors cannot be overstated.  They sit outside and wait until the appointment is over. Taking care of our own goes well beyond the station or fire ground.

 Posters and tip cards are available for your departments and personnel. Please contact Jeff Dill at jdill@ffbha.org for more information or visit our web page at www.ffbha.org.

Find out more about Suicide Questions and PTSD Question

Spirituality in the Fire Service

By: Rabbi Howard A Cohen (Deputy Chief, ret.) AFM Virtual Training Coordinator

I am a rabbi. For those not familiar with term, a rabbi is a person trained in Jewish law, ritual, tradition and the chief religious official of a synagogue. I’ve served congregations in Alaska, Massachusetts, Vermont, and I was a prison chaplain for five years. I was also an active firefighter for twenty years. I entered the fire service world as a department chaplain, and I retired as a deputy chief. For my well-being and spiritual health I am now an instructor for Africa Fire Mission. I share this about me so you understand that I’ve been exploring matters of spiritual health in diverse settings, especially the fire service world, for a long time. This does not make me an authority, by any means. It does, however, afford me a certain perspective on the topic of spirituality and the fire service.

Spirituality is one of those words that everyone thinks they know the meaning of but have a hard time defining. This is not surprising since how we understand spirituality is highly subjective. So for the purpose of this article, I am defining spirituality as a sense of meaningful connection to something beyond or bigger than ourselves.

For many of us in the fire service what we do is not merely a job, it is a vocation. We do what we do, and we face the challenges that we face, because it is a calling. We are called to help others and we are self-sacrificing as we do this. We train to save lives under extreme conditions. Every time we respond to an emergency we are answering a “higher” calling. 

We may not think of what we are doing as spiritual work, but in the eyes of those we help during the worst hours of their lives, our work must be spiritual because to them we are practically divine agents. Moreover, though we tend not to use words like spirituality, higher calling and holy when we are thinking and talking about our work, in my humble opinion, the fire service is nothing less than holy work.  

I’ve also observed that beyond the “holy” nature of our life saving work, there is something spiritual in the way we bond/connect with our colleagues. We trust our lives to one another.  The lives of those who we are called upon to aid depend on our ability to work together. And at the end of a day of soul wrenching experiences, we cry, hug, and support one another.  We do this because we have a spiritual connection to one another.

In the fire service there is a lot of talk these days about emotional wellbeing. What’s the difference between emotional wellbeing and spiritual health? I suggest that emotional wellbeing is about cultivating a frame of mind, which can broaden your outlook and help you to connect to something larger or beyond yourself. Emotional wellbeing involves accepting and exploring who you are, enhancing your inner resources to reduce stress and maintain a positive outlook on life, and awareness and acceptance of the way that you feel. On the other hand, spirituality and spiritual health are about actively seeking meaningful connections with something larger or beyond yourself which can result in positive emotions and personal growth. At the risk of oversimplification, another way to explain the difference is that spirituality starts with looking outward, while emotional wellbeing starts with looking inward.  Nevertheless, they are deeply integrated and, in fact, reinforce one another.

Unfortunately, the daily challenges of being in the fire service take their toll on us. Newness and adrenaline only carries us so far. Eventually after so many encounters with fires, car crashes, accidents, damaged bodies, and death what began as a calling starts to give way to the feeling that it is just a grunt of a job. What is happening is that the demand of the profession is slowly chipping away at our spiritual health.  The nature of being a firefighter not only brings us into direct contact with much trauma and tragedy, but the need to act, not feel, requires that we put our feelings aside.  

Over time, as we become habituated to not processing our emotions, our emotional wellbeing and spiritual health begin to suffer. Left unchecked, this leads to “burn out” and/or secondary traumatic stress that will impact our health and relationships. Our work will start to feel meaningless.  The connections to our colleagues will start to fray.  We are literally becoming dispirited.

As dire as this sounds, there is good news.  There are numerous ways to regain and sustain spiritual health.  Here are several practices you can incorporate into your daily life to strengthen both your spiritual well being and emotional health.  While I can’t say any one of these is necessarily better than the other, I’ve listed them in order of my personal preference.  

1) Develop a strong sense of gratitude:  This can be as simple as making a point of expressing gratitude every day to the many people with whom you come into contact. Take a little time every day to reflect on all of the work others do for you. Express gratitude for them to yourself. Let them know how grateful you are as well.  

2) Embrace rituals:  The life of a firefighter is filled with important daily safety tasks that need to be done.  Embrace these tasks as sacred rituals. As you go through your checklist, visualize how this connects you to your colleagues and what might happen to them if you didn’t do this task right.

3) Foster empathy for others. Develop empathy by paying close attention to the people who surround you.  Expand the empathy you feel for those you know to encompass those you haven't met.

4)  Invest in your Relationships: Invest time and energy into the people who love you and whom you love.  

5)  Meditate and/or Pray:  Work on your spiritual health by questioning, affirming, and revising your beliefs. Drill down on troubling thoughts, don't hide them from yourself. Share them with someone you trust, and discuss your concerns together.

 Throughout this article I’ve used terminology that is evocative of organized religion.  While spirituality may incorporate elements of religion, they are not the same thing, nor are they entirely distinct from one another.  Religion is about following a prescribed set of rules, traditions, or beliefs.  Spirituality is entirely subjective and can be defined in just about any way you want. Some people choose to express their spirituality by keeping the aspects of traditional religion that they enjoy, like the practice of prayer or a belief in God.  This is fine.  Ultimately, there is no right or wrong way to seek out spiritual meaning. It will be different for each individual.

About the Author

Howard retired from the Bennington Fire Dept as a deputy chief.  He spends a lot of time writing and teaching various aspects of firefighting.  He religiously works out every morning, doing a mix of high intensity interval training (HiiT), dumbbells, kettlebells, barbells and cycling. When he is not doing something for the fire service or working out he is the rabbi of two small congregations.

Skills Leaders Incorporate During Team Building

By: Frank Montes de Oca

Recently, I focused a post on common traits that good leaders demonstrate. It listed characteristics common to leaders who strive to build strong, effective teams. To recap those traits are:

1. Recognize People

2. Respect Employees

3. Communicate Effectively

4. Possess Integrity

5. Provide Ongoing Feedback

Now, let’s aim attention on skills that leaders should incorporate in their continuing team building efforts. Assessing and Monitoring the Climate: How do you know your team is forming at an acceptable pace? How do you know when your team is ready to answer the challenges of delivering emergency services? If you’re not constantly assessing and determining individual and collective progress, you won’t. The steps below outline a basic approach to assessing team development and can be modified to meet the needs of the team and its members.

Step 1: Develop (or copy) a set of guidelines or standards that are achievable and measurable.

Step 2: Make sure the guidelines or standards are relevant to your team’s mission.

Step 3: Train team members individually and collectively to the standards.

Step 4: Assess members individually and the team as a whole.

Step 5: Share the team assessment outcome with all team members.

NOTE: Communicate throughout the process to ensure no one is left behind and a sense of ownership or buy-in is present throughout the team. Some departments are managed by standards, guidelines and rules developed by others outside the department or unit. Some might have been developed years ago. To ensure relevance, make sure the guidelines are up-to-date to meet the challenges of the community. Showing Trust in Your People. In the life safety business, it’s understandable to be cautious of taking everything on face value. It is human nature; somewhat of a self-preservation practice to question. There’s a saying that serves supervisors and team leaders well: Trust and verify. That is trust people or groups, but for the sake of safety, check every once in a while to make sure the facts are what they appear to be. Regardless of how you manage to certify the accuracy of the statement or claim, demonstrating trust, confidence in and support of your people is an integral practice for leaders. Ensuring a Respectful Workplace.

This attribute was mentioned in the last blog and is #2 above. This takes it a step further by requiring all members to demonstrate respect for each other and every community member with whom they interact. Regardless of gender, age or personal beliefs, it is integral to an effective team that respect is practiced at all levels. Enforcing Accountability and Fairness

Providing emergency services requires a relationship between the responder, his/her supervisor and the citizens served. To ensure the service rendered is of the quality expected, all members must be accountable for their actions. To achieve this the unit leader holds himself/herself to the established standards and in turn holds all members accountable for their actions as well. The peak of the team’s development occurs when team members hold each other accountable. Duties should be assigned based on fairness and the individual abilities of those assigned. As soon as favoritism is witnessed or suspected, a breakdown in unit cohesiveness occurs. Therefore, to prevent this all assignments, assessments and training must be distributed equally and fairly.

Communicating, Managing and Sharing Expectations The underlying message in this post is communication. When managers and supervisors maintain an open, two-way communication loop, unit effectiveness thrives. Members want to know what is expected of them. And in turn they expect their supervisors to know and respect what they expect. This level of honesty and openness builds teams who operate with resiliency, pride and effectiveness.

Go forth and lead!

Frank Montes de Oca served as a firefighter/paramedic for over 38 years finishing his career as a fire chief and emergency services director at three departments. His focus continues to be first responder development, team building and firefighter safety and survival. Chief Montes de Oca can be reached at frm1@me.com. Visit his website www.responder1.org to find information and training programs focused on first responder safety, survival and leadership development.

Welcome our new board members!

As Africa Fire Mission continues to grow, our board of directors continues to be a vital part of supporting our growth toward the future. Africa Fire Mission is pleased to welcome Lori Thomas and Jerry Bennett to our Board of Directors.

Lori Thomas

Jerry Bennett

Lori Thomas is a Global Environmental Health and Safety Leader for GE Aerospace, Commercial Engines & Services, Edison Works, Military Systems. Her experience in Health and Safety at GE will support AFM’s growth in industrial fire services as well as supporting businesses in safety practices.

Jerry Bennett participated with AFM in 2021’s Kenya Mission and 2022 Nigeria. Jerry is a retired District Fire Chief from East Moline, IL. He currently lives in Iowa. Jerry’s experiences in Africa and his work in the fire service will support AFM’s program development and growth.

Growing Community Fire Prevention Programs

Growing Community Fire Prevention Programs - AFM’s first annual Fire Prevention Competition!

January 1, 2023

by: Nancy L. Moore, Executive Director

When my husband, Dave, and I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya in 2012 we immediately began to see the dangers of fires that are a reality of life in Africa. When we learned in 2014 that many firefighters in Zambia didn’t know the basics of fire prevention and fire safety we knew we had to do something.

From our partners at Missions of Hope International and CMF International we learned about Community Health Evangelism or Community Health Education and realized that there was very little education for developing communities on fire prevention and fire safety. So we worked together with firefighters in Africa, community members in Kenya and AFM’s American firefighter volunteers to develop a curriculum that would be culturally appropriate for developing communities.

We have trained thousands of firefighters and community volunteers in using our curriculum and have been able to track results as fire services in Africa report that communities that have received training call the fire brigade sooner in cases of fire outbreaks and that they have a better understanding of how the fire service works and what firefighters need from the community in order to do their job. In 2022, firefighters and community volunteers reported more than 520,000 people were educated in fire prevention and fire safety through training activities, community walks and fire prevention week activities. Through public television and radio more than 13 million people were received life saving fire safety education.

With more than 1 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa - there are many more people to reach with these important life safety lessons.

In 2023 AFM has launched an initiative to reach more people by encouraging training and reporting that training through our first annual Fire Prevention Competition. We will have 4 categories for participation:

• Individual Volunteer - someone who is not paid for trainings that they are providing.

• Individual Paid - someone doing this as a part of their job, in the fire service, private or public sector.

• Fire Brigade (paid firefighters this could be a recognition for the whole fire department what they submit across all shifts, etc).

• Groups- organization or informal group (this could be firefighters or community members that are not getting paid to do the trainings and are doing it on their own time)

Trainings reported and taking place from November 20, 2022- November 1, 2023 will be considered. For the competition, trainings must take place in Africa. Participants in the competition may use the Africa Fire Mission curriculum as a guide for what training content to include: https://www.africafiremission.org/fire-safety-curriculum

The requirements to be considered include:

1. Submit training documentation to Africa Fire Mission via this form: https://www.africafiremission.org/fire-safety-training-reporting

2. Submit pictures of the training to info@africafiremission.org

Submission reviews to determine winners of the competition:

• Africa Fire Mission will review the all of the submitted training reports for quality of training as well as number of persons trained.

• Training photos will also be reviewed and AFM should be able to tell what content is being taught through the photos evidence.

• Trainings may be done formally (for instance a classroom setting or community gathering) or informally community walk, media interviews)

Winners will be announced at the closing of the Kenya Fire EMS Symposium and Competition 2023, in Nairobi, Kenya, November 2023. Winners will also receive recognition on AFM social media and AFM’s monthly newsletter. A certificate will be issued to the winners as well as a gift (yet to be determined).

Please note: Individuals training together are considered a group, please have one person from the group submit the reports and list the name of the group with the training report. Duplicate trainings will be combined as one training report. If there are participants from multiple countries, awards may be issued by country. AFM staff will not be considered as part of the competition. AFM holds the full decision making over the winners of the competition.

Looking Forward to 2023

Committed to increasing the sustainable capacity of  fire departments in developing communities 

December 2022 

Dear Friends and Partners, 

Thank you for your ongoing support of Africa Fire Mission. AFM is able to continue advancing its work with your generous support. 2022 has been another year of growth and service. This November, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary of our first trip to Kenya! Who could have imagined, on that mission trip in 2012, when Dave didn’t want to go, that Africa Fire Mission would have provided fire training programs, consultation and equipment in Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Ukraine!   We’ve impacted millions through our Fire Prevention initiatives!   (If you don’t know how we started – check out Our Story

We can’t do this work without you – By volunteering with us, praying for us and supporting our work financially, you are part of our team and our success!  AFM continues to have opportunities to expand our work in the areas we are already working and in new places.   In order take AFM to the next level, we need about $85,000 a year in new gifts which would allow us to add a full-time program person in the US and a full-time Fire Safety Advocate in Africa to support our growing programs.     

Would you consider becoming a monthly donor to AFM?  $25, $50 or $100 a month will make a big difference toward our goal.   Your year-end gift will also support our growth goal in 2023!  

Here are some highlights from our work in 2022.  

• Team mission trips to Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria with over 600 firefighters and EMT's trained in the countries in which AFM is serving. 

• 5 Training of Trainer’s in Community Fire Prevention.  

• More than 40,000 community members trained in Community Fire Prevention by our Fire Safety Advocate, AFM volunteers and African Fire Fighters. 

• More than 5 million children reached with our new Tochi and José Fire Prevention Show airing on Akili Kids Network in Kenya! 

• New partnership in Nigeria with University of Maryland, School of Medicine and the Institute of Human Virology – Nigeria.  

Your financial gifts ensure that firefighters and other first responders are trained in effective firefighting strategies and emergency medical response.   That children and their parents know what to do to prevent fires and what to do if there is a fire. That firefighters have the advocacy training and equipment they need to protect their communities and that our mission partners have fire protection, and prevention tools for their facilities.   Thank you for impacting lives through fire department and communities in Africa. We appreciate your generous support and partnership.  

Wishing you have a blessed Christmas and Holiday Season, 

Nancy Moore, Co-Founder & Executive Director