b'FIIRE Initiative:WA Fire Fighters Need to KnowThe Firefighter Injury and Illness Reduction (FIIRE) program is managed by the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I). It was developed with the guidance of representatives from the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) and Washington Fire Chiefs (WFC). Its primary goal is to reduce the occurrence of occupational injuries and illnesses among professional fire fighters. The programs focus is on developing best practices to reduce carcinogen exposures and musculoskeletal injuries.Employers of fire fighters can participate in this program to proactively manage risks and implement best practices in accordance with Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 51.04.170. Fire departments that participate in FIIRE will benefit from a discount on their workers compensation insurance premiums for risk class 6904. The program is currently only funded for employers of EXPOSURE REPORTINGthe state-insured workers compensation program.WITHIN FIRE DEPARTMENTS Participating employers can apply for grant In addition to strong policy, organizations are encouragedfunding to purchase additional equipment to develop strong processes for precautionary reporting.and gear necessary for implementing the best This begins by creating forms and other documents that arepractices. In addition, the Safety & Health logical, accessible and user-friendly. In addition, these formsInvestment Projects (SHIP) grant program, funded not only should support ease of use, but also should allow forby the Medical Aid Fund at L&I, also provides advantageous data collection by the department. Methodsgrant opportunities for those interested.such as check boxes, drop-down menus and practical narrative prompts reduce subjectivity and allow for easier retrieval of data.Exposure report forms also should have clean approval queues that require input from multiple layers within the organization. For example, the pump operator who breathedWAC 296-305-01505 requires organizations to develop an acrid smoke but did not require immediate medical attentionaccident-prevention program. As part of this program, the statute should initiate the report and thoroughly complete all sectionsincludes language mandating both a safety orientation process related directly to his experience. His company officer wouldand the development of a Safety Committee. The final review of then receive the report and proof the pump operators worka precautionary report should lie with these groups. This policy by checking it for completeness and accuracy. The officer alsostates that the Safety Committee should be tasked with identifying would provide their own version of events and recommendationsthe root causes of the event and, in doing so, it should suggest to prevent future occurrences. This process should continueaction items via the organizations Health and Safety Officer through a logical queue that involves all relevant individuals in(HSO). These items may include policy, procedural, training and/the affected members chain of command. or operational changes to prevent future occurrences. All Safety Committee and HSO recommendations should be documented, managed and revisited until the corrective actions are complete.An additional benefit ofA confidential document library is the final step for the precautionary report and associated Safety Committee and maintaining a collaborativeHSO records. The document library can be accessed if a approach to precautionaryprecautionary report should become relevant to an injury or illness that occurs downstream. At this point, both the reporting is that it moves training,organization and employee will have a record that the initiating policy and operational normsevent was reported, reviewed and acted upon.toward a culture of safety.7'