Tuesday, May 22, 2007

National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System

Whiner of the year award goes to...Here's your sign award...
National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System:

Synopsis
Inexperienced driver nearly knocks over crew when he opens tank dump.
Event Description
During monthly apparatus checks, an inexperienced driver was in the cab of a 3000 gallon water tender. He inadvertently pulled the actuator knob for the rear tank dump. The outflow of water narrowly missed other firefighters working the area, narrowly avoiding injury.
Lessons Learned
Standard procedure during training should be that non-familiar operators are only allowed in the cab when accompanied by a trained operator. The actuator knob should be clearly marked and perhaps painted a bright warning color or covered with a manual locking mechanism.
Demographics
Department type: Combination, Mostly volunteer
Job or rank: Captain
Department shift: Straight days (8 hour)
Age: 52 - 60
Years of fire service experience: 11 - 13
Region: FEMA Region X
Event type: On-duty activities: apparatus and station maintenance, meetings, tours, etc.
Event date and time: 05/15/2006 19:30
Hours into the shift: 0 - 4
Event participation: Told of event, but neither involved nor witnessed event
Weather at time of event:
Do you think this will happen again? No
What were the contributing factors?
  • Task Allocation
  • Training Issue
  • SOP / SOG
  • Human Error
What do you believe is the loss potential?
  • Property damage
  • Minor injury

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