Managing Director for the First Responder Center for Excellence - Retired FDNY Chief Officer
Yesterday, I received a hard copy of #NFPA 1585, Standard for Exposure and Contamination Control, in the mail. As an original committee member since its inception in 2019, I have had the unique privilege of representing the #FDNY and the broader fire service community in developing this standard from day one for the past six years. This standard represents a significant milestone in protecting emergency responders from hazardous fireground contaminants. The standard aimed to consolidate contamination control requirements into a single document. Previously, requirements were located across various NFPA documents, making them difficult and time-consuming to find, which led to limited awareness and, therefore, limited compliance in the fire service. As directed by the NFPA, the committee's scope included occupational health, medical, and wellness requirements for all emergency responders, including those in emergency medical and law enforcement roles. This document is a collaborative effort involving subject matter experts from diverse backgrounds related to contamination control and emergency responder health. It gives organizations guidelines for developing effective exposure and contamination control programs. The standard consolidates and integrates content from various existing sources for a thorough and unified approach to contamination control. The publication of NFPA 1585 marks a significant step forward in protecting emergency responders, ensuring their health and safety, and allowing them to perform their critical duties. The standard builds leeway and common sense to allow firefighters to do their jobs while also accounting for their long-term health. As I often say, be aggressive in fighting the fire and be just as aggressive in protecting your health and cleaning up after the fire. I am proud to have contributed to this document and to work collaboratively and meaningfully alongside so many others dedicated to our profession. I am particularly proud of Chapter 7 of the document as I also served as a subcommittee member of this chapter, which focused on “on scene emergency operations and training exercises”. Everyone in the fire service should know this document and its requirements. This first edition of the standard became effective on May 12, 2024, and can be viewed free of charge on the NFPA website. You can also submit an application to serve on this or any number of NFPA committees and have your voice heard. Gary Krichbaum, MA, CFO, MIFireE Sara Jahnke John Haseney Todd LeDuc Kepra Jack Ian Emmons Kevin Kuntz Marni Schmid
Ian Emmons
3w
This is really cool to finally see in print after all the long hours and hard work we put in, especially chapter 7! Major strides have been made up to this point but it’s still a long road ahead. Glad to have you at the helm of this fight, Frank Leeb!
Outstanding news! NFPA 1585 is finally on the streets and available! Here is the back-story. At the FCSN White Paper update meeting in Florida on 23/Jan/2016, we heard a startling presentation by the architect Paul Erickson on fire station design . His words were "The fire service has evolved a very effective carcinogen-harvesting system, by getting their gear and equipment fully loaded on the fireground with bad contaminants, dragging it back to their stations, and then living in it!" I immediately searched on my laptop all the NFPA standards and could see we were completely silent on stations, as well as most other standards. I asked Dr Tom Hales of NIOSH (an NFPA 1500 TC member) sitting next to me if they ever considered contamination control in the rehab standard. "No", he replied, "but we really should!" Immediately after the meeting I drafted, submitted and ultimately received AFG funding for the "Campaign for Fire Service Contamination Control", starting later in 2016. The workshop and FPRF report were fully completed in 2018, and along the way the NFPA system had a great awakening, and NFPA 1585 was born... It is so great to finally see this important document... great job by all!
Bob Ingram
1w
Great work Frank. I hope you gain more traction than our NFPA 472 standard that has been out since the 1980’s. 472’s main goal was to give responders a better understanding of the hazardous materials they face in every day calls, the injuries and deaths they cause, and how to protect themselves. And not to be left out, how to decontaminate if that occurs. The link between hazardous materials exposure and chronic illnesses like cancer has been around long before 2019. It hasn’t been a top priority of leaders in general. Beside the fire service members that work on NFPA committees, how many others do we all know that read these standards? The ones that do, fortunately, are those who usually develop training curriculum and deliver it. What I believe is a more critical component in getting this information to responders is current day leaders and presenters incorporating the words hazardous materials into all the curriculum and linking in the long term illnesses. These materials are present in every type of call we respond to and should be included in the “size up/assessment” section of every fire service article. Leaders have to stand behind this link in their words and actions. Again, great work, keep informing!
John Lord
3w
Great work Chief, we set off behind the US on this in the UK but are picking up now and certainly in aviation FRS doing some great work I worked both and suffered with the big C, I still love my world after 45 years on ops and teaching but it’s great to see this document, well done to all trying to save lives of brother and sister firefighters
Kevin Kuntz
3w
Great job by the committee in developing this crucial standard. Thanks for the leadership and insight provided by both you and Ian in the development of Chapter 7.
Frank - thanks for contributing to this important resource on top of all you’ve done as a leader in FDNY’s cancer risk reduction initiatives of the last seven years!
Great to see your and the committees hard work in print! Well done...
Tony Correia
3w
Great Job. We’ve had a cancer reduction guideline in Burlington County since 2018. Compliance could be better
Well done Chief. It's an important subject now and will be for a very long time. Thank you for all of your efforts.
Firefighter Cancer Advocate Educator and Public Safety
3wChief Leeb, great news. My question is how to get the buy-in, not just from the firefighters and the officers, but the fire chiefs as well. S.O.P.s are ok but when they stay in a computer file., or a thick file in the Commanders office, and they are not followed or enforced. How do we make, especially the new members coming on to departments to take occupational firefighter cancer seriously? I get the mentality, we are firefighters, we save others. We rarely think of ourselves or the short and long term dangers. I understand that a fire department is a complex organization to run and maintain. Where can/should firefighters, fire officers start? We all know that Rome was not built in a day. The fire service is an ever changing and evolving organization, however what is a good starting point? How much buy in from the fire service should the scientific community expect to start mitigating and preventing cancer? Ideas and thoughts welcome from all. Thanks