School Safety -A Fire Service Perspective
William A. Steenbergh, MPA, CFPS, CFEI, EMT-P
Who Am I &
Why Am I Here?
DISCLAIMER(S)
• Paid vs. Volunteer Fire Departments
• Fire Service vs. Law Enforcement
GOALS & OBJECTIVES
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Give everyone some things to think about
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Prompt the initiation of a dialogue in your
school (if it doesn’t already exist)
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Express a point of view that may be different
from what you’ve heard before
Topics
• Local Fire & EMS Service
• All Hazards vs. Active
Shooter
• FD Response to your school
• Education / Fire Prevention
• Bus Accidents & Off-Site
Emergencies
• Juvenile Firesetters
• Q & A (time permitting)
“Knowing how to respond quickly
and efficiently in a crisis is critical
to ensuring the safety of our
schools and students. The midst
of a crisis is not the time to start
figuring out who ought to do what.
At that moment, everyone
involved – from top to bottom –
should know the drill and know
each other.”
Margaret Spellings
US Sec of Education 2005-2009
Local Fire & EMS Service
• School Districts & Fire Districts
– Have you ever met him/her (THEM !!)
– Attendance at safety team meetings?
– Drills, walk-throughs & tabletops?
• Paid / Combination / Volunteer
– Who, how many & how long to get here?
– Why should I care?
• Mutual Aid
– “Why do you send so many fire trucks to
a false alarm?” (Anonymous School Official)
• Who is your EMS provider?
– “We called for an ambulance – why did a
fire engine (or 2 ambulances) show up?”
All Hazards vs Active Shooter
• Violence has never been the leading
cause of death in American K-12
schools.
• 1,351 people were killed in school
transportation-related incidents from
2002 to 2011. (NHTSA)
• 334 school-associated homicides,
including active shooters, during the
same period of time. (National Center
for Education Statistics - NCES)
• Our Lady of Angels fire (arson) killed 92
students and 3 staff – Chicago, 1958
Source: Dr. Dewey
Cornell - University of
Virginia (2013)
Source: NFPA
New Lane Elem. (L.I.) - 2001
Fire Began in Teacher’s Lounge
$14 million damage
Matthew Paterson Elementary
Carmel, NY
3/19/2004
Overheated compressor in Kitchen storeroom
Fire spread accelerated by improper storage of flammable materials
$3 Million damage
Lewiston-Porter Middle School
Niagara County, NY
Overloaded power strip - $500,000
Carbon Monoxide
• Between 2005 – 2012 in US
• 60 incidents of wide-spread
CO events in schools
• 638 students and teachers
transported to the hospital
• CO alarms not mandated in
NYS schools
(currently being studied by NYSED)
Science Labs
• MSDS Sheets
– SDS Sheets (2013)
• Chemical Hygiene Plan
• Chemical Inventory & tracking system
• 209-U reporting
55 gallons LPG
TYPES OF EMERGENCY / CRITICAL INCIDENTS
• Natural disasters (earthquake, tornado,
hurricane, flood)
• Severe weather
• Fires
• Chemical or hazardous material spills
• Bus crashes
• School shootings
• Bomb threats
• Medical emergencies
• Student or staff deaths (suicide, homicide,
unintentional, or natural)
• Acts of terrorism or war
• Outbreaks of disease or infections
Source: US Dept of Education
District-wide & building level
MULTIHAZARD emergency
Plans – July, 2000
Simply following the SAVE
regulations isn’t enough !!
SAVE doesn’t require;
• Fire/EMS to be on districtlevel teams
• Copies of building level plans
be provided to Fire/EMS
• Copies of maps or floor plans
to be provided to Fire/EMS
• Standardization of building
level plans
– To whatever extent possible
FD Response to Your School
• Identifying key staff
– ICS requires training 3 deep for positions
• Importance of Custodial staff
• NY AG Opinion 81-13
“Once a fire alarm is sounded, "ownership" of, or
jurisdiction over the building rests with the fire
department. Jurisdiction is not returned to the school
authorities until the fire chief or his designee makes a
determination of safety and returns the building to the
person normally in charge. … The fact that an alarm is a
false alarm has no bearing upon the foregoing.”
• EMS response
• Accountability / Attendance
– Students, F/T staff, “visiting” staff,
visitors
• Substitutes
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Fire Alarm Panels
Zone Maps
Calling 911
Radio Communications
Medications
On-Line Access
Knox Boxes / Keys / Access
– After hours response
• Students needing special
assistance
• Fire Hydrants
• Door Chocks / Closers
• Bathroom & Closet Doors
How it is supposed to work
Source: FEMA - ICS for Schools Training Program
Education / Fire Prevention
• NYS Ed Law 808
– “Mandates that every school in NYS must
provide a minimum of 45 minutes of instruction
in arson, fire prevention, injury prevention and
life safety for each month school is in session.
The instruction is required for all students, and
should include such topics as identification of a
variety of conditions in the home, school, and
community that may lead to fires; procedures to
follow in the event of fire in the home, school
and the community; and preventative measures
that may reduce the risk of fire and arson.
Instruction is required in grades K-12, and may
be provided by classroom teachers or
community resource personnel as designated
by the principal.”
Source: www.NYSEd.gov
Recognized Curriculums
• http://www.p12.nysed.gov/facplan/HealthSafety/child
_safety.html
• Risk Watch® is targeted to K-8 students and meets
all the requirements of the new legislation. (NFPA)
– http://www.riskwatch.org
• Safe Kids International
– http://www.safekids.org/programs
• American Red Cross – Masters of Disaster
– http://www.redcross.org/prepare/location/school/preparedn
ess-education
SECTION 406 EMPLOYEE TRAINING AND RESPONSE PROCEDURES
406.1 General. Employees in the occupancies listed in Section 404.2 shall be trained
in the fire emergency procedures described in their fire evacuation and fire safety
plans. Training shall be based on these plans and as described in Section 404.3.
406.2 Frequency. Employees shall receive training in the contents of fire safety and
evacuation plans and their duties as part of new employee orientation and at least
annually thereafter. Records shall be kept and made available to the code enforcement
official upon request.
406.3.1 Fire prevention training. Employees shall be apprised of the fire hazards of the
materials and processes to which they are exposed. Each employee shall be instructed
in the proper procedures for preventing fires in the conduct of their assigned duties.
406.3.2 Evacuation training. Employees shall be familiarized with the fire alarm and
evacuation signals, their assigned duties in the event of an alarm or emergency,
evacuation routes, areas of refuge, exterior assembly areas, and procedures for
evacuation.
406.3.3 Fire safety training. Employees assigned fire-fighting duties shall be trained to
know the locations and proper use of portable fire extinguishers or other manual firefighting equipment and the protective clothing or equipment required for its safe and
proper use.
Bus Accidents
• When Fire/EMS gets called
– “Implied consent”
– Different bus
– Different driver
– How many ambulances?
– Where do they go?
– Who decides?
• In District vs. Out of District
– Field trips
– Teams
• Shouldn’t there be a plan ??
Source: NFPA
Juvenile Firesetters
Juvenile Firesetters
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Children set 50% of all fires in the US.
Over 40% of juvenile firesetters are under age 5, and 70% are under age 10.
55% of all U.S. arson arrests are children under the age of 18.
Almost half of these arrests are children 15 and under.
As many as 6.8% of juveniles arrested for arson are under the age of 10.
The crime of arson has the highest rate of juvenile involvement.
It is the 2nd leading cause of all fatal home accidents.
Firesetting is the largest cause of home deaths among children.
Almost 34% of the victims of child-set fires are the children themselves.
These statistics are most certainly low, because many fires that cause only
minor damage or injury go unreported by the parents. (or schools, etc.)
• Most children who set fires lack fire safety education, but more importantly,
appropriate supervision.
• Children mistakenly believe that they can control the fires that they set.
• Once a fire is set, it only takes about two-minutes for the flame from a single
match to set an entire room on fire, and less than five minutes for that fire to
overtake an entire house.
WHAT’S BEING DONE
ABOUT THIS?
QUESTIONS ??
Thank you !!
Contact Information
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William A. Steenbergh
Phone: 845-486-6309
Email: afd51@optonline.net
Internet: www.afd.org