Olympia – The Washington State Fire Marshal’s Office joins the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) in recognizing this year’s Firefighter SAFETY Stand Down.
Safety Stand Down is a joint initiative of that is coordinated by the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section, the NVFC, the National Fire Protection Association, and the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, and is supported by national and international fire and emergency service organizations as well as health and safety-related organizations and agencies.
Held during the third full week of June each year, the 2023 event will take place from June 18-24. Fire and EMS departments are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activity during Safety Stand Down in order to focus on training and education related to this year’s theme. An entire week is provided to ensure all shifts and duty crew can participate.
Safety Stand Down is the unification of the IAFC’s Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week with the NVFC’s National Firefighter Health Week. The goal of both organizations is to reduce the number of preventable injuries and deaths in the fire and emergency services. Safety Stand Down focuses on the critical importance of responders taking care of themselves both on and off the emergency incident scene. The week is designed to increase awareness and action so that safety and health become a priority in all fire and emergency service departments.
This year’s theme of Safety Stand Down will focus on responder safety during incidents involving lithium-ion batteries. Each day will focus on a different topic within this theme: recognition of hazards, firefighting operations, firefighter safety, post-incident considerations, and public education. With the introduction of lithium-ion batteries and number of manufactured items now utilizing these batteries, locally, regionally, and nationally, we have seen increases in lithium-ion battery incidents that have included large property loss and damages, and even life casualties.
Resources and training videos will be made available at http://www.safetystanddown.org/in advance to help departments plan for and implement Safety Stand Down strategies.
In addition, NFPA will once again host the Fire Service Safety Stand Down Quiz to raise awareness and foster a greater understanding of this year’s theme. Everyone who completes the online quiz will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes; 200 randomly selected participants will win a commemorative Safety Stand Down challenge coin. Many organizations have developed resources and training relating to this critical topic.
Information and training presentations can be found at: https://www.safetystandown.org/event-planning/.
For more information, contact the State Fire Marshal’s Office at (360) 596-3929.