The Power of Four-Why fire service staffing levels have a direct impact on firefighter and occupant safety

摘要

We served as subject matter experts on the landmark study, "Report on Residential Fireground Field Experiments," conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and published in 2010， which examined the correlations between firefighter staffing at working structure fires and the safety of both firefighters and occupants. As the report pointed out, it is virtually impossible to conduct safe and effective operations at structure fires when remote stations are staffed with fewer than four firefighters. When an understaffed company located at a remote station encounters a working structure fire, it is forced to make difficult decisions regarding its personal safety versus its commitment to saving lives and property.