Taking Care of Our Own: A Fire Chief's Guide

A fire department does not know when it will have a line-of-duty death or serious injury. Does it have a plan in place? Are personnel records current? Does the department know how to make timely and proper notification to the survivors? Fire chiefs and survivors tell us that most fire departments are not prepared for a line-of-duty death. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is pleased to offer “Taking Care of Our Own” which provides senior fire officers specific information and valuable insights.

In Module One participants assess their own views and attitudes on key points that the training will cover. Throughout the training, the participants can compare these with some of the principles and procedures being suggested. The first module concludes with first-hand experiences of a chief and a family member whose stories set the stage for the rest of the day.

Module Two focuses on the importance of pre-incident planning. It covers: 1) putting together a pre-incident plan for line-of-duty deaths and serious injuries; 2) maintaining up-to-date employee emergency contact information; and 3) knowing what benefits are available to survivors, including the Public Safety Officers' Benefits and State and local support. Class participants discuss ways to support the family immediately after the death, during the funeral planning and service, and long term.

Module Three deals with notification of the survivors. It discusses the five basic principles of notification and lets the participants suggest ways to handle difficult situations.

Module Four presents the basic concepts associated with grief and mourning and explores the challenges of dealing with sudden death. It ends by asking the participants to reframe inappropriate statements commonly made to persons who are grieving.

Module Five examines ways to provide support to members of the department, including the chief. It presents a sequential checklist of actions to take immediately after a line-of-duty death. It explains the Chief-to-Chief Network that offers professional and personal support to senior fire officers through the funeral and afterwards and looks at ways the department can help coworkers of the fallen firefighter. The module ends with suggestions on ways to remember the fallen firefighter.

The training manual appendices contain extensive information including survivor benefits, ways to support the family, examples of line-of-duty death SOP’s, funeral protocols, investigations, and other useful resources.

Course Presenters

Deputy Commissioner John McGrath is a 29-year veteran of the Philadelphia Fire Department. He currently is in command of all activities in the Fire Marshal’s Office, Fire Prevention Division, and Communications Center. He also has responsibility for three major units--Hazardous Material Administrative, Apparatus and Equipment Procurement, and Research and Planning. He holds a BS degree in Management and is a graduate of NFA’s Executive Fire Officer Program.

A second-generation Philadelphia firefighter, John has worked in every rank as a field commander. In these roles, he has been involved in all phases of the department’s response and outreach following line-of-duty deaths.

Cathy Hedrick of Hughesville, Maryland, is the mother of a fallen firefighter. On January 12, 1992, her son Kenny died of smoke inhalation while performing rescue operations at a house fire. Cathy’s husband Les was chief of the department.

Cathy serves on the Foundation's Family Advisory Group and is a member of our Fire Service Survivors Network reaching out to newly-bereaved families. During the annual Memorial Weekend she manages registration for families and coworkers.

Dr. Mark Maggio has provided critical incident stress management services in hundreds of traumatic incidents involving federal, state and local emergency services and law enforcement personnel across the country for the past 15 years.

Mark works full-time for the federal courts in Washington, D.C. and is an adjunct professor in behavior science for the University of Maryland University College. He serves as chairman of the board of directors of the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.

Eligibility

This course is designed for senior fire officers, career or volunteer, chief officers and senior deputies of federal and state government, chaplains, and officials of national and state fire organizations.

To register for the course, contact the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation at 301-447-1365
301-447-1645-fax
P.O. Drawer 498
Emmitsburg, MD 21727
firehero@erols.com

Resources

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