Public Safety Education Network

Meet Ron Siarnicki
Executive Director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

This past year I had the good fortune to meet Ron SIarnicki, the executive director of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. He is the driving force behind the Courage To Be Safe national campaign to reduce line of duty death to firefighters across the country. PSEN has been advocating to firefighters and fire organization the need to get involved. Anytime the basic core culture of an organization is challenged it can be expected that a shift in culture would not be easily accepted or acted upon. Please take a few minutes to listen to what he has to say and you may find enough reasons to take your first steps toward saving a firefighter from becoming a line of duty death in this new year.

It does not matter who you are or what fire service you represent. This resource kit will save firefighter lives. This is not abstract. It is factual. We lose a firefighter every three to four days in this country.

PSEN will hold a series of online live web conferences for ten participants at one time to present the program so that those of you who want to learn more about it can do so with us. The ten students selected will be on a first come basis.

This short compressed burst learning clip comes to us from
Chief Timothy Wall, CT.
We were lucky to have been included on his mail out and the pictures are heart wrenching. Seat Belts saved two firefighters lives in this case.

The National Volunteer Fire Council writes .. "The alarm at the station sounds, and soon you're on the scene ready to protect your community, putting your life on the line. Dealing with heat, stress, and exertion. You're up for it, but is your heart?

What about next time? As a firefighter, it's important that you can meet the physical demands of being on duty. By being heart-healthy and physically fit, you're better equipped to help those who depend on you".

NFFF Courage To Be Safe Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives
24 Minute Video Self Assessment Might Add 24 Years to Your Life

There are so many reasons to incorporate the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Courage To Be Safe Life Safety Initiatives Program into your personal and professional lives. PSEN has made a firm commitment to continue to deliver the message to our audience every month. We are drawing from the material in the resource kit and the resources on the everyonegoeshome.org web site. Firefighters we talk with have indicated that they are beginning to see the value in improving health and wellness as well as the example we project. Recently a note came to me and the sender said that the video that we will present was the trigger that helped jump start his desire to change. Consider the 24 minute video that could add 24 years to your life.

In aviation we are taught that every flight begins with a complete weather briefing, preflight aircraft inspection and preflight warnings that the FAA can provide so that we have preplanned our flight environment throughly. See the association?

Fighting the Fire Before the Fire is a resource film developed by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Courage To Be Safe campaign. It outlines the crew responsibility to preplan commuity structures with using the same principle that pilots use in order to increase personnel safety when entering a fire environment. Check your departments CTBS resource kit for more current and timely training. If your department has not received a resource kit drop me a note. Email bobc@publicsafetyedu.com

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation DVD Resource Kit #2 2007 was recently released to fire departments across the country. It contained a great learning series called "Turn Out For Life" which focuses on Health, Wellness, Fitness, Nutrition, Cancer and Exercise. We are pleased to introduce it to you this month through the PSEN internet learning system.

So, how much do you already know? Take a few minutes to answer the following self evaluation before continuing onto the video review.

The refresher video training series below contains material directly from the Turn Out For Life DVD Resource kit . We have broken it into four segments so that streaming it online should be more manageable.

It is with determination, perseverance, and vision that PSEN has adopted and continues to champion the Courage To Be Safe So Everyone Goes Home campaign. We have featured this program since September 2006. During my trip to Fireman's Fund Insurance Company in Novato, California. I had the opportunity to participate in the National Fallen Firefighters Summit which was intended to enhance and build upon the original 16 Life Safety Firefighter initiatives released in June of 2006. Charlie Dickinson, the current acting director of the United Fire Administration spent time with me talking about the importance this mission plays in reducing line of duty death to firefighters. When Charlie speaks you want to help. PSEN will work as hard as we can to teach you the importance of health, wellness and apparatus safety and how we can reduce line of duty deaths to firefighters.

Understanding Your Heart / Thanks to the USFDA

FDA1

The heart is a powerful muscle, about the size of your fist. It is responsible for pumping blood to the entire body. In a healthy adult, the body contains about 2 gallons (5 liters) of blood that is circulated over and over through the body. The blood moves from the heart, into arteries, capillaries, and veins before returning to the heart.

The entire cycle takes about 60 seconds, during which time the blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in the body. The blood vessels that bring oxygen and nutrients to the heart muscle itself are called the coronary arteries.

FDA2

The heart is divided into four compartments (chambers). Each upper chamber is called an atrium (plural atria) and each lower chamber is called a ventricle.

The atrial septum divides the right and left atria.

The ventricular septum divides the right and left ventricles

FDA3

Blood from the body is carried into the heart’s right atrium by blood vessels called the vena cava.

Inferior vena cava brings blood from the legs and the lower part of the body.
Superior vena cava brings blood from the head, neck, and arms.

When the right atrium fills with blood, it contracts, sending blood to the right ventricle. When the right ventricle fills with blood, it contracts, sending blood to the lungs through blood vessels called the pulmonary arteries. In the lungs, blood picks up oxygen, and then returns to the heart’s left atrium through blood vessels called the pulmonary veins. When the left atrium contracts, it sends blood to the left ventricle. From the left ventricle, blood is pumped out the aorta and through the body.

FDA4

Heart valves act as one-way doors, making sure that blood flows in the correct direction through the heart. Four valves control the blood flow in the heart:

Tricuspid valve regulates blood flow from the right atrium into the right ventricle.
Pulmonary valve regulates blood flow from the right ventricle into the pulmonary arteries
Mitral valve regulates blood flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle.
Aortic valve regulates blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta

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Electrical signals in your heart muscle cause your heart to contract. The electrical signals begin in the sinoatrial (SA) node (at the top of the right atrium). The SA node is sometimes called the heart’s natural pacemaker.

The electrical signals travel through the muscle fibers in the atria and ventricles, causing them to contract.

PSEN has made a commitment to this National Campaign and we will not stop encouraging you to join us in reducing Line of Duty Deaths to Firefighters