Inspectores de Bomberos abrumados

Fuente: Oakland Post  - San Pablo Apartment Fire

El Bay Area News Group publicó recientemente un artículo titulado, “Quemado: Cómo los abrumados inspectores de bomberos nos protegen”. Este es un informe de investigación que detalla cómo los departamentos de bomberos del área de la bahía de California no están logrando los requerimientos anuales de inspección de incendios. Este artículo muestra las deficiencias de los organismos de prevención de incendios y pide respuestas a los oficiales de bomberos locales.

Los autores del artículo analizaron las estadísticas de un período de ocho años y muestran

que las inspecciones anuales requeridas en las escuelas K-12 (nota del traductor: desde

Kinder hasta grado 12) y en las propiedades residenciales multifamiliares no se llevan a cabo. Varios departamentos de bomberos admiten que ni siquiera saben dónde están estas propiedades o cuántas existen en su jurisdicción. Estas brechas en las inspecciones se atribuyen a los bajos niveles del personal y a los inadecuados sistemas de recopilación de datos. Estos dos elementos críticos conducen fácilmente a "departamentos de bomberos abrumados y a menudo desorganizados". Un Fire Marshal (Inspector de Bomberos)  afirma que los hallazgos en este informe de investigación revelan "una falla sistemática de los programas de inspección en su departamento y en otros".

Este es un artículo importante para que todos los inspectores de incendios lean: →

http://extras.mercurynews.com/fireinspection/

El libro “Fire Prevention Blueprint: Seven Disciplines for Building Effective

Fire Prevention Organizations”, (disponible en Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2JAkka6), aborda estos problemas y proporciona siete disciplinas que los departamentos de prevención y seguridad de los cuerpos de bomberos deben implementar para lograr un rendimiento eficaz y eficiente.

Las siete disciplinas descritas en el Fire Prevention Blueprint, están estructuradas para

ayudar a los departamentos de bomberos a evitar el abatimiento y crear un camino claro

de acción para sus organizaciones en la prevención de incendios.

Disciplina # 1: Conocer a la comunidad.

Disciplina # 2: Tener un plan.

Disciplina # 3: Hacer cumplir los códigos (normatividad).

Disciplina # 4: Realizar revisión del plan e inspecciones de campo.

Disciplina # 5: Investigar incidentes de fuego.

Disciplina # 6: Educar al público.

Disciplina # 7: Tener el personal adecuado.

Puede utilizar nuestra herramienta "FPO Effectiveness Tool"

(Disponible en: http://thecodecoach.blogspot.com/2018/05/the-fpo-effectiveness-tool.html),

para evaluar dónde se encuentra su institución y qué áreas deben mejorarse para lograr la

máxima efectividad.

Autor:  Aaron Johnson

Traducido por:  Fernando Castillo, Colombia

Overwhelmed Fire Inspectors

San Pablo Apartment Fire - Oakland Post

The Bay Area News Group recently published an article entitled, “Burned Out: How Overwhelmed Fire Inspectors Fail to Protect Us.”  This is an investigative report that details how California’s Bay Area fire departments are not achieving annual fire inspection requirements.  This article shows the deficiencies of the fire prevention organizations and calls for answers from the local fire officials.

The article’s authors looked at statistics over an eight year period, and show that annual required inspections in K-12 schools and multi-family residential properties are failing to be conducted. Several departments admit to not even knowing where these properties are or how many exist in their jurisdiction.  These inspection gaps are blamed on low staffing levels, and inadequate data collection systems. These two critical elements easily lead to “overwhelmed and often disorganized fire departments”. One Fire Marshal states that the findings in this investigative report reveal “a systematic failure of inspection programs in his and other departments”.

This is an important article for all fire inspectors to read → http://extras.mercurynews.com/fireinspection/

Fire Prevention Blueprint: Seven Disciplines for Building Effective Fire Prevention Organizations addresses these issues and provides seven disciplines fire prevention organizations need to implement for effective and efficient performance.

The seven disciplines outlined in the Fire Prevention Blueprint are structured to help fire departments prevent overwhelm and create a clear path of action for their fire prevention organizations.

Discipline #1: Know the community.

Discipline #2:  Have a plan.

Discipline #3:  Enforce the code.

Discipline #4: Conduct plan review and field inspections.

Discipline #5:  Investigate fire incidents.

Discipline #6:  Educate the public.

Discipline #7:  Be adequately staffed.

You can utilize our "FPO Effectiveness Tool" to assess where your organization is, and what areas need to be improved on to achieve maximum effectiveness.

More about the Fire Prevention Blueprint:

• Fire Prevention Blueprint
• How to Build an Effective Fire Prevention Organization
• Seven Disciplines for Effective FPO's

Fire Prevention Blueprint

Attention, Fire Prevention Professionals!

Build an Effective and Efficient Fire Prevention Organization!

Create an effective fire prevention organization by:

• Identifying essential fire prevention and life safety functions
• Understanding how to utilize effective systems and processes
• Creating a plan of action for building or restructuring a fire prevention organization

Are you a fire protection professional - inspector, engineer, safety director, fire marshal, or AHJ - that is faced with the challenge of doing more with less? Are you tired of being reactive instead of proactive in your prevention efforts? Do you feel overwhelmed by the tasks that can never seem to get accomplished? Do you wonder if your team is focusing on the right functions and activities? Is your vision for your department unfulfilled? You need a clear plan of action. This is your action plan!

Identify the seven disciplines for effectiveness and efficiency.

    Based on historical context, current needs, best practices, published standards, and successful fire prevention programs, the Fire Prevention Blueprint identifies seven disciplines critical to the effectiveness of any fire prevention organization.

1. Know your community.
2. Have a plan.
3. Enforce the code.
4. Conduct plan review and field inspections.
5. Investigate fire incidents.
6. Educate the public.
7. Be adequately staffed.

Describe the key functions, features, and components of these disciplines.

    The Fire Prevention Blueprint  addresses the most important questions and highlights the major features of these seven disciplines.

• What are the key elements you must know and understand about your community?. 
• What is a strategy? How can you create one for your community and fire prevention organization?
• How often should you be inspecting the various structures within your community?
• Do you have a clear understanding of  the functions and benefits of plan review? Are you fully aware of your role on the building commissioning team?
• Do you know how to maximize the data gathered from origin and cause investigations?
• Are you providing the most needed, in-demand, and valuable public education programs? 
• Why do people want to work for your organization? How can you attract them? How can you keep them?

Apply practical guidance to implement each discipline. 

    Application of the Fire Prevention Blueprint will enable you to effectively establish, organize, and manage, the fire prevention functions of your organization.  You will be empowered to implement these seven disciplines by:

• Understanding where to get data from, and how to use it.
• Learning how to structure a fire protection and life safety strategy for your community, and form a long-range plan for your fire prevention organization.
• Properly categorizing facility inspections based on hazard risk, operations, and construction features.
• Building an integrated testing plan.
• Following a simple 6-step process for fire scene investigation.
• Knowing the 10-step process for selecting public education programs
• Learning the basic skills for public speaking and teaching.
• Applying Peter Drucker’s 3-step process for time management to your fire prevention organization.
• Following the NFPA recommended 5-step process to determine and justify staffing needs.

Utilize multiple tools, resources, and references for further study and application.

    The goal of  Fire Prevention Blueprint is to provide a basic framework on which to build your organization.  There is an abundance of resources available on each of these seven disciplines and their subtopics. The best tools and resources are referenced in this guide:

• Via footnotes in the text.
• A bonus annex section. 
• A website with direct links to all referenced tools and documents. 

It has taken me more than a decade in this industry to clarify this system for fire prevention organization operation. When I sat down to write this book, I simply wrote down the information I wish I would have had over ten years ago, when I started out on this fire prevention quest!

Buy now on Amazon!

Kindle - $1.99

Print - $6.99

Still not sure if this is right for you? Learn more and subscribe to the mailing list at, www.FPOblueprint.com

How to Build an Effective Fire Prevention Organization

The fire service is an organization that has become known for doing more with less. Less tools, less equipment, less personnel, and less money. Many fire prevention organizations have too few dedicated fire prevention personnel to cover the many square feet of space or miles of geography within their communities. Fire prevention organizations are responsible for the tasks of life safety inspections, fire protection system inspections and testing, plan reviews, investigations, public education, and myriad administrative tasks. All this while also being expected to stay abreast of new technologies, code developments, legislative changes, and planning for the future of the fire prevention organization and its role within the community.   

This workload creates a reactive environment.  One in which fire prevention organization and personnel are functioning only to respond to the most emergent issue, “what needs to be done now”.  These organizations run the risk of being able to only accomplish the minimum required tasks, or less. These conditions can lead to critical fire protection and life safety issues that are allowed to develop until they become a major incident, which results in loss of property or worse, loss of life.

Fire protection professionals - inspectors, investigators, engineers, building safety directors,  the Fire Marshal - did not get into this field to barely get by, or to race to the bottom, or to just work to meet “minimum” standards, or “try their best”, or to do things “the way they’ve always been done”, to simply maintain the status quo. You entered the field because you had a vision to change your world or community by protecting property and saving lives from fire loss.

With the many tasks, responsibilities, and requirements of the fire prevention organization how can this vision be realized? How can the fire prevention organization and its personnel be best utilized to  ensure that they are functioning at optimal effectiveness? Can they know that they are focusing on the right tasks and activities? The solution is a clear plan of action that identifies and provides for the most effective and efficient methods for performing essential fire prevention functions.

With the right plan of action and a laser-like focus on essential tasks your vision for your community and organization can be realized. Your organization can be transformed from just getting by, doing the bare minimum, trying to stay “afloat”,  into a purpose driven, forward advancing, progress making, community changing, organization!

The Fire Prevention Blueprint is your action plan! This book reveals the seven disciplines of effective and efficient fire prevent organizations, and provides practical guidance and resources for their implementation. Fire Prevention Blueprint: Seven Disciplines for Building Effective Fire Prevention Organizations accomplishes this by identifying essential fire prevention and life safety functions, understanding how to utilize effective systems and processes, and providing the framework for creating a structured and organized plan of action.

Don’t let your community become the next mass fire casualty or large fire loss headline. Buy the Fire Prevention Blueprint and transform your fire prevention organization into your vision of what you know it can be!

For more information, resources, and to order the book, visit:

www.FPOblueprint.com