Everyone Goes Home - Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program

North Dakota Fire Service
Pictured left to right: Brooks Martin Region VIII advocate, Allen Berge president of North Dakota Firefighters Association, Bruce Hoover president of ND Metro Fire Chiefs Association, Bill Sadowsky President ND Fire Chiefs Association, Rick Graba ND state advocate for the EGH program, Ed Grossbauer President of the Professional Fire Fighters of ND.

The North Dakota fire serve has endorsed the Everyone Goes Home® program. All of the major North Dakota fire service organizations have signed a resolution endorsing the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives program. Signing the resolution is the North Dakota Firefighters Association, Professional Firefighters of North Dakota, North Dakota Fire Chiefs Association and the North Dakota Metro Chiefs Association. The fire service of ND has taken a stand to help reduce line of duty deaths and injuries by endorsing the FLSI program. The North Dakota Firefighters association has received a grant from the ND Work Force and Safety to bring the Courage To be Safe(SM) class to every fire department in the state free of charge. This resolution was originally developed by Billy Hayes, the Region 4 advocate for the Everyone Goes Home® program.

Below is a copy of the resolution:

A Resolution by North Dakota Firefighters Association

Whereas, firefighting has been designated as one of the nation's most hazardous professions, and:

Whereas, the nation's fire service encounters a line-of-duty death approximately every third day and an estimated one hundred firefighter fatalities with hundreds of near-misses and thousands of work-related injuries annually, and:

Whereas, 50% of line-of-duty deaths are a result of cardiac related emergencies and 25% are vehicle related by responding to or returning from emergency incidents many involving the lack of use of seat belts, and;

Whereas, since 1984, nearly three thousand, five hundred firefighters, career and volunteer, have given their lives in the line of duty, and:

Whereas, North Dakota has had 5 Firefighter Line of Duty Deaths since 1977:

Whereas, in 2004, two hundred thirty-nine fire service professionals gathered in Tampa, Florida to discuss the issue of reducing line-of-duty deaths, and;

Whereas, the product of that meeting was the development of 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives to help meet the goal of reducing line-of-duty deaths 25% by 2009 and 50% by 2014, and;

Whereas, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has created the Everyone Goes Home®campaign to increase firefighter knowledge through public awareness, as well as participation in the Courage To Be Safe training curriculum, and;

Whereas, it is incumbent upon Fire Departments to encourage, educate, and enforce firefighter safety, health, & wellness.

Now, therefore, it be resolved that the North Dakota Firefighters Association on June 7th 2008 adopt the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives and support the Everyone Goes Home®campaign to help meet the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's goal of reducing firefighter line-of-duty deaths.