The following article is strictly perspective writing, and in no way is based upon science or intensive research. It is an “ah-ha” type of article structured upon fire station dinner table type discussions that solve world problems; such as, “what came first, the chicken or the egg,” or “was deflate-gate a reality or an NFL conspiracy designed to keep the top quarterback from a dominating team on the bench?” See what I mean? If only world leaders had dinner at the fire station we would surely solve world hunger and have world peace!
So let’s put this on the table. Has it struck anyone in the fire service as oddly offensive that it appears if a person dies from unnatural causes by any means other than fire then there likely will be criminal charges, a public uproar demanding changes to laws, and governmental accountability? But, when someone dies in a fire, including firefighters with families, it is simply a news brief tragedy that is largely glossed over and acceptable by the public? Now what does that say about the perceived importance our profession, or our value, if death by fire is perceived as an acceptable tragedy that happens now and again?
The paralleling scenarios
Scenario A—A mom is traveling in her SUV with her three children, all under the age of five, on her way home from grandma’s house. Due to the gifts and groceries provided by grandma, and the impending dreaded bedtime routine that is anxiously anticipated, she does not restrain or buckle in any of her children; after all, it’s only a few miles home. Two blocks away a drunk driver broadsides her vehicle causing it to roll, ejecting all three of her toddlers to their gruesome death. Who will be called to answer for the death of those children? Will there be any charges and against whom? Will there be anger and blame? How will the public and her own family react? Was this senseless and avoidable?
Scenario B—A mom’s culinary skills continually sets off the first floor smoke detector, which she promptly disconnects, and the battery powering the detector on the second floor winds up in the family remote. Due to the quickly advancing hour, and the impending dreaded bedtime routine that is anxiously anticipated, mom leaves the stove on as she puts the little ones to bed. Shortly after collapsing into a sound sleep herself, a fire erupts on the stove, and less than five minutes later the first floor flashes trapping the sleeping family upstairs with no way out. Mom wakes in a choking panic and freezes as the smoke travels into the open bedroom doors of her sleeping toddlers, all of whom never awake. Who will be called to answer for the death of the children? Will there be any charges and against whom? Will there be anger and blame? How will the public and her own family react? Was this senseless and avoidable?
In Scenario A there will be enough charges, and a long list of them, to go around. The drunk driver could possibly be charged with anything from vehicular homicide to murder, and the mother charged with anything from negligence to child endangerment. There will be public uproar and condemnation of both the mother and drunk driver, and local politicians will capitalize on the moment to push a new law or ordinance; such as, no texting while driving, even though that had no bearing on this tragedy, but it has the public’s anger and anger gives birth to passion and passion gets things passed.
Whereas in Scenario B, even though the fire started by a negligent and well known established statistical cause (unattended cooking fires), and the smoke detectors, that have been both scientifically and statistically proven to save lives, were wantonly disarmed and removed by a competent adult, and the removal of those smoke detectors contributed to the death of children in her care; no charges are likely to be filed. No one will be held accountable for the death of the children, and no societal outrage will ensue. Certainly no new law governing fire safety will come to pass, and the fire chief’s attempts to increase apparatus staffing to three firefighters-in lieu of the two that faced this blaze-will most likely fade in the budget battles, because after all, death by fire is simply a tragedy and it happens.
Success we should heed
Why this disparity? The anticipated ending in Scenario A is a result of a society that got fed up with traffic fatalities involving drunk driving, and became angered over innocent unrestrained children becoming victims. This anger led to social action that pressured politicians into passing laws dictating how you will ensure the safety of your children in your privately owned vehicle.
Why did society get so fed up that lawmakers took action and intruded on your parenting in your personal vehicle? Because law enforcement has partnered with other stakeholders (MADD, NHTSA, etc.) and formed very loud and aggressive coalitions, and the many voices from these groups form the vocal cords of voters who reached the ears of elected officials. The public then willingly accepted these laws and intrusions.
Where the fire service has failed
This successful grassroots movement for traffic safety resulting in millions of lives being saved dates back to a 1946 conference by President Harry Truman on traffic safety. Immediately following that conference, the nation’s traffic fatalities began to fall sharply. Bolstered on that success, President Truman set his sights on another cause of needless loss of life and held a similar conference on fire prevention in 1947. Most people in our profession know nothing of this conference because we did nothing with it, and many barely know of the second major conference with the subsequent report titled “America Burning” which was published in 1973, that mirrored (same conclusions) the 1947 report—over two decades of knowledge without action.
Think about all the lives that have been saved on America’s roadways since 1946 due to public awareness and education, and the ability to stir grassroots-driven political action leading to laws. Think about all of the lives lost in fire that could have been saved through the same type of movement on behalf of the fire service. Now think about your fire department and what you did for fire prevention last year, and what are your plans for this year?
What this means for us
I do not expect that firefighters will be knocking on Mrs. Smith’s door to check her smoke detectors with a ticket book in hand. But the things we need to appreciate about this issue are:
- The need for education and awareness, and the ability of both to get a grassroots movement for political action to keep our public, and the responding firefighters, safe by getting us the tools we need.
- The fact that people do not fear or respect fire, and see fire deaths as something that while sad and tragic do not require their passion or political action, should be a huge red flag on the fire service’s value and place on the budget priority list. The fact that dead firefighters bring forth an outpouring of sympathy from the public, but no public drives for better codes, more funding, and criminalization of fire code violations, says volumes about the disconnect that years of being quiet modest heroes has caused us.
Before you dismiss this article as pure fiction from Never-Never Land, allow me to leave you with this last fact. Even with their proven effectiveness since the late 1800s, the fire service still struggles to put sprinkler systems in buildings, and we face constant challenges from both politicians and citizens alike when attempting to do so. We cannot get the public’s support for a proven life-saving system that would save countless civilians and firefighters, yet the state of Virginia is considering passing a law that outlaws smoking in vehicles with children due to the risk of second-hand smoke.
Ignore these red flags at your peril, or grab them and turn them into a battle flag that the public will follow with a battle cry that our politicians cannot afford to ignore. Death by fire should not be acceptable, but a preventable and detestable event that requires attention and support, and a demand that something or someone do something about it.
