Wingspread VI Report Sheds Light on Fire Service Challenges

Last fall, close to 50 members of the fire service and major fire service organizations gathered at the Johnson Foundation Inc. at Wingspread complex in Racine, WI, to evaluate the fire service and examine both long and short term challenges. 

Wingspread VI was the 50th anniversary of the Wingspread Conference, which began in 1966 at the same location with 11 members on the committee. 

The committee meets every 10 years to discuss issues facing the national fire service and helps identify areas for future research. Wayne Powell, who served as a facilitator last year, said Wingspread was instrumental in the establishment of of the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy.

Areas of concern included response to violence, addressing firefighter health issues, evaluating management and hiring processes, understanding and developing technology for all aspects of the fire and EMS and the delivery of medical services. 

The group whittled down two days of discussions to into a 40-page report that identifies 14 items that need immediate attention. The report provides a background for each item and outlines an action plan to assist departments and organizations to address the issue. 

"Creating action plans is a new element," said Wingspread VI Logistics Coordinator Dennis Rubin. "What the committee tried to do with that is give some guidance to various agencies--from the NFPA to the U.S. Fire Administration-- and say ‘here’s an issue and here’s how we can go about resolving it.'"

Rubin spoke about a presentation on fire service EMS delivered by Dr. James Augustine, who serves medical director for Atlanta Fire Rescue.

Augustine flashed a photo of a fire station with six apparatus bay doors on the screen.

"Behind door one was fire, behind door 2 was EMS, and he spoke about hazmat and prevention and all-hazard mitigation," Rubin said. "And at Door 6 was the big question mark. "What is behind door six is what we will be moving into in the next decade, especially focused on EMS and the delivery of medicine for fire departments."

"EMS is the number one priority, then positioning the fire service needs to be addressed," Powell. "I"m talking big cities and small town...fire departments need to know what they can do when cities are looking to cut back on the budgets and be able to maintain their services."

"What cities need to know is that the fire service is really there to protect the economic well being of the communities," Powell said. "We limit fire damage, keep businesses open and keep people healthy."

Another change to come from last year's meeting was that the group decided to come together in five years to assess the efforts made on the 14 items identified in the report. 

"We're looking at it as a chance to look at the mid-term report card," Rubin said. "From that meeting, we will be able to address any remaining issues and see if they have created new, unexpected challenges for the fire service.

"Could fire departments expand their role in homeland security," Rubin asked. "We are also looking at the future of medical service delivery and that includes having clinics and doctors at fire stations to provide more preventative measures."

Statements of National Significance to the United States Fire and Emergency Services

1. The United States fire and emergency services have an urgent need to be prepared for homeland security response and violent incidents in our communities. Critical factors for being prepared include gathering and using evidence and data to establish a preparedness plan and developing and improving relationships with all stakeholders and other related agencies.
2. As guardians of life safety, the United States fire and emergency services must expect, embrace, and adapt to change by continuing to define and adopt current administrative and operational best practices. To be competitive and sustainable in a changing environment, agencies must become change agents rather than reactionaries.
3. The United States fire and emergency services must recognize and address the impact occupational related disease and injury is having on the industry. The health of fire and emergency services personnel is of paramount importance to the community and to fire and emergency services. Every fire and rescue agency must focus on improving the overall health, wellness, and fitness levels of its members.
4. The United States fire and emergency services must embrace and participate in the on-going development of sensors and other technologies to protect the health and safety of its members.
5. The United States fire and emergency services must place importance on marketing and branding. Our ability to survive and thrive is dependent upon having the ability to communicate our value to the community.
6. The United States fire and emergency services must encourage the development and use of realistic training simulations (similar to commercial aviation flight simulations) delivered in ways that are intrinsically safe. Crew resource management and current hazard management certification programs should be modeled as examples of best practices in the development of training simulations.
7. Leaders in the United States fire and emergency services must develop positive human relation skills, knowledge, and abilities to manage in current times. These skills, knowledge and abilities must be reflected in the organizations’ recruitment and hiring practices.
8. The United States fire and emergency services must develop an efficient and effective process to collect and manage data.
9. Automatic fire sprinkler use has the ability to solve much of America’s fire problem in every class of occupancy. In addition to automatic fire sprinkler technology, the United States fire and emergency services must embrace all forms of technology where it is efficient, effective, and provides information that adds to organizational and community safety.
10. The United States fire and emergency services must have an awareness of and use the data from “smart” technology (e.g. smart building, smart city, smart vehicle, and homeland security-related),which can provide real-time access to pertinent information.
11. The United States fire and emergency services must prioritize an all hazards mitigation and response model that connects our customers with the necessary community resources, agencies, and services to produce safe and effective incident outcomes.
12. The overall goodwill of the community toward the United States fire and emergency services must be leveraged to maintain and increase funding. This can be accomplished through developing a bter comprehension of local government operations, fostering positive relationships with members of the community, and collaborating with local businesses and civic organizations.
13. The United States fire and emergency services must proactively drive the research agenda and equipment design to effectively provide services based on community needs.
14. The United States fire and emergency services must adapt its emergency medical resources into a more robust, integrated mobile healthcare system.

You can download the entire Wingspread VI report here: http://thenfhc.org/resources/2016Wingspread.pdf.

If you would like a hard copy of the Wingspread VI report, contact the National Fire Heritage Center at: thenfhc.org. Limited copies are available. 

The National Fire Heritage Center has archived all six Wingspread reports.

Powell encouraged members of the fire service to read the report and begin taking action at the local level. 

"If you want to be listened to big city government or by your chief, you better have something to say and you better study up on what you’re going to say," Powell said.