The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is requesting 664,757 dollars during the initial budget period and 3,529,286 dollars for the total project period of the DOE Nuclear Weapons Complex Cooperative Agreement. Emergency personnel responding to incidents related to the DOE complex face health and safety challenges involving radioactive and other hazardous materials. Since 1994, an average of 2,200 responders have been injured at hazardous materials incidents annually. Many more suffer serious health effects from toxic exposure associated with fire fighting and EMS response. The effective remedy to combat these health effects is a flexible training program that emphasizes occupational safety and health and OSHA defined responder training as a key to effective emergency response. The IAFF proposes to continue to implement such a proven training plan. This effort relies heavily on an efficient Train-the-Trainer approach. It offers three new course formats which can be customized to the specific hazards faced by a given target audience; uses a combination of the Internet, advanced training technologies and regional programs; and emphasizes Integrated Safety Management (ISM). The estimated 425 annual attendees leave the course with the knowledge and the tools needed to implement this program in local fire/rescue departments in and around ten specified DOE sites, as well as other regions upon request. The IAFF is the only national organization serving professional fire fighters and enjoys longstanding training partnerships and access with fire/rescue departments across the US. Our training curricula is current, focused, and ready to be delivered. In addition, we have a highly regarded 100-member professional fire fighter/paramedic instructor team trained in using facilitation techniques and problem-based learning to reinforce responder safety and health. It is a state-of-the-art program with a focused safety and health message provided by experienced, committed instructors.
