IAFF HazMat Worker Health & Safety Training

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The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) proposes to continue its worker health and safety training program to train workers and community partners in order to prevent work- related harm and improve worker-related health and safety. The built environment has become more complex due to increased population growth, aging infrastructure, and increased use of complex chemicals in commercial products and manufacturing processes (Williams, 2016). Whether responding to a residential structure fire or a chemical industrial plant, responders have the potential to encounter hazardous materials at almost every incident. Yet, in a recent survey, less than half of the respondents stated they felt “adequately prepared” for HazMat incidents and 70% stated that HazMat training was their greatest need (Pike, 2018). Responders also face other emerging issues including occupational cancer risks, behavioral health issues, and greater need for individual and community resilience. The IAFF is committed to addressing these issues through training and education of all of those who may respond to, or be impacted by, HazMat emergencies. In alignment with the NIEHS’s strategic plan, the IAFF seeks opportunities to collaborate with organizations that share the common goal of protecting workers and their communities. Through this grant funding, the IAFF will deliver specialty courses including HazMat Technician, Confined Space Rescue, Frontline Safety, Peer Support Training, Resiliency Training, Disaster Response Peer Support Training, Safety Planning Intervention for Suicide Prevention Training and Community HazMat Education. Through this continued cooperative agreement, the IAFF will: 1. Utilize advanced GIS and collaborative contact databases to identify and coordinate outreach to target populations, giving consideration to increasing diversity and training of underserved populations. 2. Integrate new technologies (such as electronic tablets, an IAFF online library of tools and resources, mobile hotpots, web-based applications, etc.) for course delivery, ensuring consistent, engaging deployment to all students while also improving access to technology across all populations. 3. Employ multiple robust quality assurance protocols to provide defined benchmarks, measure training effectiveness, and implement program improvements as needed. The IAFF is dedicated to ensuring the training program meets and exceeds the NIEHS Minimum Training Criteria Document.