Human Factors Considerations for the Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program

NIOSH announced an opportunity for the public to provide feedback about its Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP) investigation and report development process for traumatic injuries. NIOSH is especially interested in how human factors might be considered during investigations including but not limited to effective human communication and team dynamics, psychological stress and resilience, organizational leadership, and safety culture, and how these factors might impact decision making at the strategic, tactical, and task levels during response activities. The purpose of this request for information (RFI) was to ascertain (1) the public’s interest and need for NIOSH to incorporate human factors considerations into line-of-duty death (LODD) investigations; (2) specific human factors elements that should be considered; (3) methods that can be employed during investigations to collect, analyze, and document this information through reliable quantitative and qualitative approaches; and (4) ways to incorporate human factors findings and recommendations into reports without placing blame on fire departments or firefighters. Information related to human factors in LODD investigations may include but is not limited to:

• Considerations around communication, including team dynamics and leadership communication
• Potential for environmental elements to impact cognitive function (e.g., distraction)
• Operational stressors to be considered
• Ways to retroactively assess emotional and psychological stress
• Ways to retroactively assess physiological stress and resilience (e.g., sleep deprivation and fatigue)
• Safety culture
• Components of risk profile narratives
• Organizational leadership practices
• Research needs and social science or psychological methods to objectively collect this information
• Methods to integrate this information into reports without placing blame (e.g., identifying systematic issues that drive or allow behaviors, actions, and decisions)

LODD are complex events that are comprised of many interdependent factors. These considerations or factors might vary depending on whether the fire department is serving a rural, urban, suburban, or wildland-urban interface area; is career, volunteer, or combination; and the work schedule and shifts of the responding firefighters. These aspects, among others, can be recognized when responding with feedback.

To view the notice and related materials, visit https://www.regulations.gov  and enter CDC-2024-0040 in the search field and click “Search.”