AAR: After Action Review in the Fire Service

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
• Description:
  AAR protocols are widely but not universally used in the fire service. Good officers have known instinctively for years that performance improvements occur by creating a continuous feedback loop. Most often, these improvements are associated with fireground tactics and resource needs. AAR can be a vital tool in improving performance and correcting behaviors that can lead to a firefighter line-of-duty injury or death. Stress injuries to firefighters are often underobserved, but their impact can destroy careers and affect families with tragic consequences. The earlier that (potential) stress injuries are identified, the more likely that successful outcomes will occur. In many ways, the first step in observing stress in firefighters and Emergency Medical Services personnel begins at the "back step" or "kitchen table talk," where every call and response is discussed with an informal AAR. AAR supports the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation's Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives 1 (change the culture) and 13 (psychological support) to connect firefighters to the behavioral support they need. The NFFF motto, "every time wheels roll," means just that - after every training exercise, every call, every time firefighters and emergency medical technicians are performing their duties, five simple questions are reviewed: 1. What was our mission? (Did we plan for this event? Were there any gaps in our planning?) 2. What went well? (Did we have adequate resources? Did we do all that we could?) 3. What could have gone better? (Did we observe any unsafe behaviors? Was our training effective?) 4. What might we have done differently? (If we ran the same incident, what would we do differently?) 5. Who needs to know? (What needs to be fixed, and how do we pass this information to the correct source?) AAR training is delivered by the NFFF as a free online module, complete with a test and an immediately printable certificate of completion at the Fire Hero Learning Network (www.fireherolearningnetwork.com). If you visit the Firefighter Life Safety Initiative 13 website (FLSI13.everyonegoeshome.com), you will find more AAR support including a flyer, poster and printable pocket cards for all your firefighters and EMT personnel. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Firefighters Fires Occupational Health Safety Staff Development Stress, Psychological
• Keywords:
  Disaster Response Emergency Responders Fire Fighters Fire Fighting Job Stress Psychological Factors Training
• Publisher:
  United States Fire Administration
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Other ; Lay Publication
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054425
• Citation:
  Coffee Break Training - Management Science Program Series No. MS-2013-3. Emmitsburg, MD: United States Fire Administration, 2013 May; :1
• Email:
  jkelly@everyonegoeshome.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, Emmitsburg, Maryland
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20130201
• Source Full Name:
  Coffee Break Training - Management Science Program Series No. MS-2013-3
• End Date:
  20140131
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:12ae77d9075f8fb9870f4cb35856fe0f7b0e55b4566b11b6b45a69d5effa9c67aec3875b0501230924860093339e0c5fda0b4e3d05fb815d7fb035ad3f8d1a3b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216998/cdc_216998_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.11 MB ]