NFPA 1010 & Support Person Role: Key Changes in Emergency Responder Safety

Streamlining Safety: The NFPA’s Comprehensive Overhaul of ERRS

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has embarked on a significant and transformative project: the consolidation of its Emergency Response and Responders Safety Standards (ERRS). Initiated in January 2020, this five-year endeavor has seen over 114 individual standards streamlined into 38 overarching documents. This strategic move aims to enhance efficiency, clarity, and accessibility of critical safety information for emergency responders nationwide. You’ll see the many benefits below.

The Rationale Behind Consolidating ERRS Standards

Known for its rigorous consensus-based standards development process, the NFPA recognized the need to optimize resources and eliminate redundancies within the ERRS. Committees, which include fire service professionals, safety experts, and industry representatives, identified several key drivers for the consolidation of standards:

• Efficient Resource Allocation: Merging standards reduces the number of separate or overlapping committees, allowing for more focused and productive efforts.
• Elimination of Redundancy: By consolidating related standards, the NFPA eliminates conflicting or duplicated information, creating a more cohesive and consistent framework.
• Simplified Revision Process: Streamlining the standards simplifies the revision process, enabling quicker and more efficient updates. Instead of coordinating changes across numerous documents, committees can concentrate on a single, integrated standard.
• Reduced Document Volume: The overall volume of documents requiring review is significantly reduced, saving valuable time and resources.

Direct Benefits of ERRS Consolidation for Emergency Responders

The consolidation translates into clear advantages for emergency responders:

• • • • • • • Easier Access to Information: Responders gain streamlined access to critical safety guidelines, reducing the time spent searching through multiple documents.
            • Reduced Reference Burden: Fewer standards to reference simplifies the process of obtaining necessary information, improving efficiency during emergency situations.
            • Improved Consistency and Interoperability: Standardized terminology and methodologies among the standards.

The ERRS Consolidation Process & Key Examples

The NFPA’s approach involves merging related standards into comprehensive, all-inclusive documents. Original standards are carefully adjusted, aligned, and integrated as separate chapters within the new framework. Here are a couple of examples.

Notable Consolidated Standards Include:

NFPA 1970: Standard on Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting and Proximity Fire Fighting: This standard consolidates four previously separate standards (1971,1975,1981,1982) for firefighter personal protective equipment (PPE).  This includes garments, helmets, gloves, work apparel, self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and personal alert safety systems (PASS). NFPA 1970 enhances consistency in testing, certification, and overall requirements, ensuring optimal safety for firefighters.

NFPA 1010: Standard for Fire Service Professional Qualifications: A significant consolidation of NFPA 1001, 1002, 1003, and 1005, NFPA 1010 represents a major step towards improving the efficiency and clarity of fire service professional qualifications.

Key improvements include:

• Streamlined Content: Elimination of redundancies and overlapping information.
• Improved Consistency and Interoperability: Standardized terminology and methodologies.
• Facilitated Updates: A more efficient revision process.
• Improved Organization: Job Performance Requirements (JPRs) are intuitively grouped by firefighter type and responsibilities.

The Inclusion of the “Support Person” Role in NFPA 1010

A pivotal addition to NFPA 1010 is the formalization of the “Support Person” role. This position addresses the evolving needs of the fire service, particularly in light of volunteer shortages and the desire to expand community involvement. NFPA committees along with extensive input from various stakeholders, notably the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), was instrumental in seeing this position formalized. There are many reasons why.

Key factors for including this position were to:

• Address Volunteer Shortages: Provides a pathway for individuals to contribute without the full commitment of a Firefighter I.
• Expand Community Involvement: Recognizes valuable tasks that can be performed without advanced firefighting skills.
• Enhance Operational Efficiency: Frees up firefighters to focus on core firefighting and rescue operations.
• Standardize Support Functions: Provides a framework for training and qualifying support personnel.
• Increase Safety: Defines JPRs to ensure safe operation within the defined role.
• Adapt to Evolving Needs: Reflects the need to adapt to changing demographics and resource constraints.

What is a Support Person?

A support person is defined as a fire department member who is not trained to the Firefighter I level but assists by performing duties in environments that are not hazardous. These duties can include assisting with communications, identifying hazardous environments, connecting a pumper to a water supply, opening and closing fire hydrants, operating emergency scene lighting, refilling SCBA air cylinders, and cleaning and checking equipment and tools. Your job will be easier when training personnel for this role with these new targeted training products for the Support Person position.

Targeted Training For The Support Person Role

Recognizing the need for comprehensive training resources, Jones & Bartlett Learning Public Safety Group, in partnership with the NVFC, NFPA, and the IAFC, developed the first edition of Fundamentals of Firefighter Skills for Support Personnel. This is a single, complete curriculum solution that supports both students and instructors.

Action Training Systems (ATS), a leader in media-based firefighter training, also addressed this need by developing a 12-title series called Fire Operations Support. This training series utilizes dynamic and visually engaging content to demonstrate the skills required to meet the Support Person JPRs. Delivered in multiple formats, including interactive online courses for flipped classroom training, it serves as an effective instructor tool and complements the Jones & Bartlett manual. As you can see there are many benefits to both the agency and the volunteer for establishing the Support role in your operations,

Consolidation Was An Effective Process

By merging various ERRS and introducing the Support Person Role to NFPA 1010, the NFPA has created a stronger operational foundation for volunteer and combination fire departments. This approach simplifies guidelines and facilitates more efficient training, which in turn enhances member performance and safety at emergency scenes. Ultimately, this leads to a more stable volunteer base and more effective emergency response across various operational settings.”

References:
https://www.ul.com/resources/nfpa-1970-spotlight-series-part-1-what-consolidation-standard-organization

https://www.nfpa.org/codes-and-standards/nfpa-1010-standard-development/1010
https://www.nfpa.org/education-and-research/emergency-response/emergency-response-and-responder-safety-consolidation-project
https://www.psglearning.com/blog/psg/2024/12/16/how-volunteer-firefighting-is-changing#:~:text=The%20introduction%20of%20the%20NFPA%201010%2C%20which%20includes%20Chapter%205,a%20major%20advancement%20for%20volunteer

https://ohsonline.com/Articles/2019/04/24/NFPA-to-Consolidate-Emergency-Responder-Standards.aspx?admgarea=ht.RegulationsStandardshttps://www.usfa.fema.gov/blog/new-standard-for-firefighter-personal-protective-equipment/

https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024spring/index.php?startid=45#/p/44

https://www.psglearning.com/blog/psg/2024/02/12/nfpa-1010-what-fire-instructors-need-to-know?srsltid=AfmBOoqJfNIrgH4aDuNHrlN4rUmvNyTLEq2D0FMZM0rHZKB0gafyAPeV
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nfpa/journal_2024spring/index.php?startid=45#/p/44