Beginning Sunday, Pasco County Fire Rescue will participate in the 2014 International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week, which aims to improve firefighter safety and health, and give all a better chance of survival during emergencies.
The week is a joint initiative of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Volunteer Fire Council. During the week, fire departments around the world will take time to increase awareness and action so that safety and health become a priority in all fire departments.
“We fully value the important of pausing for a moment to reflect on the importance of firefighter safety and health issues,” Fire Chief Scott Cassin said, in a release.
This year’s theme is “Train Like You Fight,” focusing on a critical component of firefighter and emergency medical responder safety: training. This focuses on safety on the training ground and reduction of training-related injuries and death, and the importance of adequate training to prepare for safe, fire-ground operations.
Pasco County Fire Rescue provides critical, life-saving services, and must be ready to respond to all types of emergency and disasters, county officials said. The department is made up of 473 career personnel, and just over 200 volunteers that protect nearly 500,000 people in an area of 747 square miles.
Nationwide, 81,000 firefighters are injured each year, and it re-enforces the need for each responded to be prepared in every way when an emergency call comes in.
For more information on what Pasco County Fire Rescue is doing to improve its operations, call Andrew Fossa at (813) 929-2750, or email him at .
