Increasing Risk
Gordon Graham here and hello again. Before I forget it, thanks for all you do to make things better in your part of the world. These are interesting and challenging times financially, and wherever I go around the world, people are talking about “money” and the lack thereof and all the changes that are occurring. Even though there are a lot of concerns in this regard, we must all remember that the job you have chosen still needs to be done – and the level of complexity in what you do continues to increase. I was at an EMS conference in New Jersey this week, and the number of assaults on medical personnel performing their job on scene is increasing. Years ago, it was unheard of that anyone would shoot at a firefighter; yet this story is popping up more and more in the news. Couple this will all the idiots out there on cell phones and doing other things that distract them from safe driving, and the increase in alcohol and drug abuse causing drivers to be impaired, and frankly it gets very scary. Speaking of drugs, I read this story last week in The Wall Street Journal, and I wanted to share it with you.“Although the labs only produce small amounts of meth, they are toxic and highly explosive, and can cause fires and deaths. Incidents related to meth production increased to 11,239 last year, after falling to 6,095 in 2007, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.“Methamphetamine is increasingly being made in the United States in small labs that are easy to move and hide.“These 'one-pot' labs use a two-liter soda bottle and ingredients that can be bought through a single trip to a pharmacy. These small labs are spreading at a time when budget cuts are reducing police forces, making it more difficult for police to close down these labs.
“The growth of small meth labs has prompted some states to propose bills that would require a doctor’s prescription for over-the-counter cold medicines that contains pseudoephedrine, the main ingredient in meth. Such laws already have been passed in Oregon and Mississippi.
“Drug manufacturers are financing a national tracking network to monitor pseudoephedrine sales. So far 17 states have signed up. After federal regulations began to limit over-the-counter sales of pseudoephedrine to a few grams a day in 2006, meth producers began scaling down recipes so that just a few cold medicine packages are needed.
“In many states, agencies have had to abandon tactics to confront meth manufacturers, after the federal government in February canceled a program that provided $19.2 million in 2010 to assist local agencies in disposing of meth labs.
“Specialized training is needed to clean up meth labs, because making meth requires dangerous ingredients including ammonia, battery acid and drain cleaner. The waste cannot be discarded in a regular landfill.”
None of this is good news. In addition to all the other risks you face, this one is particularly nasty. Many of the people who make this stuff are users themselves and as such are paranoid and could not tell a firefighter from a cop on a good day. So there is the risk of getting shot when you try to assist someone in the house.
In my former life, it seemed to me that cops assigned to drug task forces had a higher level of cancer cases; but I have nothing definitive on that. The exposure to all the chemicals present in a drug house is problematic, and many cops were “too cool” (particularly back in the old days) to wear any form of PPE.
Of course, there is the risk of an explosion once you are in the house (or other building that is used to make this stuff) and that is another worry. You would know much more about this than I do.
And I worry about these “labs” going mobile, and when they get involved in a collision or other vehicle mishap, first responders will have something else to worry about.
Obviously, I am leading up to something. I will repeat one of the paragraphs from the above piece to help make my point here.
“In many states, agencies have had to abandon tactics to confront meth manufacturers, after the federal government in February canceled a program that provided $19.2 million in 2010 to assist local agencies in disposing of meth labs.”
Apparently, it all gets down to money. The Feds don’t have the money that they took from the states to give back to the states (and to think they arrested Madoff), so cops are not even making the raids anymore because they cannot afford the clean up costs after the fact. Logically, it would follow that we will experience more and more of these “labs” both stationary and mobile, and that will cause many problems.
The money situation will not be getting better anytime soon, so this is another “risk” that you will have to be prepared for. These “unthinkable” events do in fact occur, so in your daily training, this needs to be one that gets talked about on a regular basis.
This event falls into the area of “high-risk, low-frequency” and as such if you ever get involved in this you will have zero “memory markers” created by frequency. The only “behavioral scripts” (what to do when it does happen) will come from training. If the training is non-existent or “one time in time some time ago,” you might end up making a mistake; and mistakes in your business can indeed cause major problems.
As of November 1, you suffered 77 LODD’s in 2011. The previous year, you had 87 LODD’s in the American Fire Service. I am not part of your family, but I know many of you; and I know the commitment that Ted and Paul have made to reducing these LODD’s. While I don’t like the number 77, it is a heck of a lot better than 87.
I am wrapping up this Risky Rambling with a thought. What can each of you do to prevent another LODD this year? You have the “control measures” (policies and procedures) available to you. It is all a matter of taking them seriously each and every day on each and every event – even the “routine” things like training, backing up equipment and vehicle operations.
While the number of risks you face is increasing – including the early words in this rambling, these are identifiable risks and thus manageable risks. Be aware of complacency and hubris. These attitudes will get you in big trouble. And be prepared for “unthinkable” events. Somehow these “unthinkable events” occur too often.
That is all. Again, thanks for all you do.
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Risky Ramblings
GORDON GRAHAM is a 39-year veteran of California law enforcement. He is currently the co-president of Lexipol LLC (www.lexipol.com) He is a practicing lawyer specializing in keeping fire departments and firefighters/officers out of legal trouble. During his tenure as a police professional, he was awarded his Teaching Credential from California State University, Long Beach. He was later graduated from University of Southern California with a master's degree in safety and systems management. Subsequent to this, he was graduated from Western State University with a juris doctorate.
Mr. Graham has centered his efforts in providing knowledge to both public and private sector organizations in the area of organizational and operational risk management, civil liability, professionalism, ethical decision-making and related topics. Over the last decade, Mr. Graham has made over 3,000 presentations to various groups including law enforcement; corrections personnel; fraud investigators; fire professionals; EMS; other first responders; legal professionals; educators; city, county and district employees; law firms; hospitals; and real estate companies, along with many other private sector organizations.