Upstreaming Alcohol Policy

The FireRescue1 website announced the release of a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) summary report on the fatality of a Rhode Island fire fighter. The victim, Gerald Leduc, “died while diving during a search for a civilian drowning victim” in August of 2008.  One of the factors in his death (among several) was his acute ethanol intoxication (0.25% BAC).

Accordingly, one of the report’s recommendations is the immediate adoption of the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Zero-Tolerance Policy for Alcohol and Drinking.

Some key provisions of that policy statement:

This policy statement is most easily described as a “zero-tolerance” standard about the use of alcohol by members of any fire or emergency services agency/organization at any time when they may be called upon to act or respond as a member of those departments.

Basically, if someone has consumed alcohol within the previous eight (8) hours, or is still noticeably impaired by alcohol consumed previous to the eight (8) hours, they must voluntarily remove themselves from the activities and functions of the fire or emergency services agency/organization, including all emergency operations and training ….

… No alcohol shall be on the premises of any operational portion of the fire department, including but not limited to the apparatus, the apparatus floor, the station living areas, etc….

Firefighters appear to be particularly vulnerable to alcohol use disorders (North, et al., 2002), possibly due to the high stress nature of the profession (Head, et al., 2004; Siegrist & Rödel, 2006) and the related occupational culture (Murphy, et al. 1999).

References:

Head, J., Stansfeld, S. A., & Siegrist, J. (2004). The psychosocial work environment and alcohol dependence: A prospective study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 61(3), 219-224.

Murphy, S. A., Beaton, R. D., Pike, K.C., & Johnson, L C. (1999). Occupational stressors, stress responses, and alcohol consumption among professional firefighters: A prospective, longitudinal analysis. International Journal of Stress Management, 6, 179–196.

North, C.S., Tivis, L., McMillen, J.C., Pfefferbaum, B., Spitznagel, E.L., Cox, J., et al.  (2002). Psychiatric disorders in rescue workers after the Oklahoma City bombing.  American Journal of Psychiatry, 159(5), 857-859.

Siegrist, J., & Rödel, A. (2006). Work stress and health risk behavior. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health, 32(6), 473-481.