Union Issues, Events & Benefits

• WEAR YOUR EYE PROTECTION ON EMS RUNS
• UFA SHUTS DOOR ON ALL CITY AGENCIES AT FATAL FIRE INVESTIGATIONS

There has been a needless increase in exposure incidents involving fluids to the eyes. Follow the CPR/CFR manual guidelines, which state the following:

'All members responding to any EMS incident, as stated in Section 2, shall wear disposable gloves, eye protection and/or face shields and gowns as recommended in the NYS-DOH CFR/EMT Manual. Standard precautions shall be followed at all times when providing patient care and in decontamination and clean up.'

'Members shall wear eye shield/face masks, for protection from splashes of blood. Protective goggles and face piece will be made available to those members who must wear corrective lenses. The protective goggles must be worn in conjunction with the disposable face piece to afford appropriate protection.' From Delegate Manual Section Blue 16, Page 1.

UFA SHUTS DOOR ON ALL CITY AGENCIES AT FATAL FIRE INVESTIGATIONS

At the initial interviews of firefighters and fire officers for the fatal fire PESH investigation, there was some confusion over who was allowed to be present. The UFA took the position that the member being interviewed had the sole right to request the presence of whoever he/she wanted to be there and could dismiss all others. This is consistent with N.Y. State PESH investigations of the past. The Fire Department insisted that their OSHA representative could be present - we disagreed. The City insisted that the Department of Investigation (D.O.I.) could be present - we disagreed.

The UFA's position on these issues has prevailed, as shown in the letter below from President Gallagher. If it is the firefighter's wish to have ONLY the union representative present - so be it! The thrust of these interviews is to find out what really happened, how to help prevent a repeat occurrence, and not to penalize anyone.

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Fraternally,

WILLIAM F. MIRRO
Recording Secretary

KEVIN E. GALLAGHER
President