Inaugural CO Safety Summit

NCOAA held its inaugural CO Safety Summit from July 31st to August 2nd to great success! The Summit was held in conjunction with the annual Fire Prevention and Safety symposium of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) in Wilmington, North Carolina. At the CO Safety Summit, a wide range of topics surrounding Carbon Monoxide were covered by leaders in many parts of the industry.

Over the three days of the summit, scientific research, the role of responders, personal stories, current safety measures, and data reports were discussed. These topics gave insights into the role of each of the workgroups of NCOAA’s new CO Safety Coalition, which was officially launched at the CO Safety Summit.

 

CO Safety Coalition Launch 

​NCOAA is proud to have launched the Carbon Monoxide Safety Coalition this year. The opening of the Coalition was a feature of the CO Safety Summit in July and August. At this event, the four Coalition Work Groups were presented to attendees by the co-chairs. Also, as the last session of the Summit, the Work Groups hosted roundtables, which focused on identifying the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the Work Groups as they began their work. This event turned out to be an amazing collaboration of leaders in the CO space.

The Work Groups meet for their first time in November, using the great insights from the Summit Roundtables as they establish their goals for 2024. Total Coalition members already exceed 100 people and include industry leaders and people who are passionate about carbon monoxide safety. With such a great foundation, we look forward to seeing the work that the Work Groups do and the difference that they will make in the prevention of carbon monoxide poisoning. 

 

Firefighter Training

Because carbon monoxide is produced whenever wood, fuel, or carbon-containing materials are burned, firefighters are at an increased risk due to the nature of their jobs. “Essentially all firefighting environments can be expected to contain high levels of carbon monoxide.” (IAFF, 2021).

NCOAA received a FEMA FP&S grant to develop free carbon monoxide safety training for the one million firefighters in the U.S. This training will be developed, created, and implemented in partnership with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and published on the NFFF’s Fire Hero Learning Network. There are more than a million firefighters in the U.S., and each one will have the opportunity to take this training at no cost. By partnering with the National Association for State Fire Marshals (NASFM), we're working to ensure this training becomes a mandatory component of every firefighter's training.

Our partners include: 

• National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

• International Fire Chiefs Association

• National Association of State Fire Marshals

• National Volunteer Fire Council

• National Fire Protection Association

• North American Fire Training Directors

• coVita

• National Comfort Institute

• Crowcon