[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 142 (Tuesday, July 26, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43150-43151]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-14680]



[[Page 43150]]

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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[30 Day-05-05AU]


Proposed Data Collections Submitted for Public Comment and 
Recommendations

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publishes a 
list of information collection requests under review by the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35). To request a copy of these requests, call 
the CDC Reports Clearance Officer at (404) 371-5983 or send an email to 
[email protected]. Send written comments to CDC Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, Washington, DC or by fax to (202) 395-6974. 
Written comments should be received within 30 days of this notice.

Proposed Project

    Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program 
(FFFIPP)--NEW--The National Institute for Occupational Safety and 
Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Background and Brief Description:

    The Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program 
(FFFIPP) addresses an important public health need to protect the lives 
of America's front line emergency responders, those whose job is to 
save lives and protect property. FFFIPP was established in fiscal year 
1998 in order to investigate the deaths and severe injuries that occur 
to fire fighters for the purpose of identifying high risk situations 
and to develop recommendations for prevention.
    The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of the Fire 
Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program (FFFIPP), and the 
effects of FFFIPP recommendations and information products which are 
periodically distributed to the nation's 30,000 fire departments. This 
study will examine career and volunteer; large and small size; and 
urban and rural fire departments to determine the extent to which 
firefighter reports, recommendations and other information products are 
being implemented by fire departments. This evaluation will also 
measure the effects of FFFIPP on the knowledge, behavior, attitudes, 
and safety practices of fire department management.
    This study will consist of a mail survey given to 1,140 fire 
departments to obtain information from the officers (Captain, Safety 
Officer and Training Officer or Lieutenants) regarding use of FFFIPP 
information products. There will also be a set of six focus groups for 
active, front-line firefighters; each focus group will have 
approximately 9 participants.
    FFFIPP investigated approximately 114 injury fatalities and 101 
cardiovascular disease fatalities over the first 5 years of operations. 
Reports based on these investigations are mailed to select fire 
departments on a regular basis. An evaluation of the program at this 
time is appropriate because FFFIPP has acquired sufficient data on 
firefighter fatalities to permit substantial improvements in knowledge, 
awareness and the practice of fire fighting. FFFIPP information 
products have been published and disseminated with sufficient time to 
allow positive changes. An evaluation at this time could ultimately 
reduce risk for firefighters through elimination of barriers to better 
knowledge, behavior, attitudes and safety practices for fire department 
leadership/management and for front-line firefighters. Evaluation 
provides a means to strengthen the impact of the program through 
modification or re-direction of the FFFIPP strategy.
    CDC proposes to conduct an evaluation survey that will include 
1,140 fire departments. A fire department survey and focus groups will 
be used to collect data for this evaluation. The fire department survey 
will use a cross-sectional design with restricted random sampling. The 
sample will include each of the 215 fire departments where 
investigations were conducted. For comparison, a random sample of 300 
fire departments where there were no investigations conducted will be 
selected and surveyed. The ten largest fire departments will be 
deliberately included in the sample because of their unique status. The 
random selection of additional fire departments will be restricted to 
balance various factors such as the number of volunteer vs. career, 
rural vs. urban and other considerations. To supplement findings from 
the Fire Department Survey, the evaluation team will conduct a series 
of six focus groups with firefighters from across the country. These 
focus group discussions will serve as avenues for exploring how and why 
the FFFIPP may have had an impact. Information collected in the focus 
groups will thus complement the Fire Department Survey by providing 
rich descriptions of the ways in which FFFIPP may have affected 
firefighter knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and safety practices. The 
focus groups will take place either at a national conference of 
firefighters or at local venues convenient to the fire departments 
represented by the participants. Each focus group will take 1\1/2\ 
hours. Questions will address firefighter knowledge, attitudes, 
behavior, and safety practices. There are no costs to respondents 
except their time to participate in the survey. The total estimated 
annualized burden hours are 238.

                                        Estimated Annualized Burden Table
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Number of      Avg. burden
                       Survey instruments                            Number of     responses per   per response
                                                                    respondents     respondent      (in hours)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fire Dept. Survey...............................................             570               1           25/60
Focus Group Participants Eligibility Screening Form.............              81               1            5/60
Focus Group.....................................................              27               1             1.5
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[[Page 43151]]

    Dated: July 20, 2005.
Betsey Dunaway,
Acting Reports Clearance Officer, Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention.
[FR Doc. 05-14680 Filed 7-25-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4163-18-P