Editor's note: The LODD Summit saw a range of draft action plans drawn up to try to reduce firefighter fatalities. What do you think of them? What other things should be done? Have your say at the FireRescue1 Forums.

PHOTO AP/Michael Caulfield Firefighters salute during a memorial service in 1998 for Eric Reiner and two other firefighter-paramedics killed in a helicopter crash in L.A.

By FireRescue1 Staff

Helen Reiner-Worthen is the first to admit she knows little about firefighting.

But the second National Line-Of-Duty Death Prevention Summit, held this past weekend in Novato, Calif., meant as much to her as the dozens of fire service personnel who attended.

Reiner-Worthen was among a handful "survivors" in attendance at the Summit, those whose loved ones had died in the line-of-duty.

"When they invited me, I wasn't sure at first what I could give them," she said. "I don't know the technical end of firefighting. But sometimes I can think of a question or an idea that only someone on the outside can see.

"Sometimes, something can be so simple, but when you're on the inside and fully involved, you can't see it."

Her son, Eric Reiner, died in 1998 at 33 years of age. He was among three emergency personnel killed when the helicopter he was riding in while transporting a young traffic accident victim to hospital crashed in Los Angeles.

Safety equipment
The pilot and another firefighter survived the crash because they were the only ones with access to the appropriate safety equipment needed on helicopters, according to Reiner-Worthen.

She has since pushed for improved safety standards.

"When he decided to go into the fire service, I remember thinking I was glad he wasn't going into law enforcement as I thought the fire service would be safer," Reiner-Smith said.

Since the tragedy, she has become closely involved with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, and arranges a mothers group at the organization's annual memorial weekend.

"Every time I hear of an incident, no matter what or where, it touches me," she said. "If anything I have experienced can help another mother or help prevent an accident, then it makes it worthwhile and keeps my son's memory alive."

The summit in Novato, Calif., was held to discuss the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives drawn up two years ago as part of the Everyone Goes Home program.

Lengthy discussions were held in separate breakout groups. They covered issues such as health and wellness, training, and vehicle safety, and a range of draft recommendations and action plans were put forward.

Among those in the vehicle group were Patrick and Marlene Moore.

In December 2004, their 19-year-old son, Jared, died while responding in his personal vehicle to the scene of a road traffic accident in Kansas.

PHOTO Fireman's Fund Insurance Company   Summit attendees were split into various breakout groups.

As he slowed to turn onto the road where the incident was located, he was struck from behind by a sheriff's cruiser responding to the same call.

It later emerged that the deputy was confused as to the location of the original crash and was in the process of passing the firefighter’s vehicle when he struck it.

The impact ejected Jared, who was not wearing a seat belt, from his vehicle. He later died at the hospital.

Similar fatalities
Jared's father admitted learning about safety initiatives at the summit that could have saved his son was hard, but said he hoped his input at the summit could help to prevent similar fatalities in the future.

"It can be tough, as you're hearing about things that would have helped to prevent what happened," he said. "It makes you think if only this had happened sooner, then maybe Jared would not have gotten hit.

"But, in another sense, you feel you’re helping to contribute … so that what happened to him doesn’t happen to anyone else."

He also stressed the need to improve communication between emergency services.

"We want to do everything we can to get best practices in place to help get the emergency services working together to prevent this sort of accident happening again," he said.

Helen King, another survivor, said when her husband died, she received little support as it was the first death in his department.

Larry King, a firefighter in Maury City, Tenn., suffered a fatal heart attack while attending a vehicle incident in 1998.

"When my husband died, everyone in the department was running around like chickens with their heads cut off," said King, who participated in the health and wellness session at the summit. "No one knew what to do, it had never happened before.

"There were two different bodies there that needed help; you've got the families and the firefighters. When this happens there needs to be someone there … to help emotionally."