Texas fire departments conducted inspections and policy reviews on Friday.
The state fire marshal designated the day as Stand Down for Safety for all fire department in Texas. The goal was to give each department a day to inspect equipment and review policies to hopefully decrease the number of first responder line-of-duty deaths.
So far this year, 18 firefighters have lost their lives in the line of duty. The most recent deaths were in a building collapse in Houston that killed four firefighters last week, a deadly condominium fire in Dallas and the fertilizer plant explosion in West.
The review is primarily targeted to smaller volunteer fire departments, which make up the majority of firefighters in Texas because the state has so many rural areas.
Volunteer fire departments often have secondhand equipment and very small budgets but provide coverage and mutual aid to wide areas.
Dallas County's fire department is made up of 24 volunteers and covers 83 square miles.
Chief Robert De Los Santos said his department didn't need a reminder about line of duty deaths, saying that safety is something for which they constantly train.
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"Leadership should always be cognizant of looking at the procedures, seeing what can be done, streamlining those, making sure safety is paramount," he said.
