The Assistance to Firefighters Grants' 2005 reauthorization required
that the Department of Homeland Security convene an annual meeting with
members of the national fire service for the purpose of recommending
criteria for awarding grants. Also, the reauthorization required that
each year, prior to making any grants, DHS must publish in the Federal
Register 1) a description of the process for applying for grants, 2)
the criteria for awarding grants, and 3) an explanation of any
differences between the national fire service's recommendations and the
criteria used by DHS.
The Notice for the 2006 program year was published in the Federal
Register on September 6, 2006, and it signals the commencement of the
processing of the 2006 award cycle. The Notice can be viewed at http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-14759.pdf.
Awards are expected to be issued and announced in about 4 weeks,
continuing through the calendar year.
Currently there is 100 million in the pipeline for SAFER and 115
million in the pipeline for AFG. If you have not checked the mail
center in the website you should do so now!
https://portal.fema.gov/famsVu/dynamic/SingleSignOn.html
For those of you who have received an award in previous years, you can
also get a sneak preview if you are going to receive an award in 2006
by looking at your 1199a form and hopefully you will see in the upper
left corner of the form, a number in red that looks like this Reference
Award Number: EMW-2006-FG-?????
I have seen several MN fire departments with the 1199a form indication.
Hopefully the first SAFER awards will be the 22nd of September
After talking with AFG staff it has come to my attention that fire
departments that have applied for vehicles are slow in getting those
vehicles ordered.
If a department identified a need for a pumper and then applied for a
pumper and was awarded a pumper -- is there any reason why that
department couldn't have specifications drafted within 30 days (since
they already know what they need), have the specifications on the
streets within 60 days, have a vendor selected within 90, and have the
vehicle delivered within the 12 months?
My recomendation to those of you who have applied for vehicles to be
ready in case you get awarded so you can move quickly. If you
have not ordered your vehicle within the 90 day window AFTER you have
been awarded you may loose the award!!
The
Northeastern States Fire Consortium is backing an effort by Senator
Charles Schumer (D-NY) to restore $1 billion in funding to the
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (FIRE Act) program.
Sen. Schumer has been touring firehouses
across New York State and meeting with Fire Chiefs to drum up support
his goal is to restore full funding authorized by Congress to the FIRE
Act program for 2007. He has launched a grassroots campaign, sending
petitions to every fire department in the state, asking firefighters to
join his call to restore funding.
The
Northeastern States Fire Consortium is urging fire departments
throughout the U.S. to join the petition drive, and has established a
goal of 100 signatures for every fire department in the United States.
Schumer said that he would join with
Senate colleagues later this year to support an amendment to the budget
that would restore the entire $1 billion to the Assistance to
Firefighters Grant (FIRE Act) program. Schumer and some of his
colleagues are sending a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee
asking for full funding of the program.
Because this is a program that puts
life-saving equipment in the hands of first responders, mobilizing
firefighters could be an effective way to show how critical these
grants are to localities that need them, he added.
Thomas M. Kennedy of the Northeastern
States Fire Consortium is urging consortium members to support Sen.
Schumer's effort to fund the FIRE Act. Kennedy called for the
collection of 100 signatures from each Fire Department in the United
States (Signatures can include family members and friends of the Fire
Service).
Kennedy said signed petitions should be
returned to Sen. Schumer's office in Washington, D.C. (address is at
bottom of petition) by September 11, 2006. In addition, Kennedy urges
fire departments to fax copies of the signed petitions to their
Senators and Congressional Representative, and to President Bush at
202-456-2461.
To access a downloadable copy of the petition, CLICK HERE.
Cross-Country
Biker Honors Country's Bravest
Cross-Country
Biker Honors Country's Bravest
|
|
| One
man has gone the extra mile to honor the country's emergency
responders more than 20,000 miles, actually.
Over the past two years, Don Boehly, a
51-year-old cyclist from
Grayson, Ky., has pedaled nonstop across 48 states as a tribute to all
firefighters, police and military personnel, especially those who died
during and since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"They
place their lives on the line to protect others," he said Thursday at
the Westport Fire Headquarters during an overnight stop. "I do this for
all them."
Boehly said he wants to reach New York City
by Sept.
6 so he can finish his journey at Ground Zero on Sept. 11 and give the
bike which is covered with patches from about 1,200 fire departments he
has visited to the New York City Fire Department.
"Whatever mileage is accumulated on that
bike will be given [in
dollars] to them along with all the patches on it," he said. "It's all
covered up."
Boehly said he has also collected more than
900 T-shirts from fire departments across the country.
After handing the Diamondback mountain bike
over, Boehly said he plans
on acquiring a new bike and new sponsors so he can trek across the
States of Alaska and Hawaii.
"It'll be lighter and I can put more
patches on it," he said with a laugh.
Originally from Petersham, Mass., Boehly,
who earns his living as a handyman, said he has been cycling for the
past 30 years.
"Right now, I'm averaging six to 10 miles a
day because I'm so close to
New York and I don't want to shortchange anyone on the way," he said.
"When the cities were farther apart, I was averaging 30 to 50 miles a
day."
Starting his venture on Sept. 1, 2004, in
the Bluegrass
State, Boehly headed east to Virginia and then south through Georgia to
Orlando, Fla., before heading west through Gulf states and across Texas
to New Mexico. He then continued westward through Arizona and north
into California, hitting Nevada along the way before crossing Oregon
and entering Washington.
With 15 states behind him, Boehly
zig-zagged through the States of Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, the
Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin and then swung below the Great Lakes
on an eastern tack through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. He then made a
left hook through West Virginia, Virginia and the Carolinas, where he
found himself traveling west once again to cover Oklahoma, Nebraska,
Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas.
Determined to cross the border of every
state, Boehly headed northeast
through Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and New York with a final
sprint up to Maine before dropping down through Massachusetts and Rhode
Island.
Along the way, he has stayed overnight at
about 280 fire departments.
On the home stretch before New York, Boehly
visited the fire
departments of Milford, Bridgeport and Fairfield, and at the time of
the interview, has his sights set on stopping by firehouses in Norwalk,
Stamford, Greenwich, White Plains and Yonkers.
Boehly said one of the main reasons he
decided to go on this journey
was to raise money for families who lost family members during the
terrorist attacks.
"When 9-11 happened, a lot of people were
selling 9-11 memorabilia and pocketing the money," he said. "They had
no right to do that as far as I'm concerned."
Westport Fire Department's Lt. John Plotkin
said Boehly's journey reflects dedication on his part and that of the
nation's firefighters.
"I just think it's fantastic on his behalf
to go above and beyond by
putting his personal life aside for the last two years," he said. "It's
also a tribute to the people in our business for the fire departments
that take him in."
For information on Boehly's journey, visit www.9-11usa.com
|
Farm
Accident Rescue Workshop
FARM
ACCIDENT RESCUE WORKSHOP
Date:
Saturday,
September 30,
2006
Time:
8:00 AM—5:00 PM
Location:
MERIT
Center, Marshall, MN
Instructor:
Glenn Spitzer, St. Charles Fire Department
Cost:
$75.00 per
person,
includes breaks and lunch
For:
All Fire and Rescue
Personnel
Limit:
15
Students
This course will give the
student the techniques needed to safely size-up and mitigate an
emergency
involving combine, tractor roll- over or other agricultural type
vehicles. Students will learn the proper procedures for
vehicle stabilization, patient disentanglement and removal. This
course will also cover various types of
rescue tools.
BRING FULL
TURNOUT GEAR AND EYE PROTECTION
REGISTRATION
DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 22, 2006
Registration
form and course information
Recruitment and Retention Study
Task Force Update
From Ed Hoffman;
Recruitment and Retention Study Task Force
Volunteer Fire, Ambulance and Emergency First Responders
Fall of 2006
During the 2006 Legislative Session, the State Legislature established
a task force to study issues related to recruitment and retention of
volunteer firefighters, volunteer ambulance personnel and volunteer
emergency responders (i.e. a local first responder's squad). The Task
Force is required to generate a report to the Commissioner of Public
Safety and then to the State Legislature on possible solutions to the
volunteer recruitment and retention problem by December 15, 2006.
We know as a volunteer there are many issues that can arise that might
hinder the ability to respond as well as the desire to continue to
respond or recruit new members. Work, family, training requirements,
lengthy calls; we realize there are concerns and want to hear them from
you, those that have the concerns.
Please consider attending and participating in these important
discussions that will be held at:
September 11, 7:00p.m. -- 9:00p.m. - Mt. Iron
Mt. Iron Community Center/City Hall
8526 Enterprise Dr South
Mt. Iron, MN
September 18, 7:00p.m. -- 9:00p.m. - Monticello
Monticello Community Center- Mississippi Room
505 Walnut St.
Monticello, MN
September 25, 7:00p.m. -- 9:00p.m. - Albert Lea
HealthReach
Campus
1705 S.E. Broadway
Albert Lea, MN
October 2, 7:00p.m. -- 9:00p.m. - Marshall
Marshall Fire Department
201 East Saratoga Street
Marshall, MN
Topics to be discussed include but are not limited to:
- What makes you want to volunteer?
- How far do you work from your station
and when are you available for calls?
- Does your employer allow you to leave
from work for calls?
- Do you need to make up your lost work
time when you leave for calls?
- What would entice you as an incentive to
stay involved with your volunteer organization?
- What is the average time involved with a
call?
- Are there any obstacles that prevent you
from being able to respond?
- Are there trends in your area right now
that make a difference in your response (ie: less volunteers)
- How do we get others to volunteer?
- What would solve the issues at hand
(daytime coverage, less volunteers, etc.)
If you are unable to attend, please consider the questions above and
e-mail your responses to: Buck McAlpin at buck.mcalpin@northmemorial.com
<mailto:buck.mcalpin@northmemorial.com>
or if you have questions or comments please contact me at (763)
520-4303.
Thank you for your time responding for your community.
MSA, Sim Ops
Partner For Firefighter Training Game
Global safety products manufacturer MSA and Carnegie Mellon University
spin-off firm Sim Ops Studios announced a partnership to bring video
game technology to be used within firefighter training. For the fire
service industry, the partnership marks the first such effort involving
a safety equipment manufacturer and a video gaming technology firm.
According to the companies, the 3D game, called Fireslayer
Challenge: Thermal Response,
requires players to react to instructions given by an incident
commander. With the help of MSA's Evolution 5200 Thermal Imaging Camera
(TIC), the player must navigate a smoke-filled environment in order to
rescue several victims and find the seat of the fire.
The game, which is now available
online,
was first introduced at the annual Fire Department Instructors
Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana, and since then has attracted
interest from the fire service community. In addition, the game has
seen increased interest from the gaming community as well, with
companies recording more than 13,000 games having been played so far,
and 87 percent of those players requesting new "levels" or additions to
the game.
Sim Ops Studios is accomplished in the area of applying gaming
technology to the training needs of emergency responders. Most
recently, the company developed a hazardous materials response game
called HazMat Hotzone, which is currently being tested by
members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).
"While developing HazMat Hotzone at Carnegie Mellon
University, we envisioned the value of using game-based training
technologies to assist emergency responders in preparing for dangerous
scenarios," said Shanna Tellerman, CEO and Executive Producer at Sim
Ops Studios. "In a world of newly emerging threats combined with the
challenging demands of a new generation of learners, this interactive
method for training in the field of emergency response is in high
demand."
The
Office of Management and Budget has published in the Federal Register
the final rule updating how the Public Safety Officers' Benefits (PSOB)
program will be
administered. PSOB is a one-time payment,
currently set at $283,385, to the families of public safety officers
who die or become permanently disabled from an injury suffered in the
line of duty.
When
the rule goes into effect on September 11, 2006 it will be the
culmination of a process that began in December of 2003 when the
Hometown Heroes Survivors Benefits Act passed into law. The Hometown
Heroes Act states that a public safety officer who has a heart attack
or stroke within 24 hours of engaging in nonroutine stressful or
strenuous physical activity while on the job shall be presumed to have
suffered an injury in the line of duty.
The
Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), which administers the PSOB program,
has already begun the final review stage of the nearly 200 "Hometown
Heroes" applications that have been pending in some cases for more than
two years. Because some of the applications have been on hold for so
long, BJA plans to expedite processing them in order to get
determinations back to applicants as soon as possible.
The
Department of Justice (DoJ) issued a draft rule for public comment in
July 2005, incorporating the Hometown Heroes language as well as
updating various other aspects of how the PSOB program is administered.
The NVFC joined other fire service organizations last September to
comment on several aspects of the draft rule.
The
NVFC expressed concern that the definition of a firefighter in the
draft rule was too limited in scope. The definition of what constitutes
"firefighting" in the final rule is significantly broader.
Under the final rule, the family of a
public safety officer would not qualify for the benefit if there is
medical evidence that the heart attack or stroke was brought
about
due to poor health rather than the activities that the individual was
engaged in. The draft rule would have created a system of health
benchmarks that the NVFC felt were potentially very restrictive. Under
the final rule, medical evidence will still be taken into consideration
but determinations will be made on an individual basis.
Scott
Gerber Named As Excelsior Fire District New Fire Chief
When Excelsior Fire District firefighters pause Sept. 11 to reflect on
the events of five years prior, they'll have a new leader standing
alongside them.
Scott Gerber was hired by the Fire District last
week as its new chief. The Chaska resident is the risk and emergency
management director for Carver County and an assistant chief with the
Chaska Fire Department. He has been a county employee for 14 years and
a 10-year member of the fire department. His employment with the Fire
District begins Sept. 11.
Gerber was the first choice of the
Fire District Board, which interviewed three of the 27 applicants for
the position. Gerber said it was an honor to be the top choice of the
board and to be involved with a century-old organization.
"There's a great amount of history and a great amount of pride," Gerber
said during a recent interview. "To help move the organization forward
is certainly a great honor."
Although
Gerber lives and works in neighboring cities, he has familiarity with
the Fire District and its members through training programs, including
an emergency management program he presented to South Lake city
officials earlier this summer. While the chief's job appealed to him
from a professional standpoint, it also appealed from a personal
standpoint, given his relationships with members of the community, he
explained.
One of the challenges Gerber plans to address as
chief is improving communication between the Fire District Board,
composed of elected officials from the member cities, and the
department's firefighters. He anticipates meeting with community
leaders and assessing the operations of the Fire District during his
inaugural weeks as chief.
The Fire District Board used a
consulting firm to aid in defining job qualifications and hiring a new
chief. Applications for the job came from around the country, with
finalists from Maine and Ohio being interviewed for the job, according
to Shorewood Mayor Woody Love, a Fire District Board member.
"We really did want to do a very comprehensive search," Love said.
Through that process, Gerber was "a pretty resounding first choice,"
Love added.
One
consideration that was important in choosing a new chief was the
opinions of firefighters, according to Deephaven City Council member
Paul Skrede, a Fire District Board member.
"The firefighters appeared to have a considerably higher comfort level
with Scott," he said.
Skrede
said he was looking for a candidate that had leadership experience and
would provide responsible reporting - on matters such as financial
accountability - to the board, qualifications he is satisfied Gerber
will meet.
Gerber's starting salary will be $80,835, plus benefits.
He replaces Mark DuCharme, who left in January and was hired as the
district's first full-time chief in December 2000.
Fire School At Mesabi Range
College On Sep. 23rd
Message Forwarded from Laurentian North Firefighters Mutual Aid
Chairman follows:
Could you send out a email broadcast reminding people about the
upcoming Fire School at Mesabi Range College on Sep. 23rd? So
far,
there haven't been many registrations, and the premonition going around
the state of Minnesota is that there may be no more fire schools
because of cancellations around the state due to low enrollment.
Flyer's have been sent out to all the fire departments, and
registrations will be finalized by the end of next week.
The offering
of NIMS for a morning or afternoon class is also one of the last shots
to get NIMS compliant before the Oct. 1st deadline. If anyone
needs
more information, or has questions, they can contact Steve Flaherty at
749-7770 or checkout the fire school information on our website at www.mr.mnscu.edu.
Poster is available
by clicking
on this link.
Thanks!
Jeffrey L. Mayer
EMS/ Safety & Health
Mesabi Range Community &
Technical College
(218)749-0320
EMS - On call for life!
Apple Valley Fire Department Requests
Information On Women Firefighters
Apple
Valley Fire Department – Request for
Information
We are respectfully requesting your
help in collecting data about women firefighters in Minnesota. You can help us by entering data in the chart
below
about the past and present female firefighters on your fire department.
Please fill out the form below and return it
to us
by October 1, 2006.
We will be doing a general analysis of the responses we receive. We
will send a copy of that analysis to you.We are also going to make the
final report available to the new North Star Women Firefighter
Association(NSWFA).Thank you for your help.
Sincerely,
Keith D. Wassmund, Fire Chief
Apple Valley Fire Department
Survey Form: This form is designed to be completed and
then emailed back to Apple Valley FD
http://minnesotafireservice.com/pubs_open/survey-apple_valley_females.pdf
Responder
Safety Offers Free Training Materials
Public Safety Instructors may now order specialized training materials
at the website www.respondersafety.com.
There are three DVD’s which are available free of charge:
- Ten Cones of
Highway Safety: An awareness level DVD produced by VFIS and
made available to Respondersafety.com for free distribution to public
safety
organizations and trainers. Order this product if you are an instructor
or
policy maker involved in preparing your agency to better protect
emergency
responders working on the roadways. Program is about 18 minutes in
length.
- Traffic
Incident Management Kit: A free informational package designed
for
agencies or opinion leaders who wish to establish local traffic
incident
management teams in their jurisdictions. Materials stress the necessity
of
all agencies including law enforcement, fire, EMS, towing and recovery
industry and departments of transportation to work together with
advance
planning and relationship building prior to a roadway incident. Kit
includes
materials from the National Traffic Incident Management Coalition and
contains the provocative DVD the Hats of Highway Safety a 20 minute
offering
- Sarah¹s
Story: The first public education DVD produced to inform the
motoring public about the dangers associated with traveling through a
highway incident scene. Produced by the Monroe Michigan Intermediate
School
District and the Monroe Court System, this real life story vividly
describes
how lives were tragically changed when a teenage driver violated the
Michigan Move Over Law. This 18 minute offering is free and should be
ordered by agencies and pubic safety educators. The program is aimed
toward
teenage drivers but is appropriate for motor vehicle operators of all
ages.
You can order all three, but must do so separately (just fill
out the information, select the one you want, and click submit. If you
want another one, click your “BACK” button, make the next DVD, and
click submit again).
Click link below to order DVD programs.
http://www.respondersafety.com/videorequest.php
Additional Training Packages
| INTERMEDIATE INCIDENTS |
|
Based
on proposed diagrams for the MUTCD the following presentation outlines
response to examples of roadway incidents. The incidents in this
presentation are considered to be intermediate incidents that could be
cleared in two hours or less.
 |
|
| MINOR INCIDENTS |
Based
on proposed diagrams for the MUTCD the following presentation outlines
response to examples of roadway incidents. The incidents in this
presentation are considered minor incidents that could be cleared in 30
minutes or less.
PPT
AVAILABLE!
|
|
Online FF1 and FF2 Course Still
Has Room For A Few
The Fire/EMS/Safety
Center has a pilot program
available through our college system from Jones and Bartlett that we
are making
available statewide has just a few open seats left.
The normal
classroom training time is taken by you individually at your own pace,
and the
skills portion of this training will be coordinated by the nearest of
our Fire
Training Campuses.
Because this is a
pilot program we need 40 people who are interested in completing the
program by
January 30th 2007 and completing all of the associated surveys,
tests etc. It will take approximately
2.5 hours per chapter and there are 37 chapters in the course covering
all of
Firefighter 1 and 2 (Chapters 1-22, 25-26, 35-37), a basic
Fire/EMS (Chapters 23-24), Hazmat to the Operations
Level (Chapters 27-33), and Terrorism
(Chapter 34). You may pick and choose
the chapters that are appropriate for your organization.
Download
poster here
Download
additional information and FAQ's for fire departments here
For more
information
on this program log on to: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763731455/
Talk this over with your Chief or Training Officer and take advantage
of this great opportunity. Seats are limited to 40 Minnesota
Firefighters. We would like to here from you by September 8th, 2006.
You can start immediately!
Contact your local
campus Fire Training Program Manager to
enroll: http://www.minnesotafireservice.com/contact.htm
http://www.firecenter.mnscu.edu/firetraining/fire_coord.html
Questions contact:
|
Solve
your morale problems!
Your
firefighters maybe bored because of nothing to do and the public
doesn't recognize them as heroes. Get them involved in public education
and fire prevention activities where they are helping the public. It
won't be long and they will become recognized heroes for saving lives
in a proactive way.
|
