Junior Firefighters Earn an “A”
ASAE, the Center for Association Leadership, has honored the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program with a 2011 Power of A Gold Award. The NVFC is one of only nine associations nationwide that received this award.
The Power of A Awards recognize and celebrate the extraordinary contributions associations make to society by enriching lives, creating a competitive workforce, preparing society for the future, driving innovation and making a better world.
The National Junior Firefighter Program was given the award for “The Power to Create a Competitive Workforce” category. The Program provides fire departments and youth with the resources, tools, and information they need to help develop, grow, enhance, promote and participate in their local junior firefighter program. The Program is a powerful recruitment tool for the next generation of firefighters.
“The NVFC is honored to receive the Power of A Award in recognition of the important work of the National Junior Firefighter Program,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “The youth of today are the future of the fire and emergency services, and their training as junior firefighters will help them become confident leaders and dedicated first responders tomorrow. They also learn valuable life skills such as teamwork, responsibility, and commitment.”
The National Junior Firefighter Program is sponsored by Tyco International, Spartan Motors, Inc., and California Casualty Management Group. Find out more about the National Junior Firefighter Program at www.nvfc.org/juniors.
That’s (Safety) Entertainment
The FDNY, the FDNY Foundation, and international stars of stage and screen, the Flying Karamazov Brothers, have partnered to produce a new fire safety video titled “Safety’s Hot, Fire’s Not.” In addition, this collaboration has produced a public service announcement campaign focusing on the importance of having a working smoke detector and the dangers of unattended candles. The video and the PSA campaign are available at www.FDNYFoundation.org and on the FDNY YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/yourFDNY.
“Every year we strive to reach more and more New Yorkers with the critical message of fire safety. This latest effort is an entertaining way for us to reach people wherever and whenever they are online,” said Fire Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano. “The music video features two extremely talented groups, the FDNY and the Flying Karamazov Brothers. And while this video is funny, silly, and even at times a bit irreverent, we know the valuable information it provides will help save lives."
The video, which was funded by the FDNY Foundation, features real FDNY Firefighters, Paramedics and EMTs side-by-side with the Flying Karamazov Brothers, as they sing, dance, juggle and teach fire safety information to viewers of all ages. The music is an original song written by the Brothers, with lyrics based on actual FDNY fire safety tips; including the importance of an escape plan and how to be fire safe in the kitchen.
This entertaining fire safety video and public service announcement campaign is the latest endeavor by the FDNY and the FDNY Foundation to bring the vital message of fire safety to the public. In 2010, the FDNY Foundation funded 6,379 educational fire safety presentations that reached 600,000 New Yorkers. At those events, the FDNY and the Foundation worked together to distribute 25,000 smoke alarms and 100,000 batteries in all five boroughs.
Longtime Chief Retires
Pullman, WA, Fire Chief Pat Wilkins has retired after serving the fire department for more than 40 years, with 27 of those years as its chief. Wilkins was instrumental in a number of programs that helped the city achieve an improved fire rating from class 5 to class 4, which resulted in lower fire insurance premiums for both homeowners and businesses. He also was a leader in establishing a paramedic program for the city.
One of the significant challenges that Wilkins worked on during his years with the city was assumption of the EMS and fire services for the university when the Washington State University (WSU) administration chose to dissolve its fire department. For a period of time, Wilkins served as chief of both the WSU and Pullman fire departments.
Wilkins worked on getting voter approval for the creation of an EMS levy that the voters later made a permanent EMS levy. He helped on a levy that added three additional firefighters/paramedics and three additional police officers. He also worked on funding agreements with WSU, rural fire districts, other communities and Pullman Regional Hospital. One of those agreements with WSU jointly funded the pumper-ladder truck that was delivered in 2004.
In order to improve response times to the growing north area of the city, Wilkins facilitated the reorganization of the department, created the position of fire lieutenant and staffed the north area station with career firefighters.
Wilkins served on the Whitcom (the area 911 dispatch center) executive board, the Whitman County Communications Committee and was a member of the Washington Fire Chiefs Association. He was also involved in a number of community and service groups including Rotary, the Pullman Cougar Club, Shriners, and the Salvation Army.
Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson appointed Operations Chief Mike Heston as the Acting Fire Chief effective August 10. The process for selecting a permanent Fire Chief will begin in a few weeks with the intention of having the permanent fire chief on duty in January.
Bomberos Away!
Mexican firefighters recently took part in a week of specialized training as part of the Bombero Program. About 50 firefighters from Mexico – called Bomberos in Mexico – participated in this year’s program. Each year the site of the training rotates between Northern California and Southern California. Instructors from San Bernardino County Fire, San Bernardino City, Cathedral City and Riverside City Fire Departments, as well as CalFire focused this year’s training on Incident Command, Ventilation, Structure Collapse, and Rapid Intervention Crew tactics/Mayday.
The Bombero Program is a partnership between California and Mexican fire departments that started more than 45 years ago. Each year groups of firefighters from Mexico are brought to the United States for training, and thousands have graduated over the past three decades. The trips are free to the firefighters, and the program is funded by donations collected throughout the year.
The Bombero Program provides valuable firefighting tools and techniques to the firefighters of Mexico, in turn helping them provide their citizens with better fire protection. This chosen group of Bomberos then returns to their homeland to share what they have learned with their colleagues.
MyFirehouseTraining.com Debuts
Firehouse Magazine (the very magazine you are reading right now) has announced the debut of MyFirehouseTraining.com, an online learning platform designed to provide training, coursework and CEU credits for firefighters. MyFirehouseTraining.com includes basic to advanced-level education developed exclusively by Firehouse authors and contributors, and covers a wide range of critical subjects – including EMS training, incident management, personal protection, USAR, high-angle rescue, vehicle extrication, hazmat, NFPA standards and more.
“MyFirehouseTraining.com operates as a virtual workbook – hosting certificates, course paths and curriculums – and provides award-winning course instructors with experience in many facets of safety and rescue,” said Freddie Batista, vice president at Safety Solutions Inc., who partnered with Firehouse in creating the specialty portal.
The easy-to-use platform and personalized dashboard can be accessed via any Internet connection, according to Batista, including smartphones, iPads/iPhones and Android OS devices.
“Continuing education and training are life and death issues for first responders,” said Patricia Maroder, publisher of Firehouse. “With this new Web initiative, we’re now able to provide a convenient and cost-efficient way for firefighters to receive CEU credits online, track and manage their education and download certificates right from the convenience of their desktops.”
Safety Solutions (home of FireServiceTraining.com) is a leading provider of emergency response, technology assessment, training and its award-winning product “Hazmat Smart Strip.” The company has developed learning programs for major fire departments nationwide, including New York City and Miami, and has conducted training for the military, FEMA and NASA. MyFirehouseTraining.com is a customized version of Safety Solutions’ learning platform Blender. Blender was created for firefighters by firefighters – in partnership with SRG Technology, Inc.
