Scuttlebutt 8/19

FDSOA Safety Officer Scholarship Applications Open

The Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) is accepting applications for scholarships to the 30^th annual Health & Safety Conference.

The scholarships are available to current uniformed members of a fire department or other emergency services organization. Applicants must have two years of emergency response experience and never attended an FDSOA Safety Conference (or not within the past 5 years).

The FDSOA Safety Officer Scholarship includes registration for the FDSOA Safety Forum and one pre-forum seminar (optional), airfare or mileage expenses and lodging.

The 2020 Health & Safety Conference will be held in Scottsdale, AZ, Jan. 13–16, 2020. Prior to the Health & Safety Conference, a two-day Incident Safety Officer Academy and a Health & Safety Officer Academy will be held Jan. 13–14.

“This scholarship is a great opportunity for a fire or emergency services member to attend our conference if their organization is not able to fund their attendance,” said Eric Valliere, FDSOA chairman and assistant fire chief, Scottsdale, AZ. “We are so excited to offer this experience and education that is so important to our Safety Mission.”

VFIS, a division of Glatfelter Insurance Group, is the platinum sponsor of the FDSOA’s Safety Conference Scholarship.

VFIS Executive Vice President Bill Jenaway stated, “VFIS is extremely proud to work with FDSOA in sponsoring attendance at the annual conference and providing safety officers with the opportunity to grow and develop.”

The Health & Safety Conference Scholarship program was initially proposed by Dave Dodson, a charter member of FDSOA and former board vice president, to introduce new safety officers to the educational opportunities at the Health & Safety Conference.

“I've been very fortunate in my fire service life and feel it is time to pay it forward,” said Dodson. “Many individuals have influenced and assisted me along the way, so now it is my turn to assist others.”

Application forms can be found at fdsoa.org/fdsoa-safety-officer-scholarship-award. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 15.

For more information, visit fdsoa.org.

IAFC Names iDELP Participants

The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) announced the participants accepted into the 2^nd official IAFC Diversity Executive Leadership Program (iDELP). iDELP is a 2-year program developed by the IAFC in 2017 to bring together a group of current and future leaders to help foster a diverse and inclusive leadership and workforce. The program aims to provide changemakers the tools necessary to become national leaders in the fire and emergency service and the IAFC. The 2019-2021 cohort plans to meet twice a year in person throughout the program. In between the in-person meetings, the group will communicate via KnowledgeNet, the IAFC’s online community. Throughout the two-year program, the fellows will hear from experienced leaders at the IAFC and explore avenues in which they can become leaders on the national stage and assist others to do the same. They will also help advise the IAFC on important issues as it relates to fostering a more diverse and inclusive fire and emergency service. Accepted into the 2019-2021 program are:

Fire Chief Joel Baker, Austin, TX, Fire Department
Assistant Chief Corey Beals, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Regional Fire & Emergency
Fire Chief Robert Benoit, Lafayette, LA, Fire Department
Division Chief Special Operations Robert Collins, Hillsborough County, FL, Fire Rescue
Deputy Fire Chief William Garrett, Fairfax County, VA, Fire and Rescue Department
Assistant Fire Chief Stephanie Harpring, Thornton, CO, Fire Department
Fire Chief/Emergency Services Director Scott LaVielle, City of Tumwater, WA, Fire Department
Deputy Fire Chief Kenneth Lay, Newport News, VA, Fire Department
Fire Chief Ernest Malone, Indianapolis, IN, Fire Department
Deputy Chief Keri Martens, Canmore, Alberta, Canada, Fire Rescue Services
Deputy Fire Chief Karen Roche, Burlington, ON, Fire Department
Battalion Chief Diane Schroeder, Louisville, CO, Fire Protection District
Captain Jason Shanley, San Diego, CA, Fire-Rescue Department
Assistant Fire Chief Corey Smedley, City of Alexandria, VA, Fire Department
Fire Chief Victor Williams, Gallatin, TN, Fire Department

“iDELP has been a tremendous success thanks to the hard work and dedication of the inaugural cohort,” said Chief Dan Eggleston, IAFC president and chairman of the board. “Fostering a more diverse and inclusive fire and emergency service is the primary mission of the program and it’s succeeding.”

For more information, visit iafc.org.

Application Period Open for CHEMTREC/NVFC HELP Award

CHEMTREC has partnered with the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) to offer the CHEMTREC HELP (Hazmat Emergency Local Preparedness) Award. Through this program, two volunteer fire departments will be awarded $7,500 to help enhance their response capabilities and increase local readiness to respond to and prepare for hazardous materials incidents.

To be eligible to apply for the CHEMTREC HELP Award, departments must meet the following criteria:

Department must be all-volunteer or mostly-volunteer (more than 50 percent)
Department must serve a population of 25,000 or less
Department must be located in the U.S. and be legally organized under state law.
Department or individual applying on behalf of the department must be a member of the NVFC
Department must demonstrate their need to receive the $7,500 award and in the application essay must explain how they would use the award
The departments that receive the award must use the money to increase their department’s hazmat response capabilities and not for any other purpose

The full criteria and application form can be found at chemtrec.com/emergency-responders/help-award.

The application deadline is Oct. 1. Award recipients will be announced by Dec. 1. For more information, contact Erica Bernstein, director of outreach, at [email protected] or 703-741-5524.