FDSOA Presents Safety Officer of the Year Award
David Picone is the recipient of the 2020 Chief Sandy Davis Safety Officer of the Year Award, which is presented by the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA) in conjunction with the IAFC Safety, Health & Survival Section and MSA.
Picone, who is a battalion chief/health & safety officer (HSO) for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, is the first certified HSO in the department’s history and has developed more than 10 policies that specifically govern the health and welfare of the department members. He also started the first Health & Safety Section of the San Diego County Fire Chiefs’ Association and pushed to not only bring training to the area but to have an HSO on every department.
The Safety Officer of the Year Award is named for Sandy Davis, who was a chief of safety who dedicated his career to the Shreveport, LA, Fire Department and the Louisiana Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
For more information, visit fdsoa.org.
Three Billboards Outside Valley Center, CA
The Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians showed their gratitude and appreciation to the Rincon Fire Department Station 181 and all of the first responders by holding a Heroes billboard campaign in North San Diego County, CA. “We Love Our Heroes,” “Heroes Among Us” and “Our Neighbors Our Heroes” billboards ran for eight weeks at the I-15 northbound and southbound exits of Via Rancho Parkway.
“We are thankful to our firefighters and first responders for all that they are doing,” stated Bo Mazzetti, who is chairman of the Rincon Tribe. “We wanted to honor them for serving our residents and protecting our communities.”
The Rincon Fire Station was established in 2006. It is the largest station that’s in the Valley Center region and always is staffed with 10 full-time career personnel. The station responds to approximately 3,200 calls per year.
For more information, visit Rincon-nsn.gov.
CSU Names Fire Professional of the Year
Columbia Southern University (CSU) fire administration faculty members selected Scott Boyd, who is the Clover, SC, School District fire instructor, as the 2020 Outstanding Fire Service Professional of the Year. Boyd earned his associate degree in fire science at CSU.
Boyd is a retired fire chief who has more than 30 years of experience in the fire service. He teaches “Introduction to Law and Public Safety,” “Firefighter I” and “Firefighter II” at Clover High School. He also serves as an advisor with Explorer Post 18 with the Clover Fire Department.
The Outstanding Fire Service Professional award was established as part of National Fire Prevention Month and to recognize CSU fire service students and graduates for their commitment to safety and professionalism and their accomplishments in the industry.
For more information, visit ColumbiaSouthern.edu.
Hess 2020 Holiday Trucks Feature Ambulance/Rescue Vehicles
For more information, visit HessToyTruck.com.
This Month in Fire History
Dec. 1, 1958, Chicago—Our Lady of the Angels School fire kills 95
Dec. 2, 1913, Boston—Arcadia Hotel fire kills 28
Dec. 2, 2016, Oakland, CA—Ghost Ship fire kills 36
Dec. 3, 1999, Worcester, MA—Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire kills six firefighters
Dec. 5, 1876, Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Theater fire kills 295
Dec. 7, 1946, Atlanta—Winecoff Hotel fire kills 119
Dec. 16, 1835, New York—Great New York fire destroys New York Stock Exchange
Dec. 21, 1910, Philadelphia—Philadelphia leather factory fire kills 13 firefighters
Dec. 22, 1910, Chicago—Stockyard cold storage fire kills 21 firefighters
Dec. 30, 1903, Chicago—Iroquois Theater fire kills 602
Courtesy: NFPA
