The most significant and exciting news from the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Project is that we have been awarded a FIRE Act grant of $750,000 to conduct campaign activities during 2005. We have also received a sponsorship pledge from Fireman's Fund Insurance for $329,000 in matching support to fully fund our planned efforts for the year.
This means that we will be able to proceed quickly with a long list of planned projects.
The projects that will be conducted with these funds include:
Development of "ready to use" training packages for distribution to approximately 30,000 fire stations across the United States. Each package will contain audiovisual materials, lesson plans, and additional materials to carry the message directly to the greatest possible number of firefighters. Development of the "Everyone Goes Home" Web site, which will provide timely information and downloadable materials for training and education. Four mini-summit meetings, each focused on a particular aspect of the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Project. Support for the establishment of two university-based research centers to develop projects relating to the 16 initiatives. Establishment of a technology transfer effort to identify existing technology from the federal laboratory network that can be adapted to address firefighter safety priorities. Establishment of a speakers bureau to provide presentations to as many fire service audiences as possible. Establishment of the Firefighter Life Safety Seal of Excellence Award to recognize outstanding contributions to our efforts. Funding to participate in fire service trade shows and meetings to promote the initiatives, and to work with fire departments conducting demonstration projects relating to the initiatives. The first of the planned mini-summit meetings was held in San Diego on February 1, in conjunction with Firehouse World. This session was directed toward the wildland firefighting community and produced a series of recommended actions to address the particular issues that will have the greatest impact on wildland firefighter safety. The second mini-summit was held in Indianapolis on April 13th, in conjunction with the Fire Department Instructors Conference. Appropriately, this session addressed the application of the 16 initiatives in the training context. In addition, we produced a major prime-time presentation for the main FDIC program on April 14th in Indianapolis. On July 29th, the mini-summit on structural firefighting issues will be conducted in Baltimore, coinciding with Firehouse Expo. Yet another major event has been scheduled for June 2nd and 3rd, when the National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium will be conducted at the National Emergency Training Center. This project, which is being funded by a grant from the National Institute for Science and Technology, is directly related to initiative seven from the Tampa Summit. Obviously, we are expecting to be very busy working on all of these projects in rapid succession, and we will be looking for participation and assistance from many of the individuals who have offered to support the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Project. We will be providing many opportunities to be a part of the overall effort. The good news is that we have the financial resources to support the effort, but we won't be able to do it without a lot of help from our friends. We would like to take this opportunity to make a special mention of the support that has been provided by Chief Robert DiPoli, President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Bob has been a major supporter of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for many years and a particularly strong advocate of the Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program. He is facing some major surgery in the near future and we want him to know that we are all right there with him. Get well soon!
