The Fire Department Safety Officers Association will offer three popular keynote speakers during their annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium and their concurrent Safety Forum in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 18-22, 2016.
The week will feature three of the fire services’ most popular straight-talkers. The three keynote speakers are: James (Jim) Juneau, Gordon Graham and Chief Billy Goldfeder.
James J. Juneau, Juneau, Boll, Stacy & Ucherek, Dallas, Texas, will kick off the Apparatus Symposium on Monday, January 18th. Juneau, a nationally recognized legal authority on issues relating to fire apparatus and emergency vehicle design and operational safety, is a straight-talking attorney on emergency vehicles and firefighter safety training and across the United States and Canada.
“We’re going to talk about fire apparatus and the law,” said Juneau. “We’ll deal with safety issues, we’ll deal with the kind of things that matter when you go to the court room and we’ll talk about some of the things that can get you in trouble, like crazy driving, ignoring right-of-way intersections, railroad crossings and intoxication on the job.”
Gordon Graham, Graham Research Consultants, Long Beach, Calif. will wrap up the Apparatus Symposium and kick-off the Safety Forum conference, with his comprehensive program, “What real risk management is all about." Graham, a former California motorcycle police officer, is a police/fire service risk management expert and attorney, dividing his time between study, research, writing, speaking, and consulting in the discipline of risk management.
“The focus is going to be on all the things that an informed fire department, informed firefighters, mechanics and safety officers need to know about risk management and what they can do to reduce the injuries and the deaths through the specifying, acquisition, bidding, transport and the training process,” said Graham.
Billy Goldfeder, deputy chief, Loveland-Symmes, Ohio, a firefighter since 1973, has served on several IAFC and NFPA committees and is a prolific writer and outspoken critic of unsafe practices and stupid decisions.
Goldfeder’s passion for firefighter safety and “Everyone goes home” has made him the conscience for the North American fire service. Chief Goldfeder, along with Gordon Graham, host and sponsor the website FireFighterCloseCalls.com.
Goldfeder will wrap-up the Safety Forum conference on Friday, January 22nd, with his powerful presentation, “Why Things Go Wrong--And What Safety Officers Can Do About It.”
“There has been no greater time for fire department safety officers to arm themselves with the best information than now,” said Goldfeder. “Never has the fire service and it's leadership been so aware of the issues related to firefighter safety, health and survival-and it's the fire department safety officer who can make the connection between their ‘awareness’ and the ‘reality’ and importance of leadership related to FIREFIGHTER SURVIVAL. Truly the fire chiefs ‘right hand person’ when it comes to keeping fire and EMS personnel out of the hospital, and leadership out of the media and the courtroom, the FIRE DEPT SAFETY OFFICER can assure the unnecessary risks are minimal.”
Goldfeder added, “What is the one conference focused EXCLUSIVELY on the Fire Department Safety Officer? This one--the only one!”
The FDSOA 28th Annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium will be held January 18-20, while the 2016 Annual Safety Forum will start concurrently with two Safety Officer Academies and continue with the Safety Forum Wednesday thru Friday, January 22nd. The IAFC’s Safety Health & Survival Section is partnering with the FDSOA to host the Safety Forum and bring safety education to as many fire chiefs and safety officers as possible.
For a complete conference agendas and registration information: www.fdsoa.org or contact: Rich Marinucci, Executive Director, Ph: 248.880.1864 or visit: www.fdsoa.org.
The Fire Department Safety Officers Association was established in 1989 as a non-profit Association, incorporated in Massachusetts. In 2013, the offices moved to Michigan. Its mission is to promote safety standards and practices in the fire, rescue and emergency services community.
The Association is led by a volunteer Board of Directors and has a small staff to handle the day to day operations. It is the Association dedicated to the issues that affect the critical role of Safety Officer in protecting and promoting the safety and health responsibilities of fire departments, communities and first responders. FDSOA works to helps fire departments achieve proficiency, promote the recognition of training, and skills and a secure future.
