For the Record 6/21

Goldfeder Among CFSI Award Winners

The Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) announced the recipients of its four major national awards for 2021 during its National Fire and Emergency Services Virtual Symposium. Deputy Fire Chief Billy Goldfeder, who authors the Close Calls column in Firehouse Magazine, is among the honorees.

Goldfeder received the 2021 Congressional Fire Services Institute/Motorola Solutions Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award. Goldfeder, who is deputy fire chief of the Loveland-Symmes, OH, Fire Department, is a 48-year member of the fire and emergency services, who has made firefighter safety and survival a central tenet of his career.

The CFSI/IFSTA Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education was presented to Don Porth, who is the former director of public education for the Portland, OR, Fire and Rescue Department. Porth perhaps is best known for his many contributions to the field of youth firesetting, having established a nonprofit intervention program (SOS FIRES) in 1995 that provides guidance and training for the fire service and others nationwide.

The Fairfax County, VA, Fire and Rescue Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department were awarded the Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award. Cosponsored by CFSI and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, with corporate sponsorship from State Farm Insurance and VFIS, the award recognizes fire and emergency departments and organizations for leadership in advancing the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

The CFSI/Masimo Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Award is presented to fire and emergency services departments for innovations in the delivery of emergency medical services. This year’s recipient is the Thornton, CO, Fire Department for its Pandemic Response team, which conducts rapid testing of public employees, senior citizens, first responders and other community members in addition to setting up drive-thru vaccinations.

For more information, visit cfsi.org.

NVFC Names Interim CEO

Sarah Lee is the new interim chief executive officer for the National Volunteer Fire Council. Lee, who was the deputy chief executive, officially took over as interim CEO on May 14, 2021. The position was held by NVFC first vice chair Kevin D. Quinn, who stepped in to facilitate the transitional period following the sudden passing of longtime CEO Heather Schafer on March 15, 2021.

Lee joined the NVFC in 2005 as fire corps director but quickly moved to the position of deputy chief executive in 2006. In this role, she oversaw staff operations, secured federal grants and managed the NVFC’s award-winning programs. Lee worked closely with Schafer during a period of significant growth and success for the organization.

Lee’s appointment will be in effect until the next board meeting in October, at which time an evaluation will occur to make the position permanent.

For more information, visit nvfc.org.

Metro Chiefs Elects Officers, Board Members

The Metropolitan “Metro” Fire Chiefs Association held its 2021 annual meeting virtually on May 10, 2021. More than 85 Metro chiefs attended the meeting and elected the association’s 2021–2022 officers and board members.

The officers are:

President: Chief Don Lombardi, West Metro Fire Protection District, Lakewood, CO
Vice President: Chief Robert Rocha, Corpus Christi, TX, Fire Department
Secretary: Chief Edward “Loy” Senter Jr., Chesterfield County, VA, Fire & EMS
Treasurer: Chief Ernest Malone, Indianapolis Fire Department

The new board members are:

Chief John Butler, Fairfax County, VA, Fire and Rescue Department
Chief John Lane, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Chief (retired) Denis Onieal, Jersey City, NJ, Fire Department
Chief Trisha Wolford, Anne Arundel County, MD, Fire Department

For more information, visit nfpa.org.

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UL FSRI Online Course

The “Firefighter Safety and Flammable Refrigerants” online training course from UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute (UL FSRI) is available through the UL FSRI Fire Safety Academy. Users can access this complementary course anytime to learn about the hazards that are posed by refrigerants as well as mitigation strategies. Armed with this knowledge, standard operating guidelines that are utilized during fireground operations can be examined and potentially improved to enhance operational effectiveness and to reduce the risk to firefighters and building occupants.

The course explores the results of research experiments that were conducted as part of a collaborative effort between UL FSRI, UL’s Fire Research and Development team, the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute, CAL FIRE, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the IAFF, the National Association of State Fire Marshals and the National Volunteer Fire Council.

For more information, visit ULFirefighterSafety.org.

Line-of-Duty Deaths

5 U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty. Two firefighters died from health-related incidents, two died after contracting COVID-19 and one died during fireground operations. This issue of Firehouse is dedicated to these firefighters. For the latest on COVID-19-related LODDs, visit firehouse.com/covid-19.

FIRE CHIEF DONALD L. JONES, 59, of Midfield, AL, Fire and Rescue Service, died on April 21. During a lunch break, Jones went into cardiac arrest. He was transported to the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, where he died.

FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC ROGER DEAN III, 31, of the Seguin, TX, Fire Department, died on April 23. On Dec. 20, 2020, Dean responded to an EMS call at a residence. The patient had a known case of COVID-19. Dean subsequently contracted the virus.

ASST. FIRE CHIEF CHARLES EDWARD “CHUCK” SCOTTINI, 67, of Laramie County Fire District #2 in Cheyenne, WY, died on April 24. In October of 2020, while on a wildland fire assignment in Steamboat Springs, CO, Scottini contracted COVID-19. He was flown to the University of Utah Hospital for treatment and remained there until April 21, 2021, when he returned to Wyoming and was admitted to hospice care, where he died.

SENIOR FIREFIGHTER JEFFREY EUGENE ARMES, 38, of the Nelsonville, OH, Division of Fire, died on May 2. While on scene of a residential fire, Armes collapsed. He was transported to the OhioHealth O’Bleness Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

FIREFIGHTER RICARDO TORRES JR., 30, of the New Haven, CT, Fire Department, died on May 12. Torres was among several members of the department who responded to call of a residential fire with victims trapped. During the fire, Torres transmitted a mayday. He and his lieutenant were both found unconscious on the second floor. Torres was transported to a local hospital, where he died. The lieutenant was listed in critical condition. Two victims were rescued from the fire.