Goldfeder Given Lifetime Achievement Award at FDIC
Billy Goldfeder was awarded the 2018 FDIC Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement award at the Fire Department Instructor’s Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis in April. Goldfeder, a Firehouse contributing editor, has been a firefighter since 1973 and a chief officer since 1982, currently serving as deputy fire chief of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department in Ohio. He is a 1993 graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program and the former chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs VCOS Committee.
Goldfeder, an honorary battalion chief of the FDNY, is on the board of directors of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (representing the Safety, Health and Survival Section), National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), September 11th Families Association, and National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System.
In 1998, Goldfeder, along with the public-safety risk expert Gordon Graham, created FireFighterCloseCalls.com, a noncommercial, independent and free site that focuses on firefighter survival. In December 1999, he wrote his first Close Calls column for Firehouse. He is also the author of the best-selling “Pass It On” books. Goldfeder is donating the royalties from the original “Pass It On” to the NFFF and the Chief Ray Downey Courage and Valor Scholarship Fund. Royalties from “Pass It On … The 2nd Alarm” will be distributed to the same beneficiaries and the Firefighter Cancer Support Network.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is named for Tom Brennan, who had more than 35 years of fire service experience, including more than 20 years with the FDNY and five years as chief of the Waterbury, CT, Fire Department. He was also co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition.
NFCA, Firehouse Announce Officer Development Symposium
The Nevada Fire Chiefs Association (NFCA), in association with Firehouse, will be holding its first annual Las Vegas Officers Development Symposium & Expo Sept. 10–12, 2018, at the Orleans Hotel & Casino Conference Center.
Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Timothy Sendelbach will serve as a keynote speaker. IAFC President Chief John Sinclair and FirstNet Vice Chairman Chief Jeffrey Johnson will also give keynote addresses.
The event is for chief officers and those who want to be chief officers. The educational program is designed to provide leadership and management topics relevant to the issues public safety agencies face today and into the future.
Break-out sessions include:
· Fire Officer III Certification Program
· Fire Service Drones
· First Net Communications
· Fire/EMS Legal Concerns
· Firefighter Cancer Prevention
· After the Fire—Disaster Recovery
· Marketing Your Department
· Grant Opportunities
· Recruitment & Retention of Volunteer Firefighters
· Emergency Management & more
In addition to the educational opportunities, exhibitors will be on hand displaying the latest equipment and services available to public safety agencies.
For more information, contact the NFCA at 702-982-3433 or NVFireChf.org.
IFSI Program Honored at CFSI Dinner
The Illini Emergency Medical Services (IEMS), a program of the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), was honored by the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) and Masimo for excellence in emergency medical services. IEMS received the 2018 Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Award at the 30th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner on April 19 in Washington, DC.
The Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Award recognizes fire departments from across the nation for developing and enhancing the delivery of EMS to address the growing challenges in delivering emergency medical care. By highlighting best practices, the award program provides fire departments across the United States with ideas for enhancing their own fire service-based EMS systems. IEMS was the award recipient in the Volunteer/Combination category.
Established in 1978 as a student club, IEMS became a program within IFSI in 2016. IEMS provides non-transport care to the 58,000 students, staff and faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. During its first year as an IFSI program, IEMS initiated a proactive campaign to improve acute cardiac care capabilities within its service area. In 2017, IEMS trained 1,297 individuals in CPR, a 206 percent increase from 2016, and increased the number of active American Heart Association-certified CPR instructors from 16 to 19. The organization also added 42 AEDs around campus and created a system with PulsePoint technology to locate the AED nearest to cardiac arrest victims.
“We are very proud of the IEMS program at IFSI,” said IFSI Director Royal P. Mortenson. “This award recognition is the result of the hard work of IFSI staff and IEMS personnel as well as the support of the University of Illinois leadership.”
L.A. County Fire Museum Grand Opening
The County of Los Angeles Fire Museum will be hosting a grand opening of the Los Angeles County Fire Museum at the MAYNE event center, located at 16400 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, CA 90706. The event will be held on July 14 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Scheduled special guests include the stars of the hit TV show “Emergency!” Randolph Mantooth (Johnny Gage), Kevin Tighe (Roy DeSoto) and Mike Stoker (the real-life firefighter who played the character of the same name). Brendan McDonough, the Granite Mountain Hotshot who was the sole survivor of the Yarnell Hill Fire, will also be at the event.
The event will feature apparatus, music, food, exhibitions and more. For additional details, visit facebook.com/events/1746522978732474.
This Month in Fire History
June 5, 1973, Chicago, IL—LaSalle Hotel fire kills 61
June 12, 1911, Whitewright, TX—Conflagration damages 70 buildings
June 14, 2017, London—Grenfell Tower fire kills 71.
June 15, 1904, New York, NY—SS General Slocum steamship fire kills 1,030
June 17, 1972, Boston, MA—Hotel Vendome fire kills 9 firefighters
June 17, 2001, New York, NY—Father’s Day fire kills 3 firefighters
June 18, 2007, Charleston, SC—Sofa Super Store fire claims the lives of 9 firefighters
June 23, 1913—First NFPA Committee on Safety to Life is appointed
June 24, 1973, New Orleans, LA—Upstairs Lounge fire kills 32
June 26, 1977, Columbia, TN—Maury County Jail fire kills 42
June 30, 2013, Yarnell, AZ—19 Granite Mountain Hotshots died while battling a massive wildland fire
Courtesy NFPA
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