Emergency Responder Safety Institute Sees Boost in Registration

NEWPORT, PA -- The Responder Safety Learning Network now has 178,000 user registrations. Around 150,000 are active and there are about 2,000 new sign-ups per month.

Engagements have increased 12 percent this year.

Those statistics were just some of the updates that those attending the 124th annual Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Assocation convention learned.

The organization -- formed in 1901 to discuss adopting a uniform hose coupling -- switched its focus to highway safety in 1998, after Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway, MD, Firefighter Joseph Kroboth Jr. was struck and killed while directing traffic.

"We continue to be extremely successful penetrating the national fire service market with our training programs and research initiatives. In 2025, we have exceeded 175,000 registered users in our online learning network," explained Kroboth's son, Joseph Kroboth III, the ERSI program manager.

He noted that there are 48 learning modules on the network and there are plans to expand next year.

Last August, they were awarded a $450,000 FEMA Fire Prevention and Safety grant to collect data about struck-by incidents as well as promote highway safety. 

Other data shows that around 600 per month of those new sign-ups report that they are in leadership.  The biggest day of usage is Wednesday. Texas is the top state for registrations -- 23,000, followed by North Carolina, 15,800 and Pennsylvania, 8,000. according to statistics compiled by Rod Ammon, president of Stonehouse Media, who is involved with the ERSI.

"In the next month, the network will celebrate a million hours of tested hours delivered," Ammon said.

Google reports show that in the last 90 days, 36,000 users came to the network and spent an average of 46 mins engaged per visit, he noted.

Promoting highway safety education via the internet, podcasts and courses continues to expand.

"The CVVFA established the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI) as a committee. Today, ERSI is a recognized national (if not international) leader in roadway safety for first responders, CVVFA President David Lewis said last week.

It's a far cry from when fire chiefs from departments in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia met to discuss adopting a uniform hose coupling and to develop a mutual aid system along the Cumberland Valley Railroad.

While they obtained a patent for the Cumberland Valley Hose Thread, no one is sure it was used.

Over the years, the group has delved into a myraid of issues including community risk reduction and legislation.

"Funding and recruitment and retention have bubbled to the top of that list," CVVFA Past President Steve Austin told the group Friday morning as the 40th annual Presidents' Council opened.  

CVVFA President David Lewis pointed out firefighters deal with similar challenges, and networking is a powerful tool. 

"The transition from connecting hoses together to connecting people together has been what has made the CVVFA successful," Lewis said.

United States Fire Administration 

Retired Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator Tonya Hoover lauded the group for saving the storied National Fire Academy that was shut down for months.

"I firmly believe the reason the National Fire Academy is open is because all of you who wrote letters or called representatives to tell them how important the academy is to the fire service....Thank you very much from the USFA."

On an unrelated issue, she spoke of the importance of the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS), which is replaceing the legacy National Fire Incident Reporting System.

The cloud-based program is currently in 10,000 departments across the country.

"Data is queen," she said, encouraging officials to inquire about implementation in their organizations.

Hoover also said acting U.S. Fire Administrator Donna Black has been representing the nation's fire service at FEMA meetings daily. 

"It's important to have a seat at the table," she said.

Also, there is no word on the next U.S. Fire Administrator.

Fallen Firefighters Foundation 

Chief Joanne Rund, director of family programs, reported the Courage to Be Safe course is being revamped. It's been under review for the past year.

She also encouraged the fire officials to enroll in a Taking Care of Your Own program that gives you an understanding about what needs to be done if a firefighter dies in the line of duty.

"I am blessed to be the director of family programs."

Rund invited the group to attend the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony in the campus chapel in December. "It's a beautful ceremony."

She said the foundation is keeping abreast of various legislative issues including the Honoring our Fire Heroes Act that would make families eligible for PSOB funds if the responder dies of cancer.

There's also a National Fallen Firefighter Memorial Coin Act. Proceeds from the coin, produced by the U.S. Treasury, would go to families and programs.