Globe Gears Up for More Giveaways
The 2019 Globe Gear Giveaway application period is now open. Since 2012, Globe, DuPont and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) have awarded gear through the Giveaway, which is designed to help volunteer fire departments better protect their responders. To date, the program has granted 455 sets to 95 departments in need.
To be eligible for the Globe Giveaway, departments must be over 50 percent volunteer, serve a population of 25,000 or less, be located in the United States or Canada, be a member of the NVFC, and demonstrate significant need for new gear that could not be met through other funding sources.
The 2018 Globe Gear Giveaway provided 13 volunteer fire departments with 52 sets of new, state-of-the-art turnout gear. Each department received four sets of gear to enhance the safety of their firefighters who previously made do with old, worn and non-compliant gear that provided less-than-optimal protection.
Visit nvfc.org for information about how to apply for gear.
Leary Foundation, Spotted Dog Name Spot-A-Hero Award Winners
The Leary Firefighters Foundation has announced that three volunteer fire departments have been selected as winners in the 2018 National “Spot-a-Hero” Technology Grant campaign. The three departments that will receive a $5,000 licensing grant for Spotted Dog Technologies’ Rover Incident Response Platform are the Piggott, AR, Volunteer Fire Department, the Prince Frederick, MD, Volunteer Fire Department and the Elk Ridge, UT, Volunteer Fire Department.
To be eligible for the grant, volunteer departments were nominated by members of their communities on the SpotAHero.com website. Finalists were selected from the pool of nominees to have the opportunity to apply for the grants with three winners being chosen.
“We are delighted to provide licensing grants to these very deserving departments to help put critical information in the hands of their firefighters in the first crucial minutes of an incident,” said Program Administrator Jodi Wallace.
The Piggott Volunteer Fire Department’s 21-member squad was recognized by one member of the community, stating “Piggott firefighters are hardworking people with many other commitments and obligations in their lives. They still dedicate many hours a week to drill and emergency response, as well as to help our community.”
A resident of Prince Frederick, MD, nominated the 99-member Prince Frederick Fire Department, commenting, “This department has always gone above and beyond the call of duty. From rescuing animals and assisting the elderly to saving lives and protecting property. Truly my definition of heroes!”
The Elk Ridge Volunteer Fire Department was faced with the total evacuation of their town in September 2018, when a wildfire that started in the Mount Nebo Wilderness spread into town. As one resident noted in their nomination, “ERVD worked tirelessly and non-stop for 14 days to save our little community from being ravaged by fire. They slept in people's yards and driveways to protect homes while we were evacuated. For being a volunteer team from a tiny community, giving up was never an option.”
The Rover Incident Response Platform works with a fire department’s dispatch system to send alerts to the mobile device carried by first responders. The Rover Platform provides access to information that tracks responding firefighters, and visually identifies hazards, hydrants and water sources. Rover is currently used by over 25,000 first responders at 500 agencies in the United States, Canada and Australia.
For more information on the Rover Platform, visit spotteddogtech.com. For more on the Spot-a-Hero awards program, visit learyfirefighters.org.
This Month in Fire History
March 1, 1911—The Weeks Act authorizes federal and state cooperation in forest fire protection
March 5, 1770, Boston, MA—A false alarm leads to confrontations that result in the Boston Massacre
March 10, 1941, Brockton, MA—The Strand Theater fire roof collapse kills 13 firefighters
March 17, 1631, Cambridge, MA—The first fire prevention legislation passed
March 18, 1996, Chesapeake, VA—Advanced Auto Parts fire kills 2 firefighters
March 19, 1896, New York, NY—Insurance groups form a committee to design what will become the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
March 22, 2018, York, PA—Piano warehouse collapse kills 2 firefighters
March 24, 2018, Kanawha County, WV—Apparatus crash kills 2 volunteer firefighters
March 25, 1911, New York, NY—The Triangle Shirtwaist fire kills 145
March 25, 1990, New York, NY—The Happy Land Social Club fire kills 87
Courtesy of NFPA
