Saturday, November 21, 2009

King Reintroduces Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Act 

U.S. Rep. Peter King recently reintroduced the Volunteer Emergency Services Recruitment and Retention Act, a bill that would clarify the treatment of length-of-service award programs in the federal tax code....

Public Safety Workers Closer to Collective Bargaining 

By a bipartisan vote of 42–1, the House Education and Labor Committee has approved legislation to guarantee the rights of firefighters, police officers, and EMS workers in all 50 states to collectively bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions.  ...

USFA, NVFC Update Recruitment & Retention Guide 

The U.S. Fire Administration, in partnership with the National Volunteer Fire Council, has released an in-depth guide on two of the biggest challenges facing the volunteer fire and emergency services: retention and recruitment. The guide outlines proven solutions to overcome these challenges to retention and recruitment of volunteer first responders....

IFE-US to Host Forum at FRI 

The U.S. Branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers is hosting an International Forum at Fire-Rescue International on Thursday, Aug. 24. Fire-Rescue International attendees will have a first-person look at some solutions being used in other fire service organizations as they address the common enemy of fire. ...

NVFC Asks Congress to Authorize Corps 

National Volunteer Fire Council Chairman and La Farge (Wis.) Fire Department Chief Philip C. Stittleburg testified on June 13 before the House Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response. Stittleburg’s testimony focused on the Fire Corps program...

FEMA Awards $1 Million in Fire-Prevention Grants 

FEMA awarded 25 grants totaling over $1.2 million to fire departments and fire prevention organizations....

House Passes Volunteer Job Protection Bill 

The amendment would grant job security to volunteer firefighters and EMTs responding to a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency for up to 14 days per calendar year. ...

FIRE Grant Applications Due Friday 

The Assistance to Firefighters Grant program office is reminding fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical organizations that the FY 2007 FIRE Grant application period will end at 5 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 4. ...

CHEMTREC Rolls Out Response Network 

Douglas Page, Correspondent

Last August, rail giant CSX Transportation and CHEMTREC, the 24-hour emergency call center, launched an effort to improve the information provided to...

Look Beyond Buildings in Preplanning Process 

By Ronny J. Coleman

Social vulnerability is behaviorally driven and every bit as important to the fire department planning process as the structural conditions in a response area....

Plan to Enact 

By Buddy Dewar

Communities understand the benefits of residential fire sprinklers, but these resources will help you get them to accept the costs. ...

Credibility Check 

By Cliff Jones

The work that’s expected from the self-assessment process will go a long way toward proving your agency’s worth. ...

To Die For 

By Brian A. Crawford

To discover why firefighters feel a duty to die, look beyond the obvious....

A New Breed 

By Janet Wilmoth

Fire chiefs of this new breed are more likely to run their departments like a business rather than a typical government agency....

Firefighting Near Top of Job Satisfaction Survey 

Firefighting ranked second in the overall occupations for satisfaction, with 80% of firefighters responding that they were "very satisfied." ...

Volunteer Job Protection Act Introduced 

The Volunteer Firefighter and EMS Personnel Job Protection Act of 2007 (H.R. 1643) would provide up to 14 days per calendar year of job protection for volunteer emergency services personnel who respond to a presidentially declared disaster in an official capacity. ...

Culture Can Prevent Firehouse Explosions 

By Ronny J. Coleman

The fire service has been characterized as a brotherhood and later as a family, but some of the acts being committed within firehouse culture are nothing less than brutal and anything but familial....

At Your Discretion 

Fire service leaders have a responsibility to guard the safety of firefighters. Failure of that duty can mean legal trouble, says attorney Jim Juneau. ...

Hearing Aids May Not Meet Safety Standards 

By Philip Stittleburg

The firefighter applicant’s employment discrimination claim alleged handicap discrimination, contending that the division should have allowed him to meet the hearing standards with his hearing aids....

We Heard You! 

By Janet Wilmoth, Editorial Director

Chief Sam Chapman of Goose Creek, S.C., wanted more information about training rooms in fire stations and how "not to build an ugly station." Tom Neary of the Mill Creek (Del.) Volunteer Fire Company wanted us to change the location of the conference each year and to tour different fire stations, while many others attending our Station Style Conference last year wanted the pre-conference session broken up into "starting from scratch" and "beginning construction" sessions for more individual time with architects....

Fire Service Leaders Testify Before Appropriations Subcommittee 

The purpose of the hearing was to discuss the federal government’s role in the preparing for disasters and was a first step in appropriating DHS funding. ...

NVFC Testifies on Homeland Security Before House Subcommittee 

Cherryville (N.C.) Fire Chief Jeff Cash, a member of the National Volunteer Fire Council Executive Committee and NVFC North Carolina state director, testified earlier this month before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security at a hearing on disaster preparation. Cash's testimony focused on issues of particular concern to the volunteer fire service. ...

USFA Takes Lead at DHS Fire Desk 

In his latest edition of Chief's Corner, Acting U.S. Fire Administrator Charlie Dickinson notes that the U.S. Fire Administration has been designated as the lead agency for staffing the newly created Fire Desk at the Department of Homeland Security National Operations Center. ...

Senate Holds Cade Nomination Hearing 

Cade said that his priorities as U.S. fire administrator would be to provide firefighter training throughout the states, to improve data collection and analysis at USFA and to improve training and networking opportunities at the National Fire Academy. ...

FEMA's 2008 Budget Cuts Back on FIRE Grants 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has released its FY 2008 budget request, which increases funding for the U.S. Fire Administration while reducing the amount of money available for the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program....