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 MEMBER NEWS
UPCOMING EVENTS
2022 Spring Academy – Grapevine
San Marcos Longview Sugar Land Stay tuned for updated links to register.  Peer Assessor Training Program April 13 & 20 Distance learning webinar Click here for registration and additional information. Quality Improvement for the Fire and Emergency Services Workshops March 15-17 Three days, in person San Marcos Fire Department, San Marcos, CA Click here for registration and additional information. April 13-15 Grand Junction Fire Department, Grand Junction, CO Click here for registration and additional information. April 19-21 Marysville Fire District, Marysville, WA Click here for registration and additional information. May 2-4 Covington Fire Department, Covington, GA Click here for registration and additional information. May 24-26 Town of Cary Fire Department, Cary, NC Click here for registration and additional information. On-Demand Webinars and Resource Documents We encourage you to take the time to access these free resources in the CPSE University — Click here to view videos and download handouts. Available accreditation videos include the following: • Writing the Four-Part Answer — webinar explaining development of the four-part answer for the self-assessment manual. • Performance Statements — webinar explaining development of performance statements. • Creating a Strategic Plan — webinar explaining the creation of a community-driven strategic plan. • Developing Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives — webinar explaining how to develop effective goals and objectives for a strategic plan. • Tech Writing 101 — webinar providing an overview of the Advanced Technical Writing Certificate Program at George Mason. You can view this webinar here. Click "Learn more" below to go to the Center For Public Safety Excellence website.  
TEXAS STATE NEWS
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Patrick Brody, assistant fire chief of administration, has been appointed San Angelo Fire Department's interim fire chief. Brody has been in the fire service since 2001, serving all 21 of those years with the SAFD. He has been in his current position as assistant fire chief of administration for three years. A press release from the City of San Angelo said Brody holds a master certification in both structural and aircraft rescue firefighting. Brody is also a certified incident commander, hazardous material incident commander and incident safety officer. He and his wife, Kristy, have been married almost 25 years and have two sons, who are 17 and 18 years old. Current Fire Chief Brian Dunn will retire from the SAFD on Feb. 25, 2022.
Mac Hohenberger, the longtime fire chief of Denton County Emergency Services District No. 1 (formerly known as the Argyle Fire District), will be retiring this year. Hohenberger, 63, first joined the Argyle Fire District over 28 years ago as a volunteer firefighter/paramedic. He said he had had some volunteer firefighting experience from when he was younger and that he finally joined the district at the urging of a friend. “I had a friend who kept bugging me to death wanting me to come join the volunteer district, and I saw they were in desperate need of leadership,” said Hohenberger, who has had an auditing firm since he was 18. “They needed someone to get in there and straighten up the books. I was named treasurer almost immediately.” Hohenberger worked his way up to captain with AFD before being named fire chief in 1999. When he joined in the early 90s, there were only about 4,500 people living within the district’s boundaries in southern Denton County. Over time, the district’s coverage area expanded to cover Lantana and Northlake, and the population has boomed to about 43,000 people today. When Hohenberger started, the district was exclusively staffed by part-time employees and volunteers. But as the demands on the district have grown, so has the staff. The first full-time employee was hired in 1999, and now nearly all district employees are full-time as the district has added ambulance services and much more. “I know people don’t like taxes, but we’re definitely getting our dollar’s worth out of our ESD tax,” Hohenberger said. Hohenberger said the district is currently accepting applications for the fire chief position, with a new fire chief to be named in the spring. Hohenberger’s last day will be June 1. “It will be a very lucky person, whoever gets the job,” he said. “It’s a great group of firefighters. The discipline and the way they take care of themselves, you can’t find a better group of firefighters.” Hohenberger, who lives in Copper Canyon, said he and his wife will spend quite a bit of time traveling after he retires.
The McKinney Fire Department (MFD) is expanding its award-winning Community Healthcare Program by partnering with Molina Healthcare of Texas (Molina). The alliance is among the first-of-its-kind involving fire-based EMS. The Community Healthcare Program (CHP) bridges the gap between emergency care and seeing a primary care physician. Since 2013, the CHP has successfully helped more than 250 people stabilize their overall health so they do not need to rely on EMS for routine medical care. The program is part of the MFD’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare initiative, including the recently launched telemedicine program that connects some patients to ER physicians without a trip to the hospital. Click "Learn more" below to read the full press release.
By Elizabeth Howell, space.com A Cygnus cargo ship launching toward the International Space Station was slated to carry an experiment designed to improve fire safety on moon and Mars missions. Called SoFIE (Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction), the experiment is the latest in a series of in-orbit investigations that look at how fire behaves in microgravity. SoFIE is part of a larger haul of science, supplies and hardware flying on Northrop Grumman's Cygnus NG-17 resupply mission. Click "Learn more" below to view the full article.
By Jamey Boyum and KLTV Digital Media Staff (KLTV 7, ABC) A bond that would provide additional funding for Longview firefighter retirement pensions will go up for a vote in May. The Longview City Council voted on the measure during their Tuesday night meeting. Councilwoman Nona Snoddy and Councilman David Wright were not in attendance. However, all other attending council members were in favor of the bond. Click "Learn more" below to read the full article.
TCFP UPDATESThe minimum requirements to be on this committee include Structure certification as well as Instructor II. Applications are being accepted until March 2, and any question you may have can be sent via email to Candace Barnnett. Click "Learn more" below for more information and to view the application.
TML NEWSIn November 2021, the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) was signed into law. The IIJA is altogether a $1.2 trillion bill that will invest in the nation’s core infrastructure priorities, including roads, bridges, rail, transit, airports, ports, energy transmission, water systems and broadband. The League will monitor state and federal agencies and work with the National League of Cities (NLC) to access the latest information relating to the IIJA. We will be providing periodic updates in the Legislative Update on resources for Texas cities on how to access IIJA funding for local infrastructure projects.
The FHWA recently released program guidance on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, which is designed to help states create a network of electric vehicle charging stations along designated alternative fuel corridors.
The five-year funding total for Texas under the NEVI program is nearly $408 million, with over $60 million available for fiscal year 2022. Of interest, the program requires each state to submit a plan describing how the state will use NEVI funding. If the state fails to submit the plan, the Secretary of Transportation may withhold funds from the state and instead offer program funds on a competitive basis to local jurisdictions within the state for use on eligible projects. Click "Learn more" below for more information on the NEVI formula program.
The White House recently released its Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook. The guidebook is meant to serve as a roadmap for state and local governments to use to access funding from the more than 350 programs included in the IIJA. The guidebook has 13 chapters separated out by issue area and will be updated to reflect emerging details and dates for the different programs.
The White House also released this fact sheet for local governments to use to prepare for funding opportunities under the IIJA. Interested city officials can read more about the guidebook here and access additional information on the guidebook from NLC here. Click "Learn more" below to access a copy of the guidebook.
Senate Bill 809 passed in 2021, creating a requirement that health care institutions report to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on federal money received pursuant to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act, and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Included within the definition of health care institution in the bill is an emergency medical services provider. Under the new law, EMS providers are required to submit a report to HHSC on a monthly basis. Additionally, EMS providers were required to submit an initial report on federal funds received between Jan. 31, 2020 and Aug. 21, 2021. HHSC adopted rules implementing the new reporting requirements in November 2021, and the deadline for the initial report was Nov. 30, 2021. Monthly reports are due by the first day of each month and cover the time period two months prior. As of the date this article is being published, there are five reports due: initial (January 2020 – August 2021), September 2021, October 2021, November 2021, and December 2021. The January 2022 report is due March 1, 2022. City EMS providers that have not yet submitted these reports are encouraged to do so as soon as possible. Reports can be submitted using the following links: • Initial Report (January 2020 - August 2021) • Ongoing Monthly Based on the language of the new statute and rule, all EMS providers are required to complete these reports, even if the EMS provider received nothing from the listed federal sources. In that scenario, there is an option to enter an amount of zero on the reporting forms. More information on the new reporting requirement can be found on HHSC’s Provider Finance Department’s webpage (see links referencing S.B. 809). This information includes an FAQ and a list showing providers that haven’t submitted a report and those that HHSC staff is helping complete a report. Questions about the new reporting requirements can be directed to HHSC at ProviderFinanceDept@hhs.texas.gov. Click "Learn more" below for a complete text of the bill.
TEEX NEWSFIRE LAW BLOG
In this episode, Curt reviews a lawsuit filed by several Massachusetts firefighters that blames AFFF and PPE manufacturers for their cancers; a ruling in an overtime lawsuit in Reading, PA; a decision that a city does not have to provide a full evidentiary hearing to a terminated employee when the union refuses to process his grievance; the reinstatement of a Houston firefighter when the city failed to follow all the steps in its drug-testing policy; the filling of a gender harassment and discrimination suit, and several others that were beyond the blog. Click "Learn more" below to view this video.
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