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 MEMBER NEWSBy City of Pearland Fire Chief Vance Riley Here are some highlights from the IAFC board meeting held last Friday. • The IAFC SWD Annual Conference will be held Sept. 22-25 in Ruidoso, New Mexico. For most people, the best route will be to fly to El Paso and then drive two hours to Ruidoso. The board is looking for a way to get continuing-education credit for the conference and mentioned TEEX. • The board also determined that the 2023 conference will be held in Louisiana, while the 2024 conference will take place in Texas. • The Board expressed its appreciation for possible booth space in Waco but, regrettably, must decline due to lack of staffing for the booth. • Everything is approved for TFCA to share the booth with the IAFC SWD at Fire-Rescue International this year. More details on this to come. As always, thank you for the honor of serving as your TFCA rep to the IAFC SWD board. If you have any questions, please contact Vance Riley at 281-997-5852.
UPCOMING EVENTS
2022 Spring Academy – Grapevine
Longview Sugar Land Stay tuned for updated links to register.
Please join us in supporting the Special Olympics with the first-ever Fire Truck Pull in Prosper at Children’s Health Stadium on April 9. This will be a very fun event for a great cause! Click "Learn more" below for more information.
 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.  
INDUSTRY NEWS
To all my brothers and sisters, Recently, the Copperas Cove Fire Department suffered the loss of a damn fine firefighter, Michael McGuire, to a job related illness. Since then, we have received many letters, emails and calls sending condolences to my crews and I from departments across the country. I just wanted to say those did not go unnoticed. We read them all and then presented them all to his surviving three sons. On behalf of me, my crews and the McGuire family, we want to thank you for the caring and support. You continue to demonstrate the strength and bond of our brotherhood. Thank you. God bless and be safe, Chief Neujahr
In light of enhanced potential for Russian cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure and private businesses in the United States, Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), directing both agencies to use every available resource to safeguard the state’s critical infrastructure and to assist local governments and school districts in Texas with their needs. The Governor outlined critical actions that must be taken by DIR and DPS: • Enhance Texas’ cyber security through the use of best industry practices and other key measures. • Ensure Texas can quickly detect a potential cyber intrusion through the use of software services, such as antivirus and endpoint detection and response technologies. • Prepare for an intrusion by utilizing a cyber incident response team. • Maximize the state’s resilience to a destructive cyber incident. • Track and report any attacks from Russian sources so the public is fully aware of their tactics. "Protecting the state of Texas from cyber threats during this time of Russian aggression is paramount," reads the letter. "Over the past year, the State has taken significant strides to bolster its cybersecurity defenses. To further protect Texans from potential cybersecurity threats, I am directing you to use every available resource to safeguard the state’s critical infrastructure and to assist local governments and school districts with their needs.” Click "Learn more" below to read the governor's full letter.
TEXAS STATE NEWSLake Cities Sun City Manager Bob Hart announced the selection of Chad Thiessen as the new Fire Chief of the Lake Cities Fire Department. Chief Thiessen has been with the Lake Cities Fire Department for 28 years and will lead the 53-member team that provides fire and emergency medical services to Corinth, Lake Dallas, Hickory Creek and Shady Shores. “Chief Thiessen has been a tremendous representative of our community and the fire department," said Hart. "He has displayed unwavering loyalty to this department and truly embodies what it means to be a servant leader. His values, professional experience and enthusiasm will allow him to successfully lead the department and further develop the community partnerships in the coming years.”
KDFW FOX 4 News Three Dallas firefighters who were seriously injured during an Oak Cliff apartment explosion in 2021 are now suing multiple entities. The September explosion was blamed on a gas leak caused by a man who shot into an apartment unit at the Highland Hills Apartments. The suit is against the apartment complex, its management companies and Atmos Energy. According to the lawsuit, the Texas Railroad Commission found the complex failed to meet federal and state standards in multiple areas. "Their injuries from the explosion are permanent, but they were preventable," said attorney Brant J. Stogner. Attorneys argue that while the bullet may have started the leak, they also blame negligence.
Click2Houston.com On Feb. 24, 2011, four children died after they were left alone at an Alief home daycare and the house caught fire while their caregiver shopped at a nearby store. Elias Castillo, 16 months, Shomari Dickerson, 3, Elizabeth Kojah, 20 months, and Kendyll Stradford, 20 months, all died in the fire. Three other children were seriously injured. The home caught fire when Jessica Tata — Jackie’s Child Care owner — left the house to shop at Target while a pan of grease cooked on the stove. Surveillance cameras at a Target captured images of Tata shopping at the store when the fire started. When she got home to Crest Park near Waypark shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2011, the house was on fire. Tata reportedly fled to Nigeria in the wake of the fire but was captured after about a month, returned to the U.S. in March 2011 and has remained jailed since. She was born in the U.S. but has Nigerian citizenship.
KETK NBC and FOX51 The Tyler City Council approved the Tyler Fire Department to apply for and accept grants collectively totaling $49,993.50. The fire department will pursue the grant funding through the Office of the Texas Governor’s Homeland Security Grant Division and grant funding through the state homeland security program managed by the East Texas Council Governments (ETCOG). The grant funds would help TFD be able to purchase a remote control robot for the departments’ Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Regional Response Team. “This additional piece of equipment will assist in safe identification, the rendering safe of unexploded ordnance (UXO’s) and improvised explosive devices (IEDs),” said Fire Chief David Coble. “At this time our bomb team is fully accredited, operational, and has already made several calls that fall within our response area.” The grant would also fund and support the EOD to service 14 counties in the ETCOG region. The team will also respond to additional areas at the request of other governmental agencies and the State of Texas as needed.
TML NEWSLast week, the governor ordered a special election to be held on May 7, 2022, for two constitutional amendments passed by the legislature during the 2021 special sessions. Proposition Number 1 The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the reduction of the amount of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year in the maximum compressed rate of the maintenance and operations taxes imposed for those purposes on the homestead. Proposition Number 2 The constitutional amendment increases the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $25,000 to $40,000. One point of interest for Texas cities: Under state law, county election administrators may refuse to provide election services by contract to cities and other political subdivisions for the May uniform election date in an even-numbered year due to the proximity of the May election to the primary runoff date and complications with providing sufficient election resources. However, because every county will be conducting May elections on the two above propositions, counties will likely be more amenable to assisting other political subdivisions on this date. In recognition of the unique situation in May 2022, the secretary of state is strongly recommending that counties contract with political subdivisions to ensure uniform polling places for votes in May 2022.
In 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 News section of this newsletter regarding resources for Texas cities on how to access IIJA funding for local infrastructure projects.
The White House recently launched its “Infrastructure School,” which is a series of webinars that go into detail on IIJA programs using the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Guidebook as a reference. The March Infrastructure School calendar of webinars is as follows (all times are 3-4 p.m. CST): • March 3 – Roads, Bridges and Major Projects • March 8 – Transportation Safety • March 10 – Clean Energy and Power • March 15 – Water • March 17 – Resilience • March 22 – Environmental Remediation • March 24 – Broadband Links to register for these upcoming events were unavailable at the time of publication and will be provided as they become available in the future. Click "Learn more" below for more information.
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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