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 UPCOMING EVENTSEach summer, thousands of the most prominent fire and emergency service leaders from across North America and around the globe come to Fire-Rescue International to learn, network and collaborate together. FRI education covers all areas of the emergency service: • Navigating the political environment • Managing change • Ethical leadership • EMS issues • Career development FRI attracts hundreds of exhibitors to showcase the newest fire service innovations in apparatus, technology, equipment, gear and more. If you're a fire/EMS chief, chief officer or company officer - this is YOUR conference for leadership education.
INDUSTRY NEWSSOURCE: Wildfire Today
Legislation was passed Friday by the House of Representatives that would benefit increase pay and benefits wildland firefighters. The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act, H.R. 5118, is a conglomeration of several pieces of legislation and calls for the minimum basic pay for any Federal wildland firefighter position to be no less than the pay for a GS-6 Step 3, which is $42,946 a year ($21.29 an hour). With the House having narrowly passed the bill, it now goes to the Senate.
SOURCE: BANGOR DAILY NEWS One hundred years after “Old Engine One” first rolled into Caribou, the 1922 American LaFrance pumper is still the pride and joy of the city’s fire and EMS department. “It’s like a [time] capsule; it’s been part of this town for years,” said firefighter Adam Chartier. “My grandfather [Gus McCarthy] rode on that truck in the 1940s.” Though Caribou has gone through numerous engine trucks since Old Engine One retired in 1956, the truck has connected firefighters of multiple generations. Old Engine One has brought firefighters on their “last rides” after their deaths and is part of local family histories.
SOURCE: Liz Gold, KMGH-TV ABC 7 DENVER
Fire departments across the country are utilizing a variety of tactics to recruit more females. Efforts are happening at a boot camp in Boise, Idaho, a girl’s summer camp in Charlotte, North Carolina, and recruiting college athletes in Columbus, Ohio in the hopes of inspiring more women to careers in firefighting and EMS. However, longtime female leaders in fire service say it starts with department culture. “I think that if an organizational culture is not inclusive or is not welcoming and open to everybody, that can make a really tough atmosphere for any outsider to come in,” noted Amy Hanifan, president of the organization Women in Fire.
SOURCE: Abigail Brone, CT INSIDER
While it’s rare for an electric bus to burst into flames, one did exactly that last month at a Hamden bus depot. The National Transportation Safety Board, a federal agency that investigates significant transportation accidents, has joined the efforts to determine the exact cause of the fire. The fire, which destroyed one of CTtransit’s dozen electric buses, was the first of its kind for the state’s fleet. The rest of the electric fleet was pulled from service since then.
TEXAS STATE NEWSSOURCE: Allie Spillyards, KXAS-TV NBC 5 FORT WORTH 17 new wildfires swept across the state on Friday with 10 remaining active the following day. Since the start of the year, more than 6,900 wildfires have burned nearly 600,000 acres across Texas, giving fire crews little time to rest even as triple-digit heat makes their jobs even more dangerous. The Texas A&M Forest Service says this trend isn't expected to end any time soon. “It’s strenuous. Our crews are held to certain physical fitness standards. And then with these conditions, it's something that they take into consideration when fire managers are making their decisions on the fires,” she said spokeswoman Erin O’Conner.
SOURCE: Alex Cruz, William Joy (WFAA) According to Kaufman County officials, the suspect was pulling a burning trailer and "left a path of destruction" by sparking three separate fires. The fires led to the evacuation of 12 homes, and two sheds were destroyed. No one was injured. Firefighters from the city of Kaufman and volunteer crews from Crandall, Kemp, Scurry, Terrell, Mabank and College Mound responded to the scene along with the Texas A&M Forest Service. By 6 p.m. Sunday, the fires were out. Officials said the suspect unhitched the trailer on a bridge and drove away. Details on the suspect's vehicle are not yet available. Anyone who has information on the incident is asked to call the Kaufman County fire marshal at 469-376-4110.
SOURCE: Bob Hallmark, KLTV ABC 7 TYLER A fundraiser was held Saturday at Longview’s Roughneck Harley-Davidson for the newly-formed “Redemption Recovery Center.” Ken Danapas, a former East Texas firefighter, formed the organization to assist active and retired military and first responders with physical and mental health services. “It’s the idea that just because a vet or first responder is getting services, if they’re not finished and and all of the sudden their benefits run out, then where are they? That’s not okay. This is to see them through until they are done,” Danapas says.
SOURCE: Rusty Surette, KBTX-TV CBS 3 BRYAN Firefighters battled a pair of fires Sunday afternoon at Somerville Lake and gained quick control of the blaze before spreading into other areas on the southeast side of the lake. According to firefighters on the ground, the first fire was a flare-up from a previous fire that may have been started by lightning during a passing storm. It was four acres in size in Yegua Creek Park when crews arrived and it’s now up to seven acres in size just before 6 p.m. Sunday. “We will be doing a burnout operation to make it 12 - 16 acres to keep it contained. We have two hand crews, a dozer team, the Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens, and Corps of Engineers on it,” said Rock Creek Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Tim Hamff.
SOURCE: Andrea Aguilar, KFDX-TV NBC 3 WICHITA FALLS For the fifth year multiple families held a barbecue fundraiser for the Archer City Volunteer Fire Department on Sunday, July 31. The fundraiser was a donation-only meal held at the Archer City ISD cafeteria. The meal included slow-smoked brisket and all the fixings. All the money made will help the volunteer firefighters keep their equipment up to date. “We have so many friends that help us, the Howell family, they all know how to cut meat, and they help us every year; we could not do it without them and their wives,” event organizer Mandy Kinnaman said. “They always help up tremendously, and just, everybody comes together. We usually average about between 19 and 20 thousand [dollar] profit, so it’s a good turnout for them.
SOURCE: Erin Wides, KLTV ABC 7 TYLER A Saturday afternoon grass fire near Toler Road burned about eight acres, but its cause is not yet undetermined, according to Longview officials. Longview Fire Marshal Kevin May said the fire broke out around 2 p.m. off Toler Road near Gilmer Road and that trucks used to respond to grass fires were dispatched. They don’t carry a lot of water, so any time we do get in something like this, we’re having to do a lot of water shuttle,” May said. “Fight the fire for a little bit, then they go have to fill up and come back. The fire engines, the ladder trucks, they are not made for off road use like the grass trucks are.” “We can’t emphasize enough right now to people, just be careful. Obviously burning trash, burning stuff like that inside the city limits is against the law. But several of our fires that we have had have started from charcoal pits,” he said. “Either the hot coals falling out of the pit, or they’ve cleaned the pit out and went and dumped it along the fence road and then started a fire.”
TML NEWSThis week's update covers the following:
• Mandated Cybersecurity Training and Reporting Due August 31, • Federal Infrastructure Bill Update, • House and Senate Committee Interim Hearings, • Don't Forget: Resolutions for 2022 Annual Conference Due August 22.
TEEX NEWSFrom rookie to chief, outstanding leaders in the fire services community receive training through development programs and the annual Leadership Symposium. The Fire Service Chief Executive Officer Program is designed for executives within the fire service with modules taught by professors from the Mays Business School. At the annual Leadership Symposium, fire and EMS service leaders receive up-to-date information on leadership, management, safety, budgeting and other topics through sessions that meet continuing education requirements for Texas fire officer and EMS personnel. For those just starting out, the Texas Fire Officer Training Program utilizes the Fire Officer I, II, III, & IV courses, which meet NFPA 1021 training and certification requirements. After successfully learning to meet the challenges faced by both the Company and Command Officer, candidates are eligible for Pro Board NFPA 1021 testing and certification. Upcoming training will take place on the following dates: • Officer I - Oct. 3-7
• Officer II - Oct. 10-14 • Officer III - Oct. 17-21 • Officer IV - Oct. 24-28
FIRE LAW BLOG
In this episode of Fire Law Roundup for August 1, 2022, Brad and Curt discuss a gender discrimination suit by two chief officers in the Tulsa Fire Department; a ruling by the Texas Court of Appeals holding that backpay for wrongly suspended firefighters must be calculated on a week-by-week basis; the settlement of a discrimination suit by a firefighter in Portland, Oregon who was medically separated; a decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals holding that fire departments are not immune from suits for gross negligence; and the filing of a defamation suit in South Carolina by a former fire chief against the mayor who dismissed him.
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