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Governmental Affairs Committee |
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US FIRE GRANT SUPPORT GAC Resources For GAC documents, announcements, and information please click here to visit the microsite. Home Day 2007 Toolkit To download the Home Day 2007 Upcoming Events
HELP THE GAC!
Dear FAMA/FEMSA member: In January, you received an e-mail from the FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) asking you to complete a survey that will help the GAC and its consultants learn what congressional relationships FAMA/FEMSA member companies have established. This information is essential to the GAC’s work to increase FAMA/FEMSA’s dialogue with federal government agencies in an effort to educate key officials on the important role our industry plays in providing equipment and services to the nation’s first responders. To help us enhance these efforts, we once again ask you to take a few moments to complete the enclosed survey. Specifically, this survey will help the GAC compile a comprehensive list of FAMA/FEMSA members’ locations and the congressional senators and representatives for those locations, an important step in establishing an educational network with the members of Congress and the administration. Please note that the survey can be conveniently completed online here. We also ask that the survey be completed as soon as possible. We have tried to keep this survey as simple and straightforward as possible. We thank you in advance for your assistance in this important effort. Sincerely, FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee
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Scientists Create Emergency Response Computer System It's Not Too Late! S&T Pursues Technologies for Fire Defense DHS Officials Address Annual Industry Day Event FEMA Director Says Credentialing Standard for Federal Responders Well Under way House Passes Tax Relief For Volunteer Firefighters and EMS Personnel
Scientists Create Emergency Response Computer System Researchers at Princeton University say the university’s scientists have created a computer architecture that enables first responders to securely transmit information to one another in emergencies. According to an article on the EMSResponder.com website, the system – which researchers call a transient-trust – prevents the information from being intercepted by others and access stops as soon as the recipient no longer has need for it. What kind of data will the system transmit? The article says it could include things such as floor plans of a building, medical information about occupants or satellite maps of a given area. The researchers, led by Professor Ruby Lee, say the architecture allows the transmission of sensitive information during such instances as natural disasters, fires or terrorist attacks. To read the full article, click here: link
Source: Disaster Resource Guide It's Not Too Late! There is still time to submit an application for the Department of Homeland Security, FY 07 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants! Applications for these grants must be received by November 30, 2007, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Fire Prevention and Safety Grants are competitive. Projects can include arson prevention, sprinkler awareness, smoke alarm installation, burn prevention and fire prevention public education. Grant writing technical assistance is available, including an online tutorial at www.firegrantsupport.com. The tutorial will provide you with valuable grant information and will walk you through the preparation and submittal of competitive applications. In addition, the applicant tutorial will provide an overview of the funding priorities and evaluation criteria. Applicants who have questions regarding the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants opportunity should call the help desk at 1-866-274-0960 or send an email to firegrants@dhs.gov. During the application period, the help desk will operate Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (eastern time), but is prepared to revise hours of operation based on call volume, demand and holidays. The AFG Program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Grants Program Directorate in coordination with the U.S. Fire Administration. FY07 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants Program Guidance – visit www.firegrantsupport.com/fps/guidance/. FY07 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants FAQs – visit
Source: FEMA S&T Pursues Technologies for Fire Defense In response to the California wildfires, the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate has launched a research effort to develop new tools and methods that can be used to fight similar fires in the future. The effort, called Project SAFE (Secure Against Fires and Embers), is coordinating expertise at the DHS and National Laboratories to devise technologies that can help control wildfires and assist first responders in limiting wildfire damage. Project SAFE is a partnership among S&T’s Infrastructure and Geophysical Division, and its Office of National Laboratories and TechSolutions Program. To begin the process, S&T held a video teleconference late last month with the labs to generate ideas and share existing capabilities. Then, in a fact-finding mission, an S&T delegation met with state and federal officials in California, including those at the Multi-Agency Coordinating Center in Riverside. They also toured the site of the Santiago fire in Orange County, and met with incident commanders who battled the blaze. “We needed to hear directly from the coordinators about the challenges they faced,” said Dr. John Clarke of the National Laboratory Task Force for Project SAFE. “We saw first-hand what they were up against.” Information gathered during the visit, Clarke said, will help to identify problems and corresponding technology needs, which the labs can pursue. For example, the labs will seek technology to address situations like the Santiago fire, which once moved three miles in just 20 minutes and involved the coordination of approximately 2,000 firefighters. Meanwhile, the Homeland Security Institute, which is managed by S&T, has begun a comprehensive survey of applicable firefighting technologies. The survey will be based on open sources and interviews with subject matter experts. More information is available at: http://www.homelandsecurity.org/snapshots/newsletter/2007-10.htm
Source: DHS DHS Officials Address Annual Industry Day Event Undersecretary for Management and Acting Deputy Secretary Paul Schneider, along with other DHS officials, addressed the annual DHS Industry Day event hosted by the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer last week, telling the 600-plus attendees that DHS is seeking to better align itself with industry so that the department can successfully carry out its missions and meet its goals. “Our challenge is to ensure the safety of our country while at the same time allowing our country to continue to grow and prosper,” Schneider said at the event, which was held at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C. Schneider noted that the department is making strides in addressing its top priorities, and that it looks to industry to help it continue making progress. “We have a dedicated team of professionals at the department, and we view you as part of the team to help us get the job done,” he said. Deputy Under Secretary for Management Elaine Duke and Chief Financial Officer David Norquist also addressed the conference. Duke said that, as the department matures, it will use more evaluation tools and methods to see how effective programs are in meeting their objectives. “We want to ensure that we receive value for the dollars we are spending,” she said. In his remarks, Norquist said that the department’s FY 2008 budget picture remains cloudy at the moment because Congress has not yet enacted a formal appropriations bill. But he added that the president’s budget request is higher than FY 2007 and both houses of Congress have approved increases for FY 2008. “This shows the strong support that exists for the department’s mission,” he said. A large number of the Industry Day attendees represented small and disadvantaged businesses. Kevin Boshears, Director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, said that despite their size, small businesses are big business to DHS, and the department values their expertise in carrying out its mission. Following Boshears’ comments, a number of panel discussions took place focusing on the different procurement and acquisition needs of various DHS components, offices, and programs. More information about Industry Day, including an archived Web cast of the event, is available at: https://www.fbcinc.com/dhsindustryday/default.aspx.
Source: DHS FEMA Director Says Credentialing Standard for Federal Responders Well Under way The director of FEMA’s Office of Policy and Program Analysis, Marko Bourne, told a House subcommittee that FEMA “is making great strides in developing a credentialing and typing standard for use by responders across jurisdictions.” Title IV of the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act directs FEMA to set standards for credentialing federal personnel who are likely to respond to natural or man-made disasters and acts of terrorism. In testimony last week before the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response, Bourne said, “The program plan we have outlined puts FEMA in a position to meet the objectives and milestones of Title IV of the 9/11 Act, and promotes mutual aid and standardized multi-jurisdictional interoperability.” The milestones he mentioned will be met over the next several months. Bourne said FEMA is developing a common credential standard by gathering information from the National Incident Management System, National Response Framework, National Infrastructure Protection Plan, National Emergency Management Association, National Fire Protection Association, Emergency Management Accreditation Program, and the American National Standards Institute.
Source: DHS House Passes Tax Relief For Volunteer Firefighters and EMS Personnel On November 6, the United States House of Representatives passed the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act, which excludes from taxable income all property tax benefits and up to $360 per year of any other benefit paid to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel by state and local units of government. According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, passage of the HEART Act (H.R. 3997) will result in $994 million in tax savings for volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel over the next 10 years.
Source: NVFC
The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatalities: Name: Stanley Engdahl Rank: Fire Chief Age: 78 Gender: Male Status: Volunteer Years of Service: Unk Date of Incident: 11/12/2007 Time of Incident: 1549hrs Date of Death: 11/12/2007 Address: 428 N Washington ST., PO Box 68, Marquette, KS 67464-0068 Telephone: (785) 546-2403 Fire Department Chief: Pending Name: Ronny A. Bennett Rank: Fire Chief Age: 39 Gender: Male Status: Volunteer Years of Service: 23 Date of Incident: 11/13/2007 Time of Incident: 2241hrs Date of Death: 11/13/2007
Fire Department: Orcutt Fire Protection District Address: 335 Union Ave., PO Box 2525, Orcutt, CA 93457 Fire Department Chief: Acting Fire Chief Brett Pickett Incident Description: Orcutt Fire District received a medical call 11/13/2007 @ 2241 hours. Fire Chief Bennett was paged at his residence, but apparently while preparing to depart he suffered a heart attack. Bennett was found at his residence deceased the following day (1809hrs) by fire department personnel. Funeral Arrangements: 11/20/2007 @ 1000hrs. Pacific Christian Church, Santa Maria, CA. Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Rabobank, PO Box 6002, Arroyo Grande, CA 93421, (805) 937-2028 Tribute is being paid to Fire Chief Ronny A. Bennett at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/ Name: Michael J. Tluscik Rank: Senior Firefighter Age: 48 Gender: Male Status: Career Years of Service: 15 Date of Incident: 11/21/2007 Time of Incident: 1201hrs Date of Death: 11/21/2007 Fire Department Website: http://www.wycokck.org/dept.aspx?id=438&menu_id=956 Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending Tribute is being paid to Senior Firefighter Michael J. Tluscik at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/
Source: USFA |
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