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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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FEMA Urges Caution When Using Portable Generators USFA Releases Two Topical Reports on Fire Department Runs Massachusetts Announces New Statewide Emergency Communication Plan Secretary Cites Progress Made in 2007, Sets Priorities for 2008 Legislative Victory: Congress Passes Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act NVFC Mourns Loss of Missouri Director
FEMA Urges Caution When Using Portable Generators WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has joined with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in issuing a warning to consumers confronted by the recent winter weather. When there’s a power outage, exercise caution when using portable generators. Carbon monoxide (CO) is an invisible killer. You can’t see or smell it. A generator’s exhaust contains poisonous CO which can kill you in a matter of minutes. Last year, at least 65 people died from generator-related CO poisoning. Many of the deaths occurred after winter storms knocked out power. Follow these important generator safety tips: Never use a portable generator inside a home, garage, shed or other partially enclosed space, even if doors and windows are open. FEMA and CPSC also caution people to never use charcoal for cooking in the home. Every year individuals lose their lives attempting to cook with charcoal when power is out. Charcoal fires should only be used outside of the home. For more information, please visit these pages on the CPSC and U.S. Fire Administration Web sites: Generator Danger Warning Source: FEMA USFA Releases Two Topical Reports on Fire Department Runs Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has issued two special reports, part of its Topical Fire Report Series, examining fire department responses to all types of emergency situations. In addition to fighting fires, fire departments respond to emergency medical service (EMS) calls; technical rescues; explosions; hazardous threats and conditions; natural disasters, and false alarms. Fire departments are also called upon to respond to a wide variety of non-emergency situations. “Throughout the history of our nation, fire departments have, and continue to provide the necessary response and services to the communities they protect,” said U.S. Fire Administrator Greg Cade. “In today’s community and emergency environment, fire protection is only one of the many functions of a fire department. As in the past, today’s firefighters are trained to handle all types of incidents, including EMS and will continue to prepare themselves for all types of emergencies, threats and vulnerabilities in the future.” The two reports, the Fire Department Overall Run Profile and the Fire Department Fire Run Profile were developed by the National Fire Data Center, part of USFA. To understand the full role fire departments play in a community, these reports explore fire department run activity as reflected in the 2004 National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) data. The Fire Department Overall Run Profile looks at all types of fire department runs or calls including fire, whereas the focus of the Fire Department Fire Run Profile is strictly fire. Fifty-five percent of department responses require EMS and rescue services. False alarms account for 12 percent of all fire department runs, followed closely by good intent calls at 10 percent. About eight percent of all calls actually involve fire. Forty-two percent of all fire runs are to incidents involving structures, followed by outside fires at 35 percent. The short topical reports are designed to explore facets of the U.S. fire problem as depicted through data collected in NFIRS. Each topical report briefly addresses the nature of the specific fire or fire-related topic, highlights important findings from the data, and may suggest other resources to consider for further information. Copies of the reports can be downloaded at: http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/statistics/reports/index.shtm Source: DHS Massachusetts Announces New Statewide Emergency Communication Plan Like many other states, officials in various Massachusetts towns and cities tend to spend their emergency response grant dollars as they see fit. But now the state’s government has announced a new plan that aims to pool those resources to improve state and local first responder communication during a crisis. According to the Associated Press, the new plan will see the state spend its funding in a more coordinated fashion. AP says state officials have submitted the plan, called the Statewide Communications Interoperability Plan, to the US Department of Commerce. If the department approves the plan, AP says Massachusetts will receive up to $21 million dollars in federal grants to implement the plan. Under the initiative, emergency planning and public safety efforts will be coordinated across jurisdictions statewide. Secretary of Public Safety and Security Kevin Burke told AP the plan will ensure first responders have the training and resources they need to save lives. To read the full article, click here: Source: Disaster Resource Guide Secretary Cites Progress Made in 2007, Sets Priorities for 2008 In a year-end speech on Wednesday, Secretary Chertoff called 2007 a year of “tremendous progress and maturation” for the department and set out a number of priorities that DHS will pursue in the year ahead. The secretary made his speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., where he was introduced by the center’s president and the vice-chair of the 9/11 Commission Lee Hamilton. In his speech, the secretary recounted the numerous accomplishments by the department in pursuit of the five goals he set out for the department last year. These include: protect the nation from dangerous people, protect the nation from dangerous goods, protect critical infrastructure, build a nimble and effective emergency response system and culture of preparedness, and strengthen and unify DHS operations and management. A Fact Sheet summarizing the department’s accomplishments is available at: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1197477138027.shtm. The secretary noted that, while there we no successful terrorist attacks on the homeland in 2007, there were serious threats, including the plots against Fort Dix in New Jersey and JFK Airport in New York. “These plots were disrupted by our partners and ourselves through sound intelligence, including, in one case, information provided by an alert citizen in New Jersey, and all by working in partnership at the federal, state, and local level, and with the private sector.” For 2008, the secretary set out the following four priorities:
“As I enter my last year as secretary, I can tell you I will give you my all, and it is my promise and my intent to turn over to my successor, when a new administration comes along, a department that has fulfilled the promise and is a mature agency—with more work to do, but a firm foundation on which to build,” he said. The secretary’s complete remarks are available at: http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/sp_1197513975365.shtm. Source: DHS Legislative Victory: Congress Passes Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act Earlier today, the United States House of Representatives passed the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA), prohibiting the federal government from taxing benefits provided to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel by state and local units of government. VRIPA, which was one of the National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) top legislative priorities in 2007, passed the Senate last week as part of H.R. 3648 and is now headed to the President for signature. Communities across the country provide various types of benefits to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel as a recruitment and retention tool. On October 17, the NVFC testified before the House Ways and Means Committee about the need to protect these benefits from being taxed as income. "Federal taxation of volunteer first responder benefits has several effects," said John McAuliffe, NVFC Connecticut State Director, during the testimony. "The most obvious is to reduce the value of the benefit to the volunteer. Additionally, small communities with severely limited resources often find the administrative and legal burdens associated with processing tax documents for volunteer emergency responders overwhelming. Passage of VRIPA would address both of these issues and enhance the ability of communities to recruit and retain volunteer emergency responders." The language that passed in H.R. 3648 exempts all tax benefits provided by state and local units of government to volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel from taxation by the federal government. Additionally, the first $360 per year of any other type of benefit that a volunteer receives would be exempted from taxation. VRIPA originally passed the House of Representatives on November 6, as part of H.R. 3997. Then last week, the Senate inserted the VRIPA language into H.R. 3648, which passed in the Senate on December 14. All throughout this process, the NVFC has been contacting U.S. Senators and Representatives to advocate passage of the provision and asking our members to do the same. "I’m very pleased to announce the passage of the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act," said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. "This is a tremendous benefit for volunteer emergency responders and the communities that rely on their service. The NVFC will continue to work to ensure that the President signs VRIPA into law and to see that it is implemented properly by the federal government." For more information on VRIPA and other NVFC legislative priorities, visit the NVFC web site at www.nvfc.org. Source: NVFC NVFC Mourns Loss of Missouri Director The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) mourns the loss of longtime Board member Philip Sayer. He passed away on December 14 after a long and valiant battle with cancer. "We have lost a truly extraordinary member of the fire service community," said Philip C. Stittleburg, Chairman of the NVFC. "Phil Sayer made a difference not only in his community, but also in his state and across the nation. His service and his memory will live on through the great things he accomplished." Chief Sayer served as a volunteer fire chief for over 40 years, beginning when the Galt (MO) Fire Department was established in 1965. The Department relied solely on various fundraising activities and donations until 1993 when Chief Sayer led an initiative to create a tax-supported district, which passed by an overwhelming majority. The Galt Fire Department then became known as the Galt Fire Protection District. His commitment to the fire service led Chief Sayer to take an active role in numerous local, state, and national emergency service organizations. He was on the Board of Directors of the Firefighters Association of Missouri for over 30 years, served as an instructor for the Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute as well as helped develop curriculum, was appointed by late Missouri Governor Carnahan to the Fire Education Commission, served on the Board of the Missouri Association of Fire Districts, was the Missouri statewide Mutual Aid Coordinator and the Missouri Fire and Rescue Regional Coordinator, chaired the Grundy County 911 Board, and was an influential member of the Missouri Fire Service Alliance. Chief Sayer became the NVFC’s Missouri Director in 1979 and rose to become one of the most respected and trusted leaders of the organization. He was elected to the NVFC’s Executive Committee in 1995 and represented the Council on the NFPA 1021 Committee, Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications. In 2003, he received the NVFC Firefighter of the Year Award in honor of his outstanding achievements and distinguished service and dedication to the volunteer fire service. In addition, Chief Sayer was one of the main catalysts in the establishment, construction, and dedication of the Missouri State Firefighters Memorial, which was dedicated in 2002. The Firefighters Association of Missouri recognized his commitment and excellence by awarding him their 2003 Fire Chief of the Year Award. Chief Sayer leaves behind his wife, Roberta, and their children. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Firefighters Association of Missouri Memorial Foundation. More information on the Foundation is available at http://ffam.org/memorialfoundation.htm, or send donations to: 503 E. Nifong Blvd., Suite 1 Source: Disaster Resource Guide The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatalities: Name: Alphonse Vincent Germano, Jr. Rank: First Assistant Chief Age: 60 Gender: Male Status: Career Years of Service: 18+ Date of Incident: 12/15/2007 Time of Incident: 1112hrs Date of Death: 12/15/2007 Address: 116 E. Second Ave, Derry, PA 15627-1202 Fire Department Chief: William Woods Name: Donald Wallis Rank: Firefighter Age: 68 Gender: Male Status: Volunteer Years of Service: 50 Date of Incident: 12/08/2007 Time of Incident: 1741hrs Date of Death: 12/16/2007
Fire Department: Forked River Volunteer Fire Company Address: Parker Avenue and Oak Street, Forked River, NJ 08731 Fire Department Chief: Kevin Flynn
Incident Description: On Saturday December 8, 2007 at 1700 hours, Fire Chief Kevin Flynn had the Forked River Fire Company (Station 60) dispatched to respond to their building for a holiday special detail that also promotes important community fire prevention, fire department recruiting, retention, and fund raising. At 1741 hours, Firefighter Donald Wallis suffered a massive heart attack while on-duty performing his duties at the special detail. EMS and Paramedics were requested and arrived on location at 1755 hours. Firefighter Wallis was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River NJ where he was admitted into the critical care unit. Firefighter Wallis was not able to recover from his heart attack and expired on 12/16/2007 at 0852 hours.
Funeral Arrangements: The viewing will be held at the Riggs Funeral Home located at 130 Route 9 North, Forked River section of Lacey Township NJ on Wednesday December 19, 2007 and Thursday December 20, 2007 from 2pm to 4pm and 7pm to 9pm. A firemen’s service will be held on Thursday December 20, 2007 at 8pm. The Funeral will begin at 10 am on Friday December 21, 2007 at the Riggs Funeral Home. Burial will follow at the Good Luck Cemetery in Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey township.
Memorial Fund Contact and Address: None provided.
Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Donald Wallis at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/ Source: USFA |
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