Governmental Affairs Committee

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 Click Here

Upcoming Events

FAMA/FEMSA GAC Hill Day - September 27, 2007 - Washington, DC

	FEMSA Web Site
	FAMA Web Site
	Find Your Congressional Leaders

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,

Subscribe to the Fire Grant Data website Success Stories RSS (Real Simple Syndication) news feed. Click here.

Summary of 9/11 Bill

Deadline Extended for NVFC Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations

States Feel Left Out of Disaster Planning

USFA Releases 2006 Report on Firefighter Fatalities

Local fire equipment put on display for legislators:
Fire-rescue workers honored

National Firefighter Health Week

IAFC Announces 2007 Finalists for the Fire Service Award for Excellence

ONLY TEN DAYS REMAIN IN 2007 SAFER APPLICATION PERIOD

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatalities:

Summary of 9/11 Bill

On behalf of the FAMA/FEMSA GAC, attached is a summary of the 9/11 bill that was passed by Congress and signed by the President this month. The summary is provided by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and provides a brief but good overview of the provisions of the bill.

Summary of 9/11 Bill (.pdf)

Thank you,
Karen

Source: FAMA/FEMSA GAC

back to top

Deadline Extended for NVFC Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) has extended the deadline for the Lifetime Achievement Award to August 31. You still have time to nominate an outstanding volunteer firefighter for this prestigious national award.

Sponsored by Scott Health & Safety, the NVFC Lifetime Achievement Award annually honors an individual whose remarkable achievements in the volunteer fire service and community exemplifies outstanding performance. Nominated by their peers, the recipient is honored during a special Awards Banquet at the NVFC Fall Meeting and earns a place in history with the NVFC.

To submit a nomination, complete the nomination form available at www.nvfc.org/award_ffoty.html, and send it, along with letters of recommendation and the nominee’s resume, to:

NVFC Lifetime Achievement Award
Attn: Kimberly Ettinger
1050 17th Street, NW
Suite 490
Washington, DC 20036
kettinger@nvfc.org

Please include details regarding the nominee’s accomplishments and other information that will help the selection committee during the review process. Additional information regarding the award and criteria is available at www.nvfc.org/awards.html.

Source: NVFC

back to top

States Feel Left Out of Disaster Planning

The Bush administration’s decision to rewrite the nation’s emergency response blueprint in secret has raised the ire of many state and local emergency officials who feel they’re being shut out of the process.

In an article by Spencer S. Hsu in the Washington Post, the officials “worry that Washington is repeating a series of mistakes that contributed to its bungled response to Hurricane Katrina nearly two years ago.”

“In my 19 years in emergency management, I have never experienced a more polarized environment between state and federal government,” Albert Ashwood, Oklahoma’s emergency management chief and president of a national association of state emergency managers, told Hsu.

The purpose of the national plan is to guide how federal, state and local governments, along with private and nonprofit groups, work together during emergencies. And, according to Hsu, critics are saying this type of unilateral approach by Washington is responsible for producing a 427-page plan in 2004 that put too much emphasis on terrorism and not enough on natural disasters.

Two weeks ago, Hsu says, the DHS circulated to federal and state officials a streamlined, 71-page draft, renamed the “National Response Framework.” DHS spokeswoman Laura Keehner told HSU that state and local officials were included earlier in the decision-making process, but that an initial draft they produced with FEMA and DHS preparedness officials in May “did not meet expectations.”

To read the full article, click here: link

Source: Disaster Resource Guide

back to top

USFA Releases 2006 Report on Firefighter Fatalities

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has released the report
"Firefighter Fatalities in the United States in 2006." 106 firefighters
died while on duty in 2006.

For two decades, the National Fire Data Center (NFDC) has kept track of
firefighter fatalities and conducted an analysis of the fatalities that
occur each year. Through the collection of information on the causes of
firefighter deaths, the USFA is able to focus on specific problems and
direct efforts towards finding solutions to reduce the number of
firefighter fatalities in the future. This information is also used to
measure the effectiveness of current efforts directed toward firefighter
health and safety.

The National Fallen Firefighter Foundation maintains the list of
firefighters who die in the line-of-duty and are honored during the
annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend. The names of these
firefighters are commemorated on a plaque that is permanently installed
at the National Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland. A
list of the firefighters being honored by the National Fallen
Firefighter Foundation for 2006 (a total of 91) can be found in Appendix
D of the report.

The unique and specific objective of "Firefighter Fatalities in the
United States" is to identify all onduty firefighter fatalities that
occurred in the United States and its protectorates, and to present in
summary form the circumstances surrounding each occurrence. In addition
to the 2006 overall findings, this study includes information on the
hazards to firefighters presented by engineered lumber when it is
exposed to fire conditions.

An overview of the 106 firefighters that died while on duty in 2006:

* 77 volunteer firefighters and 29 career firefighters died while
on duty.
* There were 6 firefighter fatality incidents where 2 or more
firefighters were killed, claiming a total of 17 firefighters' lives.
* 22 firefighters were killed during activities involving brush,
grass, or wildland firefighting.
* Activities related to emergency incidents resulted in the deaths
of 61 firefighters.
* 36 firefighters died while engaging in activities at the scene
of a fire.
* 15 firefighters died while responding to or returning from
emergency incidents.
* 9 firefighters died while they were engaged in training
activities.
* 20 firefighters died after the conclusion of their onduty
activity.
* Heart attacks were the most frequent cause of death for 2006,
with 50 firefighter deaths.
* 19 firefighters were killed as a result of vehicle crashes.

This report continues a series of annual studies by the USFA of onduty
firefighter fatalities in the United States. It is available at
www.usfa.dhs.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ff_fat06.pdf (PDF, 3.0 Mb).

The USFA is the single public agency source of information for all
onduty firefighter fatalities in the United States each year. This
information is in the public domain and may be accessed on the USFA Web
site at www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/.

Source: USFA

back to top

Local fire equipment put on display for legislators:
Fire-rescue workers honored

BY RICK CUNDIFF
STAR-BANNER

OCALA - Lawmakers watched Thursday as Ocala's firefighters and fire equipment manufacturers had a moment in the sun - and in the heat of of a 20-foot propane-fueled fireball.

Not to worry, the fire was part of a demonstration at the Florida State Fire College. The blaze was quickly extinguished to show legislators and local officials what local firefighters can accomplish using locally produced equipment.

Local companies - including E-One, Class 1, Classic Fire, Pro Poly of America and United Plastic Fabricating - turned out, along with fire-rescue personnel from both Marion County and the city of Ocala, to lobby local, state and federal lawmakers for increased funding for firefighting equipment, training and staffing.

"We're asking for your help," Ocala Fire-Rescue Chief Dan Gentry said at a luncheon after the demonstration. "Please be a champion for the fire service, because we need every voice that we can."

Marion County Fire-Rescue Chief Stuart McElhaney cautioned local officials not to cut too fast when they implement cuts caused by coming property tax reductions.

"I think we would all agree that tax reform is necessary, but it is very critical that we be very careful in how we go about tax reform," he said.

U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, R-Ocala, said he would support increased funding for fire service grants.

"If we don't both financially and materially support these people, we put ourselves and this community and this nation in jeopardy," he said. "The first responders are a national security basis that should be put into perspective and we need to fund them."

Local fire equipment manufacturers are an important part of the Marion County economy, said Mayor Randy Ewers.

"The manufacturing community is a huge, huge part of our economic engine," he said.

This year's event was broadened to honor area fire-rescue workers as well as demonstrate the industry's economic value, said Ron Ewers of Class 1.

"We really wanted to bring our first responders in here," he said. "It's much more than manufacturers. ... Our goal was to really show our community how much of the fire service we really have here."

Robert Kreps, fire and safety group president of Class 1's parent company, IDEX Corp., praised the firefighters as well.

"None of us can overlook the fact that these duties are executed in spite of the personal risk involved," he said. "A lot of people take these services for granted. ... We all expect in our time of need that someone is going to show up to help."

Rick Cundiff can be reached at rick.cundiff@starbanner.com or 352-867-4130.

Source: OCALA

back to top

National Firefighter Health Week

Today marks the close of the inaugural National Firefighter Health Week. Organized by the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) as an extension of their Heart Healthy Firefighter program, the focus of the week was to create further awareness of some of the health issues affecting the fire service and ways we can work together to improve the health and wellness of firefighters nationwide.

This special newsletter is a compilation of FireRescue1's exclusive coverage of Health Week. Below you will find useful analysis and tips from FireRescue1 staff and fire service health professionals related to the key health-related issues and themes affecting firefighters everywhere.

Please visit FireRescue1's Health Week section for full coverage and join us in the effort to keep our nation's firefighters happy and healthy.

— The FireRescue1 Team

Source: FireRescue1 Team

back to top

IAFC Announces 2007 Finalists for the Fire Service Award for Excellence

Fairfax, Va., Aug. 20, 2007... The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) has announced the seven finalists for the 2007 Fire Service Award for Excellence. Cosponsored by the IAFC and U.S. Safety Fire Technologies, this award recognizes innovation and achievement in managing resources to reduce the loss of life and property from fire and other emergencies. The 2007 finalists are:

Copperas Cover (Tex.) Fire Department – Mentoring Industrious Minds & Educating Students (MIMES) Program: MIMES, a weeklong summer program targeting seventh-graders, exposes students to fire and EMS as a career and teaches students how academics such as math and science apply in the working world, long after junior high. The program is structured so that half a day is spent in the classroom and half a day is spent in the field with hands-on activities.
Fresno (Calif.) Fire Department – Fresno Fire Department Outreach & Education: The Fresno City Fire Department has successfully embarked on a strategic community outreach and public education campaign. The department’s goal is to educate the community as a whole via public service announcements, innovative signage and local media.
Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board, Melbourne, Vic. Australia – Reflective Community Art on Fire Trucks: Artwork that has significant cultural meaning to the Aboriginal and Vietnamese communities, together with fire-safety messages reflecting a fire theme, was applied to the sides of three MFB primary-response pumpers. This is a new and unique initiative; no other fire service in Australia has developed artwork combined with a fire-safety message on fire trucks located in specific demographic areas.
North Richland Hills (Tex.) Fire Department – North Richland Hills Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Program: The Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Program was implemented to educate and, when possible, to intervene to modify the behavior of low-risk first-offender juveniles involved in fire setting and fire play.
Orange County (Fla.) Fire Rescue Department (OCFRD) – Wellness Program: In 2002, with the help of Fire Act Grant funds, OCFRD purchased a Mobile Fitness Evaluation Unit vehicle and staffed the program with certified peer-fitness trainers; OCFRD also purchased exercise equipment for fire stations. The program, along with annual physicals and medical monitoring overseen by the Wellness Bureau, has reduced workers’ compensation claims and costs by 63 percent.
Tuscaloosa (Ala.) Fire & Rescue Service – Project Fire & Injury Reduction Education (FIRE): Project FIRE is an innovative public-education plan using social-marketing techniques to motivate at-risk citizens to change their behavior. The plan uses research to identify target audiences and uses customized methods to reach them. Project FIRE currently includes a comprehensive school adoption program, an educational program for older adults and a smoke-alarm installation campaign.
Wilson (N.C.) Fire/Rescue Services – Fire Inspection Resource Exercise Simulation (FIRES): Wilson Fire/Rescue Services was awarded a grant under the Assistance to Firefighters-Fire Prevention and Safety Program to design, build and deliver the most comprehensive fire-inspection training program ever instituted by a U.S. fire department to serve as a model for prevention services nationwide. The project features virtual-reality technology; this program strives to improve fire departments’ abilities to save the lives of children, the elderly and firefighters within the community and throughout North Carolina and the nation by elevating the role, support, value and effectiveness of fire inspections and building-code enforcement programs.
The winner of the Excellence Award will be announced August 23 at Fire-Rescue International in Atlanta, during the education keynote session. All of the finalists will be profiled in upcoming issues of IAFC On Scene.

Chief Ronny Coleman, IAFC President 1988–1989, and U.S. Safety Fire Technologies President H. Wayne Boyd created the Fire Service Award for Excellence to recognize the fire service’s creative solutions to community problems. Award-winning programs have focused on such issues as fire prevention, emergency preparedness and management, drowning prevention, arson, EMS, fire-victim assistance, recruitment, public relations, community outreach and training.

Source: IAFC

back to top

ONLY TEN DAYS REMAIN IN 2007 SAFER APPLICATION PERIOD

August 22, 2007 - The Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program Office is reminding fire departments and state or local organizations that represent the interest of volunteer firefighters that only two weeks remain in the SAFER application period. The application period for SAFER began July 30, 2007, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and will end 5:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on August 31, 2007. If you have started an application, please be sure to complete it and submit it before the deadline. All applications must be submitted to be considered for a grant award (click on the submit button in the online application). Once an application is submitted electronically, an automatic notification via e-mail will be sent to you indicating that we have received it.

The AFG Program Office makes available competitive grants for the hiring of firefighters or the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters. SAFER applications are automated and accessible via the AFG Website: www.firegrantsupport.com. The website contains important information about SAFER, including the FY2007 funding priorities and program guidance, a web-based tutorial on the application process, a listing of frequently asked questions (FAQs), and other relevant information. Fire departments that have questions regarding this grant opportunity should contact the AFG Help Desk at 1-866-274-0960 or email firegrants@dhs.gov.

SAFER is administered by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency. SAFER Grants that support the hiring of firefighters require applicants to provide a funding match; the formula for the funding match is explained in the program guidance documents available on the AFG Program’s Website. Recruitment and retention grants do not require a funding match.

The AFG Program Office offers three grant opportunities in each year. AFG “fire grant” funds are used by the nation’s firefighters and first responders to increase the effectiveness of firefighting and emergency response operations. The application period for these grants was in the spring, and award decisions for applications that are eligible have begun. In addition to the SAFER Grant opportunity, a third grant opportunity will be available when the AFG Program Office opens the application period for Fire Prevention and Safety Grants. These grants not only support fire departments but also support other organizations experienced in fire prevention and in firefighter safety research. Through the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2007, Congress provided $662 million for the Assistance to Firefighters Grants, with $115 million of the funding specified for SAFER Grants and a minimum of $27.35 million for the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants.

Source: FEMA

back to top

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality:

Name: Anthony P. Cox
Rank: Captain
Age: 44
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 21
Date of Incident: 08/13/2007
Time of Incident: 1820hrs
Date of Death: 08/13/2007

Fire Department: City of Topeka Fire Department
Address: 324 SE Jefferson St., Topeka, KS 66607
Fire Department Chief: Howard Giles

Incident Description: Captain Cox collapsed at the scene of a
multi-family residential unit fire. Cox was treated on scene then
transported to the hospital but passed away from a cause still to be
determined.

Funeral Arrangements: 08/20/2007 - 0900hrs at the Kansas Expocentre, One
Expocentre Drive, Topeka, KS 66612-1442

Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending

Tribute is being paid to Captain Anthony P. Cox at
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

Source: USFA

back to top

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatalities:

Name: Robert Beddia
Rank: Firefighter
Age: 53
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 23
Date of Incident: 08/18/2007
Time of Incident: 1500 hours
Date of Death: 08/18/2007

Name: Joseph Graffagnino
Rank: Firefighter
Age: 33
Gender: Male
Status: Career
Years of Service: 8
Date of Incident: 08/18/2007
Time of Incident: 1500 hours
Date of Death: 08/18/2007

Fire Department: Fire Department City of New York
Address: 9 Metro Tech Center, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Telephone: 718-999-2068
Fire Department Chief: Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta

Incident Description: Firefighters Beddia and Graffagnino were fatally
injured while battling a seven-alarm high-rise fire at the former
Deutsche Bank building at 130 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

The two firefighters became trapped in maze-like conditions on the 14th
floor of the building, which is undergoing demolition. They suffered
severe smoke inhalation and were taken to NY Downtown Hospital in
cardiac arrest where they succumbed to their injuries.

Funeral Arrangements: Firefighter Beddia's wake will be held from 1400
1700hrs. and 1900-2100hrs, Wednesday and Thursday at the Harmon Funeral
Home, 571 Forest Ave., Staten Island. The funeral is tentatively
scheduled for Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Burial will be at St.
Peter's Cemetery on Staten Island.

Funeral arrangements for Firefighter Graffagnino are pending.

Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Pending

Tribute is being paid to Firefighter Robert Beddia and Firefighter
Joseph Graffagnino at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

Source: USFA

back to top

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality:

Name: Glenn Williams Miller
Rank: Probationary Firefighter
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: <1
Date of Incident: 08/14/2007
Time of Incident: Pending
Date of Death: 08/17/2007

Fire Department: Whispering Pines Volunteer Fire Department
Address: 16 Hardee Lane, Whispering Pines, NC 28327
Telephone: (910) 949-2400
Fire Department Chief: Reed Gaddy

Incident Description: Probationary Firefighter Miller was participating
in firefighter level one training when he experienced chest pains.
Miller suffered an apparent heart attack while be transported by
ambulance to the hospital where he was placed on life support, but
passed away early in the morning of 08/17/2007.

Funeral Arrangements: 1000 hours, 08/25/2007 at the Pinehurst United
Methodist Church, 4111 Airport Road, Pinehurst, NC.

Memorial Fund Contact and Address: C/o Whispering Pines Volunteer Fire
Department, 16 Hardee Lane, Whispering Pines, NC 28327

Tribute is being paid to Probationary Firefighter Glenn Williams Miller
at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

Source: USFA

back to top

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) has received notice of the following firefighter fatality:

Name: Mike Heuer
Rank: Fire Chief
Age: 55
Gender: Male
Status: Volunteer
Years of Service: 10
Date of Incident: 08/14/2007
Time of Incident: 2019 hours
Date of Death: 08/15/2007

Fire Department: Sierra City Fire Department
Address: P.O. Box 516, Sierra City, CA 96125
Telephone: (530) 862-1133
Fire Department Chief: Pending

Incident Description: Chief Heuer had spent several hours working to
rescue a victim who had fallen down a ravine and broke a leg. After
placing the individual into the ambulance and reportedly shortly after
midnight, Heuer and others returned to the bottom of the ravine to
retrieve ropes and other equipment where Chief Heuer, not feeling well,
indicated that he needed a drink of water. Before a drink could be
provided, Heuer had passed away from an apparent heart attack.

Funeral Arrangements: A memorial attended by more than 500 people was
held for Chief Heuer on 08/19/2007

Memorial Fund Contact and Address: Donations may be made in Honor of
Fire Chief Mike Heuer to the Sierra City Fire Department, P.O. Box 516,
Sierra City, CA 96125

Tribute is being paid to Fire Chief Mike Heuer at
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/fatalities/

Source: USFA

back to top

© Governmental Affairs Committee