Industry News

Every year, the IAFC honors members of the fire and emergency service with a number of different awards, recognizing outstanding efforts in arenas such as fire-prevention practices, hazmat response, and firefighter health and safety, among others.  The IAFC is now seeking nominations for the awards listed below.  For nomination forms and more information about each award, go to www.iafc.org/awards. International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference Awards - The IAFC's Hazmat...

Two Fire Fighters from Royal Oak Michigan, Dan Phillips and Cary Thompson, have launched a national campaign of Fire Safety education. Fire departments nationwide are failing at teaching escape planning. Only 23% of households practice a fire escape plan. Dan and Cary are using a system called "Escape and Wait" which makes escape planning as easy to remember as Stop Drop and Roll. The "Escape and Wait" system uses a catchy song and reflective signs to help children remember their job during a...

StrikeTheBox.com, a Web site that allows firefighters to share images of their tattoos, is quickly reaching a world-wide audience. Each week numerous new tattoos are added to the online gallery which includes over 3000 tattoo images from firefighters in the United States, Australia, Israel, Croatia, Germany and other countries."The Web site is uniting firefighters from around the world," said Strike The Box founder Roger Hall, who has been a firefighter for 20 years. "It's the best job in the wo...

The two federal wildland trucks acquired by Shawnee National Forest The Shawnee National Forest, with assistance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), has acquired two surplus federal wildland fire trucks. The Shawnee National Forest, with assistance from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), acquired two surplus federal wildland fire trucks. These trucks were subsequently donated to the Pope County Fire Protection District and the Cypre...

Firefighters battling deadly Southern California wildfires last week got an extra measure of comfort and support from people in Texas they've never met.Sandra Dinkins, of Dallas suburb Garland, was struck by the overwhelming task the California firefighters faced combating fast-spreading fires in gale-force winds. She, and the Garland Prayer Support Team she leads, wanted to do something tangible to show their support. The group supports and prays for community leaders, especially police and fir...

Washington State firefighter, Tom Corrigan, has designed a unique kettlebell-based exercise program, 'KB Fire: Kettlebell Training for Firefighters', that promises to dramatically reduce firefighter injuries, potentially extending or saving their careers, while saving the nation millions a year in unnecessary medical expenses. The NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) estimates that 80,100 firefighter injuries occurred in the line of duty in 2005. The leading type of injury received durin...

JK Harris & Company President and CEO John Harris announced today that the company will lead an effort to collect contributions from employees and the funds will be donated to the City of Charleston Fireman's Fund to help the families of the nine Charleston firefighters who lost their lives battling a fire at a furniture store in Charleston, SC, Monday evening.Harris stated his North Charleston-based company, which is the largest tax resolution firm in the nation, is collecting voluntary don...

Thousands of firefighters from across the globe will travel to Texas this July to participate in the nation's premier fire training schools at the world's largest live-fire fueled training facility - The Brayton Fire Training Field. Hosted by the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), the schools include the 40th Annual Spanish Fire Training School, July 8-14; the 44th Annual Industrial Fire Training School, July 16-21; and the 77th Annual Municipal Fire Training School, July 23-28. TEEX i...

A conference specifically designed for credit unions serving firefighter credit unions is scheduled for October 5-8, 2005 in San Diego, CA at The Hilton San Diego Resort. This is the fifth annual meeting of its type where representatives of firefighter credit unions can discuss amongst themselves the unique challenges specific to their credits unions. The conference management firms of Support Processes Corp. and William Rogers and Associates, Inc. are the conference presenters. Seven companies...

Firefighters in more than 150 US cities and towns are now equipped with more than 850 sets of specially-designed pet resuscitation masks, thanks to a unique community campaign. Firefighters in several recipient communities have already put the masks to use to save the lives of family pets rescued from home fires. The 'Best Friends Cause for Paws' Campaign is the work of Best Friends Pet Care Inc., a chain of pet boarding kennels with locations in 18 states. The campaign is a matching program th...

An 8½ ft. tall statue honoring wildland firefighters will be unveiled for its first public display in a special dedication ceremony 3 p.m., Monday, May 2 at the Boise Airport Terminal. The 600-pound artwork was commissioned by the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, and was funded primarily through the financial donations of the National Wildfire Suppression Association. Sculptor Larry Nowlan created the statue in the likeness of the first Wildland Firefighter statue installed at the Wildla...

Two firefighters from Georgia have formed a new association for Hazardous Materials Technicians. The International Association of Hazardous Materials Technicians (IAHMT) is an association for hazardous materials technicians in the fire service and private industry. The association began after the two firefighters attended a training class at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Alabama, giving them COBRA training on weapons of mass destruction for hazardous materials technicians. "After we...

When Malinda Baum of Killeen competes in the International Firefighting Olympics against three thousand other firefighters from around the world next week, she'll be doing more than defending her title as the world's strongest female firefighter. She'll also be striking a blow for equality - especially in parts of the world where women are looked upon as 'too weak' for a job traditionally held by men. "In some countries there are no women firefighters," Malinda says. "Many men consider it unth...

"America needs its firefighters now more than ever," says Mark Armstrong, a nationally certified firefighter and fire instructor who teaches new recruits to become permanent firefighters. "Losing three hundred or more firefighters in an act of war is truly unthinkable and utterly devastating," says Armstrong. "Our numbers must not falter any more." A firefighter in Dracut, Massachussetts, Armstrong is author of the FabJob.com 'Guide to Become a Firefighter', an electronic book on how to get sta...

Since water and pool safety is such a huge issue for camps that provide aquatic recreation for their campers it’s important to understand that the primary responsibilities of management and lifeguards are: To Prevent incidents To Recognize incidents or their potential To Manage incidents or their potential. Prevention - In order to prevent incidents, management and staff should develop a series of prevention strategies to include the development and appropriate posting of rules and...

In order to appreciate the resuscitation protocols being advocated today, as well as new innovations in techniques, protocols, and technologies, it is important to know how these resuscitation procedures have evolved over the years. Therefore, this presentation has been developed for this purpose. Early Ages - Heat Method When a victim’s respiratory and circulatory systems fail and metabolism ceases, the body temperature cools. In the early ages, hot ashes and coals were placed on th...

Based on a 1961 study at Williamston, MI, conducted by the Michigan State Police, the Indiana University Health and Safety Department, the Michigan Highway Department, and the American Red Cross, it was estimated that approximately 400 persons lose their lives as a result of being trapped in automobiles that have plunged into the water. Most vehicles will only float on the surface of the water from 30 - 60 seconds. Therefore, it is critical that the occupants make every attempt to bail out of t...

In the event a firefighter is suddenly and unexpectedly immersed in deep water while wearing full turnout gear, firefighter survival is dependent upon the actions taken during the first critical seconds of the immersion. The incidence of this type of emergency increases when firefighters are fighting apartment fires around a swimming pool, during suppression activities on and around piers and docks, as well as during a fall-through incident in which the firefighter falls through a floor into a b...