 | Welcome |
| News |
| Conference Planning |
| President's Message |
| NAFTD Officers |
| Members |
| By-Laws |
| Annual Conference |
| Minutes |
| Position Papers |
| Links |
| Member Websites |
| Research |
| Member Login |
Annual Meeting and Conference
St. Louis, Missouri
October 22-23, 1999
State and Provincial Directors/Representatives in attendance:
Guests in attendance:
WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
President Steve Edwards (Maryland) welcomed members and guests and thanked the faculty and staff of the Missouri Fire and Rescue training Institute for hosting the annual meeting on very short notice. Director Piringer (Missouri) and St. Louis Fire Chief Neil Svetanics welcomed all to St. Louis. All attendees then introduces themselves and their organizations.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF SPRING 1999 NAFTD MEETING AT FDIC
Minutes were distributed to all members with NAFTD update of April 5, 1999. Motion by Greg Kirt (Michigan) and seconded by Richard Jaehne (Illinois) to accept the minutes of the FDIC meeting. Motion passed.
NAFTD Officer Reports
Anti-Terrorism Grants: With the support of Superintendent Onieal, anti-terrorism grants were sent directly to state training agencies. Now that the state's have the money, it is essential that the money is utilized effectively.
JPR's Project: Initial meeting held last month in Maryland. Work continues to develop more uniform evaluation criteria for NFPA Firefighter Professional Qualifications Standards.
Fire Service Leadership Summit: Fourteen fire service groups meet twice a year in an attempt to agree on certain issues. When a consensus is possible, the fire service gains tremendous strength in persueing policy issues.
Project Impact: The NAFTD along with 13 other fire service organizations has signed on the FEMA program to make local communities disaster-proof.
Congressional Fire Service Caucus: For the first time, a state fire training agency (MFRI) was selected as fire service organization of the year. This is a reflection of the work of all state fire training programs.
Support of USFA and NFA Budgets: Testified in support of and met with congressional representatives regarding the USFA budget. A significant increase is expected in the upcoming fiscal year.
Support of merging Pro Board and IFSAC: Discussions are on-going with both organizations although there is little progress toward a consolidation.
USA Stakeholders Meeting: Action plan based on Blue Ribbon Report. Added specifics to general recommendations of BRR.
Director Witt's visit with NAFTD: Director Witt is a strong proponent of state training system. He is personally involved and his staff is very aware of fire service issues. This is tremendous opportunity for fire programs.
Thanks for all your efforts: President Edwards thanked all of those members who have given their time, effort and expertise on behalf of NAFTD.
Steve Lutz - Vice President
Randy Novak - Treasurer
Steve Willis - Secretary
NAFTD Committee Reports
NFA Recognition of State Training Programs:
NFA Superintendent Onieal briefly explained the concept of NFA support for the delivery of training at the state and local level. The proposed system (tentatively called "endorsement") would provide an umbrella under which NFA could provide funding for the delivery of pre-qualified courses that have the endorsement of NFA and could be delivered with NFA financial support. The process would facilitate sharing of curriculum, reciprocity among state training agencies, and the delivery of training to meet local needs.
Glenn Pribbenow (Kansas) presented that he drafted on this subject. This work was accomplished as a starting place from which to proceed to attempt to gain consensus among NAFTD members, prior to presenting the proposal to the NFA. A lengthy discussion ensued.
Premises: (expand language to include provincial and territorial members of NAFTD)
2. Funding: Authorize the course owner to mark the curriculum and authorize the agency that issues the certificates to use the following phrase: "This course is endorsed by the National Fire Academy and provided through a cooperative program with the NDA and State Fire Training Systems."
3. Course delivery: Add provision that state may charge fees to generate program income.
Course Criteria
2. Officer-level: Change wording to more general wording focusing on supervisory-level education, not limited to NFPA 1021 standards courses.
3. Course Endorsements: Delete "c" for now.
Entering Courses onto the list:
2. NFA maintain official list of endorsed courses: OK
Motion by Richard Jaehne (Illinois), seconded by Joe Murabito (Delaware) to approve the proposal in concept. Motion passed. Glenn Pribbenow and Steve Edwards will finalize the proposal, mail out to all members and conduct a mail ballot for approval of the membership.
FEMA DIRECTOR: JAMES LEE WITT
FEMA Director Witt offered his assistance to state training and asked for NAFTD members' assistance with FEMA issues. FEMA has changed the way they do business, and the credit goes to the FEMA employees, state directors, congress and administration. The fire service has played an important role in the re-invention of FEMA. The institutionalization of these changes is our next challenge. Director Witt stated that he looks forward to a new partnership with state training agencies. Word is spreading around the world that the USA has excellent fire training system models that can benefit responders and citizens worldwide. This year alone, the natural and man-made disasters have taxed the resources and abilities of all responders.
The challenge is to connect the resources of FEMA with all state and local resources to benefit all citizens. Ken Burris has been appointed new Chief Operating Officer of USFA. Ken is a former fire chief. One of Ken's first challenges will be to implement fire service program funding, a $6 million increase from last year. The initiatives that FEMA will be working on:
Institutes of Higher Ed: Develop relationships with state training agencies to encourage colleges to give college credit for appropriate training courses.
Courses more accessible to local firefighters: Fire courses need to be available at the state/local level. Not everyone, especially volunteers can attend the resident classes at the NFA.
Project Impact: Work to develop disaster-resistant communities. In two years 170 communities nationwide have been designated as Project IMPACT. $80 million FY2000, $100 million in FY2000 if passed, will give the resources we need to protect citizens and institutionalize prevention in every community. FEMA has over 1000 private partners supporting Project Impact. Federal funds are leverages 450% in local impact.
FEMA needs help getting the National Forest Service and the Interior Department together with FEMA to bring comprehensive fire prevention to the nation's forests. State training directors need to push for federal resources. The congress will not listen to us. Don't be bashful.
Director Witt and Ken Burris answered questions. The draft USFA plan comments were correlated and given to the action plan committee. A team approach will be used involving USFA staff and fire service members to implement solutions to accomplish the identified goals.
National Fire ACademy Update
Superintendent Onieal made a presentation on the Y2K challenge and the USFA resources available to assist agencies in Y2K preparedness. Superintendent Onieal thanked Steve Edwards for his excellent work on the USFA Blue Ribbon Panel and on terrorism funding for state fire training programs.
America Burning Revisited will be entitled America at Risk: The report will challenge the fire service to take an all-hazards approach to community protection. The report will give local fire departments a resource to show local decision-makers the value of what they do. Local input will be crucial to building local support for the report and its recommendations. A survey and web page posting will be the methods to facilitate communication and support.
Review of NFA courses for NFPA standards: Tim Dunkle is leading an effort to review NFA courses and identify the learning objectives that meet NFPA pro qual JPR's. This is an effort that the TRADE regions are working on.
Coordination of State Certification and Academic Credit: NFA is providing some limited funding to Open Learning schools to facilitate the recognition of skills developed and state training courses. We need to work together to build a system that recognizes excellence in both arenas.
The superintendent distributed a handout on NFA Current Development Projects.
Members thanked Superintendent Onieal for his hard work and effective leadership and for being a part of the NAFTD meeting for the full two days.
USAF Action Plan Report
President Edwards reported that the USFA Action Plan report was sent out, input was invited, and CEO Burris and the committee are meeting now to act upon that input. Richard Jaehne recommended we urge that "building partnerships" be a top priority of USFA.
NAFTD Round Table Topics
JPR Project: Randy Novak gave an overview of the recent meeting in Maryland of the JPR project team. This is a work in progress. He provided a handout outlining discussion topics and decisions. A spirited discussion ensued on the pros and cons of the JPR format, Glenn Pribbenow's fire service legacy, and training doctrine.
National Board for Fire Service Qualifications:
Bruce Piringer gave an update of activities of the National Professional Qualifications Board of which NAFTD is a member.
IFSTA:
Jerry Laughlin provided an update of IFSTA activities. Jerry, on behalf of Doug Forsman, invited all state training directors to the July 9-12, 2000 IFSTA validation conference. Fire Protection Publications has undergone several changes. Mike Weider is now project manager for fire protection projects. Dr. Steve Edwards will be at this meeting to answer any questions on the IFSTA test process and product. The 6th edition of Fire and Emergency Services Instructor text has been recalled to make editorial changes. The corrected manual should be available within 30 days and FPP will exchange old manuals for new corrected ones.
Meeting adjourned for the day at 4:30 p.m.
The annual meeting of the North American Fire Training Directors was called to order by President Steven Edwards (Maryland) at 9:00 a.m. in the Lindbergh Room of the Embassy Suite Hotel. The meeting was hosted by the University of Missouri Fire & Rescue Training Institute.
Richard Arwood, IA
Greg Drew, OH
Tom Forbes, AK
Kevin Zumwalt, MO
Whitney Innes, KY
Greg Kirt, MI
John Mogan, TN
Randy Napoli, FL
Glenn Pribbenow, KS
John Vokes, BC
Don Beckering, MN
Tim Dunkle, PA
John Fulcher, WI
Joe Hanson, NE
Richard Jaehne, IL
Steve Lutz, UT
John Mueller, NY
Bruce Piringer, MO
Paul Spurlin, IN
Steve Willis, ME
Art Cota, CA
Steve Edwards, MD
Eriks Gabliks, OR
Steve Hester, MT
Hiram Keliipio, HI
Bruce McPherson, NH
Joseph Murabito, DE
Adam Piskura, CT
Rick Tye, TX
Mike Wisby, TX
Denis Onieal, NFA
James Lee Witt, FEMA
Don LeBlanc, NFPA
Jerry Laughlin, IFSTA/FPP
Rich Hall, IFSAC
Steven T. Edwards - President
Steven Edwards congratulated the NAFTD members on the resurgence of this organization over the last several years. As an organization, we have been focused on training and education issues. Our focus on the federal programs is bearing fruit. FEMA Director James Lee Witt's attendance at this meeting is indicative of our growing voice in the fire service in this country. Even though we have a limited membership, this organization represents the training and education of over 600,000 firefighters in the United States. NAFTD officer and member attendance at various national meetings has had a significant effect in several areas, including:
USFA Blue Ribbon Report: Director Witt's support of the recommendations has been communicated and FEMA and the USFA are implementing the recommendations. This will lead to several major improvements in the business of the USFA.
Steve Lutz reported on his activities as Vice President in support of NAFTD.
Randy Novak distributed the current financial report. Balance on hand as of 10/20/99 is $10,537.86. Motion by Tim Dunkle (Pennsylvania), seconded by Glenn Pribbenow (Kansas), to accept treasurer's report. Motion passed.
Steve Willis distributed the NAFTD roster for update, as well as general info on Thermal Imaging Cameras and Strategic Planning. Contact Steve if you would like further information.
1. Reporting: Concern was expressed regarding the forwarding of student social security numbers to NFA.
1. Minimum requirements: OK
1. By State Training Director: Add to 'f': Once a course is pulled, owner agency is obligated to notify other state training agencies that the course if no longer on the endorsed list.
Access to resources: NFA identification of NFPA professional qualification. First in 25 year history of NFA, creating a nationwide network of state training, colleges and NFA. This initiate will save lives. TRADE members will track course completion. Organizational structure to help TRADE deal with turnover of career training personnel.
Terrorism Curriculum: The recent program notice accompanying the release of the 4 newest anti-terrorism included a requirement that only NFA-qualified instructors are to be used until the courses are finalized and the NFA begins offering the in-state train-the-trainers. Several persons expressed concern as this would make the delivery of these courses more difficult and expensive at the state level, until they are finalized.
University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute
After calling the business meeting back to order and thanking MFRTI Director Piringer and his staff for their efforts on NAFTD's behalf, President Edwards turned the meeting over to Bruce for an overview of MFRTI operations and services.
-
23,000 firefighters, 900+ fire departments
1,200+ certified fire instructors
Governance: University Extension, Continuing Professional Education
Nine full time faculty members, six member support staff, 15 part time coordinators
Budget $1,362,236. Sources: University, contracts, federal, industrial
FY99: 1,002 courses, 20,759 students, 114 counties, 33 states + 21 nations
Start three classes weekly, 19 classes/396 students weekly, 1,900 students monthly.
-Haz Mat, Counter-terrorism, Clandestine Drug Lab
-171 courses, 2300 students, Emergency Response Team Training
-NFPA 1081 Std for Industrial Fire Brigade Pro Qual's
-Out for review until 12/99
-Meet or exceed 29 CFR 1910.156, Subpart L
-Closely tracks NFPA 600
-www.nfpa.org/docFAQ/1081-p.pdf
-85 courses, 2,078 students, nationwide audience, individual registration
-Fire Schools: Summer + Winter (4 hour workshops + 12 hour classes)
= 207 courses, 6,294 students
-Special Operations Symposium (SOS): Everything but squirting water
=Weekend program based on theme area (Terrorism in '99)
-Management Info
=Database using FileMaker Pro
-Course, instructors, aids, materials, site, practical activities, etc.
-Basis for instructor recognition and promotion
-Training & Certification Unit: Voluntary State Certification System
-Experiencing more local certification requirements, career and volunteer FD's
20,000 certifications issued to date, 14 levels of certification offered currently
-Evaluator Certification: Prerequisite of Instructor I (4 hrs, 3-year re-cert required)
-IFSAC accredited for Peace Officer certification
-Firefighter I+II Curriculum (1997 ed of NFPA 1001): Willing to share
-Email Sherry @ sherry@dfs.state.mo.us
Facilitator's Guide for Propane Emergencies
Mike Callan presented a proposal from the National Propane Gas Association's Propane Education and Research Council (PERC). PERC has developed a new training program for firefighters. A copy of a new book "Propane Emergencies" will be provided to all fire departments in the USA. A facilitators package has also been developed and is available to trainers nationwide through state training agencies. A letter from the Propane Council was sent to each state director offering to forward a guide to each in-state fire training academy.
- Book and guide based on national recognized practices
- Based on 8-step process from IFSTA
- Focused on LP gasses only, everyday scenarios
- 10 chapters: product, containers, tactics, operations.
- Facilitator's Guide: lesson plans, A/V, video (24, 8 + 4 hour courses)
- AV on PowerPoint, distributed on CD
- Video tape and web page (www.propanesafety.com)
- Possibility of in-state train-the-trainers
- Contact Mike Hildebrand to ensure book to each in-state fire department
For more info, contact Mike Callan @ mcallan@worldnet.net.att.
President Edwards thanked Mike and his colleagues for their efforts on behalf of firefighters and for keeping the state training agencies in mind in this project.
NAFTD Business Items
Old Business: No old business/
New Business: Several NAFTD Resolutions were approved.
Resolutions: Motion by Tim Dunkle (Pennsylvania) and seconded by Greg Kirt (Michigan) to approve the following resolutions. Motion passed.
-
- Support for Pascrell bill hearing
- Director Witt's visit with NAFTD annual meeting
- University of Missouri for hosting NAFTD meeting
- National Propane Gas Association: Book and facilitator's guide
- 25th Anniversary of USFA:
Location of 2000 NAFTD Meeting and Conference
Texas bid to host 2000 annual meeting at Texas A&M University in College Station. Director Rick Tye (Texas) offered to host in an October time-frame. Motion by Richard Arwood (Iowa), and seconded by Greg Kirt (Michigan) to conduct fall 2000 NAFTD Conference in Texas. Motion passed. President Edwards thanked Rock Tye for his generous offer to host the fall meeting.
NAFTD Roundtable Topics
-John Mogan (Tennessee) briefed the members on plans for a new state fire academy facility in Tennessee. This is a 26 million-dollar project.
-Randy Novak reminded members of the fall NFPA meeting in New Orleans, November 13-17, 1999. NAFTD is listed as a co-sponsor.
-ISFSI Voice publication has invited state training agencies to submit articles detailing state training agencies. Contact Joe Murabito for details.
-Greg Drew (Ohio) needs an organizational chart from each state training agency within the next couple of weeks for a legislative panel in Ohio.
-Richard Jaehne (Illinois) announced a Volunteer Fire Summit @ Springfield, Illinois, November 9&10, 1999. Session and report will be posted on web site.
-Volunteer Chief Officers Section of IAFC will provide a Leadership & Administration in a Volunteer/Combination Department course at minimal cost. Contact John Buckman.
-Steve Willis (Maine) asked for ideas for a new Fire/Rescue Member Orientation course that MFT&E received a grant to develop. MFT&E is also updating the Firefighter I & II curriculum to the 1997 NFPA 1001 standard and would appreciate and state sharing their curriculum. MFT&E will share their final product.
Fire Service Accreditation Systems
National Board on Fire Service Professional Qualification (Pro Board): Do LeBlanc updated the members on current activities. President Edwards asked Don to take the word back to NFPA that the JPR project will cost significantly more than the $3,500 that NFPA has provided to date. A lengthy discussion of Pro Board's policy of accrediting agencies other than state or provincial firefighter certification agencies.
Resolution: Motion by Greg Kirt (Michigan) and seconded by Steve Willis (Maine) for NAFTD to reaffirm our strong support for a merging of the two current certification systems into one. Motion passed.
International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC): Rich Hall provided an overview and status report. Rich reminded members that individual get certified, agencies get accredited. Currently, the Certificate Assembly has 49 members, with 38 accredited. The Degree Assembly has 28 members with 3 accredited. IFSAC does not require entities to offer reciprocity to other members, only that agencies have a policy. Annual meeting April 12-16 in Lexington, KY. Web page address is www.ifsac.org.
President Edwards thanked all of the assembled members for their participation and activity of the last two days. The meeting was well attended and the participation was excellent.
Meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.