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| From the Editor's Desk... |
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A new email address for the newsletter!
In an effort to make things easier for our members, sending articles for the newsletter is now easier to remember.
Simply use the email address above and I'll receive your article. The same criteria still applies. Please put "newsletter" or "article" in the subject line to assure opening.
Try it. You'll like it!
Puddin Race,
St. Lucie County
772-621-3450 |
| Member Section |
Members... join our Members only section. Click Here
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| Greetings from Wes |
 Hey! It's Your Membership
Fire Code Development, understanding codes, training in statutes, and legislative issues are areas in which the Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association are deeply involved. Director Chuck Akers and his wife Juanita have been the ultimate Roget when compiling classes and seminars. The talent of those two individuals is something that leaves me to astonishment. While they not only know every person in the State of Florida (seems so), there is a dedication to the FFMIA that goes beyond comparison.
Even with the immense talent we have, the Board of Directors is continually trying to find ways to enhance education and improve contact with the membership. With the difficult times we are all faced, the FFMIA Board acknowledges we must find ways to keep our membership afloat while still reaching our members with viable training in new and variable ways. Let me assure you, we are very much afloat. But what can you do as a member to lead us on in the future? There are a number of things!
First and foremost, do not wait for your area Directors to get in touch with you for any needs you may have. Their contact numbers are listed on the FFMIA web site if you do not have it already. If there is something you need, get in touch with your specific director.
Secondly, the Board is always looking for innovative ideas and concepts to further enhance our membership, be it educational topics, ways to improve the way we give classes, or just an idea that you may have.
Thirdly and probably the most important, attend a board meeting when you can. If nothing else get a copy of the minutes, be part of any discussion that is found to affect you or a certain situation, even if it doesn't affect you but find interesting. The Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association belongs to you. The Execute Director serves you. The area Directors serve you. The Executive Board not only serves but wants to hear from you.
We are facing a different time! With the diversity, talent and knowledge that we share within the FFMIA, I have full confidence we will continue to grow and prosper in the coming years. However, your participation is the key!
Wesley Hayes, Fire Marshal
Polk County Fire Services
1st V.P., FFMIA
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The 2009 FAFLSE Conference in Howey In the Hills was a huge success. The venue, The Mission Inn, couldn't have been more beautiful or welcoming.
Congratulations go out to Barbara Weyel for being selected FAFLSE Educator of the Year. An article about her follows later in the newsletter.
There was a wide variety of workshops for both instructors and inspectors. For the first time, investigators also concurrently held classes on a couple of the days. We are so glad to welcome the Investigators into the FFMIA and their own section!
A huge thank you and job well done go out to each member of the Conference Committee who worked their hearts out to see that everyone had a lot they could learn and a good time doing it.
Chuck and Juanita Akers always work tirelessly to see that conference gets pulled off without a hitch. Thank you is never enough for the efforts they make year after year.
It was wonderful catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. I was totally tired and charged up at the same time when it was all over. I am always impressed with the fine work being done in our state because of the caliber and professionalism of our members.
Puddin Race, Chair
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| Important Notice Regarding Student ID's |
Remember... the association no longer accepts social security numbers when signing the sign in sheets at our seminars or conferences. You will need to go to the Florida State Fire College Website, get signed in and get your Student ID. This is the only number that will be accepted.
Article Provided by:
Chuck Akers Executive Director, FFMIA |
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Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist I & II Class |
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The Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Specialist I & II class is scheduled for August 25th - August 28th in Palm Beach County. It will be held at the new Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Headquarters building, 401 Pike Road, Royal Palm Beach. This National Fire Academy class is only offered in Florida once a year, sponsored by the Florida Association of Fire and Life Safety Educators.
Member registration rate is just $150.00. The registration form can be found on our website at www.ffmia.org. JFIS I will provide 12.0 CEU's for Firesafety Inspector/Speical Fire Safety Inspector/Instructor I, II, III. JFIS II will provide 16.0 CEU's for Firesafety Inspector/Special Fire Safety Inspector/ 8.0 for Instructor I, II & III.
Seating is very limited so get those registrations faxed in quickly. |
| Osceola's Barbara Ann Weyel Wins Educator of the Year |
| Barbara Ann Weyel, former teacher and now Education Specialist in Osceola County, Florida was chosen as the 2009 Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year. This award is one of many she has obtained throughout her career.
Creativity and passion are what come to mind when one thinks about Barbara. She has invented educational games, including "Are You Smarter Than a Firefighter" which parents and kids alike seem to gravitate to when ever she brings it out. She has worked with Access Osceola TV in writing and producing seasonal safety messages for all of central Florida. Her water safety message is played in the closed circuit televisions of all central Florida hotels. Her "Flee to be Free" program won the prestigious Webber Seavey award as one of the top five safety programs in the country.
Barbara's immediate Deputy Chief, Dan McAvoy, says he stays in awe of her ability to get things done with both meaningful messages and unbelievable style. "Because she doesn't crave to have the credit, she just seems to manage an unbelievable schedule with the heart of a champion and the expertise of a true professional," he said. What a great comment.
Osceola's Chief Richard Collins stated, "Barbara's work is one of the cornerstones of our program as a life educated is a life saved." I needn't say more.
Congratulations, Barbara. I can't wait to see what you do next!
Article Humbly submitted by:
Puddin Race, FAFLSE Chair
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| Florida Novelty/Toy-like Lighter Information Needed |
| This year's FAFLSE conference brought a whole new awareness of the possible problems toy-like lighters could be to our citizens. At this point, we know of no area where there is any separation of lighter or toy-like lighter in our reporting system. We need your statistics. We will have a space in the soon-to-be-released Juvenile Firesetter data base where the question will be asked if the lighter was just a lighter or if it resembled a toy.
Meanwhile, If you have any incidents in which toy-like lighters were used by juveniles, please send them to newsletter@ffmia.org. Put TOY LIGHTER in the subject line. We will try to gather some incidents to be posted on our website in such a way that they could be used as Florida examples for news confernces or other reporting to assist in the surge of awareness about the possibilities of these devices.
Puddin Race, FAFLSE Chair
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HEARING LOSS COMMUNITY AND OTHERS BENEFIT FROM NEWLY PASSED
NFPA 72® NATIONAL FIRE ALARM CODE® UPDATE |
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 CHICAGO - (June 18, 2009) - Smoke alarms have saved countless lives, but fire risks remain for the millions of Americans who may not wake up to the alarms while sleeping, such as those with hearing loss, children, heavy sleepers, and older adults. With the passage of a new code provision by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) that requires a lower-frequency signal, these individuals will have a stronger chance of waking up when a fire occurs. The 2010 edition of NFPA 72® National Fire Alarm Code includes a provision that will require use of a low-frequency (520 Hz) square-wave signal for fire alarms installed in residential bedrooms of those with mild to severe hearing loss by January 2010, and in all commercial sleeping rooms by January 2014. This sound is a much lower frequency than the 3100 Hz pure tone sound of current smoke alarms and has been proven most effective at waking people up during a fire. With as many as 70 million Americans[1] having high-frequency hearing loss, this is a significant step to address a critical safety issue. "Recent studies have shown that, even though many people may hear the smoke alarm when they are awake, the sound may not wake them when sleeping," said Dr. David Albert, chief technology officer and chairman of the board for Lifetone Technology™. "A measure that all homeowners can take to ensure their family's security is to consider additional UL-listed safety items designed to address the safety gap. For example, the Lifetone HL™ Bedside Fire Alarm and Clock already features the newly required 520 Hz square-wave signal that will wake people up during a fire, and it meets rigorous UL safety standards." Fire alarm signal studies[2] commissioned by the U.S. Fire Administration and the Fire Protection Research Foundation, an affiliate of NFPA, demonstrated that a 520 Hz square-wave signal is proven to be most effective at waking people with hearing loss, heavy sleepers, older adults and children - waking 92 to 96 percent of these individuals. The low-frequency signal was 63 to 69 percent more effective at waking children, heavy sleepers and people with hearing loss than current high-pitched alarms. "The move by NFPA to include this provision in the National Fire Alarm Code speaks to the vital importance of ensuring that alarm signals are optimized to save lives," Albert said. About the Lifetone HL Bedside Fire Alarm and ClockThe Lifetone HL works with current standard smoke alarms and includes the technologies proven most effective at waking people up during a fire. The Lifetone HL "listens" for the sound of standard smoke alarms. When a smoke alarm is triggered, the Lifetone HL generates a loud 520 Hz square-wave signal at the pillow, breaking through sleep more effectively than standard smoke alarms. And since strobe light alarms awoke only 27 percent of participants with hearing loss, while bed shakers awoke 80 to 83 percent of participants with hearing loss, the product also includes a bed shaker that produces strong, intermittent vibration. This feature will aide those with profound or fluctuating hearing loss at 500 Hz and higher who may not reliably hear and wake up to the 520 Hz square-wave signal alone. The Lifetone HL is listed for UL Category UTGT as an accessory. About Lifetone Technology
Lifetone Technology is dedicated to introducing technologies in products that improve life safety in fire, carbon monoxide and other life threatening emergencies. For more information, visit www.lifetonesafety.com. # # #
[1] Based on Johns Hopkins study published in Archives of Internal Medicine July 2008; and Cruickshanks et. al. Beaver Dam study published in American Journal of Epidemiology, 1998.
[2]For links to fire alarm signal research studies, view the Resources in the Information Center at www.lifetonesafety.com.
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| Southern Manatee Appoints Deputy Chief Foster Gover |
| The Board of Fire commissioners appointed Deputy Chief Foster Gover to serve as District Fire Chief, effective June 12, 2009.
Chief Gover is a long time member and currently serves on the board of the Florida Fire Marshals and Inspections Association. Congratulations and wishes of smooth transitions are extended from the association!
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| Palm Beach County Fire Rescue's, Gerri Penney Chosen as FFMIA Lifetime Member |
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P-A-S-S-I-O-N. That is what we talked about at this year's Florida Association of Fire and Life Safety Educators banquet. Not only did the keynote speaker, Chief Tom Siegfried, and the Chief Collins talk about passion, but I also incorporated it into my recognition speech. Not one of us spoke with each other about our addresses to the audience beforehand, but passion seemed to be the main topic of the night. I was given the honor to announce the latest and last recipient of FFMIA's Lifetime Award and it was given to our own Gerri Penney. I hate to tell on myself, but I couldn't sleep at around 2 a.m. the night before and that is when my speech came to me. As my mind was wondering aimlessly, the word passion came to mind and I thought, "That's it." In one word, that describes Gerri's career and dedication to public education. I ended up making an acronym for the word passion using all the letters to create words that described her. You had to be there because I'm not going to repeat them.
Passion is the one attribute she has maintained over her 23 year career with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. She serves on several national committees and has brought recognition to not only us here in Palm Beach County, but also in the State of Florida. You can't implement NFPA's Risk Watch program without Gerri's influence. If you think NFPA 1035, you have to think about one of its most active members...Gerri. She has served on both FAFLSE's and FFMIA's Executive Boards with great focus and enthusiasm. I was proud to recognize her for her accomplishments. Speaking about accomplishments, it won't be too long and I will have to call her Dr. Penney around the office here.
Congratulations Gerri!
Respectfully submitted by
Jeff Collins, PE, 2nd Vice President, FFMIA
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Governor Crist Signs Bill 198 for Florida Firefighter Memorial Flag
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(Oldsmar, FL) On June 25th 2009, Governor Charlie Crist made a visit to the Oldsmar Fire Department to hold a bill signing for Senate Bill 198. The idea for the bill, which directs the State Fire Marshal, Julius Halas to distribute an official Firefighter Memorial Flag to honor firefighters who have died in the line of duty, was that of Oldsmar's Fire Chief, Scott McGuff who brought it to the attention of State Senator Charlie Justice and State Representative Bill Heller. The bill passed unanimously and a flag was designed by Palm Harbor Firefighter, Rick Weschler. "Designing this flag was a tremendous honor and I wanted to make sure that the colors chosen would represent the mourning and respect that my fallen brothers and sisters deserve", said Weschler after a brief introduction by Governor Crist.
"The blue represents water. Water is one of the most essential tools to every firefighter, and throughout history, the color blue has been viewed as representing a clean heart. Purple denotes nobility, as a color is supposed to remind guests or friends that you are someone special, someone with class and dignity. Purple is a natural color of mourning, and recognized the world around for respect. The black stripe represents the mourning band that we all use as a part of our uniform to show respect for the passing of our brothers or sisters. I feel strongly that it should be a part of this project. Lastly, the red is our color. I did not want it to be too pronounced but wanted it a part of the flag. Red is the color of blood, symbolizing the heart and soul of a person. Anything having to do with love, passion, and commitment is generally symbolized by using the color red. This is what firefighters must have, to do the job that they do" said Weschler.
The flag will be displayed at funerals and memorials for fallen firefighters, at fire stations, at the official Fallen Firefighter Memorial in Ocala, FL, as well as any other location designated by the State Fire Marshal.
Article Provided by:
Liz Monforti, Public Education/Information
FAFLSE, Vice Chair
mailto:emonforti@palmharborfd.com |
| FFMIA Welcomes New Section - (FFIA) Florida Fire Investigators Association |
Last year the Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association (FFMIA), the Florida Arson Seminar, Inc. (FAS) and the Florida Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators (FLIAAI) partnered together and successfully presented the 63rd Annual Florida Arson Seminar. This cooperative relationship between these organizations worked so well and through several meetings with the officers of FFMIA, the member agency representatives and officers of FAS, Inc., dissolved the corporation and has formed a new section within the FFMIA as the Florida Fire Investigators Association (FFIA). The officers of the new section include:
Chairman: David R. Hollenbach, Jr.
Fire Inspector, Osceola County Fire-Rescue & EMS
<dhol3@osceola.org>
Vice-Chairman: David Haley
District Chief, Orlando Fire Dept. Arson & Bomb Squad
<david.haley@cityoforlando.net>
Secretary: Reggie Young,
Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms
<Reginald.d.young@usdoj.gov>
State-Wide Director: Mark Sauls
Major, State Fire Marshal Bureau of Fire & Arson Investigations
<mark.sauls@myfloridacfo.com>
Past-Chairman: John Corbett
Bureau Chief, State Fire Marshal Bureau of Fire & Arson Investigations
<john.corbett@myfloridacfo.com>
If you are currently a member of FFMIA and have fire investigation responsibilities, you are encouraged to contact Chuck Akers <info@ffmia.org> and request enrollment in the FFIA section. The new FFIA section will help increase our FFMIA membership numbers by providing benefits to fire investigators actively serving in many public sector agencies in Florida. Associate Membership is also available for private sector fire investigators and inactive or retired fire investigators.
FFIA and FLIAAI have partnered this year to present the 64th Annual Florida Arson Seminar to be held at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, beginning October 19th through the 22nd, 2009. This year our planning committee has provided a comprehensive program consisting of a four-day symposium that features a wide spectrum of topics ranging from basic skills to advanced techniques of fire and arson investigation presented by specialists and experts from around the nation. Our speakers will address issues confronting the fire investigator from the incipient stages of the investigation to the legal challenges of case preparation and courtroom testimony. Attendees of this year's Florida Arson Seminar will be given the opportunity to participate in a Post-Seminar Examination for IAAI Certified Fire Investigator (CFI) credits, administered by the FLIAAI. The FLIAAI will also administer the CFI Examination for those fire investigators who have qualified to take it. The Seminar will also provide a continuing education track of courses for Fire Inspector re-certification requirements.
The Florida Arson Seminar is an established training venue for fire investigators throughout the United States and internationally. The FFIA will continue to administrate and maintain the Annual Florida Arson Seminar and strive to meet the standards of excellence in fire investigator training that has been expected over the last 64 years. The new officers and members of FFIA are excited and many ideas have been presented at our meetings. This merger has been a WIN-WIN proposition that has incredible potential for growth and support of FFMIA.
Article Submitted By:
David R. Hollenbach, Jr. |
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