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MSFCA E-Newsletter A publication of the MN Fire Chief Magazine - December 2015 Issue
MSFCA E-Newsletter - December 2015 Page 1
Take proactive steps to address food truck safetyTom Jenson, Code Specialist, State Fire Marshal Division
It was a story that drew national attention.
On July 1, 2014, a mobile food truck’s propane tank exploded in Philadelphia. Several were injured, includ-ing the mother and daughter working inside. They both died on July 23 from their burn injuries.
Video of the explosion went viral and the incident trig-gered many questions in cities big and small about the safety of these food trucks and who is inspecting them.
Mobile food trucks have gained popularity over the past few years and more are showing up on city streets with-out being inspected by fire officials. So what can you do about this problem?
1. Take a look at state and national guidelines and codeYou don’t need to wait for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) or anyone else to create specific food truck rules or code. While food trucks are not mentioned in the Minnesota State Fire Code, compo-nents of food truck operations are addressed. You just need to know where to look. The LP-gas system used on the truck to fuel cooking appliances is addressed in the 2011 edition of NFPA 58 in section 6.23. Fire extin-guishers with a minimum 10-B:C rating are required by NFPA 58. Generators are addressed in NFPA 70 in article 445.13. Temporary electrical power is covered in
NFPA 70 article 525 and extension cords are addressed in the MSFC.
2. Check out these fact sheetsThe NFPA has developed an information page on food truck safety at http://www.nfpa.org/foodtrucksafety. It contains a safety tip sheet for you to use or modify. A fact sheet on temporary electrical power is available at DLI Electrical Division website at http://www.dli. mn.gov/CCLD/PDF/eli_PortableAndTemporaryPower. pdf. Currently there are no requirements in the codes for a commercial exhaust hood and fire suppression system.
3. Other optionsConsider where these food trucks are being parked with regard to fire lanes, fire hydrants, access to FDCs and exiting from buildings.
Food truck safety is being considered on a larger scale as well. The International Fire Marshals Association has developed a task group and submitted public input to the NFPA technical committees that oversee commer-cial cooking operations and fire code.
If you have questions on food trucks in your community you can contact us at [email protected].
www.EAMSERVICE.com
From the President . . .by Bill Mund, MSFCA President
President Bill MundCell: 320-493-3703
email: [email protected]
In this issue...
Advertiser indexAmerican Lung Association ...............3Emergency Apparatus Maintenance .1Emergency Response Solutions ........ 4HALE Products Inc. ......................... 2MES .................................................... 3MSFCA Poster Contest 2015 .......... 8
Page 2
Take proactive steps to address food truck safety ........................................ 1by Tom Jenson, Code Specialist, SFMD
President’s Column .......................... 2by Bill Mund, MSFCA President
Fire Officers School 2016 - Registration now open! .................... 3by Bill Thoennes, MSFCA FOS SchoolCo-Chair
Unique leadership training available to Minnesota fire service ................. 4by Steve Flaherty, Executive Director MBFTE
Great Lakes Division update ........... 5by George Esbensen, Great Lakes Division
Recertification numbers up dramatically ....................................... 5by David Schliek, Certification Board
Membership renewal ....................... 6Nyle & Theresa Zikmund, Agents for the MSFCA
Lifetime membership awards ............ 6
Upcoming Training ........................... 7Rick Kline, Fire Chief, Plymouth
Historical spotlight on the value of salvage operations............................. 7by Tim Butler, Fire Chief, St. Paul
MSFCA E-Newsletter - December 2015
I recently watched an older movie about the Marshal University football team. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a passion for football. The theme of the movie was how an organization can over-come difficult times and adversity. The repeated chant was “WE ARE MARSHAL”.
As I thought about the movie it occurred to me that WE, all of us, are what make this organization so great. It’s everyone pulling together for the common good of the Minnesota Fire Service. From the smallest town Fire Chief to the Fire Chief of our largest cities, we all have something in common, something to offer and something to give. The success of the MSFCA has been the ability to rally our membership around some common goals and ideas. Our strength and success have come from work-ing together, not being afraid to ask questions, and uniting to improve the Min-nesota Fire Service at all levels.
We don’t always agree on the way things are going or the decisions made by the Board of Directors or our officers. Our strength as an organization has come from being able to put aside our differences, evaluate what and where we can become more involved and take action to work to leave things better than when we started.
As I am ending my career in the fire service and my tenure as the President of the MSFCA, I want to thank everyone for allowing me the opportunity to serve. It has been one of the highlights of my life to work with such a diverse group of people trying to ensure the Minnesota Fire Service is all that we can be. The work isn’t over and there will be challenges ahead. I feel confident that the MSFCA membership will continue to step up to the plate and meet whatever challenges the organization faces. I know this because, like the movie, WE ARE THE MSFCA!
Fire Officers School 2016 - Registration now open!
by Bill Thoennes MSFCA Fire Officers School Co-Chairs
It is hard to believe we are already planning for the 5th year of the school! A little history of how this came to fruition. 6 years ago at our Annual MSFCA Board Re-treat, Region #4 Regional Representa-tion and Fergus Falls Fire Chief Mark “Sparky”Hovland presented to the full board the idea of hosting a school to try and capture the new and upcoming officers in the fire service. There were a lot of classes being offered, but not a lot that specifically targeted officer devel-opment. Especially the new and upcom-ing officers. The board was behind the idea and the “Fire Officers School” was under way.
The thought was host it in Alexandria and then rotate it to different location in outstate Minnesota. A committee was formed and the Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center in Alexandria was chosen as the location. The com-mittee quickly arranged for instructors, vendors and we were underway! The first year brought in 104 students. The committee knew we were on to something special and with feedback from those attending, started promot-ing the school as a “Family Event” with the attractions of the hotels “waterpark”, this made a great venue for
the school. This school has grown to almost capacity at 255 students in 2015 and is looked at as one of the top schools to attend.
This year’s school will be no excep-tion! This year the school falls on Su-per Bowl Weekend. So the committee is hard at work on a “Tailgate Party” as part of the festivities. The classes are set and registration is open! One big change is that this year, registra-tion will be done through the Chiefs Website at www.msfca.org and not Alexandria Technical College as in the past.
Again we have 9 officer development classes we are offering with some hands-on classes (no gear required). We will also be doing a Spouse event on Saturday at the local Carlos Creek Winery.
Make your hotel reservations at the Arrowwood Resort, Hampton Inn
or Holiday Inn in beautiful Alexandria and watch for email updates on the school! Hope you see you there!
Page 4MSFCA E-Newsletter - December 2015
Unique leadership training available to Minnesota fire service
by Steve Flaherty, Executive Director, MBFTE
The Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and the MnICS agencies located at the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center (MIFC) in Grand Rapids will provide four unique leadership training courses to Minnesota fire-fighters over the next two years. Each course will be at Camp Ripley and is free to students who attend.
Minnesota and other places across the country have seen an increase in Wildland Urban Interface fires. These leadership courses bring together current and future leaders from both the structural and wildland fire service into one classroom. Students will develop critical leadership skills needed for building resilient and cohesive fire crews before they meet on the fire ground.
The first course, “L-380 At the Point of the Spear: Fire Service Leadership,” was held Oct. 26-30. This hands-on course provided a foundation for building an effec-tive response culture among diverse work units. Many students commented that this was some of the best training they’ve had in their fire service career.
The next course, “L-381 Incident Leadership,” will be Jan. 11-15, 2016. This course is described as a lead-er-of-people level course and is suitable for engineers, company captains and battalion chiefs. Students from both the wildland and structural fire disciplines are encouraged to attend this rare training opportunity. Students do not need to take these courses in series and can take one course or another — or both.
If you are interested in completing a nomination form to attend this leadership training, please contact Steve Flaherty at the MBFTE [email protected] or Todd Manley at the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids at [email protected]
Visit us at our new location4817 Viking Blvd. NE • East Bethal, MN 55092
Phone: 651-464-1010 • Cell: 612-840-4010 Toll Free: 855-505-0911 • Fax: 651-464-1011
www.ers-mn.com
Your Full Line Equipment and Service Provider
MERGENCY ESPONSE OLUTIONS
Page 5MSFCA E-Newsletter - December 2015
Great Lakes Division update . . . by George Esbensen, Great Lakes Division
The past few months have been busy with a changing of the guard at the Great Lakes Division. Jack Baus is our outgoing GLD president after serving expert-ly during his two year term. Chief Danny Sink from Goshen, Indiana is our new president and Chief Porter “Chip” Welch from Ohio is the new VP.
Our Executive Director, Linda Stone, has done a great job of creating more opportunities for leveraging the Great Lakes Brand and membership. The Great Lakes is getting ready to implement a new strategy that gives back funds to each state to support the mission of the
Great Lakes Division. There will be more news in 2016 as that draft policy gets refined.
The future looks bright for the Great Lakes Division. I will be appointing a new Great Lakes Representative from Minnesota later this year to fill my spot. I want to thank MSFCA president Bill Mund for appointing me as the Great Lakes Representative for Minnesota. It has been a pleasure serving Minnesota’s Great Lakes members of the IAFC.
Recertification numbers up dramaticallyby David Schliek, Chairman, MN Fire Service Certification Board
What is your responsibility with regard to fire fighter recertification in your fire department? Do you approve the expenditure for recertification dollars? Are you part of the training and education function that keeps per-sonnel current with applicable standards, or are you a fire fighter that works hard to keep your skills keenly honed? Wherever you fit within your organization, Congratulations as you are part of a large number of Minnesota fire service professionals that recognize the value of the recertification process.
With the recertification date of September 30, 2015, recertification numbers are approaching an increase of nearly 50% over previous years. Over the last three years, recertification numbers have been fairly consis-tent. So this year’s results (recertification applications are still being received and processed) were quite im-pressive and encouraging. What is the reasoning for this increase? I believe there are a number of thought pat-terns that have led to this upturn.
As fire department leadership looks to add staff, often levels of certification are employment prerequisites.
Several applicants can provide a copy of a certification, but when checked are those certs current? As the fire service continues to change, won’t you prefer to hire individuals that are current and up to date with their competencies? If high quality training and education are part of your department’s mission, doesn’t training that closely follows current standards seem responsible? If initial training was based on, funded, and you con-tinue to operate at the NFPA 1001 level, doesn’t it make sense to maintain continuing education based on that standard?
Again, several individuals and organizations this year have seen fit to operate in this manner. Continue to work hard. Benefits not only build a stronger and more educated fire service, but also a safer one!!
Nyle & Theresa Zikmund, Agents of the MSFCA
MSFCA membership renewal underway
Membership renewal will start just about the time you receive this newsletter. As you plan your renewal, please give serious consideration to enrolling all of your com-mand staff in the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Associa-tion. Our strength has always been — and always will be — in our membership. The average number of members per department is just under four at this time … given the benefits we offer to new officers we would like to see this grow!
This will be our first experience with online renewals, and we encourage you to use this new tool — but if you want to print the application, fill it out and send it in, that’s perfectly acceptable.
The MSFCA “Department Membership” is a great op-tion to consider, too. It allows you to connect your en-tire department with the information and activities of the association.
The cost of the “Department Membership” package is $300 and includes:Full-membership for the chief, Full-membership for one other department member, and E-Memberships* for whoever you designate on your department.Additional Full memberships can be purchased for the standard price of $57 each.
*E-Membership includes access to the E-Newsletter andthe digital version of Fire Chief Magazine. Also, E-Mem-bers enjoy full-membership rates for conferences.
What’s Happening• Dr. Dennis O’Nieal, former superintendent of the Na-tional Fire Academy, has taken a new position as Depu-ty Director of the U.S. Fire Administration. A search is underway to fill the National Fire Academy job, with 78 individuals having applied.• The Volunteer Combination Officer Section of theIAFC enjoyed so much success with their 2015 “Sym-posium in the Sun,” they’ve announced their 2016 Sym-posium in the West, to take place May 13-14, 2016 in Reno, NV.• The dates of the Congressional Fire Service InstituteCapitol Hill event will probably be changed, as the con-gressional calendar indicates that Congress will not be in session for the event currently scheduled May 4 and 5. • If you haven’t heard about NFORS yet, no worries—it’s still in the trial stages of development. NFORS—the National Fire Operations Reporting System— is a data-collection system that builds upon NFIRS. While NFIRS focuses on “what happened,” NFORS seeks to capture the “how” of responding to fires (how many people, when water was applied, etc.) and has power-ful analytics pre-loaded into the system. The combina-tion of NFIRS and NFORS data and analytics will allow a number of comparative reports to be generated with the goal of empowering fire departments to measure and optimize their response availability, capability and effectiveness.
Lifetime membership awards presented
John Taylor recognized by MSFCA President Bill Mund and MSFCA Vice President Wayne Kewitsch
John Strongitharm recognized by MSFCA President Bill Mund
Past President Bruce West was presented a bound copy of the Min-nesota Fire Chief Magazines that featured his President’s Columns
Wayne Kewitschrecognized by MSFCA President Bill Mund
Page 7MSFCA E-Newsletter - December 2015
Historical spotlight on the value of salvage operations
by Tim Butler, Fire Chief, St. Paul Fire Department
Salvage operations often take a “back seat” to more pressing fireground functions, but they need not and should not be neglected entirely. Moving personal belongings “out of harm’s way,” removing them entirely from the burning structure, or covering them before pulling ceilings or to protect them against dripping wa-ter can help protect the treasured items and heirlooms of our citizens and our civilization…..
On a bitterly cold December 24, 1851, fire companies serving our nation’s capitol had just brought a working fire under control in a small hotel in Washington, DC, when another fire alarm came in: a working fire in the United States Capitol Building – home to the Library of Congress. That Library, established in 1800, housed artwork and many historic documents important to the founding and administration of our early nation. The British Army burnt the Library in the War of 1812, and Thomas Jefferson helped rebuild the Library with donations from his extensive personal collection. Sad-ly, the 1851 fire consumed most of the 60,000 articles in the Library.
Battling the flames in near zero-degree conditions, firefighters from the Anacostia and the Columbia Fire Companies performed heroic work to overcome frozen hoses, frostbite, and a collapsed roof structure.
They also worked to salvage priceless documents and artwork. In order to increase water flow to the crews inside, firefighters attempted to bring a pumper from the Anacostia department into the building, but the doorway was too small. In the end, a hand pumper from the Columbia department was brought into the Capitol rotunda, and the blaze was brought under control. Among the priceless artifacts salvaged by the crews was…….the original Declaration of Indepen-dence!
We can never really know the priceless family or cor-porate history residing in the structures we respond to. Positive community relations and sound fireground strategy tell us to treat all property as if it were our own and to make every effort to work “salvage operations” into the “fight” as early and as often as possible.
‘Wishing all of you a joyous Holiday Season’. Stay safe and enjoy the rich history and tradition of this – the greatest profession of all.
Upcoming Training Event
The Incident Management Section Chiefs Academy is set for Feb. 1-5, 2016 at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites, Duluth, Minnesota. Sponsored by the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact (GLFFC) the course is coordinated through the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center (MIFC) and provides all-hazards Incident Command System (ICS) training competencies and behaviors. Before you register click here http://bit.ly/1Twq0Bo to review the brochure for prerequisites. Questions? Contact [email protected] or academy coordinator [email protected].
Poster Contest Rules - Please read carefully: Please create posters on 12”x18” white construction paper
• Each poster much clearly state the fire prevention theme;• Conduct a fire prevention poster contest(s) under fire department sponsorship;• Cooperate with local school officials in operation of the contest;• Open the contest to grade school students at one or all of the following levels; K-1, 2-3, 4-5.• Each poster must have the poster contest form
attached to the back of the poster. Please download this form at www.msfca.org • Assure that all work is original;• Select impartial judges, at least one of whom is qualified to rate entries on the basis of their fire safety message;• Award local prizes at the discretion of the fire department;
Before December 31, 2015 mail only the first prize winning poster(s) from each grade level to:
Jena noah, MSFCA Posters 97 Bergen Street • Kenyon, Mn 55946
For the 2015 poster contest, the MSFCA will award $600 in cash prizes to statewide winners. Local depart-ments also often award cash and other prizes to the chil-dren in their own communities. Three categories have been created for the contests:Grades Prizes First Second Third Honorary (5)K-1 $75 $50 $25 $102-3 $75 $50 $25 $104-5 $75 $50 $25 $10
First prize winners in each grade level will receive $75. One of the winner’s posters will be featured on the cover of the March/April 2016 issue of the Minnesota Fire Chief.
Chiefs are encouraged to hold contests in each of the grade categories. They should then submit onE city or school district-wide winner in each grade category to the MSFCA Editor. Chiefs may also opt to hold their own local contests.
This year’s fire prevenTion Theme is:hear The Beep where you sleep: every
Bedroom needs a working smoke alarm.
MSFCA Poster Contest 2015
Last chance to submit your posters
