Deep Roots

OSU’s Fire Council builds off rich history

BY CHELSEA ROBINSON

EXCELLENCE IN FIRE SERVICE AND TRAINING HAS BEEN SYNONYMOUS WITH OSU SINCE THE 1930S. OVER THE COURSE OF NEARLY A CENTURY, THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN A KEY COMPONENT OF THAT RICH HISTORY. TODAY, THE COLLEGE IS PROPELLING THE FIRE INDUSTRY INTO THE 21ST CENTURY THROUGH A NEW, COLLABORATIVE GROUP OF LEADING FIRE EXPERTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE OSU SYSTEM — THE OSU FIRE COUNCIL.

Assistant Dean of Outreach and Extension for CEAT Ed Kirtley led the initiative and served as chairman for the council’s inaugural year of 2015-2016. He currently plays a key role in developing and implementing the group’s goals to fulfill the university’s land-grant mission.

Kirtley says the council has a unified approach to leverage the reputation and research capacity of OSU in a magnitude not seen since the early years of the university’s first fire programs.

The council’s goals are structured into three pillars — education, research and outreach. The OSU Fire Council focuses on how to strengthen the existing fire education opportunities through a combined curriculum and a “Start Orange, Finish Orange” strategy.

“We’re promoting the ‘Start Orange, Finish Orange’ concept that allows a student to progress from a firefighter certificate to a Ph.D., all within the OSU system,” says Lynn Wojcik, OSU-OKC Public Safety department head and OSU Fire Council marketing committee chair. “No other university can offer a student the opportunity to go from a Firefighter 1 certificate to a doctorate in a firerelated field. That is unique to OSU.”

The council also participates in collaborative research projects, which include a broad range of subject matter.

For example, civil engineers from CEAT are developing a tool that fire ground commanders can use to access the structural integrity of steel buildings. This project will enhance the safety and efficiency of firefighting tactics by allowing firefighters to determine when and for how long they can be in a steel structure before the risk of it collapsing is too high.

Another ongoing project involves OSU faculty from the College of Human Sciences’ Apparel Design department working with CEAT’s outreach Fire

Service Training and academic Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology program. The team is working on bulletproof turnout gear and other materials for firefighters who find themselves in hostile situations. They have presented the idea to stakeholders in the manufacturing industry and are awaiting a response to put their designs into action.

The impact of these research projects ties directly into the council’s third pillar — outreach. OSU is home to several leading fire service entities, including Fire Protection Publications, the world’s leading producer of firefighting education materials; the International Fire Service

Accreditation Congress, the sole accrediting organization for fire curriculum, and Fire Service Training, the most prominent training organization in the state. All of these units are part of CEAT’s Outreach and Extension programs.

Kirtley says the council is ultimately a group of problem solvers. The industry comes directly to OSU seeking solutions to real-world issues, and the council is dedicated to working with those industry partners to find well-rounded answers.

“The nice thing about the council is that we are able to work with synergy without giving up our individual program’s identity,” says Kirtley. “We can take a problem presented to us, determine the players we need to address it and put them together under a single project to find the best solution.”

The group operates as a whole with experts adding their expertise and perspective to every topic. However, many say Kirtley’s leadership has been imperative to the group’s success.

“Dean Kirtley’s vision is what brought the group together,” says Wojcik. “His motivation is infectious, and it’s easy to pick up on his vision, adopt it and implement it because it’s positive and forward-thinking.”

“It’s humbling to be part of the fire heritage at OSU,” says Kirtley. “I never thought we would be where we are today when we started, and I never thought we would have the excitement that we have about it.”

Each member of the council plays a critical part in the success of the group and, as a whole, it continues its momentum into the future of the fire service industry.

For more information, visit ceat.okstate.edu/osufirecouncil