Classifieds

TRAINING Draft and Pump Training

Station 47 members attended a draft and pump training at theirstation recently. - Submitted by Tom Williams

DELAWARE STATE FIRE SCHOOL DirectorRobert ‘Biff’Newnam retires from State Fire School After30 years

Director Newnam began like most as a “Blue Shirt” Field Instructor. He was hired in 1991 as a Training Administrator under Lou Amabili, handling many programs over the years including Basic, Officer Courses and Certification.

In 2007, he was appointed by the State Fire Prevention Commission as the Director of the School. In his time at the school, he has seen all of the current staff get hired and most of them while serving as Director. Numerous projects were under his watch, including the expansion at the New Castle County Division, numerous out-buildings and training props, the purchase of a new pumper and, most recently, the reconfiguration of the Dover division to consolidate offices, adding ADAcompliant bathrooms, and a computer lab for training and testing. Director Newnam left many goals for the new director and the staff to continue improving on the Fire School and move into the future with more modern techniques and equipment. On January 31, 2022, Director Newnam called his last staff meeting to order, and he was presented gifts from the staff. He then turned the reins over to Interim Director Craig Stephens. He was then met with many friends, colleagues, and past students for his “Walk Out” as he left the building as Director for one last time.

Congratulations Director on your retirement. We look forward to your visits in the future.

- Submitted by Michael Lowe

Craig Stephens Appt’d Directorof State Fire School

With the retirement of Director Robert “Biff” Newnam, the Delaware State Fire Prevention Commission appointed Craig R. Stephens as Interim Director beginning February 1, 2022.

Interim Director Stephens has worked at DSFS since 1997. He spent many years managing the Rescue Programs and most recently has managed the Hazardous Materials and Industrial programs.

He is a member of the Lewes Fire Department for 42 years where he has served as both Chief and President.

Craig will serve as Interim Director until such time a permanent replacement for Director Newnam is named in the coming months. - Submitted by Michael Lowe

ERSI’s Joe Kroboth New Tech Memberof NCUTCD

Emergency Responder Safety Institute is pleased to congratulate ERSI Charter Member Chief Joe Kroboth, III, PE, on his appointment as a Technical Member of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD). He will serve on the Temporary Traffic Control Technical Committee. The NCUTCD is responsible for the technical aspects and development of the Federal Highway Administration’s Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD is a national standard detailing requirements for roadway features and operations such as signs, pavement marking, traffic signals, railroad grade crossings, personal protective equipment, and temporary traffic control devices. Kroboth’s appointment was approved based on his combined background in transportation engineering and construction coupled with more than 40 years of fire service experience operating at highway incidents. Kroboth is the President of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman’s Association, the organization that founded and oversees the Emergency Responder Safety Institute.

Kroboth is a 35-year career professional in public sector transportation and capital infrastructure. He is currently the Director of Transportation and Capital Infrastructure for Loudoun County, VA. Kroboth serves on other technical committees, including NFPA502: Standards for Road Tunnels, Bridges, and Other Limited Access Highways and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials’Committee on Geometric Design of Streets and Highways. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the NCUTCD committee, not just in transportation, but also in fire service operations. “I am humbled and delighted to accept this appointment,” said Kroboth. “Given my long career in transportation and experiences as a volunteer firefighter, I feel a responsibility to advocate for the safety of all parties impacted by the MUTCD, whether they are highway workers, emergency responders, or the public. We must keep striving to improve the standards that govern our roadways and craft them to reflect the realities of today’s society and technology.”

Kroboth joins Jack Sullivan, ERSI Director of Training, who has served with distinction on the NCUTCD since 2009. As fire and emergency services professionals with an intimate knowledge of roadway incident response safety and traffic control, Kroboth and Sullivan are important voices who bring the first responder’s perspective to the development of the MUTCD. “Emergency responders must have input into standards like the MUTCD,” said Sullivan. “The boots on the ground are the ones responsible for implementing the provisions of the MUTCD and the ones in harm’s way from oncoming traffic. We need to be in the room to say how these requirements are going to affect us and what we need to be better protected on the roadway. I’m thrilled Joe has stepped up to be one of those voices.”

Kroboth’s ties to the fire service in Maryland are deep. He is the retired Director of Fire and Emergency Services for Washington County, MD and currently an Assistant Fire Chief of the Longmeadow Fire Company in Hagerstown, MD. Kroboth is also a family survivor of a struck-by line-of-duty death. His father, Chief Joe Kroboth, Jr. of The Volunteer Fire Company of Halfway, MD, was struck by a vehicle and killed in 1998 while working an incident on I-81 in Washington County, MD. Kroboth III subsequently served as Chief of his father’s department. The elder Chief Kroboth’s death and the Pennsylvania Turnpike incident that same year were the catalysts for the founding of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute.

To learn more about the MUTCD and how its requirements apply to emergency responders, please visit the Responder Safety Learning Network (RSLN.org) and watch the module titled, “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices.”

“In OurBoots” PSAs

The Emergency Responder Safety Institute’s (ERSI) new series of public service announcements, “In Our Boots,” challenges the public to stand in the boots of emergency responders exposed to highspeed traffic every day as they save lives on the roadway. As traffic whizzes by inches away, an emergency responder describes what it was like to be struck by that traffic at a roadway incident response. The first two PSAs feature Firefighter Mike Cox and Assistant Fire Chief Steve Senn, who were both struck in the 1998 Pennsylvania Turnpike incident when they were with the Lionville Fire Company. Their willingness to revisit a traumatic experience in their lives opens a window for drivers to understand how one moment of carelessness, inattention, or poor decision-making changes the lives of emergency responders forever.

“When you’re safe, dry, and comfortable inside your car driving by an emergency scene on the roadway, you can’t understand what it’s like for the responders you are passing who are in the rain, snow, and heat cutting people out of cars, performing CPR, extinguishing vehicle fires, directing traffic, and assisting with disabled vehicles while traffic is screaming by right next to them,” said Steve Austin, project manager for ResponderSafety.com. “These PSAs show you what that’s like for emergency responders and how a response went terribly wrong for Mike Cox, Steve Senn, and many others who were hit by vehicles while they were working a crash or other roadway incident. We hope that resonates with people and pushes them to change their behavior when they drive. We want them to avoid incident scenes or slow down and move over if they must pass by. And we want them off their phones with their eyes on the road and their mind on the traffic.”

In 2021, 65 emergency responders were struck and killed while assisting others on the roadway. An unknown number of others were injured. Each “In Our Boots” PSAhighlights specific safe driving messages and links them to the possible consequences of not giving emergency responders room to work on the roadway. Freely share “In Our Boots” PSAs with the public in your community. The PSAs are ideal for emergency response agencies and organizations to post on social media and share with their local news outlets.

The ERSI thanks the emergency responders who participated in recording these PSAs for sharing their difficult stories in the hope that drivers will listen and act to safeguard responder lives.

See all the “In Our Boots” PSAs at www.respondersafety.com/ public-education/in-our-boots-psas/.