OKFF August 2017

Official publication of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association

August 2017 Volume 34, Issue 6

MORE OSFA CONVENTION PHOTOS ON PAGES 18-19

I N S I D E

OSFA Executive Board Members’ Comments............................................................. 5-6 Executive Director’s Report ...............................................................................................7 SAFER Grant ........................................................................................................................9 Volunteer Fire Service Committee Report.................................................................... 11 Facing Cancer Story, Facts, Stats ............................................................................ 12-13 OSFA Women’s Auxiliary Report .................................................................................. 14 2017 OSFA Convention Photos ............................................................................... 18-19 2017 ORFA Convention Photos ..................................................................................... 20 Lawton Fire Station on National Register .................................................................... 22 State Fire Marshal Report ..............................................................................................23 ISO Report ........................................................................................................................25 Executive Board Meeting Highlights ....................................................................... 31-32

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OKLAHOMA STATE STATE FIREFIGHTERS FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION OKLAHOMA 2716 N.E. 50th St. 2716 N.E. 50th St. Oklahoma City, City, OK OK 73111 73111 Oklahoma

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2August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 20173

klahoma Firefighter August 2017 • Volume 34 — Issue 6

Official Publication of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association 2716 N.E. 50th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73111 (405) 424-1452 • 1-800-308-5336 Fax (405) 424-1032 osfa@osfa.info • www.osfa.info Published monthly by and for members of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association to educate its membership, to improve the fire service, and to enhance the value and dignity of their profession, either paid or volunteer.

Editor in Chief Phil Ostrander phil@osfa.info

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open exchange of ideas, opinions and concerns among members of the fire service community.

Letters to the Editor should: concentrate on issues, not personalities; be typed; be signed by the writer and include writer’s telephone number; and be mailed (or emailed) to the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association: 2716 N.E. 50th St., Oklahoma City, OK, 73111 (osfa@osfa.info).

Oklahoma Firefighter reserves the right to publish, edit and condense letters according to space limitations and the editor’s judgement. Great care will be taken to ensure the message in the letter is not altered. Anonymous letters will not be published.

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4August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

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Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 20175

PREsident

n

Matt Lay

matthewlay@icloud.com •

Tulsa FD

918-760-9065

Let me start by saying what an honor it is to be elected as President of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association.

It is truly humbling. As I said at the convention in Dewey, I will do my level best to reward your faith in me. I firmly believe “To who much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).”

Many thanks to now Past President Mike Duncan, the members and family of Dewey Fire, and the Washington County Chiefs for putting on a great convention. I would also extend my gratitude to Past President Ranaan Adams for his five years of service and guidance on this Board. And my Congratulations to Eric Harlow of Guthrie Fire on his election as 3rd Vice-President.

Time seems to fly by. It only seems like yesterday that I was being sworn in as 3rd VP. Yet what has happened between then and now feels like a lifetime.

We have responded to tragedy and triumph. We have seen every variation of disaster.

The political landscape has churned and turned. But we press on with the business as we have from time immemorial.

As an organization, we have updated and revamped our website that is now chock-full of useful information, resources, and event notices for our members.

We created a mobile app that serves as a real-time portal to communicate with firefighters while they participate in OSFA meetings, conventions & training. Add to that a variety of social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and digital newspaper from which to disseminate the happenings of our firefighters and departments around the state.

We’ve added new staff and new services as the organization has grown by more than 2,000 new members since 2014. A collaborative partnership between our fire service partners here in Oklahoma has catapulted the OSFA State Fire School into one the largest FREE fire training events in the nation.

We were also awarded a $2 million grant to conduct targeted research and physical support for volunteer recruitment and retention in Oklahoma.

We have reemerged as a player on a national level, lending our experience and expertise to organizations like the National Volunteer Fire Council and the Congressional Fire Services Institute as they support legislation at the federal level that ensures the continuation of programs like federal excess property, emergency funding appropriations, homeland security grants, tax incentives for volunteers, as well as the creation of the National Firefighter Cancer Registry.

We have seen the implementation of pension changes detailed in HB 2078 to increase contributions to our pension fund and the adoption of new rules for DROP this year that are designed ensure its long-term viability. Then just to spice things up, we’ve launched the planning of an expansion of the Museum & Memorial here on the campus of the OSFA. And folks, we’re not slowing down …

With all that has been accomplished over the last few years, I believe this a time where must now sharpen our focus on our vision, mission, and objectives as an association.

With the support and assistance of our friends at IFSTA-FPP, the Board of the OSFA, along with designees from the Chiefs and Retirees Boards, will meet to update and codify our strategic plan moving forward. This process will be facilitated by none other than Chief Dennis Compton, Chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. This opportunity will allow us to set benchmarks and goals for us to achieve on behalf of the more than 16,000 OSFA members of every stripe from every corner of the state.

What an exciting time! On behalf of the Board and staff of the OSFA, it is an honor and a privilege to serve. If there is anything we can do for you or your department, please don’t hesitate to call. Take Care & God Bless

Help support your Oklahoma Firefighters Museum Expansion and the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial by purchasing an Oklahoma Firefighter license tag.

Money received from the purchase of each tag goes directly to financing upkeep on the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial and Oklahoma Firefighters Museum.

Oklahoma Firefighter tags cost $35 a year (on top of your regular tag fees) and $20 goes directly to the Museum/Memorial.

Tags can be purchased from your local tag agent any time during the year -- not just with your regular plate. And they can be customized to 6 letters as approved by the Tax Commission.

Q&A with Matt Lay Age: 34. Born and raised: Tulsa. Education: Jenks High School; Tulsa Community College; Rogers State University; Oklahoma State; University; OSU-OKC; OU-Tulsa.

Firefighting Background: I’ve been with the Tulsa Fire Department for 12 years and hold the rank of Fire Equipment Operator assigned to Engine 16. Before that I was a driver for two years on Ladder 4, a crosspurpose field company that also serves as a component of our department’s Technical Rescue Task Force.

In addition to my suppression duties, I have also spent the last 11 years as a Rescue Specialist and Planning Officer for Oklahoma Task Force-1, the State’s Urban Search & Rescue team. This time has included multiple intrastate deployments as well as one EMAC request in response to the Joplin Tornado in May 2011.

Outside of my time as a structural firefighter for a metro department, I also spent three years as a red-carded Wildland Firefighter and Incident Commander trainee with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. While employed as an on-call responder, I deployed to wildland fires on or threatening tribal trust lands in the Eastern Region of Oklahoma.

In 2012, I joined the State of Oklahoma Incident Management Team as a Liaison Officer.

Over the last four years, I have deployed in support of numerous complex and/or large-scale incidents including wildfires, ice storms, tornados, pandemic outbreak planning, and Presidential visits.

I have also spent time as an instructor for my home department as well as being an Adjunct Instructor throughout Oklahoma and into Kansas. Courses taught include Fire Officer I, Wildland/Urban Interface Ops for Company Officers, NIMS/ICS 100-400, USFA O305 Type 3 IMT, Advanced Fire Behavior, and Labor-Management Relations.

How’d you go about getting in the fire service? After deciding that I wanted to become a firefighter, I spent the next two years going to night school courtesy of the GI Bill. I completed my EMT through Rogers State and then began taking fire science classes at Tulsa Community College. In the spring of 2005, I began my career with the Tulsa Fire Department as a cadet.

What do you like best about being a firefighter? This is the toughest question to answer!

The people … both on the job and in the community, the work … it changes everyday, its challenging – mentally and physically, it’s so tangible … we get to see the impact of our efforts in real time .. the fires out, bleeding stopped, and so on.

Another aspect for me is the traditions and the history. Everything has a story and a meaning behind it that lends weight to what we do. Knowing there is 100 years or more of reputation and credibility tied to your organization and our profession means we have a lot to live up to. Knowing that we carry on the work of our fathers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, mothers … friends that have sacrificed themselves in service to others… The chance to do what we do … it’s a debt I’ll never be able to repay my department or my community … but I’ll try, with all the skills God gave me, I’ll leave it all out there in the attempt.

What have been the highlights of your fire service career so far? Another tough one … to be honest its hard to narrow down. From an operational side, there have been a lot of nights, those “good” fires I guess, they’re hot … not going out but we stick it out … get a good stop, a rescue… it’s a helluva feeling to share with your crews.

Another one I can think of was right when I got back from Iraq… a car fell more than 150 feet into a rock quarry. We deployed a team to rappel down to a ledge where one victim was while our crew went on foot from another route. We carried her out by hand but couldn’t get the ambulance to where we were. One of our guy’s hotwired a D9 to make a path among all the rocks and boulders. Sticks out in my mind because it just demonstrates the rank of skills, experience, and the “can’t quit, won’t fail” attitude of firefighters that saved a life that night.

What are your hopes for the future? In life? For Oklahoma? For the whole Fire Service?

This is another tricky one. There’s so much that has been done, and so much more that needs to be done. Rather than list off those issues here…I guess what I hope to see is a fire service that is willing to create the necessary alliances to forge new solutions to the matters that challenge us.

Some of these are internal things that we just have to have the courage to address. Others are external threats that we must identify and mitigate. What I see is a state of firefighters, steeped in tradition, setting the bar higher than our predecessors ever thought possible.

6August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

2nd vice PresidenT n

Mike Kelley

OKC FD

mkelley@local157.org

• 405-623-4388

I hope everyone is having a great summer! Your OSFA is hard at work preparing for upcoming events.

Several much needed repairs are being performed on your Firefighter Memorial on the grounds of the OSFA and should be complete by our annual memorial service. The Educational Advisory Committee is working diligently on next year’s state fire school which is quickly becoming one of the premier training events in the nation.

The Museum Expansion Committee recently met with a real estate expert to discuss the plans and fund raising required to expand the available space and your museum.

The OSFA staff is hard at work, as well. Sheri is crisscrossing the state, meeting with volunteers and listening to their needs and developing ways the OSFA can assist through the grant program, as well as determining how we can best serve our volunteer members.

The staff is also preparing for the upcoming Memorial Golf Tournament, the ORFA Golf Tournament and the Oklahoma Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service. Check the OSFA website or app for dates and times for all the upcoming events.

Hopefully many of you are reading this issue online. If not, why not? Your monthly newsletter is available electronically, and you can access it virtually anywhere. See Page 3 for info on how to sign-up for it.

This is just one more example of listening to you -- our members -- and providing what you’ve asked for in the format several of you have requested.

The Pension Board approved a list of frequently asked questions pertaining to the rules change requiring a distribution of Plan B interest at our last meeting. These should be posted on the pension system website.

Also, if you haven’t registered and checked out the new self-service section of the pension website, you definitely should. This feature allows you to run your own calculations for retirement.

As you can see, there is a lot going on at your OSFA. Make sure you stay hydrated in this brutal heat and watch out for your brother or sister! Stay safe!

PAST President n

Mike Duncan

Dewey FD

mduncan51 @aol.com •

918-214-6865

Hello All! Convention is over, and it was a great success. I want to thank all the Dewey firefighters that helped put on a great convention, as well as the firefighters from Osage Hills, Bartlesville, and Copan -- and any others I may have missed.

They all did a great job.

Last but not least, I want to thank Dewey Fire Chief Dale Little, who was my Convention Chair and kept it all going, Thank you very much.

It will be a good year with President Matt Lay at the helm.

Summer is upon us, and we need to stay hydrated and make sure you Rehab during incidents. Everything is drying up the wildland fires are going to get bad. Plus it is storm time and we need to keep a eye on the weather. Temperatures are going to stay hot for awhile, so watch for the signs of heat stress.

The NVFC has a lot of online classes going on right now -- from Haz Mat to Health. Go to their website and see what you would like to take. The next Board meeting will be in Nebraska in September and should be a good one.

The Statewide Memorial Service will be Oct. 1. We need all the firefighters there who can make it.

This year at the convention’s Memorial Service in Dewey, we had more than 100 family members there. And there will be a lot of them there in October, plus others that could not make it to Dewey.

We need to show them our support and be there -- and line that outer rail around them -- to show them that we do care.

We are putting the OSFA Committees together. If there is a committee that you want to be on, you can still send your name in. We will try to finish it up at our next monthly Board meeting.

Everyone have a great summer and be safe.

3rd vice President n

Eric Harlow

Guthrie FD

eric.harlow200@coxinet.com • 405-520-2893 Wow, I still cannot quite believe this is real.

I cannot thank you all enough for placing your trust in me to serve our great organization.

I look forward to working to better the fire service in Oklahoma and to better serve our membership. We have an excellent staff working for us at the office and I can honestly say, this association wouldn’t be where it is without their hard work.

If you didn’t make it to Stroud for the Inaugural Mother Road Fire Truck Show and Muster, you missed a very awesome event (See photos on Page 17). The folks in my hometown of Stroud truly put on a good show and were very gracious hosts.

This event drew apparatus from all over and was very well attended for it being the first show. It was sunny and hot, but it was well worth the trip. Kudos to the guys at Stroud Fire Department and their ladies auxiliary, the City of Stroud and surrounding fire departments for starting what I hope to be a great annual fire service event.

I must say thank you again to Mike Duncan, Chief Dale Ford and the men and women of the Dewey Fire Department for putting on an excellent OSFA Convention this year. All of the hard work in planning and coordinating a convention can be daunting, but the folks in Dewey and the surrounding departments put on a great event and made their departments shine. Thank you again for being such great hosts to us all.

I believe one of the most important aspects of representing our group is by serving on the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System Board of Trustees.

Like a lot of you, when I first started in the fire service, I didn’t know much about our system and how truly great it is. The longer I’ve been on, the more I’ve started to learn about it. We are truly fortunate to have the system we do. The fact that both our paid and volunteer members have a pension is very important. It is truly a recruiting tool for the Oklahoma fire service.

Our brothers and sisters in law enforcement aren’t as lucky as we are. Their volunteer reserve officers and deputies don’t have any sort of pension available to them.

With that being said, I promise you that I will do everything I can to protect, preserve and improve our pension. Our retirees fought to get us where we are today and we need to continue that hard work to ensure that our system stays strong and that we are able to give our retirees a long overdue cost of living raise.

We also need to preserve the system for our younger generations of firefighters as they move up in the ranks. I can tell you that after sitting in on my first pension board meeting, our system is doing very well and we have an excellent group of staff working at the pension system office.

If you haven’t done so yet, go to the pen-

sion system website and set up your online pension account. It’s a great way to look at your years of service and see what your projected retirement will be. If you aren’t computer savvy, give the pension office a call. I know they’d be more than happy to help you out.

In closing, I just want to thank each and every one of you for what you do every day.

Our job is not easy and it continues to get tougher. The hazards we face are ever-growing. The political battles we deal with are always going to be there, but we are a strong family and we will prevail.

Stay strong, stay safe and right now, especially, stay hydrated! This summer heat is drying things out quickly. We will be in grass fire season again before you know it.

Remember to call for help early. Utilize the wildland task forces if you need help. It’s a great system our state has in place.

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve you all and our great organization.

Q&A with Eric Harlow Age: 37. Born and raised: Stroud.

Education: Stroud HS; OSU. Firefighting background: Started as a volunteer firefighter with Ripley FD; worked as a volunteer and part-time paid firefighter at Oak Cliff Fire Protection District in Edmond, leaving there as the Training Officer. Served as Assistant Chief for Deer Creek Fire Protection District in Edmond.

Also worked 9 years as Aircraft Rescue Firefighter at Will Rogers World Airport in OKC, leaving there as a Lieutenant. Been in current position as Guthrie Fire Chief for 6-and-a-half years.

Also serve as a Reserve Deputy for the Logan County Sheriff’s Office When did you know you wanted to be a firefighter? From about the time I was 3.

What do you like best about being a Firefighter? By far, it’s the interacting with the public.

What have been some highlights of your fire service career so far? First, and most recently, is taking the level of care that our EMS provides in Guthrie to the next level. For years, we provided basic life support service with a few EMT-Intermediates mixed in.

Through the hard work of our personnel, the assistance of our city and medical director, we are now capable of providing Paramedic life support services on all three of our shifts. This has drastically increased our capabilities to care for our citizens.

My other top highlight would be from my previous department at Deer Creek. Many are familiar with the rapid growth that the Deer Creek area sees every day. Being a part of transforming a small volunteer department into a well-equipped, well-trained, sustainable combination department was a huge task.

Through the hard work of all our personnel, a forward-thinking Board of Directors and trusting taxpayers, the department was able to position itself to meet the demands of the current and future growth.

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 20177

OSFA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

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Phil Ostrander

phil@osfa.info

405-424-1452

The perfect storm. These three simple words are often

In the last few years, the firefighters pension board has made some amazing changes to the way they do business, and now year after year the FFPRS is at or used to describe a situation where chance aligns itself in near the top in investment returns. such a way that multiple remotely related factors needed to Rumor has it that this year they have earned somewhere around 14.4% on make a rare occurrence happen … happen. investments. That 14.4% isn’t always going to be what we earn, but as long as we It is sad that I am forced to refer to a COLA (Cost of Livhave the good years to offset the bad, we are going to be just fine. 7.5% per year ing Adjustment) as a rare occurrence, but Oklahoma is the is the actuarially assumed rate of return for our system, and we almost doubled it world we live in. this year.

The perfect storm is rolling in. The year 2018 marks the 10 year anniversary of COLAs are largely political. This is an election year where I believe that Oklathe last COLA granted by the state for any of the beneficiaries of the states seven homans are tire of hearing nothing but bad news coming from the Capitol in OKC, pension systems. and legislators are tired of giving bad news. The good news when it comes to retirDo you realize there were firefighters who retired and then died never getting a ees is there is plenty of money in each of the states seven pension systems to grant COLA? a moderate COLA without crippling any of the systems.

While the cost of medical care has soared, pensions checks remain flat. I am Granting these COLAs for the retirees WOULD HAVE NO IMPACT ON THE hearing of retired OKC firefighters who have to add $300 per month to their penSTATE BUDGET! sion check just to pay the medical insurance. While inflation has increased over We have patiently agreed to work alongside the legislative leadership for sevthe last decade, pension checks remain the same. We all know of retirees who are eral years now to make changes to put our system on a sound and stable footing. struggling to keep up.

Our members have accepted the challenge and stepped up to the plate. In the last Of the 149 legislators in Oklahoma, only 18 (12%) have served in a year that the 5 years, we have accepted benefit reductions for furetirees in their district received a COLA. And 88% ture, active and retired firefighters in the name of the of the elected Senators and Representatives in office health of our system. today have never voted for or against a COLA for The Firefighters Pension and Retirement System is firefighters. not just a savings account for the future. It is a wellThe reasons are based on the stand that some feel While at the Fort Gibson Corn Festival June 24, designed benefit plan that should continue to be althat plans like ours need to be 80% or higher funded Phil Ostrander ran into Assistant Chief and Volunteer Kenny Raynor lowed to operate in a manner to provide a secure and to have the assets to allow for the system to pay a adequate future for our members.

COLA. That is a hotly debated issue among experts As to this session, in addition to changing the on both sides of the argument.

OPLAA language to allow for a system funded COLA To put it as simply as I can, if a pension system in 2018, we can justify a moderate COLA for paid fire is 80% funded, that means if the system shuts comdepartment retirees and an increase in the multiplier pletely down on any given day and has to pay every for volunteer firefighters. participant the full benefit that the actuary determines you would ever get for the rest of your life and the The winds are blowing … projected life span of your spouse on that day, the • 2018 is the 10 year anniversary of our last COLA system could only write you a check for 80% of what • Cost of medical care is skyrocketing you would be owed.

• Firefighters do not get social Security One other fact that many of the new legislators • It is an election year and something good needs don’t know yet is that Oklahoma firefighters do not to come out of it get social security. Additionally, because we have this • Elected officials would like to help their retired retirement plan, in most cases our spouse’s social seconstituents curity is penalized. Since we do not get social security, • 88% have never even got to vote on a firefighter the FFPRS check is the sole source of retirement for COLA many retired firefighters.

• No impact on the state budget Every pension system in Oklahoma is on an up• FFPRS earned about 14.38% or roughly $350M. ward trend. In 1981 when the state combined all of the plenty to fully pay for the COLA and still have a good local FF pension funds into the single state system, we year were only funded at 11%.

• We have fulfilled our promises Through the work of our system staff, pension • Now is the time to allow the system to take care boards and the work of members of the OSFA, we of its members stayed the course and now have a viable and sound The Perfect Storm is here! system.

n FUNDRAISERS:

2017-18 OSFA Executive Board PRESIDENT: Matt Lay 918-760-9065 matthewlay@icloud.com

2ND VICE PRESIDENT Mike Kelley 405-623-4388 mkelley@local157.org

1ST VICE PRESIDENT Dereck Cassady 580-761-5338 IAFFLocal2479@yahoo.com

3RD VICE PRESIDENT Eric Harlow 405-520-2893 eric.harlow200@coxinet.com

www.osfa.info (405) 424-1452 1-800-308-5336 PAST PRESIDENT Mike Duncan 918-214-6865 mduncan51@aol.com

Olive Volunteer FD Breakfast Fundraiser Aug. 12 from 7 to 11 a.m. Cost is $4 for children under 12 and $7 for adults. All proceeds go towards purchasing much needed fire equipment. Sponsored by the Drumright Masonic Lodge.

Oklahoma City FD Project Life 5K & 1-mile Fun Run Sept.

9 at 8 a.m. at Regatta Park in OKC (by Chesapeake Boathouse). Cost is $30 pre-registered (signmeup.com/119197).

Benefits Project Life program to purchase smoke detectors.

Boots & Ladders 4th Annual OK Chive Ball Aug. 19 from 8 p.m. to midnight at Northwest Events Center in OKC. Tickets are $50 and includes an evening of songs by local artists, dancing and a toast with new friends. All proceeds benefit Laverne Volunteer FD.

8August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

n

Q&A with ORFA’s NEW President

2017-18 ORFA Executive Board

Dana Cramer, Norman FD Ret.

ORFA’s new President was born in Tulsa and raised in Warr Acres.

He was a wrestler in high school (Putnam City HS) and college (Phoenix, Arizona), and that helped him land a position in the fire service.

Cramer retired from the Norman FD after 35-and-a-half years of service.

During that time, he worked all three shifts, served as President of the OSFA (1999), was an original member of Oklahoma Task Force 1 and was the first recipient of OSFA’s David Bain Award (2005).

In a question-and-answer session with Oklahoma Firefighter, Cramer shared the following: Age? Old enough to know better, young enough not to care.

When did you know you wanted to be a firefighter? After college, I was looking for a way to help the community and give back.

How’d you go about getting into the fire service? Like everyone, I filled out an application, took a bunch of tests and went through interviews.

I was glad I was straight out of college wrestling, because it made the physical agility a breeze. My charm and good looks helped also.

What did you like best about being a firefighter? Helping others. The joy you get from helping others is a true blessing. You can see the gratitude in their eyes. Can’t buy that feeling!

What have been some highlights of your fire service career so far? I have been blessed with many highlights throughout my career. Serving on the OSFA and ORFA Executive Boards along with the Pension Board. The many thank you’s you get from the public you serve.

The biggest surprise that left me speechless was receiving the David Bain Award. The greatest highlight is all the friends that I’ve made, not only for me, but my family as well, because of my connection to the fire service.

What are your hopes for the future? Have a long and healthy life for my family and me.

2ND VICE PRESIDENT Tippy Pierce, Moore fftip@swbell.net 405-924-1104

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PRESIDENT Dana Cramer, Norman dcramer3@cox.net 405-570-1387

3RD VICE PRESIDENT George Fina, OKC gomsc38@gmail.com 405-373-2409

1ST VICE PRESIDENT Juan Rodriguez, Lawton jrod911@gmail.com

PAST PRESIDENT Phil Ostrander, Tulsa phil@okgov.us 918-231-7765

Q&A with ORFA’s NEW 3rd VP

George Fina, Oklahoma City FD Ret.

ORFA’s new 3rd Vice President was born in Chicago and raised a few miles away in the small town of Crestwood, Ill. (population 600).

He attended Catholic grade school and, as a junior in high school, moved to Oklahoma City with his family. He graduated from Northwest Classen in 1957 and attended Central State University and Oklahoma State University.

Fina was hired by the Oklahoma City FD in 1962 and worked his way up from firefighter to driver to captain. During his 22 years at OCFD, he was active in the Union and served two terms as president.

In a question-and-answer session with Oklahoma Firefighter, Fina, 79, shared the following:

Other jobs/titles/positions? Served as councilman and Mayor for the City of Piedmont for 20 years. On School Board of Canadian Valley Technology Center, currently serving as President of Board. Currently serving as President of Oklahoma City Retired Firefighters Association.

When did you know you wanted to be a firefighter? I did some firefighting in the Navy. I had a brother-in-law on the job and firefighting really appealed to me.

How’d you go about getting into the fire service? I took the test with 167 other men and only 3 passed. Two months later, I was assigned to #5 fire station and was told to get on the first fire truck that moved. Strictly on the job training.

What did you like best about being a Firefighter? The fact that I worked with a fine group of men who became my brothers, and I was doing something of service.

What have been some highlights of your fire service career so far? The brothers and sisters who know what it takes to be a firefighter. The times I have been able to gain support from City Council members or legislators to benefit the fire service and our members.

What are your hopes for the future? To work hard to help improve the lives of the retirees and active firefighters. To work on pension and insurance benefits. All firefighters deserve to have a good and happy retirement ... they put their lives on the line and earned these benefits.

The swearing in of the 2017-18 Executive Board of the Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association. To see George and more photos from ORFA Convention, go to Page 18.

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 20179

Question & Answers Oklahoma Firefighter asked last issue’s readers this question: “What is your favorite thing to spend money on?”

Here is what they said: w Gary Lillie, Hawley/Nash: I enjoy spending money on others, especially my kids and grandkids. w Tom Marcum, Mooreland: Organizational type stuff -- anything that keeps me organized always gets me. I may have a touch of OCD. w Greg Lindsay, Oklahoma City: I like to spend money on things that make my family smile. w Dana Cramer, Norman Ret.: My favorite thing to spend money on is family and friends. w Trisha Chain, OSFA: Experiences I can share with someone, like concerts and sightseeing adventures!

w David Fincher, Lawton: Being the tight ass that I am, this is a difficult question.

The one thing I enjoy spending money on, without having buyer’s remorse, is traveling the world. w Eddie Hogan, Bethany Ret.: My family and friends! w Bert Norton, Midwest City: New shoes. w Richelle Treece, Bethel Acres: Fix up the house or make it better. w Jeremy Goodrich, Yukon: Fun times at the lake. w Aaron Burns, Broken Arrow Ret.: Slot machines! w Mike “Rookie” Billingsley, Nichols Hills Ret.: Food. w Bryan West, OSU-FST: I like to spend my money on anything for a good cause and helping others.

September’s question -“What headline would you give your firefighter career?”

Everyone is Welcome to Submit an Answer. Simply Email Your Response to penelopes@osfa.info

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SAFER Grant Sheri Nickel

Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Coordinator

When writing a grant, you have to turn an idea into words.

Those words have to be scholarly and flow clearly to create a picture of what you need to the person reading the grant whom is justifying what you are asking for based on the words that you wrote that you found to be the most harmonious in crafting a winning proposal.

You have to do your research, follow the directions, add in details to hit bullet points, use key words, blah…blah…blah…

And then after submitting it, the waiting game begins.

Many of us don’t even mess with applying for grants and opt to either do without or add on another fundraiser to help come up with the money to cover whatever it is that we are needing.

The OSFA understands the hassle that our volunteers have to go through to apply for grants and took upon the responsibility of applying for the SAFER grant for the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters in the state of Oklahoma.

The purpose of this funding is to create a net increase in the number of trained, certified and competent firefighters capable of safely responding to emergencies within their response area.

Applications are judged on eight criteria, and the grant that OSFA wrote demonstrated the need for the funds in our state’s volunteer fire departments.

And OSFA was awarded a little over $2.1 million.

However, the proposed grant was awarded for less than half of what it was written for, and the reduction was not clearly specified as to what was being cut out.

It was our assumption that we would deliver the grant as written -- just would not be able to have as many new volunteers as originally intended.

As the second quarter of the grant came to a close, we felt confident that we were going to be paying for our volunteers to complete a NFPA 1582 physical, pay them per diem, mileage and cover hotel costs along with their tuition for an approved Firefighter 1 program and provide them with a full set of bunker gear and a SCBA. I have been canvasing the state attending county meetings, collecting physical addresses and other data from fire chiefs and finally got a set of Standard Operating Guidelines developed on how the funds would be distributed.

On July 11, we had a conference call with our program director at FEMA to make sure that we were right on track with the guidelines only to be told that the reason that our grant was reduced to less than half was because the SAFER grant does not pay for SCBAs. With that being said, we will still be training our firefighters to the level that was originally intended. In fact, we will be able to train a higher number of new recruits and provide them with new PPE. However, the original thought of the PPE including a SCBA is now defunct under the conditions of the SAFER grant.

With regards to the need of getting SCBAs into our stations, we are going to seek alternative methods of getting them into your hands. While no promises are being made, we are actively seeking ways.

Without a doubt, whether we want to admit it or not, firefighters hate change. Unfortunately, we are faced with it in everything we do. No two calls are the same, our training constantly changes, we don’t always get to work with who we want to work with.

We adapt and we overcome, and that is what we are going to do in this case.

Everyone still needs to move forward in finding new firefighters for their departments, and we are still going to fund their training and buy their PPE. Let’s continue to get Firefighter-1 programs started and prove to the rest of the nation that they are going to have to work harder to beat the Oklahoma fire service standard.

SAFER GRANT Recruitment & Retention - First Time Firefighters - FIREFIGHTER 1 - BUNKER GEAR NOV. 24, 2017

APPLICATION PERIOD BEGINS Fire Chief, or appointed representative must contact the Grant Coordinator in writing no sooner than the first day of the grant period and provide accurate fire department rosters for the last 5 years to demonstrate the need to add additional firefighters to their departments.

Contact the OSFA for assistance.

Funds will be dispersed on a firstcome first-served basis according to goals and standards set forth in the Standard Operating Guidelines developed for this grant.

Official SOG is available upon request.

OKLAHOMA STATE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOC. SHERI NICKEL COORDINATOR 2716 N. E. 50TH Oklahoma City, OK 73111 405-424-1452 office 580-554-7123 cell sherin@osfa.info www.OSFA.info

10August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

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NEAR-MISS REPORT By Greg Lindsay

After the Smoke Clears In Oklahoma, we have Fire Departments of every size and type.

But not all have extensive resources where employee’s needs are concerned. The report this month describes an event where the author had an experience that left him vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

This report is a strong narrative, relatable to the fire service, and may be more common than we know.

Fireground Emergency Has Long-Term Impact Published: 4/26/2017 http://firefighternearmiss.com/Reports?id=9640

EVENT NARRATIVE A random day in May changed my life forever. I did not realize at the time what a profound effect that day would have on me. We had just finished lunch, and a call came in for a structure fire. Three Engines, two Ladders, and one Battalion Chief were initially dispatched. Later the Heavy Rescue and an additional Battalion Chief were also dispatched.

I was the Captain of an Engine company with four personnel assigned. Our company arrived to find a single-story residence, with a basement, and smoke was showing from the attic and eaves.

We were assigned Search. Our crew was carrying hand tools and a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC), making an entry in Division 1 above the fire, sounding the floor and scanning as we went. Smoke was banked two feet off the floor with an all clear being given quickly. While completing our search we came across a company with an attack line on Division 1, advising the fire was located on the same floor.

At this point, a Ladder company advised fire was visible from the basement. While exiting for re-assignment, I came across the door to the basement, and with the attack line being in Division 1, their quickest option was to descend the stairs to the basement. I advised fire attack to manage the door for me while I sounded the stairs for them before their descent.

It was never my intention to descend into the basement, just to sound the stairs for fire attack since they were without hand tools. I took approximately 3 to 4 steps down finding the stairs were intact at which point I turned around to exit finding the door closed. I later learned that command had ordered an evacuation from the structure that I did not hear transmitted.

When the search and fire attack crews exited the structure, they thought everyone was together. Once I found the door closed, I could hear crews on the other side of the door. The door was inward swinging to the steps and had no doorknob or way for me to open the door. I purposely didn’t call a mayday at first because Firefighters were on the other side of the door and I needed to relay my message immediately.

Just needing assistance with opening the door, I immediately transmitted on the radio, they had closed the door on me, and I needed it opened. This was after several failed attempts with my radio receiving a busy tone when trying to transmit. Three personnel from the initial crew re-entered to locate me, as well as two companies entering through the basement. Twice I came back on the radio saying “You have to hurry; I am burning up.”

I contemplated breaching the wall; however, I knew from our search that I was between a bathroom and kitchen, which would make it tough if not impossible to breach. In addition, my hook was 4’ in a 3’ stairway. I began beating with everything I had using my hook against the door to make noise for the search crew.

At this point, visibility was zero, and my TIC was “whiting out” due to the high heat conditions. The air in my cylinder had become heat saturated. This made it hot to

OKC Fire Department

breathe, and I felt as if I was being stung by a million yellow jackets. The ceiling overhead stayed intact the entire duration, making my position like a chimney with a cap over it.

I knew my only other option was to go down into the basement, which I didn’t want to do. I couldn’t take much more of the heat.

At this moment, I could hear the rescue crew coming down the hallway. The door swung open, and two hands grabbed hold of me. We immediately began heading out under extreme heat conditions. I cannot explain the feeling of relief and pure adrenaline I was experiencing when I was safe outside and able to breathe in fresh air. After being checked out by EMS and rehab, I returned to my crew to do the overhaul.

After completing overhaul, I found blisters on my wrists with more forming. I declined transport to the hospital but reported to a medical facility for evaluation. On evaluation, I was determined to have second-degree burns on both wrists and forearms. I also had first-degree burns on my upper torso.

AFTER THE EVENT After returning to work, it seemed like everything was normal. Before this event, I had no knowledge or education dealing with mental health and my personal care or knowledge of signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I had been in the service at this time more than 16 years.

I began having trouble sleeping, re-experiencing the fire and nightmares. I felt detached from everyone but my children. I was depressed and very emotional. I had all the beginning signs of post-traumatic stress and did not realize it. Just a few weeks later, I self-medicated with alcohol to suppress my feelings. I did not want to be alone and missed my children, so I headed to a friend’s house. Due to this poor emotional and alcohol-influenced decision, I was pulled over and charged with driving under the influence. I was not thinking clearly and self-medicated to cope. I realized I needed some help and made an employee assistance program (EAP) appointment for PTSD assistance.

The downfall for many EAP resources is that they are not experienced dealing with emergency responders. The makeup and reaction we have are different from that of the general public. This was the case with my encounter; with no fault to this doctor, the experience was just not there.

Subsequently following this assistance, I made an appointment with a local outpatient treatment center for counseling.

I was placed in a 40-hour intensive outpatient program, receiving treatment and coping skills. Following this counseling, I began taking classes on critical incident training, suicide prevention, and substance abuse prevention. I thought it would be good for myself and other emergency services.

While attending these courses, I found that I needed more assistance with my PTSD. To ensure I had all the needed tools, I located an in-patient treatment facility solely for emergency responders and military personnel suffering from various forms of critical incident stress and substance abuse. I stayed at the facility for nine days conducting sessions on anger management, group discussions, Alcoholics Anonymous, group cooking, massages, debriefings, one-on-one counseling and Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR).

The stigma surrounding our mental well-being in the fire service must change as well the common knowledge of alcohol use among first responders as a coping tool. We spend hours training to prepare for when an emergency occurs, to have the necessary skills and be physically prepared. We must do the same mentally.

This is why I am standing up to share my story, to at least make a dent in this stigma and to show that it is ok to say you’re not ok! We must be able to recognize the warning signs of substance abuse, critical incident stress, and the risks for suicide in our co-workers and ourselves. It is important to know that others are there and how to contact available resources.

LESSONS LEARNED Describe the lessons learned at this event: INCIDENT: Mayday training must be mandatory for all members of the fire service. I have extensive training in Mayday’s, Self-survival and Rapid Intervention, and have been teaching it across the state for many years. However, I never activated my PASS device, never thought too, even after all my training. This life-saving procedure must be ingrained in your head. The noise from my hook against the door assisted the rescuers in locating me. You never know how you will react to a situation until you are in it.

POST INCIDENT: The key is pre-education, giving emergency responders the tools to recognize signs and resources to handle those signs. Before this experience, I had no training in responder mental health or awareness of any resources available, other than employee assistance programs.

Keep track of your folks and check in with them as needed. I didn’t have an accurate understanding of myself and the reactions I could have to a critical incident until I experienced it. It’s impossible to put yourself in someone else shoes.

Everyone is affected differently. Remember what is not a significant event to you may be critical to someone else. One person may respond to immediate discussions following a critical incident (such as a debriefing/defusing) some may not be ready to talk until sometime later. A person is not going to speak until they are willing. However, they need to know that others are there for them and that resources are available.

The experience this firefighter had is unique, but the aftermath is a recognizable pattern. One of the identifiers in this report are the requests for assistance during the event.

“Hurry up; I’m burning up.” is an indication of the beginning of mental trauma. When this occurs, it should not be overlooked. The author indicates that early intervention is the best way to help our crewmembers. Recognizing the event is the first step.

It is not uncommon for the first signs of post-traumatic stress to be revealed as it was in this report. It is harder to identify a mental health issue than a physical injury, but we all should be on guard for the indicators. This event occurred in May 2014, and the report was published on the www.Firefighternearmiss website in April 2016. Nearly two years later and with a great deal of personal growth.

In the nearmiss report, the author refers to the burns as the injuries sustained at this event. The lost time injury indicated less than one month. I would speculate the burns were minor compared to the mental injuries this Firefighter sustained. A good friend of mine uses this analogy, “You wouldn’t ask a child to play soccer with a broken leg.” You would seek the best treatment for the leg first; no matter how extensive the steps are. Why should PTSD be different?

Would you ask someone to make life-changing decisions while they need help coping with a mental health concern? I think it is best to help them get to a comfortable place where they can heal. To me, this applies to people suffering with Post Traumatic Stress.

If you have any questions about mental health issues related to the work firefighters do, we have a state volunteer Oklahoma Crises Response Network (OCRN). The organizations goal is helping Fire, Police, EMS, Teachers and other people working in the public sector that are dealing with a critical incident. Chaplain Gary Doty is the director. He can be reached online at www.okcism.org or by E-mail at, director@okcism.org. Chaplain Doty’s emergency contact number is (405) 570-6080. The group can put you in contact with mental health professionals that understand the type of work we do. Thank you, Chaplain Wilson, in Oklahoma City for information about this resource.

If you have had a similar experience, I offer the ability to share it anonymously. The Firefighter Near Miss Reporting System will never share your identity with anyone. If you need to talk with someone immediately, the path to help is a phone call away. If the resources are not available through your department contact Chaplain Doty at the number given above. Your story is important, and your health is important.

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201711

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Volunteer Fire Service Tom Marcum

Mooreland FD

How Do You Smell?

I have a favorite bible verse, (give me a minute, I’m not going to preach to you I promise, so don’t tune me out just yet), it comes from 2 Corinthians and it says this, “To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?”

It talks about our aroma, or our smell. I’m not talking about how we smell after an 800,000 acre grass fire, or an all-night 3 alarm structure fire, or even after training in 100+ degree weather in full turn out gear! I’m talking about how we smell to others around us.

How we present ourselves is how smell!

Do we present ourselves as active, learning, participating firefighters that go in and hone our craft, share our talents with those we serve with, and train to be better? This brings life to our departments, our brothers and sisters in the service, and to our communities.

Or do we sit back, talk about the ‘good ole days’, whine about having to do yet more training that we’ve already done, talk about others behind their backs, and resist the opportunities to get involved at any level and yet complain that nothing ever seems to get any better? This only brings death to us, our reputations within our own departments and those around us, and makes people eventually want to stay away from us because our odor is terrible.

But I like what even the last line says -- who is equal to such a task?

I’ve gotten to know a lot of amazing firefighters across this great state. Some still active, some retired, some just starting their careers, some nearing completion of theirs, some career, some volunteer, and I’ve noticed that most all of us are alike in the fact that we signed on to this job because we wanted to make a difference, to help people, to serve our communities.

Are YOU equal to such a task? Are YOU bringing life to your department or are you bringing death? Are YOU serving or expecting to be served?

Don’t get sidetracked by the politics that are inevitable. Be the leader that you desire to be. If those around you don’t smell so great, make sure that you keep yourself clean and fresh and doing what you signed on to do.

Train hard, be involved, serve with pride, and always keep learning and teaching others. Don’t let anyone steal your passion for firefighting; it’s a noble calling, and a great profession.

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Chaplain’s corner Gary Lillie Nash/Hawley FD Chaplain, FF, EMT garywlillie@gmail.com

To post prayer requests Recently our radio tower at our fire station was and find up-to-date blown over by high winds. information on the On that tower, we had 2 VHF antennas, 1 scanner Oklahoma Fire antenna and a digital TV antenna. When it was blown Chaplains, go to www. over, we lost all communication with the outside okfirechaplains.org. world. We couldn’t hear anyone, nor could we talk to anyone. Before it’s replacement, we depended upon cell phones, but that was a hassle.

It was a good reminder just how important communication is for all of us.

Good, clear, plain English communication is essential for the fire service. We need to be able to talk to the Incident Commander, the base station and each of the units in the field.

Without good communication, we will fail our community.

The same is true with our communication with our Heavenly Father.

The Bible tells us how important our prayer life is.

James 1:5 instructs us to ask God for wisdom.

I Thessalonians 5:17 encourages us to always be in a state of prayer.

I Peter 5:7 tells us to “cast all of our worries and concerns upon Him.” James 4:2 reminds us that “we have not because we ask not”.

It is essential to be able to communicate with our Incident Commander when we’re on a call, it is even more essential for us to communicate with our Ultimate Incident Commander (God) in life.

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

OSFA Office Trisha Chain

Administrative Assistant

What a whirlwind these past seven months have been!

I knew without a doubt that being hired by the OSFA would be an adventure, but I never knew what kind of an adventure it would be.

As I’m sure you all have heard by now, I grew up around the fire service, having incredible role models like John Futhey II and my dad, Dale Chain Jr.. But I lost touch after the passing of Big John in 2006 and my dad in 2009.

After I graduated from Oklahoma State University (Go Pokes!), my mom noticed an ad for an administrative assistant in this exact newspaper and passed along the information to me. When I showed up for my interview, I chatted with a nice lady named Amy before meeting Phil and a man who seemed really familiar.

As it turned out, Steve was one of the men who came with Pete Stavros to my little town of Hunter for the department’s annual calf and fish fry when Big John was on the OSFA Board. How many people can say their boss knew them as a little kid, running calf fries across a fire station?

After my interview, I was shown across the hall into the museum and saw equipment from both Hunter and Pond Creek, where I graduated high school from, and a tribute to a man who loved the fire service more than anyone I’ve ever known.

I barely made it to my car before calling my mom. I couldn’t stop smiling; I knew this was the place for me. Although it has taken me a while to get into the swing of things, I couldn’t be happier working for the OSFA. The cause is close to my heart and people I work with are pretty incredible.

I’ve met old friends of my dad and Big John and made some new ones of my own.

I would like to thank the Oklahoma fire service for welcoming me back so warmly and I look forward to our many adventures together! See you around!

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12August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

FACING CANCER

By Jesse Roman, NFPA Journal -- Magazine of the National Fire Protection Association

As the nation’s fire service acknowledges the toll the disease is taking on its ranks, Boston emerges as a leader in establishing practices to protect firefighters against cancer On a sunny New England afternoon last July, Boston firefighter Glenn Preston and his 8-year-old son Jake cracked jokes in the car on the way to Fenway Park for their annual father-son Red Sox game. As they pulled onto the highway, Preston’s phone started buzzing. The unfamiliar number on the caller ID made him brace for bad news.

Two days before, doctors at Dana Farber Medical Center in Boston had biopsied a grapefruit-sized growth in Preston’s chest. Not wanting to worry his family, he hadn’t told his wife or his four young children about the procedure.

For weeks, he had done his best to hide his shallow breathing and near constant exhaustion. He hadn’t mentioned the chest pains or how sometimes when he sneezed it felt like a harpoon had been shot through his chest, dropping him to his knees.

He answered his phone. The doctor on the line told Preston he had cancer, that it was advanced, and that he needed to come to the hospital immediately.

“Good, good. OK, well, I’m on my way to Fenway now, so maybe we’ll catch up later,” he said, playing it so Jake would think he was talking to an old buddy. Although the doctor strongly advised against it, Preston kept the car pointed toward the stadium. He and Jake stayed for the entire game, and went out for pizza afterward.

A couple of days later, Preston checked himself into the hospital. Doctors told him he had advanced non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but he didn’t want to discuss his chances for survival; he didn’t want to know. As thoughts of his kids flashed through his mind, he was indignant but not surprised.

“Since 2000, I’ve been in a really busy company, going to fires and coming out of buildings covered in black, looking like crap,” Preston told me recently. “I thought I’d get cancer—that’s the job. I just didn’t think it would be now.”

With his diagnosis, Preston joins a growing list of sick Boston firefighters, poisoned over their careers by a toxic soup of carcinogenic chemicals absorbed through their lungs, eyes, nose, and skin.

On average, a Boston firefighter is diagnosed with cancer every three weeks, according to the Boston Fire Department’s internal figures. Over the last few decades, the age of diagnosis has steadily dropped from the 60s to the 50s, and now, increasingly to the 40s. Preston was 39 when he was diagnosed.

This same reality is playing out in fire departments across the country. Firefighters are dying at alarming rates from

Glenn Preston & son Jake

an array of cancers, including colon, lung, melanoma, mesothelioma, prostate, rectal, stomach, non-Hodgkin’s Jesse lymphoma and Roman more, which have all been shown in studies to target firefighters in higher numbers than the rest of the population.

While it’s hard to pin down exact figures, the disease is taking a serious toll on the fire service. Sixty-one percent of firefighter line-of-duty deaths from 2002 to 2016 were cancer-related, according to the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), which obtains its figures from local union reports.

That amounts to 1,053 firefighters who have died over that span. Since there is no definitive registry, that figure is almost surely only a fraction of the total.

The lack of reliable data on firefighter cancer deaths illustrates just how overlooked the issue has been. For decades, cancer in the fire service has been discussed in murmurs and whispers, seen by many as the price for doing a dangerous but necessary job. But as the death toll rises and research reveals more about the extent of the problem and its causes, muted concern has given way to a full-scale awakening and mobilization.

“We have a full-court press going on, making sure we do what we can to protect our members -- they aren’t always thinking about this, they’re just doing their jobs, but we need to make sure there is awareness and training,” said Pat Morrison, the assistant to the general president for health, safety, and medicine at the IAFF. There is no more time to waste, Morrison said. “The reality is that cancer is now the leading cause of death for our members, and probably the most important issue we are working on today,” he said. “It’s an epidemic. The trend keeps climbing and climbing.”

Nowhere has the effort to combat cancer been more aggressive -- and, in some ways, more unlikely -- than in Boston, where the leader of the charge has been Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn.

Finn, a 56-year old mustached former Marine with steely blue eyes, is affable and at times chummy, with an accent and wit to match his working-class Boston upbringing. Though his personality can be disarming, it does little to mask a fiery determination simmering just below the surface, which suggests that Finn is not a man you’d want to disappoint.

He has moved up through the ranks over 32 years with the department, becoming commissioner when Boston Mayor Marty Walsh was elected in 2014.

Finn believes he has a moral obligation to stem the surge of cancer among his 1,500 firefighters, and since assuming the top job it’s been a full-on assault.

“Firefighting is a family sport, and everybody is tired of watching our family, the members of this department, get sick,” Finn told me in his office over a cup of coffee one snowy morning in early March. He counts nearly 200 friends and colleagues among the dead.

Aided by millions of dollars in financial backing from the city and dedicated labor support from union president Rich Paris, in just two years the Boston Fire Department has gone from barely recognizing cancer as a problem to being viewed as one of the most progressive national leaders in firefighter health and wellness.

Finn is now in demand as a speaker at national fire service conferences, and in April he was named the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association’s Fire Chief of the Year for his part in transforming the Boston department’s health and safety culture.

Under Finn, Boston’s approach to reducing cancer deaths has been multifaceted, but all means to the same end: limiting a firefighter’s exposure to cancer-causing chemicals. “We drill into every firefighter’s head, ‘take no smoke,’” Finn said. “Think of smoke as being radioactive -- every time you take it in needlessly you are shortening your life.”

Unlike other line-of-duty deaths that play out in one tragic instant, cancer is often a slow killer that blooms only after years of exposure to carcinogens. But it appears that the latency period is shortening, in part because firefighters are being exposed to more carcinogens today than ever before.

Fifty years ago, most of what burned in the typical structure fire included cotton, wood, and other natural fabrics and materials -- the products of combustion were not ideal to breathe in, but they weren’t much worse than a campfire, Finn said.

Today, almost every structure fire is more like a HAZMAT event -- a lot of material is burning and nobody can be sure what toxins may be spewing out.

The contents of modern homes are a hodgepodge of plastics, rubber, and electronics, as well as wood, furniture, and fabrics laced with flame-retardant chemicals. When these materials burn, the products of combustion include a variety of fierce-sounding substances -- acrylonitrile, arsenic, benzene, polycyclic hydrocarbons, cadmium, chlorophenols, chromium, carbon monoxide, dioxins, ethylene oxide, formaldehyde, orthotoluide, polychlorinated biphenyls, and vinyl chloride, to name just a few -- that have been proven or are widely believed to cause cancer.

The chemicals seep into the human body through the nose, ears, lungs, and unprotected skin. They attach like Velcro to anything they touch, such as turnout gear, gloves, hoses, and helmets, which can off-gas dangerous fumes for days, weeks, and months following a fire.

The soiled gear contaminates the inside of trucks, kitchens, lockers, and bunks. Recent studies that have analyzed the contents of used vacuum cleaner bags from firehouses in California found numerous dangerous flame retardant chemicals spread out across the living quarters. In some firehouses, it’s not uncommon to see oil slicks resting atop the pool of water in the ice machine following a power outage.

With contamination everywhere, the challenge of protecting firefighters from the deadly onslaught of chemicals is immense, and four years ago it would have been hard to find anyone who would have thought that Boston would be the department to take on such a difficult task.

For years, Boston Fire had a well-deserved national reputation for being stubborn, old-school, and needlessly resistant to change, often to the detriment of its members.

In many companies, wearing self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) was optional or even seen as a sign of weakness. Leadership didn’t seem to value personal protection, and the machismo prevalent in so many departments, where soot-covered smoke-eaters were regarded as the bravest and baddest of all firefighters, was rampant in Boston firehouses.

“Plenty of times when I was doing overhaul (after a fire), I’d see guys inside without masks puking out the window from the smoke,” said Lt. Marty Fernandes, 55, who told me he’s seen several firefighter friends die of cancer. “I always had my mask on because breathing that smoke didn’t make me feel good. But I’d hear, ‘Hey, what are you wearing your mask for?’ There’s definitely peer pressure.”

“I only wore my mask when I thought I needed to,” Preston told me. “I’d wait until I thought I couldn’t stand to take anymore smoke, until I was coughing, choking, and spitting.

That’s just how we did it. I wanted to conserve air in case I needed it later, or found a victim inside that needed it.”

Firefighters also said that turnout gear was almost never washed because each person only had one good set and the contractor hired to do the cleaning took weeks to get it back, leaving firefighters with a choice between dirty gear or none at all.

Filthy coats were known to kick up black dust clouds that enveloped the firehouse, Preston told me. He once resorted to washing his soot-caked turnout coat at a local laundromat. He stuck it in a machine and left, and when he came back to grab it the entire place smelled like it was on fire.

At the root of many of these problems were adversarial relationships between Boston firefighters, fire department management, and City Hall. Feuding over funding, along with a lack of trust, created widespread dysfunction. Equipment and apparatus were aged and in a state of disrepair; brakes on fire trucks would fail and remain broken for

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201713

FACING CANCER

... Continued

months. Investments over the years in departmental infrastructure were few.

Remarkably, the typical Boston firehouse is now 76 years old. With the department just trying to survive, cancer wasn’t on the priority list.

“It’s like in sports, you don’t win a game on just offense or defense—you need both sides of the team to win that game,” said Rich Paris, the union president. “We needed management and the union working together to accomplish this. But that wasn’t happening.”

When Finn and Walsh came aboard in 2014, the infighting eased. Finn, himself a former member of the union executive team, met with Paris, and they agreed to work together to devote as much time and as many resources as necessary to combat the cancer scourge. Both men were worn out from watching friends die and families suffer, Paris told me. Both felt that the time for action was long overdue.

“Seeing firefighters in the hospital next to their families and they know they aren’t coming home, or hearing my friends, these big tough firemen, cry and tell me they’re scared -- it’s hard,” Paris said. “When I tell them, ‘you’ll be alright,’ I feel like I’m lying to them. There have been times when I’ve said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’ and they die that night. I wish I could show what that’s like to the rest of the department. There are no words to describe what that’s like.”

In Boston, the fire department has taken a holistic approach to the cancer battle, trying to limit its members’ exposure in a variety of ways. “There is no silver bullet -- it is a cumulative effect over a number of best practices,” Finn said. To reduce exposure from dirty equipment, each Boston firefighter has been outfitted with two pairs of new turnout gear to ensure they always have a clean one at the start of every shift. With the help of private donations, industrial cleaning machines and drying racks have been installed in nearly all of the city’s 34 firehouses so the deadly soot can be washed out as it’s brought back.

The city is spending millions for each firehouse to be industrially cleaned, removing decades of soot, diesel exhaust residue, benzene, and a host of other contaminants from the floors, ceilings, walls, and carpets. New firehouses are planned, and others are being renovated to better separate bays from living quarters.

To limit exposure on the fireground, the city has spent $4.5 million to equip all of Boston’s 1,500 firefighters with new SCBA air tanks that hold 45 minutes of air, a 50 percent increase, so they’ll be less likely to remove their masks to conserve air. Protective hoods worn under the helmet and mask to cover the face and neck, once unheard of in Boston, are now mandatory.

In addition, 23 new fire trucks equipped with 30-gallon foam bladders have been purchased, so that crews can safely put out car and dumpster fires from a safe distance with foam to limit their exposure to deadly smoke.

Fireground tactics have also been changed so that crews

Joseph Finn (R) & Rich Paris

cycle in and out more, limiting each firefighter’s potential exposure. Incident commanders now monitor air conditions, and it’s common to hear over the radio the particulate count and instructions for all firefighters to keep their masks on. A firefighter without a hood or mask is no longer treated like a hero, and there are consequences for not following orders to remain on air.

“Everybody around here is wearing a mask and a hood now, and it’s our job to make sure of it,” Fernandes said. “If someone sees me not wearing my hood, I’ll never hear the end of it. Joe Finn doesn’t mess around.”

Finn is quick to note that all the best equipment and standard operating procedures in the world won’t mean a thing without buy-in from the rank and file, and the cultural changes needed to achieve it have required the most effort and persistence.

One of Finn’s first moves as commissioner was to create a Safety, Health and Wellness Division within the fire department, which has formulated a strategy directed at the cancer effort. One of the first tasks the division undertook was to hire a production team to create a video featuring Boston firefighter cancer victims, tearful widows and families, and moving images of the hundreds of firefighters Boston has lost.

The idea of the video, released in early 2015, was to “scare the bejesus out of people, and awaken them to the idea that this is no joke,” Finn said. “No matter how much you try to authoritatively push issues down, the cancer issue comes down to personal responsibility more than anything else.

If you go into a burning building and think it’s cool to be the dirty sooty guy coming out, you have to think, ‘what am I doing to my family? What am I doing to myself and the people who are being left behind when I die?’

That is the message we need to keep harping on.”

Sometimes the reality speaks for itself. Since the debut of the video, at least one of the stricken firefighters interviewed, Mark Matthews, has died, leaving behind a wife and two children. When Finn visited him in the hospital two days before his death, Matthews asked his wife to leave the room. He took Finn’s hand and told him, “Don’t let my death be in vain.”

Like all the cancer victims interviewed in the video, and so many other older firefighters in Boston, Matthews believed passionately in the new direction of the department. While several firefighters told me there was still some reluctance in the ranks to change, Finn told me there has been virtually no pushback from the department’s veteran members.

“It has been just the opposite -- they understand. They know what we’re talking about. They’ve buried way too many friends, and they’ve seen the human suffering of the children and the widows,” Finn said. “The challenge is the younger generation—they want to prove themselves and act like they’ve been here since 1965. It’s up to the company officers to step up and make sure the younger firefighters are following best practices. By being leaders and doing their jobs they’re going to save these kids’ lives.”

Glenn Preston didn’t have anyone in his ear telling him about the dangers of smoke when he joined the Boston ranks as a 23-year-old rookie back in 2000. Nobody during his training at the Massachusetts Fire Academy so much as even mentioned the word cancer, he said.

As a result, Preston doesn’t get out to his old firehouse in South Boston much these days. For months, his schedule

has been consumed by a cycle of weeklong chemotherapy sessions in the hospital, followed by two weeks of recovery at home in Danvers, Massachusetts. But he was recently back in a fire station with his old gear, and a smile on his face, kindly stopping by with his five-year-old daughter, Grace, for a photo shoot and to talk about his cancer with me.

After the shoot, still wearing his bunker gear, he was polite but noticeably fatigued. He needed water, he told me, and instinctively started for the kitchen. Then he abruptly stopped. “I can’t wear this stuff in there,” he said to himself, even though his coat and pants were clean and hadn’t been used in months. A friend grabbed a glass of water for him.

Later, Rich Paris stopped me in the kitchen. “That right there is what’s different in the Boston Fire Department,” he said, nodding toward Preston. “A couple of years ago there’d be six guys lounging around this kitchen with dirty gear and helmets laying everywhere.” Now, the guy who just a year ago wouldn’t use air at a fire until he was choking on smoke won’t even wear his clean turnout gear into a firehouse kitchen.

When I asked him if his cancer diagnosis makes him resent the department or regret becoming a firefighter, Preston quickly answered no. His fire officers didn’t know any better, he said. He didn’t know any better, either. In his mind, it’s nobody’s fault.

But now, as he wheezes and looks exhausted after an hour of light activity, he does know better. That’s why he made the 40-minute trek from his home to come and talk to me, he said. He wants other firefighters to know, too.

“I’ve been lucky to have this job,” he said, as Grace crawled on his lap. “These people have been there for me.

Maybe I can do something for them.”

14August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

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educational advisory

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in memoriam

Brian Brush

Edmond FD Educational Advisory Committee Vice Chair

On July 12, the 2017/2018 Educational Advisory Committee first assembled as a group at the fire museum in Oklahoma City following recent convention elections.

The Educational Advisory Committee is one of the OSFA’s three Constitutionally Established Committees who’s organization can be traced back prior to World War 1 for the planning and organization of State Fire Schools. The meeting began with a review of the committee’s mission to further the training and educational opportunities for the firefighters of Oklahoma and to provide the best open and free access state fire school we can.

With that said the work began.

Following member introductions, a complete review of the notes compiled from 2017 state fire school was performed. Understanding the interests and strengths of committee members helped with creating and delegating assignments and sub committees.

In 2018, we are anticipating 800 firefighters attending the State Fire School in Tulsa from Oklahoma and around the country. This group will without a doubt continue to meet the demands that comes with the growth and success through attention to detail and great effort.

I know we are nine months away from the 2018 OSFA State Fire School, but I’d like to pass on the important dates and deadlines early and often. It is set for May 3-6 at the Tulsa Fire Training Center and Tulsa Community College.

We anticipate registration to open around Feb. 1. Instructor presentation submissions are currently being accepted and the form for those submissions can be found on the OSFA website under the events and training tab. The submission deadline for instructors is Dec. 1. Any potential sponsors and vendors please contact us with your interest as early as possible to ensure we create the best possible partnership for your level of commitment and our needs for and access to firefighters.

I am happy as always to answer your questions regarding state fire school, your educational or training needs. If I can’t help you out, I will find someone -- or someone who knows someone -- who can. Have a great summer and be good!

Full house for the first 2017-18 Educational Advisory Committee meeting, as they begin planning for the 2018 OSFA State Fire School.

Roberts Testing Pump Testing Greg Roberts 405-485-3875 groberts1960@gmail.com

in your Community

Pam Smith, Dewey 2007 OSFWA President The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Pam Smith on June 28. She was 62.

Pam was a stalwart supporter of the OSFA and the Women’s Auxiliary. She served on the OSFWA Board from 2004-2008.

In 2007, she was the association’s President while her husband Tom (Former Dewey Fire Chief) was serving as OSFA President for the second time in five years.

Pam was awarded the OSFWA Woman of the Year Award this year at the annual convention in her hometown of Dewey.

“Pam was a very special person. She made us feel like family. Memory and I can’t express how sad we are to hear of her passing. She will always be in our hearts.” -- Phil and Memory Ostrander “She was such a sweet person and a great friend to the firefighters of Washington, Nowata and Osage counties, plus all of those involved with the OSFA. RIP, Pam.” -- Don Gaskill, Copan FD Ret. “Thank you all, it means a lot to us. She was also a school bus driver with children that thought she hung the moon.” -- Sally Boyd, Pam’s sister

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OSFA WOMEN’S AUXILIARY NEWS Susan Foughty

2015 President

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!

I would like to say THANK YOU to the Dewey Firefighters and their families for hosting the 123rd OSFA Convention. The convention was full of fun and fellowship with our firefighter families.

I would also like to thank the OSFA Women’s Auxiliary (OSFWA) Board for an informative and fun convention. Thank you Diana Cramer, Tennie Green, Erica Koch, Susan Walker and JeanAnn Gaona for working together on this year’s board and keeping it active for another year.

This year at the Women’s Auxiliary meetings, there was not a Junior Board Member elected. So the Past Presidents will work together to fill this position for the year. Our attendance has decreased so much over the last several years, but I’m hoping it will increase in the future.

If you didn’t know, there are several fun activities while the firefighters are in their meetings, so please plan on attending next year.

With a heavy heart, I have to inform you that a Past President and wonderful woman -- Pam Smith of Dewey -- passed away on June 29, 2017.

She served as President in 2007 and was honored with the OSFWA Woman of the Year Award at this year’s convention. Pam will truly be missed. Please keep her husband Tom and her family in your prayers.

Everyone have a safe summer!

2017-18 Women’s Auxiliary Board PRESIDENT Tennie Green tennie.green@gmail.com (405) 440-7060 VICE PRESIDENT Erica Koch ejv97@cox.net (405) 308-2010 SEC/TREASURER Susan Walker sw233821@gmail.com (580) 351-4116

PAST PRESIDENT Diana Cramer cramerdr@cox.net (405) 613-2513

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201715

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16August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

I became a firefighter for .

We all have our reasons. Personal reasons. Important reasons. No one does it because it’s easy.

As first responders, we need to stay as tough as the challenges we face.

Taking care of the public and our crew starts with taking care of ourselves, so we’re ready and able to respond when called.

NVFC keeps you safe. You keep the community safe.

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6/29/17 10:58 AM

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201717

HELD JULY 15

Photos By Greg Roberts, Norman FD Ret.

Blackwell FD’s 1918 American LaFrance Stroud Firefighters

Logan County Firefighters

123rd Convention of the Oklahoma State Firefigh

18August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

By Trisha Chain, OSFA Administrative Assistant The OSFA’s 123rd Annual Convention “Loyal to Our Duty” was held June 7-10 at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Dewey.

The event -- with 266 registered attendants representing 46 departments -- ran well thanks to the Dewey, Osage Hills, Copan and Bartlesville Fire Departments. And participants had a great time enjoying the festivities all week.

Receiving the “First In-Last Out Award” was Richard Walts, Ft. Sill Retired, who is an OSFA Honorary Life Member, on the Museum Board and has been calling firefighters to OSFA Convention meetings for years.

“I was in shock,” Walts said of the award announcement. “When they asked me to say something, I froze. Then I quietly said ‘Clear the halls!’

Many said those words were very appropriate.”

The golf tournament on June 7 had a total of 38 teams split into AM and PM flights and was held at the beautiful Adams Golf Course in Bartlesville.

The fishing tournament, also on June 7, was held at Grand Lake with a winning weight of 19.26 pounds caught by Heath Tye and Curt Warren.

On June 8, the annual Last Alarm ceremony was held, honoring those in the Oklahoma Fire Service we have lost in the past year and showing our appreciation and offering support to their families.

It was a wonderful service and was complimented by the families, which we were very happy to hear.

After the ceremony was a short day of business matters followed by the Poker Run (winning hand

by Jimmy Secrist) and Sporting Clays Tournament (won by one of our sponsors, Clay Moss, who donated his winnings back to the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial).

During the afternoon on June 8, everyone gathered at the MDA picnic for some good barbecue and great company. By the way, Okahoma firefighters raised $988,000 for MDA this year, which ranks 8th in the nation!

The final two days of convention were productive business days, with reports from many fire service entities on June 9 and committee reports and voting on June 10.

The banquet held Friday night was delicious, and the comedian and auction provided great entertainment for the night. Auction items included benches, televisions, and homemade items like intricate hand tooled stools donated by Bartlesville retiree Bobby Ford.

On Saturday, each resolution presented was passed. And for the Executive Board’s 3rd Vice President position, we had four candidates who ran.

Congrats to Eric Harlow, Guthrie Fire Chief, on winning the election. We look forward to his role in the Association for the next five years.

The OSFA would also like to thank Raanon Adams for his devotion to this Association and leadership in the Oklahoma Fire Service for the past five years.

Thank you to everyone who came to Dewey for this year’s convention. We hope everyone got to explore the area and got to know the people and the state we live to protect.

Circle your calendars for the 124th Annual Convention in June 2018. We’ll see you in Tulsa!

Installation of the 2017-18 OSFA Executive Board Kent Lagaly & Phil Ostrander

Skeet Shooters

Con

hters Association

nvention Committee Members

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June 7-10, 2017

Dewey

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201719

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At the MDA Picnic

Accepting Stavros Scholarship

State Fire Marshal Robert Doke

20August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

36th Convention of the Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association June 6 , 2017

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Dewey

Nearly 50 registered retirees representing 20 departments around the state attended Many door prizes were awarded, including one to Floyd Pennell, Retired Tulsa, for being the oldest member present at age 88. Floyd was also one of six retirees attending their first ORFA Convention!

Installation of the 2017-18 ORFA Executive Board

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ORFA Retirees attending their first ORFA Convention

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Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201721

Meet the 2017 Stavros Scholarship Recipients The Pete and Lela Stavros Scholarship Foundation was established in 2002.

And when the first scholarships were awarded in 2004, five recipients received $500 to help with college expenses.

This year, five $1,000 scholarships were awarded. The deserving five were picked from a total of 67 applicants.

Chason Hurt • Carnegie HS • Son of P.K. Hurt, Carnegie FD Retired • Plans to study Fire Protection at SWOSU “My father and my uncle are both members of the OSFA, and my father is a retired volunteer fire chief. I have always admired their service and dedication and the drive of all Oklahoma firefighters to come to the aid of those in need.”

Ashley Martinez • Westmoore HS • Daughter of Steve Martinez, OKC FD • Plans to study Speech Pathology at OU “Some of my fondest memories have come from being around the fire station. The men and women I have gotten to know throughout the years are some of the kindest, hard working, and dedicated people I know.”

Tailor Schwab • El Reno HS

• Daughter of Bryan Schwab, Calumet FD • Plans to study Special Education at SWOSU

“I’m proud to be the daughter of an Oklahoma firefighter.

My biggest and most proud achievement would be powering through high school and getting the grades necessary to move forward.”

2005 (51 applicants) -- • Jaclyn M. Cosgrove, McAlester (Father Henry Cosgrove, McAlester FD) • Chad A. Gassett, Yukon (Father Bryant Gassett, Yukon FD) • Nikole L. Kelley, Oklahoma City (Father Michael Kelley, Oklahoma City FD) • Tanner K. Stewart, Vici (Father Keith Stewart, Vici FD) • Dannie H. Whitehouse, Sapulpa (Father Dannie Whitehouse, Sapulpa FD) 2006 (30 applicants) -- • Kyle D. Brown, Broken Arrow (Father David Brown, Tulsa FD) • Torie A. Fuller, Carl Albert (Father Mark Fuller, Ret. Midwest City FD) • Celina D. Haney, Ketchum (Father Robert Haney, Ketchum FD) • Casidy Hawkins, Mount St. Mary (Father Kirk Hawkins, Oklahoma City FD) • Patrick A. VerSteeg, Oklahoma School of Science & Math (Father Fujio VerSteeg, Cheyenne FD) 2007 (31 applicants) -- • Angela Bell, Lawton (Father Russell Bell, Lawrton FD) • Cody Cramer, Norman (Father Dana Cramer, Norman FD) • Guy Evans, Spiro (Father Philip Evans, Spiro FD) • Michael Willingham, Broken Bow (Father Russ Willingham, Broken Bow FD) • Kyle Wood, Stratford (Father Jay Wood, Oklahoma City FD) 2008 (30 applicants) -- • Brandon D. Blevins, Hilldale (Father Henry Blevins, Muskogee FD) • Bryce W. Davis, Duncan (Father Brent Davis, Lawton FD) • Amy N. Harper, Spiro (Father B.J. Harper, Spiro FD) • Bradley A. Levescy, U.S. Grant (Grand father David Levescy Sr, OKC FD) • Kolton W. Pratt, Valliant (Uncle Paul Kurtis, Broken Bow FD) 2009 (30 applicants) -- • Miranda Claxton, Ada (Father Billy Claxton, Ada FD) • Justus Davenport, Harrah (Father Jeffrey Davenport, Oklahoma City FD) • Jacklyne Manning, Sayre (Father James Manning, Sayre FD) • Diane Scheuerman, Broken Arrow (Father Dane Scheuerman, Ret. Tulsa FD) • Benjamin Tripp, Watonga (Father Mark Huff, Watonga FD) 2010 (35 applicants) -- • Joseph Boak, Beggs (Father Evert Boak, Ret. Beggs FD) • Tyler Iago, Newcastle (Father Thomas Iago, Oklahoma City FD) • Bradley Lowden, Fort Supply (Father Michael Lowden, Fort Supply FD) • Jodie Neal, Stroud (Father Randy Neal,

• Bartlesville HS • Sister of Cole Park, Tulsa FD • Plans to study Medical Imaging at OBU

• Altus HS • Son of Kyle Davis, Altus FD • Plans to study Fire Protection at OSU-OKC “I was a preschooler and all the other kids thought I was so cool because my Dad was a firefighter. Me being so close to being a firefighter for the State of Oklahoma and having the ties that I do have so far is almost that cool!”

PAST STAVROS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS 2004 (79 applicants) -- • Lance Williams, Carnegie (Father Orval Williams, Carnegie FD) • Sean McMahon, Yukon (Father Michael Burris, Ret. OKC FD) • Leanna McNally, Guthrie (Father Thomas McNally, Ret. Guthrie FD) • Madison Clark, Carl Albert (Father James Clark, Midwest City LODD; Step-Father Charles Killgore, Norman FD) • Rachel Winters, Konawa (Father Richard Winters, Konawa FD)

Ava Park

Seth Davis

The Village FD) • Jarred Stockton, Mangum (Step-Father Kent Gambill, Mangum FD) 2011 (34 applicants) -- • Graham Billeg, Newcastle (Father Robert Billeg, Oklahoma City FD) • Jordan Gaither, Davidson (Father James Gaither Jr., Frederick FD) • Danielle Logan, Fort Supply (Father Marty Logan, Ret. Woodward FD) • Holly Wilson, Broken Arrow (Father Brian Wilson, Broken Arrow FD) • Jacey Wallace, Hugo (Father Patrick Wallace, Hugo FD) 2012 (17 applicants) -- • Taylor N. Cypert, Purcell (Father Gregory Cypert, Purcell FD) • Erica L. Garcia, Covington-Douglas (Father Benito Mike Garcia, Marshall FD) • Emily Lehman, Mooreland (Father Todd Finley, Woodward FD) • Jillian F. Rider, Newcastle (Father Tracy Rider, Oklahoma City FD) • Ciarra D. Stapleton, Norman North (Grandfather Donald Stapleton, Bartlesville FD) 2013 (36 applicants) -- • Jenna McManus, Choctaw (Father James McManus, Del City FD) • Haley Sparks, Davidson (Father Gary Sparks, Davidson FD) • Preston Williams, Edmond North (Father James Williams, Oklahoma City FD) • Riley Wilson, Davis (Father Shane Hale, Ret. Dougherty FD) • Lain Wright, Tahlequah (Father Mark Wright, Tulsa FD) • Candice Yochum, Wister (Father Dennis Yochum, Ret. Poteau FD) 2014 (86 applicants) -- • Marissa Adams, Lawton MacArthur (Father Raanon Adams, Lawton FD) • Kati Boshers, Bixby (Father Keith Boshers, Vian FD) • Andrew Daniel, Byng (Father Joe Keith Daniel, Byng FD) • Austin Fielder, Tuttle (Father Ronald Fielder, Midwest City FD) • Barrett Karlin, Weatherford (Father Mike Karlin, Weatherfor FD) • Casandra Rider, Newcastle (Father Tracy Rider, Oklahoma City FD 2015 (75 applicants) -- • Easton Fenton, Piedmont (Father Evan Fenton, Oklahoma City FD) • Kristen Fullbright, Sallisaw (Father Mike Fullbright, Sallsaw FD) • Blair Peoples, Vici (Father Eric Peoples, Ret. Vici FD) • Kylie Vanderslice, Pryor (Father Kevin Marlin, NW Fire Protection District) • Jacob Wallace, Hugo (Father Patrick Wallace, Ret. Hugo FD) 2016 (95 applicants) -- • Brianna Bush, Coweta (Father Daniel Bush, Broken Arrow FD) • Tucker Clem, Big Pasture (Step-Father Wade Lewis, Randlett FD) • Makenna Downing, Deer Creek-Edmond (Brother Tyler Downing, Elk City FD) • Dylan Melton, Morris (Father James Henry Melton, Ret. Okmulgee FD) • Brant Wade, Stratford (Father Santee R. Wade, Stratford FD)

“I am always proud to tell people that my brother, Cole, is a Tulsa Fireman.

And in the future, I hope to pursue a career in Sonography and Vascular Imaging and dream of one day having a big family of my own.”

Pete & Lela Stavros Scholarship Foundation From Oklahoma City Community Foundation Awarding scholarships to high school seniors -- all related to Oklahoma Firefighters -since 2004.

To Make Secure Donation With Credit Card: www.occf.org/stavros To make contribution with check, call OSFA office at 405-424-1452 for donation card & return envelope Tell your Seniors-to-be to apply online next year for 2018 Stavros Scholarships!

22August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

Lawton FD’s Central Fire Station Added to National Register of Historic Places

Lawton firefighters -- active and retired -- gathered in front of the city’s Central Fire Station on June 20 to celebrate the station being added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The decision was made to place the Lawton Fire Department’s Central Fire Station on the National Register of Historic Places after it was determined that a new Fire Station 1 would be built in the near future.

What would come of the original building? With such history and significance, retired firefighters, community organizations and current city and departmental personnel decided to take the steps to preserve our building.

The Lawton Fire Department worked with the Lawton Heritage Association to complete the necessary application. Two plaques were purchased using a grant and donations from The Lawton Retired Firefighters Association to be placed outside Central Fire Station to commemorate this occasion.

Current and Retired members of the Lawton Fire Department outside Central Fire Station

Left to Right: Lawton Fire Chief Dewayne Burk, Retired Lawton Fire Chief Mike Carter, Retired Lawton Fire Chief Bart Hadley and Retired Lawton Fire Chief Don Barrington

WE CUSTOM BUILD BODIES FOR ANY CHASSIS, NEW OR USED From High Pressure Skids to Brush and Rescue Trucks, call today and let Unruh Fire design and do a custom build to meet your needs.

Fire Apparatus Driver Drew Young, Lawton Firefighter and member of Oklahoma Fire Pipes and Drums, played “Amazing Grace” during a moment of silence

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201723

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State Fire Marshal Robert Doke Robert.Doke@fire.ok.gov

On July 1 ,2017 the Firefighter Training Advisory Committee (FTAC) was established by statute within the State Fire Marshal’s Office. The State Fire Marshal Commission will appoint Committee Members.

With the Council On Firefighter Training (COFT) closed, FTAC will pick up and continue similar duties: Contact information • Web page: www..FTAC.OK.GOV (coming soon) • Email: ftac@fire.ok.gov (active) • Phone: 405-522-5015 (active) • FAX: 405-522-5028 (active) Oklahoma Volunteer Firefighter Tax Credit (minor changes to form) • $200 tax credit • $200 tax credit repeat • $400 tax credit Five Levels of Firefighter (recognition program/no changes) • Support Firefighter • Basic Firefighter • Intermediate Firefighter • Advanced Firefighter • Master Firefighter Five Levels of Company/Chief Officer (recognition program under review) • Support Officer • Basic Officer • Intermediate Officer • Advanced Officer • Executive Officer Other Duties • Identify firefighter training needs • Setting firefighter training goals • Interact with Homeland Security Department’s Preparedness and Awareness Division on firefighter training and grants • Administer and maintain incentive and recognition programs for Oklahoma firefighters • Submit annual reports to the Governor, Speaker of the House & President Pro Tempore of the State Senate The State Fire Marshal Commission, FTAC Committee and Agency personnel look forward to working with our Oklahoma firefighters.

FIREFIGHTER POEM EDITOR’S NOTE: This poem was sent to the OSFA office with the following note: This one is for Uncle R.E. and the rest of my Brothers and Sisters in the Fire Service.

A firefighter always puts his life on the line, Every time the bell makes its chime, They will fight the flames, Never asking for no fame, They’ll cut up and smile, Even after dragging hoses for miles, It’s a fellowship a brotherhood, And they always try to do everyone some good, The hardest thing one of them will

ever do, Is say goodbye to another who stood next to you, They will ban together in God’s grace, Just to cherish and remember a dear friends face, They will dress in their blues, fly the flags at half mass, They will lay their friends body under green grass, But their memories are always around, They shall be rung out, But they will be there still without a sound!

The Cowboy

OSFA has a Facebook page designated for announcing training opportunities for firefighters in the State of Oklahoma.

The Facebook page is named Oklahoma State Firefighters Training.

Any Oklahoma Fire Department or agency which has planned training opportunities may post them to this page for firefighters to find.

Following is an upcoming learning opportunity: Grant Training in Tulsa, OK - August 7-8, 2017 Tulsa Fire Department and Grant Writing USA will present this twoday grant workshop in Tulsa. This training is applicable to grant seekers across all disciplines. Attend this class and you’ll learn how to find grants and write winning grant proposals.

Beginning and experienced grant writers from city, county and state agencies as well as nonprofits, K-12, colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.

Grant Writing USA is excited to offer a special tuition rate of $425 which includes everything: two days of terrific instruction, workbook, and access to their Alumni Forum that’s packed full of tools, helpful discussions and more than 200 sample grant proposals. Please use discount code “OKASSN” to receive the $30 discount off full price at registration. Multi-enrollment discounts are also available. Tuition payment is not required at the time of enrollment.

More information including learning objectives, class location, graduate testimonials, and online registration is available at: http://grantwritingusa.com/…/tulsa-oklahoma-august-2017.htm.

24August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

www.osufst.org

1723 West Tyler, Stillwater, OK 74078 • (800) 304-5727 • (405) 744-5727 • Fax: (405) 744-7377

August 2017 CLASS SCHEDULE Current as of July 20, 2017

Courses are subject to change • Call or check online for changes in courses

All courses are FREE unless otherwise noted

Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62713) Aug. 2 (8 hours) Yukon Fire-EMS Training Center 1000 East Main St., Yukon, OK 73099 Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (63145) Aug. 2 (8 hours) Stillwater Fire Department 1510 S. Main St., Stillwater, OK 74074 Certification Evaluator Training (65074) Aug. 2 (8 hours) OSU-PSC, Hwy 51 West of Stillwater NFA Leadership I: Strategies for Company Success (62127) Aug. 3-4 (16 hours) OSU Extension Office Caddo County Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62714) Aug. 3 (8 hours) Yukon Fire-EMS Training Center NIMS ICS 400 (EMI) Advanced Incident Command System (64286) Aug. 3-4 (16 hours) Case Community Center AHA Site Manager (65429) Aug. 3 (4 hours) • $55.00 - All Participants OSU-FST Classroom McElroy & McDonald, Stillwater, OK Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62715) Aug. 4 (8 hours) Yukon Fire-EMS Training Center AHA Basic Life Support (BLS) Healthcare Provider (65430) Aug. 4 (4 hours) • $55.00 - All Participants OSU-FST Classroom McElroy & McDonald, Stillwater, OK Hazardous Materials Operations: Core Competencies (64358) Aug. 4-6 (24 hours) Cordell Fire Department 203 E Clay St., Cordell, OK 73632 Trench Rescue Technician Level I (63760) Aug. 5-6 (16 hours) Broken Bow Fire Department 11 N Main St, Broken Bow, OK 74728 Fire Officer I: NFPA 1021, 2014 Edition (65370) Aug. 5-13 (48 hours) • $300.00 - All Participants Weatherford Fire Department 216 N Kansas St, Weatherford, OK

AHA Basic Life Support (BLS) Healthcare Provider Instructor (65431) Aug. 5 (6 hours) • $65.00 - All Participants OSU-FST Classroom Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62716) Aug. 7 (8 hours) Muskogee Fire Department 505 Columbus St. Muskogee, OK Emergency Services Instructor (Instructor I) (65131) Aug. 7-10 (32 hours) • $300.00 - All Participants Claremore Fire Department 104 S. Muskogee, Claremore, OK

AHA Site Manager (65432) Aug. 12 (4 hours) • $55.00 - All Participants OSU-FST Classroom McElroy & McDonald, Stillwater, OK

NIMS ICS 400 (EMI) Advanced Incident Command System (64795) Aug. 19-20 (16 hours) Olive Volunteer Fire Department 43526 W 95, Drumright, OK 74030

AHA Site Manager (65589) Aug. 25 (4 hours) • $55.00 - All Participants Sand Springs Fire Department 217 N McKinley Ave, Sand Springs

Hazardous Materials Operations Certification (64360) Aug. 13 (8 hours) Cordell Fire Department 203 E Clay St., Cordell, OK 73632

Trench Rescue Technician Level I (65296) Aug. 19-20 (16 hours) Guymon Fire Department 402 NE 24 St., Guymon, OK 73942

Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part A (64144) Aug. 26 (8 hours) Guymon Fire Department 402 NE 24 St., Guymon, OK 73942

Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (62682) Aug. 14 (8 hours) Muskogee Fire Department 505 Columbus St, Muskogee, OK

Pump Operations (65699) Aug. 19 (8 hours) Leflore Vol Fire Association

Oklahoma Emergency Vehicle Drivers Training (65570) Aug. 26 (8 hours) Lahoma Fire Department

Basic Fire Fighting Skills: Pumping Fundamentals (64642) Aug. 7 (4 hours) Lahoma Fire Department

Fire Officer I: NFPA 1021, 2014 Edition (65366) Aug. 14-18 (48 hours) • $300.00 - All Participants Edmond Fire Department 5300 E. Covell , Edmond, OK 73034

Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62718) Aug. 8 (8 hours) Muskogee Fire Department

Basic Fire Fighting Skills: Pumping Fundamentals (65674) Aug. 14 (4 hours) Langston Fire Department

Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62720) Aug. 8 (8 hours) Durant Fire Department 124 N 1, Durant, OK 74701

Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (62683) Aug. 15 (8 hours) Muskogee Fire Department

Certification Proctor Training (65075) Aug. 8 (8 hours) OSU-PSC, Hwy 51 West of Stillwater Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62719) Aug. 9 (8 hours) Muskogee Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62721) Aug. 9 (8 hours) Durant Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62722) Aug. 10 (8 hours) Durant Fire Department First Responder (Emergency Medical Responder) Refresher (65510) Aug. 10-11 (16 hours) • $150.00 - All Participants OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (63889) Aug. 11 (8 hours) Cushing Fire Department 211 W. Main, Cushing, OK 74023 Hazardous Materials Operations Refresher: Pipeline Emergencies (63910) Aug. 12 (8 hours) Pryor Fire Department 833 S Elliott St, Pryor, OK 74361

Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62723) Aug. 15 (8 hours) Owasso Fire Department 8901 N Garnett, Owasso, OK 74055 Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (62684) Aug. 16 (8 hours) Muskogee Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62724) Aug. 16 (8 hours) Owasso Fire Department 8901 N Garnett, Owasso, OK 74055 AHA Site Manager (65433) Aug. 16 (4 hours) • $55.00 - All Participants OSU-FST Classroom McElroy & McDonald , Stillwater Hazardous Materials Operations Refresher: Core Competencies (64964) Aug. 17 (8 hours) Jenks Fire Department 1115 W. 121 St, Jenks, OK 74037 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (62725) Aug. 19 (8 hours) Henryetta Fire Department 115 S 4 St, Henryetta, OK 74437

Swiftwater Rescue Technician (Level I & II) (62053) Aug. 21-25 (40 hours) • $935.00 - All Participants Riversport Adventures AHIMT - Operations Section Chief (OSC) L-958 (64211) Aug. 21-24 (24 hours) Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Tulsa Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part A (62754) Aug. 22 (8 hours) Midwest City Fire Department 8201 E Reno, Midwest City, OK Hazardous Materials Operations Refresher: Core Competencies (63594) Aug. 22 (8 hours) The Village Fire Department 2201 W Britton, Oklahoma City, OK EMS Instructor Workshop / Bridge (65511) Aug. 22 (8 hours) • $55.00 - All Participants OSU-PSC, Hwy 51 West of Stillwater Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part A (62755) Aug. 23 (8 hours) Midwest City Fire Department 8201 E Reno, Midwest City, OK Hazardous Materials Operations Refresher: Core Competencies (63597) Aug. 23 (8 hours) The Village Fire Department 2201 W Britton, Oklahoma City, OK Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part A (62756) Aug. 24 (8 hours) Midwest City Fire Department 8201 E Reno, Midwest City, OK Hazardous Materials Operations Refresher: Core Competencies (63598) Aug. 24 (8 hours) The Village Fire Department 2201 W Britton, Oklahoma City, OK

Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (63149) Aug. 28 (8 hours) Altus Fire Dept. - Sub-Station 1915 N. Main, ALTUS, OK 73521 Certification Evaluator Training (64982) Aug. 28 (8 hours) Oklahoma City Fire Training Center 850 N Portland, OKC, OK 73107 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (65105) Aug. 28 (8 hours) National Guard Armory ComplexDuncan Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (62757) Aug. 29 (8 hours) Claremore Fire Department 104 S. Muskogee, Claremore, OK Certification Evaluator Training (64983) Aug. 29 (8 hours) Oklahoma City Fire Training Center 850 N Portland, OKC City, OK 73107 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (65106) Aug. 29 (8 hours) National Guard Armory ComplexDuncan Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (62758) Aug. 30 (8 hours) Claremore Fire Department 104 S. Muskogee, Claremore, OK Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (65107) Aug. 30 (8 hours) National Guard Armory ComplexDuncan Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher - Part B (62759) Aug. 31 (8 hours) Claremore Fire Department 104 S. Muskogee, Claremore, OK

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201725

n

fire service training

Dr. Erick Reynolds

n

ISO Report Yogi Cole

OSU FST Director

ISO Field Coordinator

(405) 213-9967 • yogi.cole@oid.ok.gov

erick.reynolds@osufst.org 405-744-5727 (W) • 405-409-0961 (C) As of this writing, FST has learned of yet another budget cut for the coming 2018 fiscal year. I wish I could tell you that this will be the last one during fiscal year 2018, but I would not bet the farm on it!

As I have said many times, we will continue to do our very best to deliver quality training to fire fighters across Oklahoma within the confines of the budget woes that we find ourselves involved in currently.

We will continue to offer the training courses that focus on keeping firefighters safe. That has been, is, and will always be our first priority. All else comes second, especially in times like these.

I would ask your patience as we attempt to deliver training in this environment. Sometimes, we may be stretched thin and it may take us longer than normal to return emails, phone calls, etc. We have asked our folks to, again, pick up the slack and make things happen in spite of the budget.

The staff at FST does an incredible job of delivering training and supporting the delivery of training across the State of Oklahoma. Are we perfect? Absolutely not. But all in all, we do a really good job of meeting the various needs of the firefighters of Oklahoma on a consistent basis.

We could not do this without the participation of our many training partners across Oklahoma including, but not limited to: the Oklahoma CareerTech system, the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association, The Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association, the Oklahoma Department of Homeland Security, the Oklahoma Office of Emergency Management, Fire Protection Publications, the Oklahoma State Fire Marshal, Oklahoma Department of Forestry, the Fire Service Instructors of Oklahoma, and, most importantly, you the firefighters of Oklahoma!

As things heat up out there, be weather wise! Make sure to take breaks when involved in emergency operations and/or training! We want everybody to go home as the end of the incident or the end of the shift!

Please contact myself or any other FST staff member if we can be of help in any way! Together we are better! Come by Stillwater any time you are close by.

The coffee pot is on and we have a few clean cups! Be safe out there!

For a few months, I will be taking Kevin Stoneking’s calls while he continues to heal from a recent surgery -- and he is healing very well.

In the meantime, there continues to be many success stories where Fire Departments have put in some time and effort and lowered their rating. In other cases, some FDs have been successful in maintaining their current rating which can be a challenge with budget cuts and fewer personnel.

No matter your current situation, if your department has not been through a grading process in at least five years -- or there have been some significant changes such as water system upgrades or apparatus additions -- please give me a call. I can come out and give you some pointers on how to organize your records and help you prepare for a grading.

If you have not been graded under the current schedule which started in 2013, I encourage you to do so. Many departments have done well under the current grading schedule which contains some areas that you can earn some bonus points.

As I visit with departments around the state I have discovered that several Class 9 departments fall into an 8B Class but have not been rated to make the change. It is not a test to go to an 8B, but verification that the requirements are met. Some of the requirements are a minimum 750 gpm pump, minimum response of 6 firefighters, and carry at least 4000 gal. of water.

If you believe that you may qualify for an 8B, please call ISO or you can contact me and I will get you in contact with one of our instate evaluators. It can make a significant difference in insurance premium rates for most insurance companies.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department started this program over 5 years ago and Kevin Stoneking has developed a great resource for the Oklahoma Fire Service. I have been here almost a year now and I am still learning the ISO system. I have discovered that no other state has a resource like this in place and the success stories continue to rise. I encourage you to give me a call so that I can help you prepare and navigate through the process.

National Volunteer Fire Council Addresses Diabetes in the Fire Service

By Chief Jeff Cash, Cherryvile (NC) Fire Chief It is with great pleasure that I get the opportunity to assist in rolling out a new position statement from the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). The NVFC’s mission is to provide a unified voice for volunteer fire and EMS organizations, and they always work to be on the front lines of supporting firefighter health and safety. The NVFC has taken on many positions and programs relating to firefighter health and safety, such as smoking cessation, the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, and the Share the Load™ behavioral health program. They have been on the forefront of pushing volunteer fire and EMS organizations into getting their members annual medical evaluations.

The introduction of the NVFC’s latest position to support and educate the emergency services on diabetes falls right in line with the goals and objectives of those initiatives.

Why is diabetes support and education so important? To answer that question, you need a little background on diabetes.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease characterized by the inability to use glucose (sugar) effectively due to deficiencies or resistance to insulin. It is a situation that responders deal with on a regular basis when responding to diabetic medical emergency calls. Diabetes contributes to a number of other diseases including heart disease, eye complications, kidney disease, neuropathy, foot problems, skin complications, and dental disease. The American Diabetes Association states that almost 30 million children and adults have diabetes, and 86 million more are pre-diabetic in the U.S. today. That equates to nine percent of Americans in our country who currently have diabetes. Odds are one out of every 10 members on your department will be afflicted with the disease at some point in their life. That is why it is so important.

Why does it matter to the NVFC? It’s important to the NVFC

because one out of every five line-of-duty coronary heart disease (CHD) events occurred in a person suffering from diabetes, according to the 2015 National Fallen Firefighter’s Foundation report Heart to Heart: Strategizing an Evidence-based Approach to Reduce Cardiac Disease and Death in the Fire Service.

CHD is the leading cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths each year, and one of the contributing factors to heart disease is diabetes.

Diabetes is something that the fire service needs to recognize in its members to help prevent more line-of-duty incidents.

Through the new position statement, the NVFC is prompting education, management, and prevention of the disease. The only way for fire/EMS organization members to get the proper diagnosis and treatment is through an annual medical evaluation and screening. It is one of the many medical ailments that can be found through an annual medical evaluation, providing further confirmation as to why annual exams are so important.

Reducing the number of line-of-duty deaths will always be a priority of the NVFC, and urging departments to give members the benefit of an annual physical evaluation is a huge step in that process.

The issues of diabetes and medical screenings are important to the NVFC, but they are also important to me personally. During our annual physicals at the Cherryville Fire Department in 2014, the medical exam provider found an issue with my bloodwork relating to glucose issues. The medical provider urged me to visit my local physician, who ran some tests to check the red flag that was found. I was diagnosed as pre-diabetic. I fall in that 86 million people in this country who are battling and fighting not to fall into the full-blown diabetic category. I would have never known I had an issue with my glucose without our annual physicals, and my condition would have continued to progress unchecked.

Catching diseases and risk factors early are why the NVFC constantly urges the importance of providing those annual physicals. By discovering my pre-diabetic diagnosis early, my doctor was able to put me on a prescription and start working on management. It’s been almost three years, and I have never had to result to taking insulin. I am exercising on a much more regular basis, watching my food intake better, and have lost 15 pounds. I am able to continue to serve my department and community without the health complications that full-fledge diabetes surely would have brought. It’s an ongoing battle for me to keep from becoming diabetic, but it’s a challenge I am glad to continue fighting, thanks to getting an early diagnosis from our annual physicals.

The NVFC’s position is this: “The NVFC supports and advocates for the education and prevention of diabetes and implementation of approaches to actively cope with the diagnosis for all firefighters and their families.” It’s a position that makes sense for the NVFC in continuing to promote firefighter health and safety. It’s a position that makes sense for the firefighters already coping with the diagnosis. It’s a position that is truly personal for me. We only have one heart; we have to do whatever it takes to take care of it and not become another statistic.

Your family and your fellow firefighters are depending on you!”

Chief Jeff Cash has been in the fire service for over 35 years serving in both the volunteer and career sectors. He has served as the fire chief of the Cherryville (NC) Fire Department since 1986 and is a North Carolina certified firefighter, EMT, rescue technician, fire officer, arson investigator, fire code enforcement officer, and instructor. He is a past president of the North Carolina Firemen’s Association and serves as the North Carolina director to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). He sits on the NVFC Executive Committee, represents the NVFC on the NFPA 1021 Committee and the IAFC Safety Health & Survival Committee.

26August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Robert Jones Executive Director

James Reynolds

6601 Broadway Ext., Oklahoma City, OK 73116 405-522-4600 • 1-800-525-7461 toll free • 405-522-4643 fax www.okfirepen.state.ok.us

n May 19, 2017 MEETING Members Present: Michael Duncan, Raanon Adams, Jim Long, Mike Kelley, Dana Cramer, Dereck Cassady, Matt Lay, Scott Vanhorn, Frank Stone, Brandy Manek.

Members Absent: Craig Freeman, Janet Kohls, Paul Gallahar.

Russell L. Young/Collinsville- Application For “Disability In Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Lay to approve Application for “Disability in Line of Duty”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Stone, Manek, Vanhorn, Cramer, Lay, Kelley, and Long.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

by Lay to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Anthony M. Brum/Noble – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective April 25, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Adams to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective April 25, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Kelley, Vanhorn, Stone and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jason H. Teague/Tulsa – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded

by Lay to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Todd E. Brown/Oklahoma City – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Adams to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Kelley, Vanhorn, Stone and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Barry K. Durham/Oklahoma City – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Adams to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Kelley, Vanhorn, Stone and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Bruce A. Mcguire/Oklahoma City – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Cassaday to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective May 1, 2017.

Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone, and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Robert D. Jenkins/Porter – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective April 21, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Cassady to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective April 21, 2017.

Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone, and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Paul T. Hufford/Tulsa - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded

Timothy Morris/Tulsa - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Lay to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” to “Service”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

David L. Bryant/Warr Acres – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 1, 2017: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Lay to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective May 1, 2017. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

James Baker/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension From “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Lay to approve the request of Baker to modify the Application from “disability Not in the Line of Duty” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Justin Wiedel/Muskogee – Request To Modify Pension From “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Lay to approve the request of Wiedel to modify the Application from “disability Not in the Line of Duty” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

City Of Shawnee Request To Modify Their Physical Agility Test From The Approved CPAT Test Given At EOC Tech To Oklahoma Firefighters Pension And Retirement Systems Agility Test: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Lay to approve the request from the City of Shawnee to conduct agility test pursuant to Board rules as presented in the System handbook. Ayes: Duncan, Adams, Cassady, Cramer, Lay, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, Stone and Manek.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Member Services Coordinator

Terri Williams

Vicki Mulbery

Executive Secretary

Accounts Payable Administrator

Chase Rankin

Assistant Director (COO)

Controller

Duane Michael

Than Dinh

Assistant Director (CFO)

Martha Pierce

Thelisha Clark

Records Administrator

Latoya Battle Data Processor

Assistant Controller

n CONSENT AGENDA (June 16, 2017) CHECKS TERMINATED IN MAY 2017 (Deceased): Keyes Anadarko Daisy R. Birdwell Lawton Apache Verba J. Smis OKC Ft. Supply Richard E. Kornele OKC Guthrie William C. Weinand

Sulphur Spiro Tahlequah Tulsa

Lois L. Golay William E. Gilliam Gloria Clark Howard W. Adams

$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT: Aline Rita J. Anthony, Widow Of Max L. Anthony Ames Marilyn Jtonne Summers, Widow Of Stanley L. Summers Blackwell Roberts & Son Funeral Home On Behalf Of Michael R. Phillips Braman Steven A. Kelle, Heir Of Aubrey Kelle Braman Ann J. Henley, Heir Of Aubrey Kelle Braman Robert E. Kelle, Heir Of Aubrey Kelle Braman Marta K. Henderson, Heir Of Aubrey Kelle Braman Reese A. Kelle, Heir Of Aubret Kelle Inola Willa M. Littlefield, Widow Of Lester D. Littlefield Laverne Melissa P. Burke, Widow Of Don L. Burke Lawton Becker Funeral Home On Behalf Of Rodney E. Walters Oklahoma City Wilson-Little Funeral Home On Behalf Of Howard W. Adams Nescatunga Keitha A. Dale, Widow Of Kim D. Dale Quapaw Paul Thomas Funeral Home On Behalf Of Richard L. Pliler Sayre Rose Chapel Funeral Home On Behalf Of Randy D. Sanders Sentinel Alberta Sells, Widow Of Kenneth D. Sells Vici Shaw Funeral Home On Behalf Of John R. Salisbury Vinita Amanda Burnett, Death Recipient Of Delbert C. Bowers, Jr.

Maxine Lannom Juanita Nelson Lucille Robertson Loweta E. Borchardt

APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM: Bartlesville Coweta Noble Tulsa

Thad Reed Matt L. Stice William Myers Joseph V. Seabolt

APPLICATION OF CHILD FOR PENSION: 05/09/2017 OKC Angela Penman, Guardian Of Cassidy L. Johnson, Child Of Bobby R. Johnson – Deceased 5/8/17 05/09/2017 OKC Angela Penman, Guardian Of Colton R. Johnson, Child Of Bobby R. Johnson – Deceased 5/8/17 APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION: 06/01/2017 Afton Pamela Countryman, Widow Of Tom Countryman 06/01/2017 Cache Cindy K. Jackson, Widow Of Gary D. Jackson 06/01/2017 Comanche Cheryl A. Pannell, Wiidow Of Dow Lynn Pannell 06/01/2017 Dover Anna F. States, Widow Of Leo G. States 06/01/2017 Drumright Teri Montgomery, Widow Of Reginald Montgomery 06/01/2017 Hulbert Shirley Teague, Widow Of William F. Teague 06/01/2017 Inola Willa M. Littlefield, Widow Of Lester D. Littlefield 06/01/2017 Oak Cliff Maxine L. Morton, Widow Of Wylie E. Morton 06/01/2017 OKC Rae Bland, Widow Of Bobby E. Bland 06/01/2017 OKC Susan Davis, Widow Of Henry M. Embrey 04/01/2017 OKC Nancy L. Rhea, Widow Of Gary D. Rhea 06/01/2017 Piedmont Margaret Lofgren, Widow Of Richard E. Lofgren 06/01/2017 Tulsa Diana L. Allison, Widow Of Larry Allison APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION: 06/04/2017 Barnsdall Glenn A. Dildine 06/01/2017 Bray Ray T. Howell 05/03/2017 Carter Bobby G. Simpson 06/01/2017 Checotah Thomas E. Utley 04/14/2017 Coalgate Jesse Luellen 04/29/2017 Cyril Michael S. Hicks 03/18/2017 Forgan Gerald D. Poplin Jr. 06/01/2017 Hanna Rural Randall L. Stidman 06/01/2017 Hogeye Deanna R. Dilbeck 06/01/2017 Jay Bryan D. Gordon 06/01/2017 Laverne Michael S. Smith 06/01/2017 Meeker Tony O. Rattan 06/01/2017 Norman Charles E. Anderson

06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/10/2017 04/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 06/01/2017 04/01/2017 03/05/2017 03/05/2017 03/05/2017 05/01/2017

APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT: 08/27/2017 Clayton Richard McCarn 02/09/2016 Deer Creek Charles A. Moyer 02/03/2021 Dickson James W. Vanzant 10/20/2019 Eucha Joy Chancellor 08/11/2017 Laverne Curtis Patrick 11/13/2026 Owasso Christopher Garrett 10/01/2024 Whitehorn Keith A. Sherrill REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Matt Kockos Oklahoma City

Hired 09/28/2012

Terminated 04/05/2017

OKC OKC Perry Red Rock Sallisaw Shattuck Strong City Tryon Tryon Tryon Tryon Wellston

Kemper W. Ditzler Garyl B. Henderson Brian L. Hatfield James E. Potter Jarret L. Hetherington Justin W. Jahay Boyd D. Koch James B. Carroll Michael S. Kerns Billy R. Moore Curt W. Moore Tim Donaldson

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201727

n June 16, 2017 MEETING Members Present: Michael Duncan, Herb Bradshaw, Jim Long, Mike Kelley, Dana Cramer, Dereck Cassady, Matt Lay, Scott Vanhorn, Eric Harlow, Craig Freeman, Janet Kohls, Frank Stone. Members Absent: Brandy Manek

n CONSENT AGENDA (July 21, 2017) for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Dustin E. McDuffy/El Reno - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 3, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 3, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: Freeman and Stone. Motion carried.

Rick D. Horner/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Lay to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service” effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Brandon Hughes/Lawton – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective May 27, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Long to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective May 27, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Phillip M. Ray/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Harlow to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service” effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Peter E, Martin/Lawton – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Timothy W. Weaver/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Harlow to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Timothy J. Mcintosh/Lawton – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Cassady to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Harold A. Payne/Stillwater - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Harlow and seconded by Kelley to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jereld D. Young/Lawton – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Cramer to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service” effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Ted Kupsick/Tahlequah - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Vanhorn to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Angelo R. Rivers Ii/Mcalester – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 10, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Harlow to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 10, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Daniel A. Little/Tulsa - Application For “Disability In Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Harlow to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service” effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Larry L. Allen/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Harlow to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, to “Service”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

W.j. Morgan Jr./Tuttle - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Lay to modify to “Disability Not in the Line of Duty” and send Morgan to the State doctor. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Ron D. Cunningham/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Long to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: Stone. Motion carried.

Billy L. Gaines/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Vanhorn and seconded by Cassady to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Steven M. Hansen/Oklahoma City – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Joseph F. Hoppes/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2017: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Harlow to approve the Application

Todd E. Brown/Oklahoma City – Request To Modify Pension From “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Long to approve the request of Brown to modify the Application from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Donald K. Burnett/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension From “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Cassady and seconded by Long to approve the request of Burnett to modify the Application from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Paul T. Hufford/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension From “Disability Not In Line Of Duty” To “Disability In Line Of Duty”: Motion was made

by Long and seconded by Lay to approve request of Burnett to modify the Application from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley and Bradshaw. Nayes: None.

Motion carried.

CHECKS TERMINATED IN JUNE 2017 (Deceased): Ardmore Harold D. Petty Hinton Ellen Taylor Colony Luann Bond Holdenville Dean Willis Dewey Oscar R. Rice Hugo Robert L. Garrett Dougherty Eddie M. Mosley Lexington Ruth M. Morris Forgan Carlene Bullard Manitou Doris M. McGuire

Marietta OKC OKC Sterling Waurika Welch

$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT: Afton Brown-Winters Funeral Home On Behalf Of John White Afton Pamela Countryman, Widow Of Tommie Countryman Anadarko Becker Funeral Home On Behalf Of Daisy R. Birdwell Cache Jackson Funeral Home On Behalf Of Gary D. Jackson Calera Dianna L. Burkhalter, Widow Of Rickey L. Burkhalter Comanche Comanche Funeral Home On Behalf Of Francis E. Ralls Comanche Comanche Funeral Home On Behalf Of Dow L. Parnell Dewey Terry R. Rice, Child Of Oscar R. Rice Dewey Sherry Zander, Child Of Oscar R. Rice Dewey Marianna Kaye Hall, Child Of Oscar R. Rice Doughterty Hale Funeral Home On Behalf Of Eddie M. Mosley Dover Anna F. States, Widow Of Leo G. States Drumright Teri Montgomery, Widow Of Reginald Montgomery Edgewater Pk W. Douglas Kirkpatrick, Death Recipient Of Don C. Miller Edgewater Pk Nathan Kirkpatrick, Death Recipient Of Don C. Miller Edgewater Pk Beverly J. Kirkpatrick, Death Recipient Of Don C. Miller Ft. Supply Marhsall Funeral Home On Behalf Of Richard E. Kornele Hulbert Shirley Teague, Widow Of William F. Teague Hugo Roger L. Garrett, Child Of Robert L. Garrett Lawton Whinery-Huddleston Funeral Home Behalf Of William T. Gilliam Mtn. View Ray & Martha Funeral Home Behalf Of Turner Nickelson OKC Brown Funeral Home On Behalf Of Henry Embrey OKC Hibbs Funeral Home On Behalf Of Bobby Johnson OKC Nancy Rhea, Widow Of Gary Rhea OKC Parks Brothers Funeral Home On Behalf Of Bobby L. Bland Piedmont Grove-McNeil Funeral Service On Behalf Of Richard E. Lofgren Thomas Marsha Yocum, Child Of Richard L. Johnson Thomas Pam Humphreys Child Of Richard L. Johnson Tulsa Floral Haven Fuineral Home One Behalf Of Jack A. Shields, Sr. Tulsa Loretta Phyllis Duty, Widow Of J.D Duty Wyneewood Dearman Funeral Home One Behalf Of Howard L. Wolf APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM: Altus Kevin Meyer Madill Gannon G. Reid Chouteau Payne King Noble Zachary Tennison Claremore Evan Spradley OKC Dillon Degraffenreid Enid Ryan Felder OKC Jake Raffner Lindsay Jeff Wallace Piedmont Tyler R. Moffat

Seminole Skiatook Stillwater Stillwater Stillwater Tuttle

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION: 07/01/2017 Calera Dianna Burkhalter, Widow Of Ricky L. Burkhalter 07/01/2017 Carnegie Loleta King, Widow Of Carrol E. King 09/01/2016 Clinton Gayla Janning, Widow Of Edward Janning 07/01/2017 Comanche Delta Ralls, Widow Of Earl Ralls 07/01/2017 Mt. View Betty Nickelson, Widow Of Turner Nickelson 07/01/2017 Norman Jeannetta Cargill, Widow Of Orval E. Cargill 07/01/2017 OKC Beulah Ford, Widow Of Herbert Ford 07/01/2017 OKC Virginia O’Daniel, Widow Of Leonard R. O’Daniel 07/01/2017 Perkins Linda J. Riley, Widow Of Arlis L. Riley 07/01/2017 Prague Doris L. Huff, Widow Of Bruce E. Huff 07/01/2017 Spiro Barbara Petty, Widow Of Russell Petty 07/01/2017 The Village Torrie Green, Widow Of Edward M. Green 07/01/2017 Tulsa Bobbie J. Shields, Widow Of Of Jack A. Shields, Sr. 07/01/2017 Union City Patricia Everett, Widow Of John H. Everett 07/01/2017 Wister Susie Essman, Widow Of Charles M. Essman 07/01/2017 Woodward Linda Shore, Widow Of Merle A. Shire 07/01/2017 Wynnewood Ramona L. Wolf, Widow Of Howard L. Wolf 07/01/2017 Yale Rose Reed, Widow Of Bobbie J. Reed APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION: 07/01/2017 Beaver Alan E. Clark 06/01/2017 Beaver David W. Glascock 07/01/2017 Beaver Herman Duane Meier 07/01/2016 Chelsea John W. Shrier 07/01/2017 Colony Jerry K. Weichel 10/01/2016 Earlsboro Robert K. Winrow 07/01/2017 Grady Troy D. Wilson 07/01/2017 Keefeton Brian K. Bray

07/01/2017 07/01/2017 07/01/2017 07/01/217 06/01/2017 07/01/2017 07/01/2017 07/01/2017

APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT: 07/03/2016 Cherokee Michael W. Andrews 08/23/2026 Cheyenne Robert E. Payne 09/30/2023 Davidson Michael L. Defoor 01/01/2016 Dickson Lawrence R. Garrison 04/16/2017 Porter Coy L. Armstrong 02/07/2016 Watonga Donnie M. Dunn REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Ryan Hall Marlow Brad Hayman Pawhuska John Vawter Seminole Greg Hellman Wewoka

Hired 04/01/2008 06/25/2014 10/19/2003 01/02/2006

Terminated 05/09/2017 07/17/2017 07/04/2017 06/18/2017

Maud Newkirk Panama Porter Red Rock Rosston Stringtown Tulsa

Billie Presley Imogene Dodrill Cora Malpass Lucille L. Helm Lena J. Dean Silas R. Bradshaw

Trevor Pool Richard Janssen Brian Clark Garret Scharbor Kolton Wilson Lane Turner

David L. Richards Dennis T. Bradley Tony A. Smith David L. Dickey Bobby G. Ratliff Jr. Mark Miller Dennis Holly Oren A. Aubritton

28August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

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Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201729

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oklahoma fallen and living firefighters memorial -- PANEL 62

In this issue and future issues, Oklahoma Firefighter will print the names of those honored on the Memorial Wall. This issue features Panel 62.

All names can be viewed -- and etched on a souvenir sheet -- from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily on the West Campus of the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum.

NOTE: If you send in a check for a name on the wall, and the name is already on the wall, the check will be considered a donation to the Memorial unless you notify the OSFA otherwise.

ADA Jack Brown Ted Ritter AFTON Ray Blough AGRA James Barnett Kenneth Combs ALLEN George Deffenbaugh L. Dunn ALVA Robert Green David Hamilton U. Lowery Eugene Madden C. Nickel Ray Pebley E. Perry Luther Spunhaltz AMES Grady Brown Temple Buxton Billy Teasley William Weast Joe Wilson ANADARKO Wendell Jones APACHE L. Burton George Chadic Irvin Demoss Orval Murlin M. Schandorf Niles Young ARDMORE H. Douglas Delbert Durbin T. Gardner C. George J. Hubbard L. Jones Earl Overlease ARNETT Louis Gipe Lawrence Owens Orville Riley Herman Stringfield Noble Walker ATOKA Nelbert Averill Gus Altebaumer Erby Bennett Joseph Bradfield Ira Elliot Elmer Gentry M. McClarney G. Raines George White Elmer White ATWOOD Claude Baker

BARTLESVILLE George Boatwright Cecil Beard John Beard Ernest Carr W. Clow O. Follick L. Hersman Paul Hersman Basil Harp John Hayes Herbert Luellen Floyd Mallett Oscar Odem R. Platt BILLINGS Charles Ralls Jack Smalley Cradow Smith BINGER Darold Smith Vernon Thompson BIXBY Foe Vivion Dale Zachary BLACKWELL Raymond Bryant Harold Dollar William Emmert Sr. BLAIR Boyd Robertson BLANCHARD Gary Parks BOKCHITO Gerald Metheny BRIDGE CREEK Gary Greene Donald Johnson BRISTOW Wesley Thurman BROKEN ARROW Ronald Ables Terry Barnett Don Carlton Stanley Caudell Kenneth Hilburn Ronald Little Terral Perry Ronald Ross Dennis Stuckey Donald Swanda Billy Taylor Harold Winton Sr. BUFFALO Jeffrey Goble Roy Hoch BYARS Danny Baldwin

CANUTE Donnie Miller Michael Osborn CHATTANOOGA Burton Davis Jerri Sims CHECOTAH William Miller CHICKASHA Teryl Draker CHOCTAW Dick Blackburn CLAREMORE Louis Perry CLAYTON Anciel Evans COALGATE Jerry Chambers Bentz Hester John Munding Bill Ogg Jr. Sammy Tomlinson VALLIANT Marvin Miller VELMA Eddy Larman VICI Kenneth Caulkins James Christy Shirel Fisher Jerry Guffey Kenny Maxwell John Ramage Douglas Rapp VINITA Dwight Argo Genese Bryant William Cain Eugene Chastain Stephen Conway Darel Elmore Allen Goodin Alvin Hays John Hooker Ernest Maly Calvin Teasley Kenneth Triplett WAGONER Paul Aday Mark Anderson Shannon Bottger Delbert Bowers Paul Brixey James (Dale) Brooks Melvin Burgan Michael Cagle Leland Chandler Tommy Denney Donnie Dewitt Jerry Fields Darin Gregory

Ray Howell Lindal Hughes Wendell Hughes Larry Jennings Richard Lewallen Keith Morris Curtis Neal Gary Nichols Merle Ridgway Monford Robinson Frank Rowell Johnny Rutledge Robert Seawright Ronald Shaw Sr. Randy Stelling Kirk Trekell Michael Wade Darrell Watkins Jimmie Watkins WAKITA Raymond Conrady Victor Wilczek John Williams Wayne Wilson WALTERS David Bryant Charles Carter Ray Ewing David Glenn Howard Hewett Anthony Labounty Raymond McBee Gordon Pybas James Reid Jr. Clinton Thurman WANETTE Glynn Greenhill Kenneth Koger Jeffrey Parsons Dennis Robertson Ky Smith WARNER Verlen Bills Gary Bolser Monte Creps Mark Huff WARR ACRES Carl Brown Edward Cole William Cox Dale Hornberger Scott Maloney Clarence Maly Terry Nitzel T. Leroy Phillips Brian Rice Richard Smith Sherman Taylor Danny Turner WASHINGTON Kenneth Blevins Rick Coody Douglas Elkins Tommy Martindale Starriett Watkins

WATONGA Todd Chenoweth Tony Chenoweth Timothy Crissup Mac Drake Charles Helm J. Horton Michael Karlin C. Kiefer David Matz Charles Meyer Blake Woods David Wright WAUKOMIS Dale Clark Jesse Durham James Griggs Rickey Maxwell Mike Morgan Jimmy Price Dale Snyder Robert Spradlin WAURIKA John Bellmyer William Criswell Don Nolen Ronnie Renfrow Jack Rupe Dwight Smith Earl Smith Steven Wagner WAYNE Chris Few George Sharp WAYNOKA Floyd Allen Henry Few John Cook Kenneth Maroon Gary Smith Gary Sparks James Vester WEATHERFORD Bobby Anderson Joe Akers Jim Barnes J. Marshall Bittner H. Butler Jr. H. Butler Sr. Wayne Butterfield Jacob Castor Joe Cook Kyle Covalt William Crow Glen Decker Lloyd Dowling Gerald Downing Eldon Easterly Bobby Ford Elmer Hosier Charles Jones Ronnie Jones Gary McGee Bennie Thomas Chris Sutton Vernon Underwood Ronald Waggoner H. Walker

Alfred Whitener James Wynn WELCH Fred Carter C. Charter John Curtright WELEETKA W. Amspacher R. Bailey Henry Beard Hudson Boydston Elmos Buckles Jack Carroll Royce Coe Riley Constant Roy Chadwell Charles Chesnut Marvin Cochran John Cranford Bobby Crews Marvin Cross G. Curry Donald Dahl Troy Dearing WELLSTON Joe Adair Coleman Blackman Sam Burke J. Cox Victor Downing WESTPORT Ralph Faudree WESTVILLE Melvin Anderson Curtis Ballew John Barger Oscar Camp R. Downing Russell Faudree Wendell Gilliam Percy Harper WETUMKA Verlous Abrams Floyd Allen Billy Bonds Leonard Bush Eldon Camp Russell Cardwell Gene Carter Virgil Cox W. Daggs Marshall Davis C. Duble Harold Eisenhour Carl Fenderson Charles Fisher Steven Jarrett WEWOKA Melvin Bonner James Clark John Devaughan Joe Gills Douglas Miller Devin Nemecek

WHITEFIELD James Bonino Tom Brownlie WILBURTON W. Anderson Kenneth Arnold Herman Baumert Keith Decker Michael Fitzpatrick Billy Fuller Dennis Gaulding Rebecca Hammock Michael Heisten Bruce McRee William Neering Ira Perry Mark Sousa Roy Wright WILLOW Joseph Veley WILSON Terry Darling Randy Scott Tracy Watkins WISTER Kelly Bisel Jack Herring Eugene McClary Edward Mitchell Neal Pickering WOODCREST Eugene Cottom Gary Detrick WOODWARD Richard Bennett Jr. Paul Bolding Marty Cooper Richey Fink Billy Johnson Jeff Morphew Jim Peck Harold Sisco James Waterbury Virgil Yarbrough WYANDOTTE Terry Jones Hugh Sewell WYNNEWOOD Philip Bohl Joe Moore Reggie Strecker Lyndell Wallace YALE Lenton Craven Stacy Humble Gerald Kupka Raymond Slaton Billy Jack Smith Patricia Sutton YUKON John Garner Kelly Grooms Mark Wofford

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2017-06-26 12:24 PM

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OSFA Executive Board Highlights

Roll Call: Mike Duncan, present and presiding; Matt Lay, present; Dereck Cassady, present; Mike Kelley, present; Raanon Adams, present; Dana Cramer, present.

Others: Phil Ostrander, Steve Lumry, Tim Bartram, Sheri Nickel, Gene Brown, Amy Hall, Dr. Erick Reynolds, Dewayne Burk.

Correspondence: ME/CU 27th Annual Charity Golf Tournament Invite. Letter from OSU-FST, thanking the OSFA on a job well done for State Fire School.

Fire Marshal Commission Report: Matt Lay The Fire Marshal Commission met during the State Fire School the weekend of May 6. There was a lot of conversation that dealt with the Budget. They are trying to maintain their appropriation as well as the status of HB 1833 to consolidate COFT with their office.

The bill did pass the Senate and has been signed by the Governor and will take effect July 1. The Fire Marshal’s office is making preparations to receive those responsibilities.

Council on Firefighter Training: Phil Ostrander Council on Firefighter Training met Tuesday at the Oklahoma City Training Center. They discussed their assets and approved a proposal that OSFA was asked to put forth and the COFT Council unanimously approved that contract.

Their main focus is to make sure that they have all their books closed out and all their liabilities and assets dealt with before July 1.

Fire Service Training: Dr. Erick Reynolds Fire Service Training is incredibly busy and trying to wind down the year. They are worried about Budget as everyone is right now. They appreciate the participation in the State Fire School, it went very well. They moved their Golf Tournament to June 2 due to the amount of rain.

They have had some discussion with State Fire Marshal Robert Doke now that HB 1833 has passed and the Advisory Committee contained in that bill.

Legislative Committee: Steve Lumry The Legislative Committee met on March 26, went over Legislative status at that time and then helped prepare for the Legislative Reception.

Educational Advisory Committee: Matt Lay Lay would like to thank everyone in the room for their help and participation in the State Fire School Event. He stated that they could not have been more pleased, excited and ecstatic for how well it went. There were 700 participants.

A wide array of training that was available, and he received nothing but rave reviews from the students and instructors that he talked with; which were from all over the Country. He also received feedback about how well the event was run, quality of the content and just the overall experience. He feels that this is what we have been building on the last couple of years, it literally could not of happened without everybody pitching in and making it happen.

Lumry stated the next meeting is scheduled for next week.

They are going to do their hot wash as a committee for Fire School to see if there are any areas that can be improved and expand on areas that went well. They will also set their timelines for next year in that committee meeting. The committee has requested that after Convention, their committee be appointed in the first Board meeting in July. That way they can start working on Fire School for 2018 without a gap of several months.

Brent Hatcher Committee: Steve Lumry Brent Hatcher Committee will meet next week and they are going to discuss going back to their committee attending various functions and events to promote Brent Hatcher. They had a meeting a while back and figured out that their numbers have been dropping since they have not been attending events to promote it.

Lumry will be looking a little closer at getting the payments set up on-line as an automatic withdraw so they will not have to renew every year.

Benevolent Committee: Steve Lumry Benevolent Committee has met and is still trying to get footing. They are trying to find what direction to go and

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201731

May 18, 2017 MEETING

what services they wish to provide.

Membership Committee: Steve Lumry Membership Committee are still getting full grasp of what all the Association has to offer. They took home assignments to make recommendations at the next meeting. Chairman, Travis Harris is trying to get all the departments in his area to join OSFA. Museum Report: Gene Brown Brown discussed the Oklahoma City Rookie class came in for a tour and to use the hand pumper. Anybody that has a rookie class, we would love for them to come see the facilities, pump the hand engine and get them a little more involved with the OSFA. They will be making some repairs to the hand pumper for future use after Convention.

Everything at the Museum is moving along; accessions are still coming along, pretty much done with Old #9 Station and have all the gongs in working order and there are two working alarm boxes.

The Museum is looking at getting the El Reno truck repainted and prepared for getting it in the new building once completed. They are going through the Canadian Valley VoTech in El Reno and let their auto body shop do the work.

The Legislative Reception went well, with a great turn out. Parking is coming up and we are almost ready for that.

The price has been raised this year to $15 per park. Basically, Brown’s goal in doing that is the extra $5 a car will more than pay for all of our expenses. The process has begun on the Memorial; they are working on the cracks and the granite around the pool. Once completed it should look brand new.

Museum Expansion Committee: Steve Lumry The Museum Expansion Committee is still looking for somebody to put the advertising packet together for us. We have not ever been able to connect with EOC on that. Lumry has now reassigned that to Brown. Lumry and Brown went out and met with Allen Clark and seen the material that he is willing to donate to expand our barn. That brought up discussion that we need to get the barn moved. This part of the expansion will be done in phases.

Phase one, will be getting the barn moved, expanded, electricity ran to it, we hope to add the plumbing and pad. We will be looking for volunteers to help disassemble this barn, haul it to new location and then reassemble it. We are hoping that there will be enough volunteers to help with that, that it could be done over a few weekends. Once we get through those ordeals, it will be on to the fundraising. After Convention, Brown will be working on what it will cost for the move of the barn.

Lumry discussed that Brown will be moving out of the day to day hands-on to more of a manager position. They have been discussing getting some bids for the lawn due to one person cannot maintain it the way it needs to be. They will bring back bids to Ostrander and the Board for next spring.

Dr. Reynolds stated that there is a Metro Tech close and believes they have a Ground Maintenance Program that they would probably come out at a minimal cost.

Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Report: Sheri Nickel Nickel has been busy and has the SOG’s written for the most part. The database is done and now entering all the data collected. The next reporting period is coming up at the end of next month.

National Volunteer Fire Council: Ostrander/Mike Duncan National Volunteer Fire Council inundated by people that want letters of support for their grants. We have been requested to lend support to OSU again on a plan they have to accurately measure firefighter’s hands for better fitting gloves. There are some Federal Legislative issues that are out there.

One of the things going on at the National level right now is Legislation to change the AFG Grant that will allow transitioning volunteer and part time into full time paid positions under the SAFER grant.

Duncan stated they are really pushing the Cancer Registry right now. During the Health & Safety Committee meeting, there were four different points on the Emergency Vehicle Driving that is coming out. VFIS has a sub-committee working on that. Duncan feels that the biggest problem is depart-

ments are not enforcing the programs that they are doing.

They are still looking at different ways for physicals for the volunteers.

There are four different proposals due to the Volunteer Departments cannot afford the physicals. They are trying to come up with a way for some type of physical that they can afford. He relayed a story about the NVFC Chair of the Board ended up having a physical and found out that he had a heart problem that saved his life. There has also been discussion about the firefighters having diabetes as well.

Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association: Dewayne Burk Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association representative Burk stated there is not much going on at this time. They are getting articles together for the spring issue and planning for the next OFCA Conference.

ORFA Report: Cramer Oklahoma State Retirees haven’t met since the last OSFA Board meeting. They are getting ready for the Retirees Convention in a few weeks. The ORFA Board is here to help support the OSFA in whatever way they can. Their membership numbers are still increasing.

Executive Directors Report: Phil Ostrander/Steve Lumry Ostrander stated that the electronic version of newspaper is now up to 38 in the first month to sign up. There has been very little promotion about the option. Believes once we start promoting it, the numbers will grow.

Lumry discussed that Bartram and Nickel have been working at getting names together for the ADHOC Fire Sales Tax Committee. Bartram has put together a map that shows you graphically the counties that have some form of a sales tax that specifically supports fire service. There was a list put together of potential committee members and the map distributed to the Board. Bartram discussed the map that was distributed and that this falls in line with the Resolution from the Volunteer Caucus.

There was discussion by the Board. There was also discussion about bringing in the State Auditor and ACCO to be a part of the committee meeting discussions.

Lumry discussed that a lady from Hooters e-mailed him about their Charity Golf Tournament on September 11th. It will be held at the Page Belcher Golf Course in Tulsa. Whatever they bring in from the Golf Tournament will be donated to the Oklahoma State Firefighter Memorial and Museum.

They will be giving us one complimentary firefighter team, preferably from the Tulsa area.

Lumry advised that the Brent Hatcher Benevolent Committee voted again to request of the Board to include people that sign up at Convention six months free.

Lumry stated we have to do the selection for the Credential Committee for Convention. That way we can notify them to be at Convention early. The current Delegate list was distributed and there was discussion by the Board. The Credential Committee Members were selected.

Credential Committee Members: Justin Beard, Ponca City Chairman; Jesse Bain, Broken Arrow; David Fincher, Lawton; Paul Campanell, Tulsa; Chase Smith, NW Rogers Co.; John Turner, Oklahoma City; Clifford Davidson, Ringwood.

Lumry stated that the FST Golf Tournament will be held June 2 and asked if any of the Board would like to play or does he need to put a team together. Duncan and Cassady said that they would be able to play in the tournament.

Pictures will be taken at the Convention again, after Convention we will arrange all the pictures and have all the Board Members in the right places. They plan on doing the pictures with all three Boards at Convention.

Ostrander discussed SB 0495.

New Business: Dr. Reynolds discussed being contacted by Jim Inhofe’s Office about hosting a Grant Writing Workshop in Stillwater.

He just received confirmation that a guy from FEMA Region 6 will be up on June 23 from 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. to do that.

He has requested OSFA to help out on an e-mail blast to get the word out, he would appreciate it.

Next meeting: June 6, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., at the Days Inn and Suites (Mike Duncan’s Room) in Bartlesville, OK.

32August 2017Oklahoma Firefighter

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OSFA Executive Board Highlights

Roll Call: Matt Lay, present and presiding; Dereck Cassady, present; Mike Kelley, present; Eric Harlow, present; Mike Duncan , present; Dana Cramer, present Others: Phil Ostrander, Steve Lumry, Tim Bartram, Gene Brown, Trisha Chain, Dr. Erick Reynolds and Chase Rankin Guests: Eric Hamilton, Son Bennett, Cindy Molly and Chris Pixler.

Correspondence: Hyatt Regency – Thank You for Hosting State Fire School with them, Letter from Ashley Martinez thanking for choosing her for the Scholarship. Letter from Ava Park thanking for choosing for the Scholarship.

Fire Marshal Commission Report: Matt Lay The Fire Marshal Commission is working to absorb the duties of COFT under the newly created Firefighter Training Advisory Committee. That should go live July 1, Lay is not for sure when their first meeting will be and they are contacting potential members of that committee.

Council on Firefighter Training: Matt Lay/Phil Ostrander Lay stated that COFT completed the transfer of items; they are working through closing out some of their accounts. Ostrander stated that we have several of them already settled and we are in the process now of making sure that everything is clear so we can get their bank account closed.

Fire Service Training: Dr. Erick Reynolds Fire Service Training is incredibly busy and as always and it use to slow down at this time of year but it really doesn’t do that anymore.

They appreciate OSFA support of our Golf Tournament, they raised about $3000. They are worried about the budget, they got hit with another 6.08% week before last and he knows that there will be another one coming. They are now trying to decide what moves they will make because of that.

Legislative Committee: Phil Ostrander/Steve Lumry The Legislative Committee hasn’t met but there are legislative items that will be ready to discuss as soon as committee has been selected. Lumry stated they have all those Resolutions from Convention to deal with.

The Title 19 Sub-Committee is the same thing; Resolution passed and now has to go back to the Legislative Committee. The Legislative Committee may want to put back to the Title 19 Sub-Committee to work on the exact language, although a lot of that was already done by Bartram and the Committee approved it. Lumry feels that it should be a relatively a smooth process.

Educational Advisory Committee: Steve Lumry/Tim Bartram Lumry discussed that at some point in the meeting today, we need to do the appointment for this committee. They need to continue to move forward to get ready for next year’s Fire School. They are already starting to get in a few class proposals and hopefully we will get more. Bartram stated they did meet and have a review since the last meeting. There were a lot of positive things to work on for next year to move forward to improve.

Museum Report: Gene Brown Brown discussed making a little over $28,000 for the Softball Parking this year. That is a vast improvement, by about $8,000 that we have done in the past. We had raised the price to $15 per park with not really any complaints.

The Pipeline that we have outback towards the railroad tracks, we have been talking to them because they need to put a valve in.

Brown has talked them into moving it almost to the tree line so it will not affect anything.

They are going to have to cut our pad for the barn to be able to move it for the parking lot to be built. He has spoke to one of the guys and he said that if I would get a contractor to come in and say I would do this for x amount of dollars and they would just assume cut us a check. There is another guy that has come into play and he is talking about having their crew do it. So either way we are getting a pad for free out of this deal. They have been running waterlines to hydro-static testing the lines. He hopes that it will all be taken care of in the next two weeks.

Brown stated that Nolls truck that was donated to us and delivered for free.

We have got a lot of little stuff done around the Museum. Brown stated they have refurbished several axes, trying to get the proper lantern brackets on the proper rigs, and Noll is asking for 2.5 - 1.5 inch hose that has been taken out of service that he can make the truck look as though it has a hose on them. Duncan stated that they are replacing about a 1000 ft 1.5 inch hose at Dewey.

The Memorial repairs are moving slowly but they have the cracks repaired, now polishing and the Wall of Valor should be getting repaired in the next few weeks. They are working hard, doing a good job and hopefully in the next month the fountain will be going again.

Brown discussed the Fire Network Seminar will be coming back

June 15, 2017 MEETING

Upcoming Dates to Remember: Sept. 21, 2017 -- Memorial Golf Tournament – Lincoln Park Golf Course, Oklahoma City Oct. 1, 2017 -- 18th Statewide Memorial Services – Firefighters Museum, Oklahoma City Oct. 18, 2017 -- ORFA Golf Tournament – Choctaw Creek Golf Course, Choctaw up again soon. This year it will be held in Orlando, Fl and Brown would like to attend if possible. Lumry requested Brown to bring the cost for seminar to the Board for consideration. Brown stated that by next meeting he will have all the details.

Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Report: Sheri Nickel Nickel presented and discussed the PowerPoint from Convention.

She stated that she is visiting county meetings across the state. She is getting a good response from the departments reporting back on the assessment form.

There are a few departments that have told her they do not have county meetings and that she would probably just have to go to the individual departments.

The next report to FEMA will be due at the end of this month and she will get that turned in.

National Volunteer Fire Council: Phil Ostrander/Mike Duncan National Volunteer Fire Council had a Training Summit at Myrtle Beach the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday. They said they had about 100 attendees, which is about average for it.

Next week is the Safety Stand Down Week, it will start on the 18th. They are also offering some free on-line Hazmat Classes for the next few weeks, even for non-members. The September Conference is coming up and will be in Nebraska at the end of September.

Duncan, Ostrander and possible additional staff will be attending that if approved by the Board.

Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association: Steve Lumry Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association has not met but they are going to start getting ready for the Winter Workshop. Their first meeting will be in July.

ORFA Report: Dana Cramer Oklahoma State Retirees have not met since Convention. George Fina was elected to our Board as 3rd Vice. The next thing for them will be the ORFA Golf Tournament on Oct. 18. Just trying to help the OSFA in any way they can.

Executive Directors Report: Phil Ostrander Ostrander stated that he is glad to have Eric Harlow on board. We had three good Candidates and he appreciates Harlow talking to them afterwards. The option for the electronic newspaper subscriptions has had a reasonable response. We discussed the COFT stuff earlier and have working on that. We finally found some important documents that will help us finalize all of the transfer.

The Project Life 5K, ask if we want to check and see if the Board would be interested in sponsoring again this year. Ostrander would recommend the $500 level because that is what we have done before.

Ostrander discussed the staff doing a phenomenal job at Convention this year and would like to thank everybody for that because it is exhausting for them. I am real proud of the staff and the job that they did. For those of you that have been on the Board for awhile, it is a remarkable turnaround from what we have seen as late as the Hard Rock Convention.

We are in the process of gathering some bids for yard work to see if it would be more cost effective to pay somebody or to keep employees doing it. Everything seems to be going pretty smoothly here. Our staff is cost conscious, we are trying to avoid wear and tear on employee’s vehicles. Ostrander stated that he would request later on having an Executive Session.

Financial Report: Rankin Introduction of New Accountant Eric Hamilton.

Old Business: Lumry discussed that while he is gone the Memorial Golf Tournament is coming up and Brown will be in charge of that. The Statewide Memorial Service will happen and Bartram is in charge of that. From a Chief’s stand point, the Winter Workshop will be in the first planning phases and Bartram and Riley will be working on that.

New Business: Selection of the Educational Advisory Committee: Jason Louthan, Seiling (Chair); Brian Brush, Edmond (Vice Chair);

Matt Lay, Tulsa – OSFA Board; Mike Duncan, Dewey (OSFA Board); Eric Harlow, Guthrie (OSFA Board); Justin Beard, Ponca City; Trent Bryan, El Reno; Melanie Colvin, Slaughterville; David Conner, Woodward; Sean Douglas, Claremore (OFCA Board); David Fincher, Lawton; Rodney Foster, Midwest City; Chuck French, Tulsa; Craig Hannan, Perkins (FPP); Larry Hansen, Oklahoma City; BreAnn Horn, Marshall; Greta Hurt, Tulsa (TCC); James Johnson, Tuttle; Chuck Kerns, OEM; Bryan Lloyd, Tulsa; Loyd Mosier, Owasso; Cary Provence, Yukon; Ryan Reeves, Guthrie; Dr. Erick Reynolds, OSU-FST; Tony Samaniego, Newcastle; Alan Sanders, EOC; Wesley Sitton, Oklahoma City (FOOLS); Tim Townsend, Oak Cliff; Jason Woydziak, Ardmore.

Leaving open for more input from Chairman.

Dr. Erick Reynolds discussed the FEMA Region 6 Grant Workshop will be a week from tomorrow and they currently have 88 people enrolled right now. It will be held at the Wes Watkins Center on July 23 at 9:00 a.m. They can handle 200 people for this workshop.

Lay would like the staff to see what it would take to join the State Chamber of Commerce or the OKC Chamber of Commerce. It has been something that has paid off for them in Tulsa in terms of fund raising and being involved.

OKPERI: Cindy Molby / Chris Pixler, Fire Chief of Cushing Fire Dept.

Molby discussed that they have been asked to come and speak to us about the Oklahoma Pipeline and Emergency Response Initiative (OKPERI). Georgia is where the first PERI started and had received several complaints about the pipelines and the emergency responders not knowing where the pipelines were. There have been issues with the pipeline operator not being able to get the information to the emergency responders.

They decided to pull it together with the State School and they invited pipeline operators to come together to come up with a solution. The regulation for a pipeline operator is that they have to meet with emergency responders and how they have been doing that is through third party vendor. Which you guys may know, Pyridine or AeroTech and they invite all their first responders to these meetings once a year.

What they are trying to do with OKPERI is come up with a better solution. They want to build these relationships between pipeline operators and emergency responders. OKPERI has asked emergency response to come to the table with them, to tell them what they will need as far as training and to help develop this training by working together. Right now as far as program development, they have been working on the program itself, budget, Board, web-site and trying to get as many pipeline operators on board with what they are trying to do.

Pixler had asked, “How many of you have sat through one of these High Flying Training Sessions they do and you really do not want to go back the next year due to the same redundant training?”. This is why he wanted to get involved due to two issues; 1) was because of the training that they go to, does not really need a free lunch but does need his people educated and 2) was the 42 million pipeline survey’s that stack up on his desk every year, it is the same information that he was sending back. He was excited to be a part of this and also to bring it back to our state institution.

So their first goal was to develop curriculum, training that our people actually want to go attend, that would be a value and interest to them and then let’s rotate that curriculum out through the years and so there will not always be the same thing. He said let’s go to Fire Service Training, and Cleet, let’s go to our state institutions because they do very well at training our emergency responders, let’s have them do the training. He feels that on the firefighter’s side that pipelines would get much more respect if it was Fire Service Training doing the training and not some random third party company.

The other issue with this is it will be our first time to have a seat at the table and a voice along with the pipeline operators saying this is how we would like to see the training delivered, this is the curriculum we would like to see and we would like to be a part of it. They are working with these agencies to develop the curriculum now and right now they are at a four hour awareness class that would be offered in the field or on-line. There will be a two hour law enforcement class that would be offered on-line and taught to the Cleet Academy, there will be a two hour dispatcher training and the last one would be to take our current flag class.

They want to take their current flag class, add the flag so that it needs some pipeline response criteria, then also add to the practical experience of that where maybe they can set them up and do them so often throughout the year. They will also bring in excavators, law enforcement, pipeline operators, and do a mock line strike that is the combination to the end of the flag class as well as an excavator class and through that process practice unify command with the pipeline operators.

There were questions and discussion by the Board.

Next meeting: July 20, 2017.

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201733

Hit the Links for Oklahoma Fallen & Living Firefighter Memorial Fundraisers Firefighters Memorial Golf Tourney Sept. 21 The 2017 David Bain Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighter Memorial Golf Tournament is set for Thursday, Sept. 21 at Lincoln Park West Course.

Registration starts at noon with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m. Green fees, cart, dinner and range balls are included.

Each golfer receives a welcome bag and a chance at door prizes. Cash prizes will be awarded for A and B flights, longest drive and closest to the pin.

Cost is $75 person or $300 per team. Mulligans are available (3 for $20), as well as hole sponsorships ($150).

Corporate Sponsorships are available by calling the OSFA Offices at (405) 424-1452.

Firefighter Memorial Info at a Glance The Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial is located at the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum, 2716 N.E. 50th St., in Oklahoma City.

The Memorial, Just Another Day, honors all Oklahoma firefighters who have served our citizens since the inception of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association in 1894. It was sculpted by artist Shahla Rahimi Reynolds of Oklahoma City.

The Memorial Park walkway is the next major phase and will have alcoves for meditation purposes that depict different aspects of firefighters’ courage. The walk will honor rescue workers -- both firefighters and nonfirefighters alike -- who assisted with the April 19, 1995, Murrah Federal Building bombing in Oklahoma City.

Fire

Hooters Golf Tourney Sept. 11 in Tulsa The Oklahoma State Firefighters Association was approached by Hooters of Tulsa regarding our Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial.

Hooters chose our Firefighters Memorial to be the beneficiary of its annual golf tournament set for Sept. 11 at Page Belcher Golf Course in Tulsa.

The OSFA and the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial are grateful to have been selected to receive this kind of support.

We encourage all firefighters and friends of firefighters who can be in Tulsa on Sept. 11 to show support for the memory of those affected by Sept. 11, 2001, by getting together, playing golf and raising funds for the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial -- and sampling some Hooters wings!

Thank you to Hooters of Tulsa for their generous support of Oklahoma Firefighters.

Recognizing All Oklahoma Firefighters All around the Oklahoma Fallen & Living Firefighter Memorial are granite walls with the names of firefighter inscribed on them.

And firefighters who gave the supreme sacrifice have the special and most honored space reserved at the park, The Wall of Valor.

The Memorial is unique in that all Oklahoma firefighters who have served their communities for more than 20 years or retired through disability are recognized.

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OSFA Snapshots

Got something going on at your Fire Department? Share the news! Email photos to osfa@osfa.info

Congratulations to 35-year OSFA Member and Oklahoma City Fire Department Chief G. Keith Bryant on his new role as Administrator of the United States Fire Administration at FEMA

Congratulations to Christopher Lentz, M.D., Medical Director at the Integris Paul Silverstien Burn Center. He made the 2017 Top Doctors list.

What is the impact of State Fire School and why am I so passionate about making this so great?

Northwest Fire and Rescue was recognized June 2 with the Tulsa District Commander’s Certificate of Appreciation. The efforts of Northwest Fire and Rescue make Oologah Lake a safer place for the public to visit, and the Tulsa District is proud to have them as valued partners in a combined mission of providing public safety and water safety education.

Grand Opening and Dedication of Fire Protection Publication’s West Wing Addition on July 6 in Stillwater

n

I was at Ponca City FD conducting a promotional exam. Dereck Cassady gets my attention to look out the window down behind the station. There we see all the crew around the engine listening to the younger guys talk about the new concepts they learned while attending State Fire School.

It is obvious that by what we are seeing that they had attending the Engine and Truck class from the OKC FOOLS. This is exactly why I am passionate about State School, new concepts, new ideas, and guys being excited enough about what they learned to take it back to their departments and share it.

It is moments like this that make me realize that all the work we did to build this school is all worth it and is truly making a difference in the fire service.

This is possible because of what each and everyone of you did.

THANK YOU! -- Jason Louthan, 2016-17 Chairman, OSFA Educational Advisory Committee

in memoriam Ronnie Smith, Valley View FD

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The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Valley View Deputy Fire Chief Ronnie Smith on June 17. He was 68.

Ronnie co-founded the Valley View Volunteer Fire Department on the east side of Lawton.

He always helped to coordinate the annual chili fundraiser, and cooked many, many roasters full of chili himself (and peeled potatoes quicker than three other people combined to make steak fries for the chili dinners).

He recently assisted with the build of the Valley View Fire Station, even while undergoing cancer treatments.

Ronnie also worked in just about every division of the Lawton Police Department. He served the department and community for 37 years before retiring as the Chief of Police in 2012.

Tra Snider, Buffalo FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Buffalo firefighter Tra Snider on July 17. He was 33.

Tra had been an integral part of Buffalo FD since 1998. On Jan. 2, 2017, he was sworn in as Harper County Sheriff.

In 2014, he was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a deadly form of cancer. But he fought a fight that most would have quit far sooner.

Oklahoma FirefighterAugust 201735

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