Official publication of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association
February 2018 Volume 35, Issue 1
Al w Re ays ad y
Celebrating a Firefighter’s Love For ...
Life Saver ed el e Fu Fir by
Hot Stuff
a r Up
I N S I D E
Firs La t In s t Ou t
ChangeService ServiceRequested Requested Change
OKLAHOMA STATE STATE FIREFIGHTERS FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION ASSOCIATION OKLAHOMA 2716 N.E. N.E. 50th 50th St. St. 2716 Oklahoma City, City, OK OK 73111 73111 Oklahoma
’s America Hero
Pages 16-17
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... Family ... ... Community ... ... Fire Service ...
OSFA Executive Board Members’ Comments............................................................. 5-6 Executive Director’s Report ...............................................................................................7 SAFER Grant Report ...........................................................................................................9 ISO Report ........................................................................................................................ 10 Engaging Future Leaders .............................................................................................. 10 Firefighter Near-Miss Report ........................................................................................ 11 OSFA Women’s Auxiliary Report ..................................................................................12 Museum News .................................................................................................................18 Support H.R. 973/S. 1651 or H.R. 711 ....................................................................... 14 9-year-old receives OSFA Heroism Award .................................................................... 20 Executive Board Meeting Highlights ....................................................................... 26-27 Oklahoma Fire Spotlight -- Tahlequah FD .................................................................... 29 In Memoriam ..................................................................................................................30
Non-Profit Org. Org. Non-Profit U.S. Postage Postage U.S. PAID PAID Okla. City, OK OK Okla. City, Permit No. No. 570 570 Permit
2February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 20183
klahoma Firefighter February 2018
Volume 35 — Issue 1
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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Managing Editor Penelope Soldan penelopes@osfa.info
Letters to the Editor: Oklahoma Firefighter encourages the
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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The first Electronic Newspaper Subscriptions were available starting with the May 2017 issue. And the OSFA office has received many calls from firefighters saying they prefer getting the newspaper this way.
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4February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 20185
PREsident n
Matt Lay
Tulsa FD
matthewlay@icloud.com • 918-760-9065 Anybody worn out yet? I am smoked … and it’s only February … Honestly, the last few weeks, or months, even years really are a blur. But in a good way? I guess … I think. Every so often, it is important to reflect and take stock. Maybe just because it was January, I couldn’t help but think about how I spent my time last year. How much time did I spend with my family? Was it “quality” or just being present? How did I perform my responsibilities … at my job(s), at my church, at the OSFA, in my community… The list goes on. And it is certainly never finished. I marvel at men and women who have devoted their lives to a cause -- the unceasing, unyielding resolve they posses. Not even because it’s something they always WANT to do or HAVE to do, but a belief that it is something they OUGHT to do! I think about that often when I weigh demands on time -- our most priceless possession. Is it for me? Or in service of something greater … With that, let me turn my attention to a man who has exhibited these principles to me time and again. Our Oklahoma Pension & Retirement System Executive Director Robert “Bob” Jones began his service to Firefighters in 1995. For almost 23 years, he has been a steward of this system that has conferred benefits upon thousands and thousands of firefighters and their families. Beyond his impact on the welfare of Oklahoma firefighters, he has left an indelible mark on those that interacted with our system. I first met Bob at a local food establishment, very famous for their wings, during a convention break almost 10 years ago. He spent an hour going over every question I had about our pension, its kinks and idiosyncrasies, political history, fire service leaders, past and present, you name it. It was a massive information download for me that was very obviously just a second-natured response for him. Here I was, a no rank firefighter with three or four years on the job that he invested his time and talents into. All that with no conceivable idea that one day I would serve on his Board, preside as Chairman, or eventually, help name his successor. If you have been following the firefighters pension plan for very long, the man chosen to follow in Bob’s footsteps will not be a stranger to you. Our Pension System Controller Chase Rankin was offered the position of Executive Director by the Board at our January meeting. He was both humbled and honored by the act. Chase was selected at the completion of a months long, nationwide search that yielded numerous qualified candidates in the field. Yet his qualifications were in display after spending the last 10 years serving firefighters AND preparing himself to do still more. He is another beneficiary of Bob’s unending tutelage. From his first day reporting for duty, he’s had access to two decades of institutional knowledge from the mind of Bob Jones. How fortunate we are that such a smooth and effective succession will take place in our organization. Congratulations Chase and best of luck! As always, much more to come so stay tuned. 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 regular tag fees) and $20 goes directly to the Museum/Memorial. Tags can be purchased from local tag agents 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.
Beginning the Process for Next OSFA Executive Director The Oklahoma State Firefighters Association is accepting resume’s for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director will work under the direction of the five-member Executive Board. The Oklahoma State Firefighters Association has a membership of approximately 16,500 active and retired firefighters and the selected candidate would be expected to be able to interact in a positive manner with these members. The Executive Director, under the direct supervision of the Executive Board, will oversee all operations of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association, Firefighters Museum, Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial, Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association, an office staff of fulltime and parttime employees, and coordinate with the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association and numerous other Boards and Commissions. The Executive Director will be ultimately responsible for directing, along with the Executive Board, the legislative agenda for the Association. Applicants for the position should have the following at a minimum: • • • • • • • • • • •
Be a citizen of the United States Non-felon High School diploma or equivalent Fire Service management experience Bondable Possess a current and valid Oklahoma driver’s license Oklahoma State Firefighters Association or Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association membership. Associate’s degree (or better) in a related field Proficient at managing and creating million dollar budgets Proficient in computer skills – i.e. Microsoft Word, Outlook, Excel, QuickBooks, etc. Skilled at working in diversified and dynamic work situations
Preference will be given to a candidate who has Oklahoma Fire Service experience. The starting salary range for this exempt position is $65,000 to $80,000 plus benefits, depending on qualifications. Qualification information may be picked up at the OSFA office (2716 NE 50th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111) or downloaded at www.osfa.info. Resume’ must be emailed back to the attention of the OSFA Executive Director Search Committee at personnel@osfa.info. This position will not be filled prior to June of 2018 at the earliest. Deadline for resume’ submission is Friday March 30, 2018, at 4:15 p.m. The Oklahoma State Firefighters Association Executive Board has the right to reject all applications at anytime.
6February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
1st vice PREsident
n
Dereck Cassady
2nd vice PresidenT n
Ponca City FD IAFFLocal2479@ yahoo.com 580-761-5338
I would like to take a moment and talk about all the things going on with the OSFA. The committees have been working very hard for you. Educational Advisory Committee is finishing up the list of classes for State Fire School that takes place in Tulsa May 3-6. If you have never attended Fire School or if it has been a few years since you have been, you need to make this year’s event. There is not another Fire School in the country like this one. This year we are anticipating 1000 participants, so don’t miss out. Registration and course information is available online at osufst.org. Legislative Committee has met, and with the struggles at the Capitol, rest assured they are staying on top of items that could affect firefighters in Oklahoma. We will have lobbyists at the Capitol daily to keep us abreast of any bill that could affect us. A new Public Education Committee has been formed and they are working on some things that could help all departments with Pub Ed. They will also be helping with some interactive displays in the Museum. This year is going to be another big election year. It’s never too early to find a friend or relative to occupy a seat at the Capitol. STAY SAFE!
PAST President n
Mike Duncan
Dewey FD
mduncan51 @aol.com 918-214-6865 Hello all! The Flu season is on us, and it is really bad. People everywhere have it, so remember to wash your hands often if you are around people with it. And wear a mask! There is a lot of controversy over whether to get a flu shot or not. I got one. I have gotten one every year, so I am not going to stop now. Wash your hands protect yourself. The Globe Gear awards have been made, and 13 departments received 52 sets of gear between them. There were 857 applications, and the first 500 applications got NVFC memberships for their departments. The Josh Cellers wine has partnered with The NVFC to give away 10 Training grants ($5,000 each) to Volunteer Fire Departments, and they have awarded two so far. Joseph Carr has set this up honoring his dad who was a Volunteer Firefighter. You can get the application from the NVFC website. The Volunteer Caucus is Feb. 3 at the Tech Center between El Reno and Yukon. It will be a really great time to meet with other Volunteer Firefighters. We have someone coming to talk about AFG grants who will also be there for questions. We will have breakout sessions to work on things to help Volunteer Firefighters. Hope to see you all there! Be Safe!
Mike Kelley
OKC FD
mkelley@local157.org 405-623-4338
As we start a new have reports from the Pension System, OSU-FST year, we do so with a and the Forestry Service. blank canvas of The OSFA State Fire School will be held in promise. Tulsa May 3-6. Our state school has become a Regardless of whethpremier event and provides excellent training er last year was one that at no cost. The Educational Advisory committee you’d rather forget, littered with obstacles and works year round getting ready for this event faced with challenges around every corner. and take great pride in what’s provided. Or, it was the greatest year of your life. We are moving forward with museum expanEither way we all get to write a new chapter sion and fund raising. The Museum board has this year and we should be excited about the recommended that we engage a professional opportunity. fund raiser to expedite the time required to raise Some reading this are just starting their cathe needed funds. reers, others careers have ended, and then a few While we have a great museum and static like myself are in the twilight of theirs. displays. we are looking forward to the expandRegardless of where you are in your journey. ed space and learning opportunities that will be give it your best and this will be one of the most available with new interactive exhibits. rewarding years yet. Our museum staff works extremely hard The OSFA continues to evolve to help you get maintaining our Museum, Memorial and the the most out of this career and enjoy the benefit surrounding grounds. Next time you visit, tell of retirement when you choose to hang up your them thanks for all they do! gear. Keep working hard. What you do matters! By the time you read this, we will have Stay safe and have your brother and sister’s completed another Chiefs Winter Workshop in back! Stillwater. The Volunteer Caucus is Museum Board Meeting held Jan. 9 quickly approaching and will be held in El Reno at the Canadian Valley Tech Center Feb. 3. This is a great opportunity to share and provide input. We will update the progress on items discussed last year and
3rd vice President n
Eric Harlow
Greetings Oklahoma Firefighters! I hope you’re staying warm with the recent cold snap we’ve had. I hope you’re holding true to any New Year’s resolutions you might’ve made. Unfortunately, the cold snap has led to a rash of home heating related fires for many of us. Along with that has come several fatal fires. At last look, Oklahoma was leading the nation for fire fatalities so far in 2018. This isn’t a stat to be proud of. Many of these fatal fires had no working smoke detectors present. This is concerning to me as a firefighter and I’m sure it is to all of you. Please work with the public in your jurisdictions to promote fire safety and to have a working smoke detector. Push the fire safety education topics related to home heating (fireplaces, space heaters, etc.). I know many of you also have programs available to give smoke detectors away, and in many cases, install them for the homeowner. These programs surely prove their worth this time of year.
Guthrie FD
ericharlow200@gmail.com 405-520-2893
If you don’t have a program, I highly encourage you to try and get one started. Work with your local Red Cross and other civic organizations for assistance. Many corporations offer smaller grants that are ideal for buying smoke detectors and related public education items. I know that our department has benefited greatly from working with the local Walmart store and area Lowes stores to help fund our program. I want to congratulate Bob Jones on his retirement as Executive Director of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System. Bob has worked many years to oversee our pension, and his retirement is well deserved. Our board unanimously chose the system’s current Controller, Chase Rankin, to succeed Bob in the Executive Director’s position. Chase is very qualified for this position and will do very well. Please join me in congratulating Chase and wishing him the very best as he takes on this new role. Things remain dry and the wildfire fire danger is on the rise every day. Be safety conscious and call for help early. Stay safe out there!
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 20187
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OSFA STAFF REPORT Sheri Nickel OSFA Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Coordinator It was just a
little over a year ago that I resigned from my job on the ambulance and walked away from the chief’s position in Shattuck to start my journey with OSFA as the Volunteer Firefighter Coordinator. A move that I often have questioned my sanity about! But in reality, it isn’t too often that a volunteer firefighter from rural Oklahoma can turn that passion into a career. I was offered an opportunity to put all the pieces of the things I worked for my whole adult life to use to benefit the membership of the association that has helped me so many times throughout my tenure as a volunteer firefighter. So here I am. What a ride it has been.
I have done the unthinkable and done what a lot of fire chiefs only dream of -returned to just being a firefighter. It wasn’t easy finding a metro fire department who would take in a former rural Chief, but thanks to Chief Banks at McLoud, I now am once again pulling shift and working as a firefighter. Aside from that transition, I have also moved away from my husband and kids in Shattuck to pursue this OSFA journey. In the last 14 months, the longest amount of time that I have spent at home with them was 16 days during the recent holidays to celebrate the birth of our first grandchild. This statement was recently made: “I don’t know how you do it.” It was during those days that it dawned on me as how I do it. The tones dropped in Shattuck and everyone in my house jumped up and ran out the door to go to the fire station, except for me. This is the life that my kids grew up around, and now our grandchild is going to grow up around. Both of little Hazely’s grandpa’s, her g-ma, her aunt, two of her uncles and her daddy are all firefighters in four different fire departments. She will never think twice when tones drop during her birthday party or when one of us is late to a dance recital because we were on a fire. I have asked my kids several times if they ever felt like their parents being volunteer firefighters affected their childhood, and neither one do.
I have spent hours on the road traveling
to fire meetings across the state, which isn’t a big deal because I have spent the last six years in ambulances on patient transfers from Shattuck and Woodward to Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Enid or Tulsa averaging 6-12 hours at a time. So imagine the thrill of getting to see new and exciting parts of our great state and meeting thousands of people who
share the same passion for the fire service. I have had the opportunity to share things that I have utilized in my own departments and I have learned new and exciting things that I get to take back and share with others. Administering a $2.1 million grant pales in comparison to preparing for an ISO grading, an annual visit from an auditor or making sure that patient medical charts coincide with Medicare regulations. I have strived to meet accountability standards for every job I have ever had.
My job at OSFA has taken all the pieces of my life and put them together in a way that I often think is too good to be true. There isn’t anything hard about this, it all comes naturally. Just this week Phil asked if I would be interested in replacing him as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Volunteer Fire Council. (Phil is retiring as the OSFA Executive Director this summer). I was both honored and a little bit intimidated. I attended the NVFC meeting in Kearney, Neb., last fall as a guest. I met volunteer fire service leaders from across the nation and I visited with our counterparts who have read AFG Grants for over 20 years and others who have helped write IFSAC tests. I left that meeting with the feeling that I have a lot of learning to do to become a leader like that. So when Phil approached me about this, I simply told him that those are big shoes to fill. The OSFA Board has offered me the opportunity, and I will do my best to represent Oklahoma’s Volunteer Firefighters at the National level. It is important to keep an open mind and look beyond my own experience when participating in discussions. Both Phil and Mike Duncan have represented Oklahoma for the last several years and have done an outstanding job at demonstrating that the Oklahoma standard is the one that the rest of the states would like to be at. Perhaps this will be a part of my job that won’t come as naturally to me as the rest of it does. But I am flattered that the OSFA board feels confident that I will serve them well, and I am excited to learn a whole new level of leadership.
I guess we attract what we are ready for. and I am honored to be able to do this. Without a doubt I have some great people to support me and teach me what I need to know. Thank you to my husband, my children, the Executive Board and staff of OSFA, my fellow McLoud firefighters and the friends from all the other fire service agencies for allowing me this privilege. And Phil Ostrander, I will do my best to not let you down.
OSFA EXECUTIVE DIR. n
Phil Ostrander phil@osfa.info
•
405-424-1452
Change is in the air! The expansion of the Firefighters Museum has moved from the preliminary design phase to the financing and fundraising phase. The Board has contracted with one of the top project fundraisers in Oklahoma. We are thrilled to have Cotton Consulting, Art and Sandy Cotton, on board. Art and Sandy have a long history of success on large scale projects across Oklahoma. The foundations and entities we have reached out to love the fact that this museum represents all facets of the fire service across Oklahoma and that we are already a nationally recognized firefighter museum. It’s exciting to be a part of this project.
An additional change is coming! Four years ago, when I interviewed for the position of OSFA Executive Director, one of the things I told the OSFA, ORFA and OFCA Board Members that made up the interview team was that if I was offered the job, I would only stay long enough to accomplish the goals that I outlined. I believe that this ship is on course and we have a “Dream Team” on staff and serving on our Committees. So I have decided it is time to devote what time I have left to the woman who has sacrificed so much to let me live my dreams. I will retire as OSFA Executive Director as of June 30, 2018. I will followup on this another time. Elsewhere in this edition of the newspaper (Page 5), there is an announcement about the Executive Director opening and tells you where and how to apply for the position. Volunteer Caucus is coming up Saturday, Feb 3, at Canadian Valley VoTech in El Reno. This is one of my favorite events of the year. This free event brings volunteer firefighters from across Oklahoma together in one place where they can speak freely and openly about issues that affect the safety, funding, pensions, equipment and the volunteer fire service as a whole. It is our goal at the OSFA to be inclusive, never exclusive. That is how our founders intended it to be and that is how it always will be. My favorite visualization of the comradery and inclusive nature of the OSFA comes at the State Fire School when you see the firefighters at a hands-on or in a classroom together and you see shirts from Hugo, Ft. Supply, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Slapout, McCloud, Keys, Bartlesville, Altus, Granite … you get the picture. Large and small, paid and volunteer. All in the family, all brothers and sisters. Be safe. Be positive and be a part!
OSFA / Museum Staff Executive Director Phil Ostrander • phil@osfa.info Administrative Director Steve Lumry • stevel@osfa.info Special Projects Tim Bartram • timb@osfa.info Volunteer Recruitment/Retention Coordinator Sheri Nickel • sherin@osfa.info Administrative Assistants Amy Hall • amyh@osfa.info Trisha Chain • trishac@osfa.info
Publications Penelope Soldan • penelopes@osfa.info Museum Manager Gene Brown • geneb@osfa.info Museum Assistants Quintin James • quintinj@osfa.info Robert Noll • bobn@osfa.info Joe Thompson • joet@osfa.info
8February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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ORFA REport Dana Cramer
n
Tom Low
Norman FD Retired
Welcome everyone to a new year! I hope the holidays were a joyous time for one and all. The Pension Board announced Chase Rankin as the new Executive Director to fill the shoes of Bob Jones. I wish Bob all the best in his retirement. Bob has meant so much to the Pension System. His understanding of all aspects and long tenure will be greatly missed. I know Holly will have some plans for him. The legislative session is starting February 5 and I’m really unsure how this session will proceed. The climate at the Capital is like none that I’ve seen before. We’ll see how it all plays out. Be prepared to act at the Capital when we put out the call. The investment returns are doing well so far this fiscal year. We are earning 8.52 at the halfway point, hopefully the market will stay positive. Until next month, Be a Leader!
Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association 2017-18 Executive Board PRESIDENT Dana Cramer, Norman dcramer3@cox.net 405-570-1387
2ND VP Tippy Pierce, Moore fftip@swbell.net 405-924-1104
1ST VP Juan Rodriguez, Lawton jrod911@gmail.com
3RD VP George Fina, OKC gomsc38@gmail.com 405-373-2409
PAST PRESIDENT Phil Ostrander, Tulsa phil@okgov.us
live long & prosper Stillwater FD Safety & Health Committee
Greetings Sister and Brother Oklahoma Firefighters! My inspiration for the topic in this column came to me through an email I received. This email came from the US Fire Administration. This site sends out notifications through emails on Line of Duty Deaths. I’m sure many of you receive the same emails. What struck me was the number of the LODDSs that were cardiac related. This peaked my interest, so I checked FEMA and NFPA records on causes of death for firefighters who succumb in the line of duty. First of all, a little history. The NFPA began to track on-duty firefighter deaths in 1977. They wanted to chart firefighter deaths by cause and nature of the injury. This in an effort to reduce the numbers or firefighters injuries and fatalities as they could through safety standards. There are over 20 causes of death and injury. I wont go into specifics in all these causes, but they range in everything from crashes, gunshot wounds to drowning and falls. The statistic that jumped out at me me was the category named Stress/Over Exertion/Medical. This cause covers firefighter deaths that are cardiac or cerebrovascular in nature. Heart attacks, strokes and thermal exposure (heat or cold injuries). Obviously, a greater proportion of sudden cardiac deaths occur among the older firefighters. For example two-thirds of the firefighters over 40 who died in 2015 died of a cardiac event. A common denominator in these sudden cardiac events was stress and over exertion. I am going to list the percentage of firefighter LODDs going back to 2002. The percentages following the years is the percentage of the total of LODDs that were considered to be a cardiac event.
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
-- 37.6 % 2007 -- 46.9 % 2008 -- 55.5 % 2009 -- 53.9 % 2010 -- 53.9 % 2011
-- 51.4 % -- 44.1 % -- 54.9 % -- 63.2 % -- 50.0 %
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
-- 45.0 % -- 21.8 % -- 67.0 % -- 51.0 % -- 43.0 %
The year 2013 was something of an anomaly. There were some major fires that year that took the lives of several firefighters. They included the West Texas Fertilizer Plant explosion (6 firefighters lost their lives); the Houston Hotel fire and collapse (claimed 4 firefighters’ lives); and the Yarnell Hill wildland fire in Arizona (19 firefighters made the ultimate sacrifice). The NFPA has several standards that attempt to address some of these statistics. They are : • NFPA 1500 Standard on Fire Department Occupational Health Program • NFPA 1582 Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments • NFPA 1583 Standard on Health -related Fitness Programs for Fire Department Members In a nutshell, NFPA 1500 sets minimum requirements for an occupational safety and health program for a fire department. NFPA 1582 helps to outline the standards to make sure firefighters are performing at their best. NFPA 1583 outlines a complete health related fitness program. This in turn reduces the risk of injury, disease and an early death. It addresses the fitness assessment. And the five components of this assessment are aerobic capacity, body composition, muscular strength, muscular endurance and flexibility. I would encourage you to check the standards out more closely for specific details for these programs. There are a multitude of things that can lead to an early demise to us on this job. Many we have no control of. When it comes to cardiac events, I like to think we can control that to a point. One way is to eat a healthy diet. Another way is to get some form of exercise -- walking, running, riding a bike, etc. Avoid a sedentary lifestyle. Live strong, work strong and retire healthy. That is something we should all strive for. Just something to think about. Until next time, take care and stay safe!
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 20189
Question & Answers Oklahoma Firefighter asked last issue’s readers this question: “What day would you gladly relive?” Here is what they said: w Jeremy Goodrich, Yukon: The day the city of Yukon Fire Department gave me a shot to become a firefighter. w Bryan West, OSU-FST: That question will be tough because there are a few days that rank as a tie that I would relive. The day each of my children were born and the days each of my children moved away. Still waiting on the day my grandchildren are born. w Juan Rodriguez, Lawton Retired: Wedding day. w Mike “Rookie” Billingsley, Nichols Hills Retired: The day my Dad got back from Korea. I don’t remember much about it because I was only 5 years old, and that’s one reason I would like to relive it. I’m pretty sure it was the happiest day of my life. He had been gone for about a year and a half. To a five year old, that’s like a lifetime! w Brian Foughty, Moore Retired: Most of them. Something good happens almost every day. w Tom Marcum, Mooreland: My wedding day! w Bert Norton, Midwest City: I would relive the day my kids got baptized. w Mike Weinkauf, Orlando: I would gladly relive the day I got married. I would do it a lot different.
February’s question -“What is your favorite song to sing or sing along with?” Everyone is Welcome to Submit an Answer Email Your Response to penelopes@osfa.info
n
SAFER Grant
Sheri Nickel
OSFA Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Coordinator There are different levels of fire-
fighters in our departments. We all have “good firefighters” -the ones that everyone likes because they will cover your shift, they are fun to work with, they do what is asked of them and more than likely is the community icon and who residents call upon whenever they have a question about the fire department. But this person never goes above and beyond to expand their knowledge and training because they strive for the public attention and they get it because they walk around wearing their fire department t-shirt and is usually on every scene representing. Then we have “lazy firefighters” -- the ones that you have no idea how they have made it this far not knowing any more than they do. They are generally the ones that sit around the station and complain about having to train, do truck checks or how bad the leadership “sucks” in their department. They won’t get out of bed to run a call, and when they do, they show up on scene and work harder to get out of work than actually doing work. You have to constantly tell them how to do their job, and when they do something right, they are constantly telling everyone how great of a job they have done.
Then there are the “firefighters” -- the ones that love coming to work. They live for the moment the tones drop and they get to respond to the station. They are the ones that don’t see this as a job but a calling. They are the firefighters that make the “good and the lazy firefighters” look like they know what they are doing. They show up on scene wearing their PPE, they know how to pump the trucks and ventilate a roof. These are the ones that will find the seat of the fire and not just hit it hard from the yard. They see the importance of learning new techniques and know that training is more important than riding around in a big red truck. Don’t get me wrong, it takes all kinds to make a fire department run. Generally there is a job for everyone, especially on a volunteer fire department.
But the question is, does your department have enough “firefighters” to pull the weight for the “good” ones and the “lazy” ones? When is the last time you trained? Have your new guys learned how to pump the engine or don their SCBA? Is your “good” only “good” because they were given their shirt when they joined the fire department and never encouraged to train? Or are your “lazy” firefighters burned out and sick of poor
leadership and learned how to be lazy by watching the leaders of their department not strive to be better? How many of your “firefighters” take it upon themselves to seek out classes or attend meetings to learn what it takes to do the job that they signed up for?
Year 2 of the SAFER grant started in November. We are now paying for the new guys to go through Firefighter-1. I have been inundated with phone calls from people wanting to know more, how they can get help to get enrolled. The process is simple, I need a letter from the fire chief and 5 years of workers comp rosters. We started with 75 spots to fill and as of today, Lakewood, Olive, Kellyville, Clinton and Chandler have all taken advantage of this free money. I still have applications on my desk pending approval and look forward to notifying several more departments of award soon. But the thing that bothers me is when I get a phone call and I explain the simplicity of the process and they tell me “my chief won’t do that” or “my department doesn’t keep records”. I will do whatever I can to help your department qualify but I have accountability to FEMA which approves this money. OSFA is the middle man for the volunteer fire departments in Oklahoma with this $2.1 million. We wrote the grant, won the money and are doing all of the record keeping. There is no excuse for anyone to not take advantage of this when it is as simple as it is. Don’t be the “lazy” chief who wants to complain that you don’t have money to send guys through training when this opportunity is awaiting you. Also, don’t be afraid to attend leadership training for at least the next 3 years. Part of our grant money is for retention, we want volunteers to become great leaders and we are sponsoring The Leadership for Small Departments series conducted by OSU-FST which is available at Regional Fire Schools. This is a great opportunity to network with other departments and talk about things that work and don’t work in small departments. Fire departments have accountability to their towns and districts, ISO inspections give a snapshot of how your department trains and responds to fires. There are points available for everything you do, leadership training and meetings add up and there is great value in sending your officers to learn new and exciting things happening across the state.
The fire service is faced with budget cuts, and tax money and donations aren’t always what we need to make our departments run the way we want. If you are a “good firefighter” become “great.” If you are a “lazy firefighter” stop complaining and do something to become better. And kudos to the “firefighters” who never stop learning.
SAFER GRANT Recruitment & Retention First Time Firefighters - Firefighter 1 - Bunker Gear
Fire Chief or appointed representative must contact the Grant Coordinator in writing and provide accurate fire department rosters for the last 5 years to demonstrate the need to add additional firefighters to their departments.
OKLAHOMA STATE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION Sheri Nickel - Grant Coordinator
Funds will be dispersed on a first-come 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.
www.OSFA.info 405-424-1452 office -- 580-554-7123 cell sherin@osfa.info
Contact the OSFA for assistance.
2716 NE 50th, Oklahoma City, OK 73111
10February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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ISO Report Yogi Cole
ISO Field Coordinator (405) 213-9967
yogi.cole@oid.ok.gov In the last article, I started on the Firefighter training requirements, and I would like to finish in this article. Remember there are 9 categories for fire related training, including Auto Aid training, which is worth a total of 9 points. Each of the categories is weighted differently, and the number of hours required for full credit varies. Also training that is obtained outside your jurisdiction such as at a “School” may not be applied as full credit. The next two categories are both Driver/Operator training and are in accordance with the general criteria of NFPA 1002. 5) New Driver/Operator Training Program For max credit, 60 hours are needed and it is worth 5% of the available 9 points. 6) Existing Driver/Operator Training Program For max credit, 12 hours per year for each Driver/ Operator is needed and it is worth 5% of the available 9 points. 7) Hazardous Materials Training Program For max credit, 6 hours per member per year are needed and is worth 1% of the available 9 points. Training should be at a minimum awareness level in accordance with the general criteria of NFPA 472. 8) Recruit Training Program 240 hours per recruit within the first year are needed in accordance with the general criteria of NFPA 1001. Firefighters who obtain the FF1 and FFII designation before joining the FD also meet the requirement of this section. Class hours spent toward the completion of FF1 and FFII will receive credit. This training is worth 5% of the available 9 points. 9) Building Familiarization for Pre-incident Planning Program Building familiarization and pre-incident planning tours of each commercial, industrial, institutional and other similar building at least annually. Records of inspections should include complete and up-to-date notes and sketches which must be available to the responding incident commander. NFPA 1620 is referenced in this section. Partial credit is given for inspection frequency for up to 5 years. This category is worth 12% of the available 9 points. Keep in mind that what I have given you here is out of the current Fire Suppression Rating Schedule. The exact application may vary. If I can be of any assistance please give me a call.
Engaging Future Leaders Reflecting on Next Generation of Fire Service Leaders By William Webb Executive Director, Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) One aspect of my job that I enjoy most is traveling to fire service events and having the opportunity to address audiences who are interested in learning about the work being performed by CFSI and the other national organizations on Capitol Hill. It doesn’t matter to me if I have two people in the audience or two hundred. I always look forward to sharing with them CFSI’s efforts to advocate for federal programs and legislation that address the needs and challenges of our one million firefighters and emergency services personnel. I have served as CFSI Executive Director since 1995. To a large extent, the folks who have attended my presentations throughout the years still comprise the largest percentage of the individuals attending my presentations today. That concerns me. And I see the same thing happening elsewhere at local, state and national conferences. The size of the audiences seem to be dwindling, while the average age is increasing. The question is: Where is the next generation of fire service leaders – young men and women who we need to step forward and assume leadership positions now being vacated by the current generation of leaders? In early September, I attended the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Symposium in Phoenix, AZ. Over 500 fire service officials attended the event and heard from a broad range of speakers. Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell of the IAFF delivered an excellent presentation titled, “Messaging for Cancer Prevention Through Cultural Change.” One of my takeaways from her presentation is that there’s much we need to learn about the younger generation before we will be able to fully convince them to get involved. Their values are different. Their ways of communicating are different. They tend to be more transient. If they aren’t satisfied in their work, they’re more inclined to make a career change. Three weeks later, I facilitated a panel discussion featuring four fire chiefs. The theme of the discussion was “Next Generation.” Again, some very interesting points were raised about the next generation of fire service leaders. The one that got my attention was that the firefighters entering the ranks today are much smarter than the veterans. This was in no way intended as a derogatory comment. While you cannot underestimate the importance of experience that the veterans possess, the younger generation possesses considerable knowledge about new technologies being introduced in the fire service.
While both perspectives are valuable, they both should also be “valued” by the old and the new in the process. I have had numerous discussions on this topic with many of my contemporaries. One suggested that we – being the current generation of leaders – need to talk to the younger generation about why they need to get involved. While I understand what he intended to say, I have a different opinion. We don’t need to talk; we need to listen. We need to sit down with the younger generation and have them explain to us how we can help fuel their passion to get involved and lead. To do this effectively, it will require that we understand their values and priorities…the balance they are seeking between career- and personal fulfillment outside the fire service. In terms of engaging them in the various elements of an organization, we need to hear their ideas, such as on employing new technologies – not only operational technologies, but technologies that enhance training, management, and communications as well. Leadership is about the future as much as the present. Whether you are the executive director of an association, a local union leader, the president of a volunteer department, or a chief, you need to ask yourself if you are doing enough to recruit and prepare the next generation of leaders to receive the torch when your day comes to pass it. On April 18-19, 2018, the Congressional Fire Services Institute will host the 30th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Symposium and Dinner. The theme of the program is “Engaging Future Leaders.” Each year, 1,500 fire service officials from across the country attend the program to participate in discussions with their peers, members of Congress and federal agency officials about federal legislation and programs that impact the fire service. CFSI will be making a strong push for our guests to invite future leaders to accompany them to Washington, DC in 2018 — and beyond for that matter — so they too can experience the important work conducted by fire service officials during this twoday program. Please consider joining us. Information about the event is available at www.cfsi.org. Former Senator Bill Bradley of New Jersey said: “Leadership is unlocking people’s potential to become better.” This is what we need to do with future leaders in the fire service – to unlock their potential. Quite frankly, I can’t think of a better legacy the current generation of leaders could leave. OSFA thanks William Webb and CFSI for allowing Oklahoma Firefighter to reprint this article.
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201811
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NEAR-MISS REPORT
By Greg Lindsay
Acknowledging Science for Tactical Changes When I look back at the experiences from the last few years, I can see how firefighting is changing. The tactics recommended today are a technological advance designed to make our job safer. However, the tactic we expect to solve all our problems is only a step in the process. Part of the need to change tactics is the nature of modern furniture construction. The plastic content and foam padding used in the cushions are like solid fuels in the modern fire environment. They burn hotter and faster than older furnishings. The amount of heat released in the first few minutes can take a room from normal temperatures to flashover very quickly. Another element of the science provided by the National Institute for Science and Technology (NIST) and Underwriters Laboratory (UL) incorporates the tighter method of construction we use today for heating and cooling efficiency. In the most simplistic model, heat, fuel, and oxygen must combine to sustain combustion. After that, the physical laws of nature direct the way a fire will progress. The featured article this month looks at how one report submitter believes a change in tactical applications would have provided a safer fire attack for one crew. The fire triangle is as relevant today as it was when fire first began. The only things that have changed are the way we manipulate the essential elements necessary for fire to burn or for us to attempt control.
Captain Barely Escapes Flashover
Published: 9/28/2017 -- http://firefighternearmiss.com/Reports?id=10700
EVENT NARRATIVE
What was the initial size-up? Structure fire in a single-wide mobile home with smoke and flames coming from the bravo side window and unknown occupants.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Our crew was the initial engine on a structure fire involving a single-wide trailer. Upon arrival, we found a mobile home with heavy smoke and flames coming from a window on the “Bravo” side of the structure. Our captain did a 360 while another firefighter and I pulled a 1 3/4” line for an offensive fire attack. Upon opening the door on the “Bravo” side, we experienced heavy smoke to the floor and moderate heat. Our captain met us at the door, and we started a right-handed search. While conducting our search, our captain stayed at the door and fed us the line, though we were unaware of this at the time. As we conducted our search, we found ourselves in a hallway along the “Delta” side of the building. We did not feel the door to our left, which was the fire room. There was zero visibility. We searched the back bedroom with nothing found and returned down the hallway and found the door. We opened it and were immediately overwhelmed by the heat. We attempted to extinguish the room but with no success. During this time, our captain was attempting to join us. The fire separated us. Our IC recognized what was happening from the exterior and ordered us to evacuate and to go defensive. Luckily, we were able to evacuate quickly through a door on the “Delta” side of the structure we found during our search. We advised the IC that our captain was not with us. Our captain left the hose line to locate us. We went to the front of the building on the “Delta” side where there was another door, which is not common, and opened it to try to locate him. Just as we opened it, he fell out of the door, and the flashover happened. His turnouts were smoking from the heat, and he was in distress. Traditional tactics called for working from the interior, unburned side, and pushing the fire back onto itself. As the fire is confined and pushed back, extinguishment is accomplished. Other than exposing ourselves to the toxic products of combustion, making the initial attack from the interior also can introduce additional oxygen to the environment increasing the intensity. Placing ourselves in a significantly hazardous environment is necessary only when the reward outweighs the risk. For this report, the author is identifying how applying what we have learned recently about firefighting science, and how it may have made an impact on the overall outcome of this event. Based on your knowledge of fire dynamics and recent tactical recommendations work as a group with your crew to discuss the following points. • Look back at the initial report size-up, and discuss how you would approach this fire today. • What tactics would you use on this fire provided the survivability profile indicated no occupants inside? • Would the tactical model differ significantly if the indication was “possibly occupied” based on your 360 survey?
OKC Fire Department
• Discuss how the transitional attack (fire reset tactic) changes the survivability profile for anyone inside the structure. • The Vent Enter Isolate Search (VEIS) tactic identifies the need to isolate the room before searching; additional recommendations include when entering for an interior operation, you should Enter Isolate Vent and Search (EIVS). Do you train for the practice of interior door control to manage the fire flow path? The lessons learned from this report do not address the nearmiss experienced during the fire, but support how employing a transitional attack may have altered the outcome. In this report, the fire was venting from the window on the fire room, and quickly resetting from the exterior would be possible. We have to remember that a transitional attack is designed to lower the temperature to pre-flashover conditions, not to extinguish the fire. The reset allows firefighters to transition from exterior to interior quickly and with an added element of safety. Fire needs heat, fuel, and oxygen to sustain combustion. The more of each of these elements, the greater the intensity of the fire. Reducing the heat, limiting the oxygen, or exhausting the fuel will reduce the heat release rate if not bring the fire under control. Each of these elements is a prong of the attack we can exploit to our advantage. Combining the control of all three creates a safer environment for us all. It is, however, important to include the transitional attack is specific in its application. Using this technique must be done without altering the ventilation flow path. If we use a fog pattern from the exterior, heat, and smoke now blocked from venting through the reset window could force conditions inside the structure to change dramatically. Whether interior occupants are known or unknown, deflecting water off the ceiling using a smooth bore or straight stream pattern is recognized as the least intrusive way to reduce the thermal environment without affecting the ventilation flow path. Sharing our experiences emphasizes how we can learn from our peers, but both sides of this coin are relevant. If you’ve had an experience when transitional attack helped avoid a nearmiss or may have contributed to an unexpected outcome, please
take a moment to tell us your experience. Firefighternearmiss.com is the outlet for relating your experiences to our North American Firefighters.
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12February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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Chaplain’s corner STEPHEN ALYEA Cherokee County Fire Service Chaplain
Fire Service has a term: “Try before you pry.” To post prayer Most of us have been on a scene, quickly makrequests and find ing decisions, when a window or door handle is the barrier in front of us. The use of cutting or striking up-to-date tools can make entry quick but can cause substaninformation on the tial damage. Oklahoma Fire In our relationships with coworkers, family and Chaplains, go to even that special Valentine, we can wisely use the www.okfirechaptry before you pry term. lains.org. Usually, we find conflicts in our lives because one or all involved use the wrong tool. Before resolving our emotional barriers with tools that cut or strike, we can make a decision to try a peaceful entry into a discussion. In our walk with God and his plan for our lives, we will usually notice the tool of choice is love, forgiveness and compassion. Every firefighter can feel the stress of the job, and with prayer and practicing loving principals, we can overcome most conflicts or barriers. If we try before we pry in our emotional world, we can avoid separations from those close to us. If we struggle to resolve the wrongs done to us, maybe a different tool is needed to overcome the barrier that hides love. “And forgive us our debt as we have forgiven our debtors.” -- Matthew 6.12 HCSB Be safe and try before you pry!
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women’s auxiliary Report Cheryl Lumry
2008 President
Hello Ladies! Since this is the first article for 2018, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. I hope everyone is staying healthy and warm. Thank goodness we are another month closer to Summer. Since February is the month of Love, I hope everyone will take this time to cherish their friends PRESIDENT and family, as we never know when it could be the Tennie Green last time we see or hear them. Take time to text, tennie.green@gmail.com call or visit them so they know you care and that (918) 440-7060 they feel loved. So on that note, I’m looking forward to seeVICE PRESIDENT ing everyone at the 124th annual Oklahoma State Erica Koch Firefighters Association Convention June 13-16 in ejv97@cox.net Tulsa. (405) 308-2010 Hopefully everyone has already made your reservations for convention, but if not, the host city SEC/TREASURER will be in Tulsa this year, with the host hotel being at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa Hotel. Susan Walker Ladies, if you have never attended convention sw233821@gmail.com or have been to convention, but have never at(580) 351-4116 tended the Oklahoma State Firefighter’s Women’s Auxiliary Convention held at the same time as the PAST PRESIDENT OSFA Convention, I would like to extend an inviDiana Cramer tation to you to come and get involved and attend cramerdr@cox.net our meetings. (405) 613-2513 I guarantee that you will meet some awesome ladies and make lasting friendships. To the ladies who have been involved and attending our meetings, please start thinking about someone -- or even yourself -who would like to become more involved with our/your Oklahoma State Women’s Auxiliary by stepping up and running for the board. The Women’s Auxiliary board is a five-year commitment, but a very honorable and rewarding job. Join the rest of us who have helped make history by previously serving with honor on the board. Stay safe, and I hope to see everyone at convention!
2017-18 Women’s Aux Executive Board
NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN
OSFA
The David Bain Award recognizes any individual who has provided service both to community and to OSFA, and who possesses attributes that coincide with involvement in youth programs through church, school, and/or community, provides a role model for other leaders, and has proven to be a person of courage and impeccable character
Nominations must be received by April 20, 2018 For a nomination form, go to www.osfa.info For more information: 1-800-308-5336 405-424-1452 stevel@osfa.info
Award
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201813
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14February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
Firefighters: Support H.R. 973/S. 1651 or H.R. 711 Now! By Chief Bobby Halton Editor in Chief Fire Engineering Magazine Fairness—you hear that word a lot today. “I will make sure they pay their fair share” is something we hear constantly from politicians about taxes. The first income tax code was established by President Abraham Lincoln to fund the war effort and was repealed in 1872. It was reestablished in 1913 under President Woodrow Wilson. The income tax is called progressive because the rate of taxation increases with the rate of earning. The rates have varied, with President Franklin D. Roosevelt raising it eventually to 90 percent. The motives and subsequent outcomes have been argued since it all began, but “fairness” has been the central point on both sides throughout. In 1935, the Social Security Act established a system of old-age benefits for workers. The Social Security tax was put in place by the Roosevelt Administration to provide a safety net for folks in retirement whose savings or pensions were inadequate. The Social Security tax and payment system is also progressive, meaning it replaces a larger percentage of lower incomes and a smaller percentage of higher incomes. Payments are based on a person’s highest 35 years of earnings in which Social Security income (SSI) taxes were paid to determine basic benefits at retirement age. Both income tax and SSI taxes are important issues for cops, firefighters, teachers, and others with government pensions, because as public servants you are not treated fairly—quite the opposite: You are penalized for being a true public servant and a hard worker. The definition of fairness has been debated since time immemorial. Aristotle chimed in when he was speaking about distributive justice. He said, “What is just is what is proportionate.” What he meant is that things should be divided among people in proportion to their worth or merit. So if we go with Aristotle, we should get back in some equally proportionate measure what we contribute, same as everyone else. The more our contributions to the overall effort, the more our compensation or gains should be. This seems fair. His name was Rick. In the late ’60s, he was drafted and sent to Vietnam. He served with distinction and returned home in one piece. He always wanted to be a firefighter, and his dream came true when he was hired by the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department. Rick served again with distinction prior to his retirement in the late ’90s. He had earned his pension: 70 percent of his highest three years’ salary—a pension he had contributed approximately 16 percent of his gross earnings to as his contribution every payday. But, as a firefighter, Rick was exempt from paying Social Security taxes. So on retirement from the fire department, where no SSI taxes were deducted, he would not be eligible at age 62 to collect from Social Security—a fund he had not contributed to. Fair enough, no complaints. But Rick had worked other jobs where he paid SSI before and during his firefighting career. Rick retired in good shape and soon landed a job with a major southwestern airline working the tarmac and baggage side of the operation. Rick would do another 20-plus
years and then retire again. His pension, now 20 years old in salary terms, was very modest, and the government that guaranteed it had already changed the deal by taking away some of his cost-of-living adjustment; but, having paid Social Security now for 20-plus years, he would have that to help ease his financial issues in retirement. When Rick finally retired, he discovered that because of two federal programs—the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO)—his SSI benefits could be reduced by two-thirds of his pension, and his wife as a survivor (should he pass) would suffer the same fate. In 1983, the government, led by President Ronald Reagan, enacted the WEP and the GPO. The intention was to correct the benefits computation of SSI, which mistakenly identified cops and firefighters as lowwage earners. However, the WEP and the GPO do not fairly correct the issue. They unfairly penalize those who worked two jobs while on the job or a second job after retirement with a government pension. Basically, if you receive a government pension, you are not eligible for full Social Security, unlike everyone else. You may only receive a portion of your benefit unless you contribute a “significant” amount into SSI for 30 years. It was designed to prevent “double dipping,” but some government pensions, like railroad workers, are exempt. It is a complex system like most government systems; and, despite its best intentions, it is neither fair nor just.
Today, there are three pieces of legislation: H.R. 973 and S. 1651 are identical bills that repeal both the WEP and the GPO. Known as the Social Security Fairness Act, it will reverse this unfair law and allow cops, firefighters, and school teachers full access to any Social Security benefits they fairly earned in employment in which they paid into Social Security like everyone else. Unfortunately, the legislation has been stalled in the Committee on Finance since June 2015. There is also H.R. 711, which reduces the WEP penalty on an individual’s Social Security benefits. H.R. 711 affects those already being penalized by the WEP and those who will eventually be penalized by the WEP. Every firefighter organization should have support of these bills paramount on their agenda. Firefighters all agree that how we treat people defines our culture. We all agree that “We leave no one behind,” and we recognize the truth in “What is just is what is proportionate.” Thank you, Aristotle. All we want is our fair share. Bobby Halton, also serves as Education Director FDIC International and Editorial Director Fire Rescue and Fire Apparatus and Emergency Equipment magazines. He retired as Albuquerque Deputy Chief of Operations and as Coppell, Texas Fire Chief. Halton lives in Collinsville, OK. OSFA thanks Bobby Halton, Paul Combs and Fire Engineering Magazine for allowing Oklahoma Firefighter to reprint this article and cartoon.
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201815
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16February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
All Ablaze W
For Family, Commun By Steve Lumry, OSFA Administrative
Here we are alr month’s front cove month in which w We all know tha tine’s Day. For som means roses, and f love for someone s While those can for those special p they need most is is not the only kind We have all expe thrill of responding to the call, the excite rush of a big working fire, and the satisf The fire service is a special animal. It go. Most of us know someone who spen in the fire service only to retire and mov shop or other local gathering place and It doesn’t take long and the conversa what is happening now. Many of these f they remember and are still up-to-date o The fire service pumps through your fills your heart and soul and never lets g place. It is that need to be needed, that s a vulnerable time, and the desire to give That old adage really rings true: “The And just like in a relationship between t in the fire service, it can hurt a lot. Just remember that you didn’t start th out. You didn’t cause the accident, but y did your very best to help the victims. Just as in a marriage, once in a while that is okay. One place you can get that Load” to the left of this page. After that brief commercial break, we The job of firefighting, whether done is a labor of love. Just remember during this especially love for the job, your community, and y time aside to spend with your family an They are with us in the good times an give of themselves by allowing us to giv you care this month and let them know you appreciate them. We wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day!
With Love
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201817
nity, Fire Service Director
ready in February 2018. As this er shows in graphic form, it is the we celebrate love. at Wednesday, Feb. 14 is Valenme that means candy, others it for a few it means expressing your special with diamonds and gold. n be important expressions of love people in our lives, remember what our time and attention. Romantic love d of love there is, however. erienced the love of the fire service, the ement of being the first on scene, the faction of helping someone in need. draws you in and never really lets you nt many years serving their community ve on. Then you see them at the coffee say hello. ation will turn to the fire service and folks will surprise you with how much on. r veins just like your special someone. It go. The feelings all come from the same satisfaction of helping someone during e of yourself. e more you give, the more you receive.” two people, when things don’t go right
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18February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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Museum news
Mon-Sat Sunday
Bob Noll
FREE for OSFA Members & Immediate Family
Museum Archivist bobn@osfa.info
Gene Brown
FROM THE ARCHIVIST ...
Museum Manager geneb@osfa.info
Oklahoma State Firefighter’s Museum has a col-
lection of many interesting exhibits and artifacts on display. This is the first part of the history of the steam fire engine on display there. It is one of two “steamers” existing in the State of Oklahoma. What makes it especially unusual is that the frame is a “Harp” type. According to research sources, there were only 112 or 114 (depending on the source) manufactured by Amoskeag. Research also suggests that this is the oldest existing “Harp” type frame steamer in the United States. The “steamer” was built by the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company located in Manchester, NH. Amoskeag Manufacturing was primarily involved in the weaving of various cloth products, but had other interests too. These included banking, manufacturing guns and building steam locomotives and steam fire engines. The “steamer” was made in the spring of 1862 and delivered to Springfield, MA, on July 3 of that year.
The city of Springfield, MA, was booming in 1860. The city was growing due in large part to the fact the Springfield Armory was gearing up for arms production. The Battle of Fort Sumpter, SC, on April 12-13, 1861, signaled the start of the Civil War. The Springfield Armory had begun production of arms and related items for the U.S. Government in 1777. Now the Armory was preparing for war time production to meet the needs of the coming conflict. Shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, the Confederate States Navy used the hull of a damaged warship to produce the first ironclad gunboat.
The North, under the guidance of John Ericsson, a Swedish engineer and inventor, countered by launching its first ironclad, the “USS Monitor.”
The city of Springfield had long recognized the need for effective fire protection for its citizens. The fire chief in 1860 had knowledge of the “new” steam fire engine concept whereby steam power instead of manpower operated fire apparatus pumps. Accordingly, the purchase of a steam fire engine was proposed in 1861. The “steamer” would replace an existing hand engine.
Several companies were manufacturing steam fire engines at this point in time. Perhaps the most predominant manufacturer was The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company of Manchester, NH. This was a division of Amoskeag Mills. While the primary Amoskeag Mills product was fabrics, the company had other interests to include a division that manufactured steam fire engines. These engines had a reputation of reliability and excellent performance. After doing due diligence, the city of Springfield decided to purchase a “steamer” from The Amoskeag Manufacturing Company. It was delivered by rail and arrived July 3, 1862. Once unloaded from the rail road flat car, the new arrival was given an inspection and immediately prepared for service. Its first night in Springfield was spent in a vacant “car house” located just north of the railroad depot. Fire kindling was laid in the boiler and whippletrees and chains were attached. Arrangements were made for two horses to be immediately available to pull the steamer should the need arise. As was the
Horses Sam & Don are hitched to the 1862 Monitor inside the Museum
9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 1 to 4:30 p.m.
custom of the day, the new steamer was named. The name “Monitor” was chosen. The reason for this name
Hello everyone! Well another year has come and gone. We begin the new year with high hopes for the future. The Museum staff is working hard to make improvements on our displays. And we are looking into new interactive displays. Our goal with the expansion of the museum is to add new educational displays for the children. We are very excited to be able to move into a very bright future. It is very important that we all work together to make the expansion a reality. Please take time to come by and visit your museum. Thank you for your support. being selected is lost to history, but it would not take much of a stretch of the imagination to think the city named their newest pumper in honor of the ironclad “USS Monitor.”
The new steamer reflected the latest technology of the day. It had Amoskeag registration Number 52, a “second class” Harp type frame with a single plunger steam driven pump. This pump was 4 1/2 inches in diameter and had a 12 inch stroke. At “fair working speed” the engine would discharge 400 gallons per minute (GPM). Discharge pressure was factory recommended to never exceed 80 pounds per square inch (PSI) so as to avoid bursting the fire hose which during this time period was constructed of leather. Crew included a driver who was responsible for care of the horses and an engineer who was responsible for operating the boiler and pump. Other equipment, such as suction hose, suction hose strainer, nozzles and hydrant adaptors were also provided. It was pulled by two horses, as it weighed approximately 6500 pounds. The Monitor was placed in service at the Sanford Street Fire Station in Springfield, which had formerly been the home of the hand engine “Niagara.” This location was quarters for the Monitor for an unspecified period of time. It was then moved to the Winchester Park Fire Station and became Springfield Fire Department Engine Company 8. It served there for many years.
Sometime during the late Fall of 1896, the Monitor was replaced by a new steam fire engine manufactured by the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company of Elmira, NY. The agent, whose business was headquartered in New Jersey, took the Monitor as a trade in. The Monitor remained in limbo for a short period. Its continued journey to the Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum will be discussed in another article.
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201819
On Dec. 6, 2017, friends and family of Midwest City firefighter James “Jim” Clark unveiled a sign dedicating the I-40 overpass bridge at SE 29th Street in his honor. Clark died Aug. 8, 1999, while working an accident in the interstate.
Steve Day, who spent almost four decades with the Woodward Fire Department -- including the last 11 as Fire Chief -- at his retirement party in December. Day, right, is presented with an ax in honor of his service.
n (800) 779-5521 n www.CONRADFIRE.com n (913) 780-5521
Conrad Fire Equipment and Ryan Reeves would like to thank and congratulate the Deer Creek FPD in Edmond, OK on their recent purchase of this Enforcer PUC pumper
STEVE MARTIN (405) 620-1891
SAMMY MARTIN (405) 850-3752
RYAN REEVES (405) 269-3844
ROGER BROWN (785) 865-6941
Firefighters Serving Firefighters
20February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
Deer Creek FPD Hosts Foreign Exchange Firefighter
Months ago, OSFA received a call from Markus Kostmann, an Austrian studying for a semester at OCU. Turns out Markus is an experienced firefighter in Austria, and he was interested in serving as a volunteer firefighter during his stay in Oklahoma. Deer Creek Fire Protection District was more than happy to welcome Markus into their department as a foreign exchange firefighter. “We are super excited Markus chose Deer Creek Fire Protection District to expand his firefighting knowledge,” the Deer Creek FPD Facebook post said. “If you see Marcus out and about, please say “Hi” and show him that traditional Oklahoma welcome.”
OSFA Volunteer Recruitment/Retention Coordinator Sheri Nickel, who is also a firefighter at McLoud, has been making the rounds to county chiefs meetings around Oklahoma. Below are a few photos she took while attending meetings in Wagoner, Lawton, Pryor and Hugo.
Caney Valley Student Receives OSFA Heroism Award Last September, Camryn
Sarnie was paying close attention to a presentation on emergency preparedness at Caney Valley Elementary School. And three weeks later, his new knowledge helped him save his parents from the family’s flaming mobile home. For his heroic act, the 9-year-old was awarded the OSFA Heroism Award at a school assembly on Dec. 19. OSFA Executive Director Phil Ostrander presented Camryn with the framed certificate at the assembly, which was attended by his classmates and teachers, the Oklahoma region of the American Red Cross, several area volunteer fire departments and the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association. The OSFA Heroism Award recognizes any non-firefighter who voluntarily risks his or her life in saving or attempting to save the life of another person. And here is Camryn’s story:
On Sept, 22, Camryn participated in the Pillowcase Project at his school which was taught by Red Cross volunteers Roger Shiflet, Suzanne Shiflet and Carolyn Harpole. During the presentation, the students learned about emergency preparedness, including tornado and home fire safety. The class listened to the sound smoke alarms make and covered the safety information on what to do when you hear an alarm, emphasizing that you have to get out quickly. And students receive a pillowcase upon completion of the program in which they are encouraged to build their personal emergency supplies kit. Camryn’s mother Lora said Camryn came home that day and told the family all about
what he learned in class.
Just three weeks later, disaster struck. On Saturday morning (Oct. 14) at 3 a.m., Camryn woke up to the sound of a smoke alarm in his home. The sound scared him, but he got up quickly and went to wake his family. The home was on fire and they needed to get out. When the Red Cross team went back to Camryn and his family to interview them about the event, he recalled what he had learned in the program. Volunteer Carolyn Harpole, who took part in the Pillowcase Presentation, was one of the Disaster Action Team responders who arrived after the fire and set up the meeting. “I took the people who taught the Pillowcase class to the interview,” Carolyn said. “When I asked Camryn what the sound was that woke him up, he said it was the smoke alarm. I asked him how he knew it was the smoke alarm and he said because that man over there set it off [pointing to Rodger]. “The parents said that they thought they would put the fire out, and Camryn told them. ‘No, we need to get out in two minutes.’ This child was parroting everything we taught.”
In total, three lives were saved thanks to the Red Cross team in Oklahoma and the bravery and action of Camryn. In addition to the OSFA award, Camryn was presented with gifts ranging from candy, movies and a proclamation signed by Gov. Mary Fallin. Camryn thought all the recognition was “cool,” but he wondered if it also meant he could go home early from school. That, however, was not part of the package of rewards.
Camryn Sarnie, surrounded by Red Cross volunteers Roger Shiflet, Suzanne Shiflet and Carolyn Harpole, holds up his new pillowcase -- the original one he received for completing the Pillowcase Project was lost in the fire.
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201821
n
Page to Ponder 3:47 a.m. -- The tones
sound for a smoke in a residential structure. With drowsy eyelids, everyone rushes out to the trucks, gears up and heads to the address given. The first-in apparatus rolls in, gives the report that there’s smoke showing with flames visible on the Bravo side of the structure. Your two-man fire attack initiates their watery assault as the hydrant man catches up to start ventilation duties. Only minutes into the call and the vent man pulls out the PPV fan from its compartment and suddenly collapses in agony as the crippling pain sends prickling electricity through his lower body. You are now down one firefighter in a four-man crew. How does that affect the others on scene? Does it change the scenario?
Fast-forward three months. The call has been long forgotten by most except the individual who is still recovering from that injury, and HR which is still trying to deal with worker’s comp. Meanwhile the injured individual and his family are struggling with recovering from back surgery, rehabilitation and the never ending struggle to keep up with the bills that don’t stop rolling in. And there’s the unspoken stress of knowing that a fellow employee is injured, it all adds up to the point that a dollar amount cannot define. And it’s all because of a task that has been done dozens of times. Ok, so the injury happened. It’s part of the job.
We’re going to get hurt. Is that what you’re thinking as you read this? Do you really think that just because we find ourselves in one of the most dangerous occupations that we should just say, “Oh well, it’s to be expected”? How often do we absorb that “oh well” mentality from those we look up to and respect, and then feed it to the next generation?
So what can we do? As a Safety Professional the quickest answer is two-fold, but let me put this in the perspective of my fellow firefighter. We can prevent incidents such as sprains strains and over exertions, slips trips and falls, health-related such as heart attacks etc, and a whole range of negative impacts on the body by “attacking the fire” and “preventing it” -- the fire obviously meaning injury. Let’s start with preventing the “fires.”
Training: There is a single tool that we almost never see in the fire service that is common in private industry, and that is Risk Assessments. A risk assessment is an easy method to discuss with everyone participating the hazards of the planned exercise and strategies to reduce those risks. For example, your crew is planning on working with ladders and gaining roof access. In this instance, prior to the hands-on portion, everyone assembles and discusses and writes out the list of potential hazards, and then strategizes ways to minimize or eliminate each hazard. It can even go as far as using a risk assessment chart to aid visually the severity of the hazard, which gives a color-coded score, and your basic goal is to reduce as much risk as possible. Risk a lot to save a lot right? In training there
Tina Lewis
Deer Creek Fire Protection District
should be a zero injury goal. Now this may seem ridiculous, but this briefing style in fact educates and refreshes everyone from the top down on the realworld risks and ensuring that everyone is privy on how to help mitigate those risks instinctively on the fire ground. Remember, you are what you practice.
So what about “fighting the fire?” Lets think for a moment about the scenario above where the lifting of the PPV fan resulted in a back injury. There are two main questions that can help get the discussion going in the right direction. Could it have been prevented? What is the root cause? These are questions that should be asked in any scenario that involves injury by management and discussed with everyone in how to prevent future injuries. In the instance where the injury is a strain, could that piece of equipment been better located or the compartment altered in a way to make access easier? Was the firefighter in reasonably good physical shape? Had there been training on proper lifting techniques? If the discussion reveals that there are areas of improvement then don’t stop with discussion. Take action to make those adjustments, and discuss and train with everyone.
Still not convinced that implementing these two injury-reducing tools is worth it, or that we can’t change it? Lets look at the numbers.
SAVE THESE DATES March 18-21: FireTECH Conference & Expo in Stillwater. Hosted by Oklahoma State University Fire Protection & Safety Engineering Technology. Cost is $399. For more info: fire tech. ceatpd.okstate.edu April 12-13: The 7th annual Flammable Liquids & Foam Firefighting Conference in Coffeyville, Kan. This is free training with lunch and door prizes. For more info: 620-252-4659. May 3-6: 2018 John F. Futhey II State Fire School in Tulsa. More than 1,000 participants are expected this year at the OSFA State Fire School once again being held at the Tulsa Training Center and Tulsa Community College NE Campus. For registration and course information: OSFA State Fire School 2018 Facebook page. June 1-2: 2018 NVFC Training Summit in Concord, NC. Attendees will be able to select six out of 12 breakout sessions to attend, with sessions addressing critical issues in first responder health and safety, recruitment and retention, and fire prevention. Cost is $75. For more info: www.nvfc.org/summit June 16: Second Annual Mother Road Fire Truck Show and Muster Noon to 4 p.m. in Stroud. For more info: 405-334-1059. Proceeds raised from the show will be given to the Pete and Lela Stavros Scholarship fund.
According to a study conducted (referenced below) 97.5% of all firefighter LODD occurring between the years of 2000-2005 are attributable to identifiable contributing factors. And of that percentage, approximately half were under the direct control of the individual firefighter and chief officers. What this means is there is a considerable amount of injuries that could have been mitigated by things such as training, pre-incident planning, ergonomic design implementation, PPE, staffing, SOG updates or implementation, health and fitness and other remedies.
That sounds all well and good, but we can’t afford to add anything into the budget for any of the examples just listed. This may be true in a sense, but how much does an injury cost your department? Lost time, higher turnover rates, and lost moral? What about medical bills and increased medical insurance costs due to the increased injury rate? What about the indirect costs such as adding an interim firefighter to make up for the injured person’s absence, or the added time that an investigation takes, legal fees, the additional loss on the scene of the incident because someone was injured? It all adds up. We all know the average cost of a back injury is in the range of $40k to $100k (my back injury was more than $300k). But those figures are based mostly on direct costs. Before we decide we can’t afford to look at safety in the fire service, we need to first ask ourselves, “Can we afford not to?” Post incident investigations can come with a higher price tag, but is still worth the time and monetary investment. That being said, conducting pre-training risk assessments only costs a dry erase marker and the wage time it takes to conduct it, making it extremely cost efficient. Nobody should just take on the mentality of “It’s going to happen” or “It’s part of the job.” There are ways to be proactive and improve without blowing the budget, and there are some resources out there that are easily accessible to aid in department-wide safety improvement.
If you find yourself in a small-town or rural department, whether it’s volunteer, paid, or combination, or even a larger department, I urge you to go to hscsnetwork.com and click on the “Fire Dept Resources” tab for information and resources that could act as an aid for your department’s safety strategies. Here is the Risk Assessment and Post-incident guide information to help those who are interested: http://www.iaff.org/tech/pdf/contributing%20factors%20 to%20ff%20line-of-duty%20death_iaffand%20usfa.pdf https://safety.grainger.com/people/calculating-true-costworkplace-accident For free or reduced cost resources for implementing or improving a safety program in your department, go to www.hscsnetwork.com for more information. Since the information is strictly fire department related it is password protected, but please feel free to share this with other departments. LOGIN: deercreekfpd@yahoo.com PASSWORD: fire123
22February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Member Services Coordinator
Robert Jones
Terri Williams
Executive Director
Executive Secretary
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 November 17, 2017 MEETING Members Present: Matt Lay, Mike Kelley, Dana Cramer, Michael Duncan, Scott Vanhorn, Jim Long, Eric Harlow, Craig Freeman, Dereck Cassidy, Herb Bradshaw, Mike Kelley, Frank Stone. Members Absent: Brandy Manek, Janet Kohls. Others Present: Robert Jones, Executive Director; Duane Michael, Assistant Director; James Reynolds, Assistant Director; Terri Williams, Executive Secretary; Chase Rankin, Controller; Marc Edwards, Legal Counsel; Troy Brown and Tim Nash, Andco Consulting; Tom Scerbo and Claudio Marsala, Allianz; Mario Virtudes and Stephen Day, Capital Dynamics; Greg Lombardi, Landmark. Randy D. Antrikin Jr. /Edmond - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective October 25, 2017: Motion was made by Bradshaw and seconded by Cassady to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective October 25, 2017. Ayes: Vanhorn, Kelley, Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Long, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Bradshaw, and Duncan. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Christopher S. Crane/Idabel – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective November 16, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Bradshaw to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective November 16, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Long, Freeman, Cramer, Duncan, Bradshaw, Cassady, Harlow, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Stone. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Kenneth D. Pruitt Iii/Madill - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective October 20, 2017: Motion was made by Duncan and seconded by Vanhorn to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective October 20, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Long, Freeman, Cramer, Duncan, Vanhorn, Bradshaw, Kelley, and Stone. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Rueben O. Ellis/Oklahoma City - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective November 1, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Long to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective November 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Long, Duncan, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Mo-
tion carried. Jeff M. Dean/Tulsa - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective November 1, 2017: Motion was made by Bradshaw and seconded by Cassady to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” to “Service”, effective November 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Long, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Stephen W. Day/Woodward - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective November 1, 2017: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Bradshaw to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” effective November 1, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Long, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Cassady, Harlow, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Raymond Richards /Oklahoma City – Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Bradshaw to approve the request of Richards to modify the Application from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Lay, Long, Freeman, Cramer, Duncan, Vanhorn, Harlow, Bradshaw, Cassady, Stone, and Kelley. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Homer Thompson/Oklahoma City - Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Vanhorn to approve the request of Thompson to modify the Application from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Lay, Harlow, Cramer, Duncan, Bradshaw, Harlow, Cassady, Freeman, Vanhorn, Stone, and Kelley. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Douglas Williams/Oklahoma City - Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Vanhorn to approve the request of Williams to modify the Application from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty” based on the medical information submitted. Ayes: Lay, Long Freeman, Cramer, Kelley, Cassady, Harlow, Bradshaw, Duncan, Stone, and Vanhorn. Nayes: None. Motion carried.
Martha Pierce
Chase Rankin
Assistant Director (COO)
Controller
Duane Michael
Than Dinh
Accounts Payable Administrator
Thelisha Clark
Records Administrator
Assistant Controller
Assistant Director (CFO)
Vicki Mulbery
Latoya Battle Data Processor
n CONSENT AGENDA (December 15, 2017) CHECKS TERMINATED IN NOVEMBER 2017 (Deceased): Aline Harold Harmon McAlester Martha Hailey Barnsdall Kenneth E. Nickels OKC Melba Dobbs Edgewater Roger W. Craig OKC Michael E. Roberts Enid Eldon W. Charles Ralston Edd D. Burch Idabel Geneva Gilbreath Sapulpa Raymond T. Cooper
Tahlequah Tahlequah Tishomingo Tulsa Tulsa
Steven R. Smith Etta Qualls Evelyn S. Batt Mary Barnes Barbetta Prine
$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT: Colbert American Funeral Service On Behalf Of Alred Westberry Duncan Whitt Funeral Service On Behalf Of Wesley D. Hancock Edgewater Park Jerry Craig, Co-Death Recipient Of Roger W. Craig Edgewater Park Barbara A. Craig, Co-Death Recipient Of Roger Craig Ft. Gibson Foster-Petering Funeral Home On Behalf Of William C. Pirkle Ft. Supply Billings Funeral Home On Behalf Of Phillip Burkhalter Gate Myatt-Laverne Funeral Home On Behalf Of Harold L. Curtis Oilton Palmer-Marler Funeral Home On Behalf Of Gerald W. Mills OKC Eisenhour Funeral Home On Behalf Of Ronald D. Lambert OKC Bill Merritt Funeral Home On Behalf Of Michael E. Roberts Pauls Valley Alvin B. Mckinley, Child Of Johnny M. McKinley Pauls Valley Cynthia M. Blevins, Child Of Johnny M. McKinley Sapulpa Smith Funeral Home On Behalf Of Raymond T. Cooper Stillwater Palmer-Marler Funeral Home On Behalf Of Harold A. Payne Stringtown Brown’s Funeral Service On Behalf Of William Randy Harris Tulsa Schaudt’s Funeral Service On Behalf Of Donald L. Wilson Vian Frances Johnson Widow Of H.D. Johnson Waukomis Brown-Cummings Funeral Home On Behalf Of Bobby E. Roades APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM: Edmond Logan Christensen Ada Cody Priest Ardmore James Carter Edmond Kevin Haney Ardmore Hayden Johnson Edmond Matthew Heard Blanchard Coy Grover Edmond Tevin Johnson Choctaw Robert Young Edmond Dustin Paige Collinsville Matthew Graham-Edwards Edmond Spencer Schrupp Duncan Garet Blevins Edmond Jeff Seebeck Duncan Larry Cramton Edmond Travis Terrel
Duncan
Michael Edgmon
Edmond Jack Whitt
Edmond Benjamin Wilcox Edmond Jonathon Wilson Edmond Casey Womack Fairview Aaron B. Helm Nicoma Park T. J. Chartney Stillwater Sonny Stafford Stillwater Christopher Wynn Tulsa Zach Lucas
APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE: 10/20/2017 Ft. Supply Donna Burkhalter, Widow Of Phillip G. Burkhalter (Deceased 10/19/2017) APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION: 12/01/2017 Antlers Lola Keeler, Widow Of Charles Keeler 12/01/2017 Canton Terry Martin, Widow Of Cory A. Martin 12/01/2017 Chickasha Paula J. Brice, Widow Of Michael C. Brice 12/01/2017 Custer City Jessena S. Bowman, Widow Of Floyd D. Bowman Jr. 12/01/2017 Ft. Gibson Betty Pirkle, Widow Of William C. Pirkle 12/01/2017 Oklahoma City Marvela Holmes, Widow Of Carl Holmes 12/01/2017 Prague Elva Jo Sands, Widow Of John E. Sands 12/01/2017 Slaughterville Dorothy M. Mulder, Widow Of Henry J. Mulder 12/01/2017 Tulsa Keitha M. Barnes, Widow Of Jack A. Barnes 12/01/2017 Tulsa Carolyn A. Deason, Widow Of Bruce W. Deason 12/01/2017 Tulsa Tommie Morris, Widow Of James O. Morris 12/01/2017 Tulsa Nanette Tucker, Widow Of Thomas Tucker 12/01/2017 Waukomis Billie Roades, Widow Of Bobby E. Roades APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION: 12/01/2017 Ada Kenneth B. Reed 09/01/2016 Cleo Springs David Keltch 01/01/2018 Hollis James R. Heflin 12/01/2017 Inola Robert G. Turner 09/01/2017 Jay Robert S. Crank 12/12/2017 Konowa Roy D. Hicks Jr. 12/01/2017 Loco Hurles D. McCurry 12/01/2017 Lookeba Michael D. Davis 12/01/2017 Lookeba Dennis E. Mashaney APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT: 10/16/2022 Berryhill Lance S. Steward 12/01/2014 Cromwell Gervis R. Morphis 04/26/2017 Joy Darryl J. Mccurtain 07/16/2020 Weatherford Roger O. Duncan Ii
12/01/2017 12/01/2017 12/01/2017 02/01/2017 06/01/2017 10/01/2017 11/21/2017 12/01/2017
Muldrow Eric L. Ogdon Mustang Carl W. Hickman OKC Brian E. Stanaland Red Oak Natahn W. Gooch Rosston Terry Shuman Tipton Derek S. Hoppes Weatherford Terry C. Roles Welch Harley I. Malone
REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Hired Morgan Reinart Alva 01/01/2008 Todd Johnson Chandler 07/13/2000 Josh Wall Lawton 10/16/2017
Terminated 09/11/2017 07/12/2013 11/08/2017
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201823 Terri Williams
Duane Michael
Vicki Mulbery
n Dec, 15, 2017 MEETING Members Present: Matt Lay, Mike Kelley, Dana Cramer, Michael Duncan, Scott Vanhorn, Eric Harlow, Craig Freeman, Dereck Cassidy, Herb Bradshaw, Frank Stone, Brandy Manek. Members Absent: Jim Long, Janet Kohls. Others Present: Robert Jones, Executive Director; Duane Michael, Assistant Director; James Reynolds, Assistant Director; Terri Williams, Executive Secretary; Chase Rankin, Controller; Marc Edwards, Legal Counsel; Troy Brown and Tim Nash, Andco Consulting; Greg Forbes, State Street Custody; David Settles, State Street Global Advisors; Ken Wisdom, Jason Landon and Harry Pierandri, Portfolio Advisors. Sherman D. Simmons/Claremore - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective November 3, 2017: Motion was made by Vanhorn and seconded by Kelley to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective November 3, 2017. Ayes: Vanhorn, Kelley, Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, and Duncan. Nayes: Bradshaw, Cramer and Manek Motion carried. Daniel A. Johnson/Owasso – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective October 21, 2017: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Bradshaw to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective October 21, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Manek, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Chris Hayes/Stone Bluff - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective March 7, 2017: Motion was made by Duncan and seconded by Bradshaw to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” effective March 7, 2017. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Manek, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Keith Mill/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Cramer and seconded by Kelley to approve the request of Miller based on the medical information provided. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Manek, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried. Request By Owasso Fire Department To Be Allowed To Conduct Their Own Agility Test Pursuant To Pension Board Requirements: Wintle and Linthicum presented the changes that the City of Owasso was wanting to change to the Agility test. Motion was made by Vanhorn and seconded by Harlow to approve the City of Owasso’s request to conduct their own modified CPAT agility test. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Harlow, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Manek, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.
4545 N. Lincoln, Suite 265, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 405-522-4600 • 1-800-525-7461 toll free • 405-522-4643 fax www.okfirepen.state.ok.us
Chase Rankin
n CONSENT AGENDA (January 19, 2018) CHECKS TERMINATED IN DECEMBER 2017 (Deceased): Arkoma James E. French Helena Braman Sherry Freeze McLoud Cleveland Norma J. Ingle Morris Crescent Noah A. Williams Muskogee Duncan Patricia Cooper OKC Gerty Geneva A. Battershell OKC Goldsby Glen D. Miller Perkins Guymon Barbara Bridges Tulsa
Tulsa Wagoner Warner Warr Acres Westville Westville Wister
Roger Nichols Betti L. Lisle Joann Stafford Lily G. Wray Ronald D. Lambert Mary Hollander Gayle Sager James W. Watts
$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT: Antlers Serenity Funeral Service On Behalf Of Charles O. Keller Barnsdall Kenneth C. Nickels, Co-Death Recipient Of Kenneth E. Nickels Barnsdall Jeanne L. Seinney, Co-Death Recipient Of Kenneth E. Nickels Canton Terry Martin, Widow Of Gary A. Martin Canton Pierce Funeral Home On Behalf Of Gary D. Cypert Chickasha Coker Funeral Home On Behalf Of Michael C. Brice Custer City Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home On Behalf Of Floyd D. Bowman Enid Gary W. Charles, Heir Of Eldon W. Charles Enid Terry W. Charles, Heir Of Eldon W. Charles Enid Connie A. Charles Crow, Heir Of Eldon W. Charles Goldsby Wilson-Little Funeral Home On Behalf Of Glen D. Miller OKC Temple & Sons Funeral Service On Behalf Of Carl Holmes Prague Parks Brothers Funeral Service On Behalf Of John E. Sands Ralston Gary Burch, Co-Death Recipient Of Edd D. Burch Ralston Beverly K. Sawyer, Co-Death Recipient Of Edd D. Burch Ralston Harold W. Burch, Co-Death Recipient Of Edd D. Burch
Donald L. Wilson Lucille Mallett Carolyn Mullins Jerri Sims Michael A. Johnson Elbert E. Quick Bessie E. Hammons
APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT: 04/17/2016 Adair Jana E. Littleford 03/21/2044 Big Cabin Willis A. Underwood III 04/22/2028 Butler Chad B. Collins 09/12/2019 Byron Jeff Tullis 01/01/2020 Nicut Rural Joy L. Morgan 02/04/2017 Picher Ernest A. Freeman Jr. 06/27/2028 Stringtown Cheyenne Dodd 07/14/2037 Vinita Joseph Hart 02/24/2015 Walters Bobby D. White 01/01/2015 Waynoka Wesley D. Kruckenberg
APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM: Guthrie Brian Pierce Altus Clay Ellis Harrah Justin Thompson Ardmore Jason Twyford Hobart Christopher Robbins Berryhill Dyce Applegate Hugo Trace Satterfield Berryhill Levi Harrelson Kingfisher Kody Willcutt Chandler Casey Drew Kingfisher Thomas Vogt Chandler Justin Pendegraff Pawhuska Justin Chinn Durant Eric Jeffers
Shawnee Skiatook Skiatook Skiatook Vinita Vinita
Walker Cross Baylor Jenkins Victoria Kirschner Micah Parks Scott Mcelhany Cristian Mendoya
APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE: 12/01/2017 Goltry Susan R. Severin, Widow Of Richard S. Severin (Deceased 11/30/2017) 12/27/2017 OKC Cynthia White, Widow Of Jeffrey Scott White (Deceased 12/26/2017) APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION: 01/01/2018 Bethany Gloria Michael, Widow Of Charles R. Michael 11/01/2016 Boswell Marylon Lewis, Widow Of George Lewis 01/01/2018 Chandler Gayle A. Wert, Widow Of Benjamin L. Wert 01/01/2018 Durant Sandra K. Percell, Widow Of Franklin Percell 01/01/2018 Mannsville Geraldine Gray, Widow Of Charles E. Gray 01/01/2018 Oilton Rhonda Peck, Widow Of Marc K. Peck 01/01/2018 OKC Terrie Lummus, Widow Of Melvin L. Lummus 01/01/2018 The Village Jeanie M. Carnes-Fox, Widow Of Sammie G. Fox 01/01/2018 Tulsa Carolyn Stephens, WidowOf E.M. Stephens 01/01/2018 Tulsa Nell Stickles, Widow Of Jay M. Stickles 01/01/2018 Watonga Susan J. Bradford, Widow Of Richard D. Bradford APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION: 01/14/2018 Ames Justin Dehaas 01/01/2018 Arapaho Kevin E. Evans 01/01/2018 Big Cabin Danny C. Tiller 08/01/2017 Bluejacket Rodney G. Windle 01/16/2018 Cherokee Jackie L. Bowers 01/01/2018 Helena James L. Dykes 01/01/2018 Granite Floyd A. Walker 01/01/2018 Holdenville Ronnie D. Thetford 01/11/2018 Kremlin Derrick Harris 01/01/2018 Maple Rural Shawn L. Fuller 01/01/2018 Moore Todd R. Hamm 01/01/2018 NW Rogers John W. Bortner
01/01/2018 01/01/2018 01/01/2018 01/01/2018 01/01/2018 10/01/2017 01/01/2018 01/01/2018 01/01/2018 01/01/2018 01/28/2018 01/0/2018
REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Jeffery Fesler Bartlesville Hired 09/11/2006 Terminated 06/01/2014 Ezckiel T. Eckart Hired 01/25/2017
Kingfisher Terminated 12/04/2017
Nicholos Cunningham Lawton Hired 11/09/2009 Terminated 09/24/2016 Trey Hadley Hired 09/09/2013
OKC Quapaw Rush Springs Sapulpa Shidler Shidler Stillwater Stillwater Stillwater Texola Wayne Wilson
Lawton Terminated 07/31/2017
Sheldon J. Doolin Bill L. Garrison Jr. Clay W. Rennaker Jon S. Fleak Todd E. Roe Shawn E. Wehunt John M. Aguilar Franklin H. Griffith Frederick A. Rogers Deborah S. Moore Bartley W. Keeler Billy J. Wilkinson
24February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
www.osufst.org
1723 West Tyler, Stillwater, OK 74078 • (800) 304-5727 • (405) 744-5727 • Fax: (405) 744-7377
February 2018 CLASS SCHEDULE Current as of January 18, 2018
Courses are subject to change • Call or check online for changes in courses
All courses are FREE unless otherwise noted
NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (67136) Feb. 1-2 (16 hours) Case Community Center Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66704) Feb. 3 (8 hours) Seminole Fire Department 900 N. Harvey Suite A, Seminole, OK 74868 Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (67630) Feb. 3 (8 hours) Dewey Fire Department 411 E Don Tyler Ave, Dewey, OK 74029 NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (67871) Feb. 3-4 (16 hours) Chandler Fire Department 220 S Cleveland Ave, Chandler, OK 74834 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66710) Feb. 5 (8 hours) Stillwater Community Center 315 West 8 Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074 NFA Leadership I: Strategies for Company Success (67770) Feb. 5-6 (16 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Tulsa Community College Northeast 3727 E Apache, Tulsa, OK 74115 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66705) Feb. 6 (8 hours) McAlester Fire Department 607 Village Blvd., McAlester, OK 74502 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66706) Feb. 7 (8 hours) McAlester Fire Department 607 Village Blvd. , McAlester, OK 74502 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66708) Feb. 7 (8 hours) Stillwater Community Center 315 West 8 Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074 NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (66775) Feb. 7-8 (16 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). If pre-registered, your name and department will be on a list. No other gate can be used. NFA Leadership II: Strategies for Personal Success (67771) Feb. 7-8 (16 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Tulsa Community College Northeast 3727 E Apache, Tulsa, OK 74115
Safe Operation of Fire Department Tankers (67733) Feb. 7 (4 hours) Okarche Fire Department PO Box 116, Okarche, OK 73762 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66707) Feb. 8 (8 hours) McAlester Fire Department 607 Village Blvd. , McAlester, OK 74502
2400 Fritts Blvd., Moore, OK 73160 NIMS ICS 400 (EMI) Advanced Incident Command System (66773) Feb. 14-15 (16 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). If pre-registered, your name and department will be on a list. No other gate can be used.
Oklahoma Emergency Vehicle Drivers Training TtT (67246) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). If pre-registered, your name and department will be on a list. No other gate can be used.
Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (67482) Feb. 14 (8 hours) El Reno Fire Department 2707 Faith Ave, El Reno, OK 73036
Pump Operations (67248) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Grain Bin Emergencies - Awareness (67239) Feb. 16 (4 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Rehab for Wildland Fire Fighting (67250) Feb. 17 (4 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Flammable Gas Emergencies (LPG) (67470) Feb. 10 (12 hours) Central Technology Center - Drumright 3 CT Circle, Drumright, OK 74030
S130/190 Basic Wildland Firefighting Training (67251) Feb. 16-18 (24 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Water Shuttle (67254) Feb. 17-18 (16 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (67878) Feb. 10-11 (16 hours) Edmond Fire Department 5300 E. Covell , Edmond, OK 73034
Hazardous Materials Operations: Core Competencies (67636) Feb. 16-18 (24 hours) Dewey Fire Department 411 E Don Tyler Ave, Dewey, OK 74029
Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66711) Feb. 12 (8 hours) Moore Fire Department 2400 Fritts Blvd., Moore, OK 73160
Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66714) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Guymon Fire Department 402 NE 24 St., Guymon, OK 73942
Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (67480) Feb. 12 (8 hours) El Reno Fire Department 2707 Faith Ave, El Reno, OK 73036
Fire Investigation: First Responders (F0379) (67161) Feb. 17-18 (16 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66709) Feb. 8 (8 hours) Stillwater Community Center 315 West 8 Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074 NFA Leadership III: Strategies for Supervisory Success (67773) Feb. 9-10 (16 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Tulsa Community College Northeast 3727 E Apache, Tulsa, OK 74115
Fire Officer II: NFPA 1021, 2014 Edition (67758) Feb. 12-15 (40 hours) • $200.00 - Oklahoma Emergency Responders • $500.00 - Out-of-state Public Responders Midwest City Fire Department 8201 East Reno, Midwest City, OK 73110 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66712) Feb. 13 (8 hours) Moore Fire Department 2400 Fritts Blvd., Moore, OK 73160 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (67481) Feb. 13 (8 hours) El Reno Fire Department 2707 Faith Ave, El Reno, OK 73036 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66713) Feb. 14 (8 hours) Moore Fire Department
Grain Bin Emergencies - Operations (67240) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Leadership for Small Departments : Training (67242) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Oklahoma Emergency Vehicle Drivers Training (67245) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Wildland Fire Fighting: Backfiring Operations (67255) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Wildland Fire Fighting: Engine Company Tactics (67257) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Wildland Fire Fighting: Fundamentals (67259) Feb. 17-18 (16 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Wildland Fire Fighting: Skills (67260) Feb. 17-18 (16 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Wildland Training (FFT1) for Structural Firefighters, G-131 (67261) Feb. 17 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
www.osufst.org 1723 West Tyler, Stillwater, OK 74078 • (800) 304-5727 • (405) 744-5727
February 2018 CLASS SCHEDULE continued Courses are subject to change
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201825
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fire service training
Dr. Erick Reynolds
OSU FST Director
erick.reynolds@osufst.org 405-744-5727 (W) • 405-409-0961 (C)
All courses are FREE unless otherwise noted Nasal Narcan for the First Responder Train the Trainer (67244) Feb. 17 (2 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). If pre-registered, your name and department will be on a list. No other gate can be used. Electrical Safety for First Responder (67312) Feb. 17 (4 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Oklahoma Trauma Education Program T t T (67247) Feb. 17 (2 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Grain Bin Emergencies - Operations (67241) Feb. 18 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Leadership for Small Departments: Recruitment and Retention (67243) Feb. 18 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Pump Operations (67249) Feb. 18 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. VFIS Traffic Incident Management System (67252) Feb. 18 (4 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Wildland Fire Fighting: Backfiring Operations (67256) Feb. 18 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Wildland Fire Fighting: Engine Company Tactics (67258) Feb. 18 (8 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used.
Electrical Safety for First Responder (67313) Feb. 18 (4 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). If pre-registered, your name and department will be on a list. No other gate can be used. VFIS Traffic Incident Managment Train-the-Trainer (67253) Feb. 18 (4 hours) Fort Sill - Snow Hall , Bld 730 Snow Fort Sill, OK 73503 All participants must enter through Key Gate (off of I-44). No other gate can be used. Emergency Services Instructor (Instructor I) (67699) Feb. 19-22 (32 hours) • $300.00 - All Participants El Reno Fire Department 2707 Faith Ave, El Reno, OK 73036 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66715) Feb. 21 (8 hours) Pontotoc Technology Center 601 W 33 Street, Ada, OK 74820 Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66716) Feb. 22 (8 hours) Pontotoc Technology Center 601 W 33 Street, Ada, OK 74820
Greetings Oklahoma Firefighters! Be sure to take care of your significant other in this month of February! It is good to remember that these folks spend a lot of energy -- both physical and emotional -- supporting, believing in and dealing with what it is we do every day as first responders! Wildland season is upon us. Keep your fingers and toes crossed that the season is NOT memorable! Be safe out there! We are excited about upcoming training opportunities! • Feb. 16-18 -- Destry Horton Wildland School in Lawton hosted by Fort Sill Fire. The classes will take place on site and Fort Sill and include many classes this year that are not specifically wildland in nature, in addition to the many regular wildland offerings. • March 9-11 -- Atoka Wildland School. Please take advantage of both these great opportunities to attend high quality training! In addition to these offerings, please enroll in and make plans to attend the 2018 OSFA John F. Futhey II State Fire School May 3-6 in Tulsa. It is shaping up to be an incredible training opportunity. We appreciate the opportunity to help partner with the OSFA on this statewide, and really regional, training and profes-
sional development opportunity! We continue to make great strides in offering a wide variety of training classes across Oklahoma and the Midwestern United States. The Grain Rescue/Confined Space trailer continues to stay busy in the use of our incredible FST instructors as they provide high-quality training to first responders and industry workers! As we venture further into this year, I would ask that you spend more quality time with your families. Right any wrongs from the past, forgive and forget, lend a helping hand, pay it forward, do something for someone to help improve their lot in life and do it anonymously. Complete a project for somebody that has a positive impact on them. Do that for someone who in no way can repay you for what you have done for them! Be nice. Be happy, as my brother Teddy says! I will work harder at trying to do all these things myself in the year, as well! Thanks to all that make the Oklahoma fire service great! Please let us know if we at FST can be of service in any way. Please stop by the office in Stillwater when you are in the neighborhood. The coffee is always on and we look forward to visiting with you! Be safe out there!
Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66717) Feb. 23 (8 hours) Pontotoc Technology Center 601 W 33 Street, Ada, OK 74820 Wildland Incident Commander’s Toolbox (67036) Feb. 24-25 (16 hours) Northwest Technology Center - Fairview 801 Vo-tech Drive , Fairview, OK 73737 NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (67870) Feb. 24-25 (16 hours) Limestone Fire District 5262 E Hwy 20, Claremore, OK 74019 Hazardous Materials Operations Certification (67638) Feb. 25 (8 hours) Dewey Fire Department 411 E Don Tyler Ave, Dewey, OK 74029 Hazardous Materials Technician for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (66173) Feb. 26-March 9 (80 hours) Oklahoma City Fire Training Center 850 N Portland, Oklahoma City, OK 73107 NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (67873) Feb. 27-28 (16 hours) City of Picher, Picher, OK 74360
The Oklahoma Executive Fire Officer Leadership Program is a partnership between Oklahoma State University-Fire Service Training, Oklahoma State University Fire and Emergency Management Administration, Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association and Oklahoma State Firefighters Association. The 160-hour program utilizes the curriculum from the International Public Safety Leadership and Ethics Institute and has been developed to bring the concepts of leadership and ethics to the forefront of an individual’s career.
26February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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OSFA Executive Board Highlights
The OSFA Executive Board met Nov. 16, 2017 in the boardroom at 2716 NE 50th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, at 9:04 a.m. 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, Gene Brown, Tim Bartram, Amy Hall, Dr. Erick Reynolds, Bert Norton, Eric Hamilton. Guest: At 10:30 a.m. by telephone, Phyllis Beatty with Metasoft Systems, Inc. Fire Marshal Commission Report: Lay The Fire Marshal Commission has been watching the Special Session closely due to a bill affecting rates and revolving funds. Fire Service Training: Reynolds Fire Service Training graduated 3rd cohort OKEFOLP Program, Tuesday evening. It is done and went very well. They are currently busy and trying to hang on until next week. Watching the collective of brains down there at the capital to see what happens today. Legislative Committee: Lumry The Legislative Committee met on Nov. 13 for their first meeting. PFFO introduced their new Legislative Assistant, Meredith Fazendin. The committee went over all the bills that are still dormant but could be brought back to life at the Capitol. The bill request deadline is Dec. 8 this year and the bill filing deadline when you have to language is Jan. 18. The session starts Feb. 5. They went over the proposed language for Title 19 FPD covered by Legislative Resolution 17-5. They made a few changes to it in the area where it defined the Fire Chief from a Title 19 FPD as it is initially converting from a volunteer to paid fire department. The Legislative Committee voted to approve that Resolution, with the Boards approval we need to have meetings with the Municipal League, County Governments and the PFFO to see if there are any issues with that language or potentially get them to be partners to help get it passed. Then we will be ready at that point to introduce it. The other Resolutions that the committee reviewed came from the Volunteer Caucus. One came from the FPDs on burn ban rights for them. All went to a subcommittee of the legislative committee. They met following the legislative committee meeting and after a lot of discussion they determined that as important as those issues are, it would be unwise to try and rush them to get them in legislation this year. They are going to study them for the next year, write language, really put that effort into it to bring back to the legislative committee and back to the board. Educational Advisory Committee: Lumry The Educational Advisory Committee had a good meeting yesterday and divided work into subcommittees. The deadline for submissions to hold a class at State Fire School is Dec. 1 and they have talked to those who have not turned in their paperwork yet. There should be quite a few more coming in. There is potential that they will extend that deadline slightly. They have made some tweaks to their t-shirt design and are moving forwarded with them. They have set themselves a goal to bring in sponsorships of about $50,000 to pay for the school on top of what OSFA already spends. A subcommittee is going to Tulsa on Dec. 14 to follow up.
November 16, 2017 MEETING
Upcoming Dates to Remember: Feb. 3, 2018 -- 16th annual OSFA Volunteer Caucus -- Canadian Valley Vo-Tech, El Reno April 4-6, 2018 -- 96th annual OFCA Conference -Hilton Garden Inn, Lawton May 3-6, 2018 -- State Fire School -- Tulsa Community College & Tulsa Fire Department Training Center June 12, 2018 -- 37th annual ORFA Convention -Hyatt Regency, Downtown Tulsa June 13-16, 2018 -- 124th annual OSFA Convention -- Hyatt Regency, Downtown Tulsa Oct. 7, 2018 -- 19th Statewide Memorial Service -Oklahoma Firefighters Museum, Oklahoma City Lay stated that he received a report yesterday from the TCC Director and the arrangements will be similar to last year. The policy for the entire college is changing but will not go into effect until July 1. We are still working on marketing videos to put on our website, Facebook and the State Fire School Facebook page. Volunteer Fire Service Committee: Bartram Bartram stated they have the Agenda finalized and the location finalized. It will be at the new Technology Center in El Reno. It is very nice and has a lot more room. Lumry and Bartram will be going out there after Thanksgiving to do a walk through and finalize exactly what rooms we will use. Bartram had a conference call working with the AFG Grant experts from Region 6 out of Denton and they are scheduled to come up and do a presentation regarding the 13 most common mistakes made on AFG Grants. They are also doing a Roundtable to discuss how OSFA helps their department’s right before lunch. Duncan stated there was a motion brought up that we are going to use ROTC to do the opening of the caucus and to give them a donation of some type. EMS Committee: Lumry / Duncan The EMS Committee met and had a pretty good attendance. Duncan is the chairman for the committee. They had representation from Perry, Ponca City, Edmond, Guthrie, Kingfisher, Chickasha Jim Winham who is the Interim CEO of EMS were all there. Lay stated that for anybody who does not know, Winham had 15 years at the Tulsa Fire Dept., is also a part of Air Evac, Life Flight and a Military Combat Medic and just has a broad range of experience. The committee discussed some issues they feel needs to be addressed like, licensing requirements, EMS training requirements, some confusion on the way the new rules have gone into effect for EMT’s and paramedics and the way our rules are different from the National Registry Rules. The information from the Department of Health is sporadic and inconsistent depending upon who you talk as to the answer you get. The state inspections of ambulances are not done consistently. There are a lot of unfunded mandates; one example was the maintenance contracts on stair chairs that are required under the guidelines now. The committee feels that the rules started in the pen-
alty phase instead of the training and implementation phase. They discussed REPLICA and how that works. It is a National Organization that is pushing for legislation to allow medical licenses that are state issued to be used and recognized in other states. There was discussion by the Board. They also discussed looking at GEMT a Federal Program that will reimburse 50% of the actual cost above Medicaid. But, we would have to pass legislation in the state to be able to participate and the legislation also requires the creation of a small board to oversee the state level program. The federal funds pay for it as well. There was more discussion by the board. Norton stated there is a guy in California that has led the way and would be willing to come and help set this up. Benevolent Committee: Lumry The Benevolent Committee is starting to get their feet under them and understand their purpose. They are looking at making a check list as to if they will make contact through a Fire Chief or go directly to the widows/widowers. They have had some training with Chaplains and are starting to really figure it out. Bartram stated that it is already paying off. There was a Fort Supply Firefighter killed during his day job and Tom Marcum is a member of the committee and a neighboring department to Fort Supply. He worked through the Chief and helped to provide knowledge about the Pension Death Benefit and that the funeral home needed to apply for it to make it non-taxable. Brown stated that he spoke with James Reynolds yesterday and he is going to help us with a Widow Packet for everything they will need to file. Lumry discussed that the committee would like to take it a step further and sit down with the widow and help them fill out the paperwork and take it to the pension office for them. Bartram stated that the committee would like to reach out to the State Funeral Directors. Membership Committee: Lumry The Membership Committee met Nov. 1 and discussed benefits that can be offered. Bartram has done some research and found some of these buy in groups. Bartram looked into other organizations and some of the benefits they offer. You get the benefit of the buy in group both as a department and in some cases as an individual. The Committee liked the idea and would like to explore it more. Lumry stated that we need to look at somehow offering medical insurance or additional disability insurance to particularly volunteers. The idea came up to potentially set up a 457 or 401k plan for them if it is legal. They discussed setting up booths at events and sending committee members there to talk about benefits that we offer. They also talked about getting people to fill out questionnaires regarding what they would like to see. They have a survey they have already put together and will have it at the Volunteer Caucus. They have discussed having a Resolution at Convention to change our Constitution and By Laws slightly by adding a new category of firefighters. Everything in our Constitution points to being a member of the Pension System. Otherwise, the only other option we have is a limited membership which is $100 per department. The committee talked about coming up with a different title and allowing other fire departments to be full members and pay full dues for all their members. There was discussion by the Board.
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201827
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OSFA Executive Board Highlights
Museum: Brown Brown stated that Buddy is pretty weak right now but he has been in physical & occupational therapy to help get his strength back up. He bragged about Bob and Quintin because those guys are doing such an awesome job. About 90% of what we get done at the Museum is because those guys will get it done. They bought a leather hide and Bob has been cutting it down and making straps to strap the hard suction on the trucks down. That makes it more realistic and period correct. Quintin has been getting the ladders refurbished. Bob has scavenged a couple of valves for the Fort Cobb truck so we can put it back to its original state with the valves on the front where the pump is located. The Memorial is good except we had a failure in the plumbing. It is a fairly simple fix but the pool is drained and on a pretty day, they are going to go down and fix it. The pipes on the recirculation side were just sheared in half and it was virtually draining the pool. They went ahead and shut it down; otherwise they would have left it full as long as they could. The gift shop is well stocked again. When the Chaplains came in they cleaned us out, but the shelves are full again. The retired Chief from Okarche, Gary Baustert’s wife, made the wooden cutouts that are in the Museum and it only cost us $40 each. She did a great job and there have already been kids in there getting their pictures taken. Brown discussed that they are almost done getting the pictures digitized and now they are trying to transition getting them on the computer. Their goal is to have them be searchable. Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Report: Lumry Lumry stated the grant is going into year two and we have money to spend this year. Looking at the way we operate, how the grant operates, and the way that people have been lining up waiting for this money to come out, it is probably best to take that full amount of money and divide it by 12 and only disburse so much a month. That is because OSFA has to upfront that money. If the OSFA was to get hit with the full Firefighter I Applications, bunker gear, physicals, Leadership Classes for all, the OSFA within two months could easily have a lot of money out waiting for reimbursement. National Volunteer Fire Council: Duncan/Ostrander Duncan stated the NVFC is still doing quite a bit on the social media side with the cancer programs. Globe Life donates sets of gear to Volunteer Fire Departments each year. Two departments in the State of Oklahoma were awarded the Georgia Pacific Grant this year. NVFC also has a grant with Motorola Resources to do some classes around the Country. Duncan stated that he and Bartram have had some conversation about seeing what some of those classes are and look at bringing them to State Fire School. The NVFC Training Summit will be held in June in North Carolina. Duncan stated that he was not able to go to this last year because it was at the same time as our Convention. Ostrander discussed that the NVFC has a lot of legislative stuff that is going on, we responded and have sent letters to our Washington D.C. delegation over continuation of funding for the SAFER and AFG. Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association: Norton Norton stated that OFCA met yesterday but he was not able to attend. Norton discussed that Burk wanted
November 16, 2017 MEETING
him to mention that they have the Winter Workshop coming up in Stillwater, Jan. 24-26, 2018. He said that Anthony has been working on that and they have a pretty good agenda laid out for everybody who attends. He stated that Burk is still working to finalize the details for the OFCA Conference being held on April 3-6, 2018 in Lawton. Lumry discussed that the OFCA had their Legislative Committee meeting. They voted to support the Title 19 Language and to be partners with the OSFA on that. They do expect to have a Resolution and lively discussion at convention on the bill introduced last year that originally contained the seven administrative assistants. Norton discussed that they have talked a little about putting out some updates to inform the members of how the process is to get into their Conference. The OFCA Board is trying to figure out if there are issues that Chief’s have, the members that they serve, how can we best meet their need and work with them and for them to get some things done. Lumry discussed the last issue was the Municipal Fire Protection Districts Bill and they are still looking at ways to try and advance that because they realize that it could bring in additional funding to their fire departments.
bers for over 100 years. We are working on a way to honor those departments. Chandler and Duncan are two others that have both been members since 1901. Lumry discussed that he went to the orientation at the Great OKC Chamber of Commerce. He stated that it extends past Oklahoma City, goes out even as far as Stillwater. They are more than just a Chamber of Commerce in the traditional sense. They are more of an Economical Development Organization as much as anything. Yes, they are a Chamber of Commerce; yes, they do support business first; but they can help us in other ways as well. They have lots of information on their member website. We can go into their website and post our News Releases as well. Gary Schones, Senior Membership Manager, came up to Lumry after the meeting and asked if the OSFA would be interested in being on one of their Advisory Boards. Ostrander stated that the staff has been doing a great job on the yard.
ORFA Report: Cramer Cramer stated that the ORFA Board has not met since their Golf Tournament and they did not have a Board meeting at that time. Their next meeting will be held on Dec. 7. The Golf Tournament was good and they stayed in the black on the budget this year. The ORFA Board would like you to keep Barbara Fina in your prayers as she is having some health issues right now.
The OSFA Executive Board met Dec. 16, 2017 in the boardroom at 2716 NE 50th Street, Oklahoma City, OK, at 8:30 a.m. Roll Call: Matt Lay, present and presiding; Dereck Cassady, Present; Mike Kelley, Excused; Eric Harlow, Excused; Mike Duncan, Present; Dana Cramer (ORFA), Present. Others: Phil Ostrander, Steve Lumry, Don Armes, Eric Hamilton. Guests: Art Cotton, Jim Minx – Museum Expansion Fundraising. Correspondence: Letter from Denise Reinart reviewed by the Board.
Grant Resources Presentation: Phyllis Beatty with Metasoft Systems, Inc - Conference Call & Presentation There was discussion by the Board regarding the purchase of this software and the benefit to the Association in the grant arena for furthering the Museum and Museum’s planned educational displays. Executive Directors Report: Ostrander Ostrander stated that Amy has been working hard; the Membership Summaries are coming in and it is going really well. One thing that he is disappointed in is the Electronic Newspaper option; we have only had 170 sign up at this time. He feels that we need to figure out a way to work on that transition. He discussed that large Associations like Texas have converted to 100% electronic. Ostrander stated that we really need to reduce that cost. One of the things that the staff has discussed is ways to improve the Statewide Memorial Service. They came up with an idea of ordering a Flag Box with a State Flag and presenting it to the family of a LODD. The Board likes the idea and feels that we should research it further. Ostrander discussed that Bartram has been researching OSFA Membership and length of membership. At the OKEFOLP Graduation, Ostrander had stated that we had representatives from our first three member departments that got together all still very involved in the Association. Chief Kent Lagaly from El Reno and Chief Richard Kelley from Oklahoma City, two of the three founding departments, were both at the graduation and Chief Eric Harlow from Guthrie was a graduate from the OKEFOLP. We have over 90 departments that have been mem-
Next meeting: Dec. 14, 2017
December 14, 2017 MEETING
This was an expedited meeting due to Buddy Lummus’ funeral at 10 a.m. Museum Report: Jim Minx Museum Board is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2018. Minx and Art Cotton presented the Museum Expansion Committee report to the Board. They stated that the best way to reach our expansion fundraising goals is to hire an outside fundraising firm. The expansion committee believes that we could reach that goal in 30 months or sooner in this fashion. The cost of fundraising would have to be set up on a monthly retainer that would not come out of the money raised. Fundraising firms were reviewed and discussed. Executive Directors Report: Phil Ostrander/Steve Lumry Board was reminded of a letter sent to Congress by NASRA/NCPERS regarding how the tax cut legislation could affect Public Pension Systems. The Board will continue to monitor. Deferred to January 2018 meeting: Fire Marshal Commission Report Fire Service Training Report Committee Reports Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Report NVFC Report OFCA Report ORFA Report Old Business New Business Next meeting: January 18, 2017
28February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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Volunteer fire service Report Mike Duncan
Dewey FD
Volunteer Fire Service Committee • OSFA Past President Hello! The 2018 Volunteer Firefighters Caucus is Saturday, Feb 3, and we will gather at the Technology Center at El Reno. We have a few speakers, but the main event
is breaking into groups to look at Volunteer problems. We will have people there to talk about AFG Grants, and they will be there to meet with firefighters after they speak. We are looking for a good turnout.
2018 OSFA VOLUNTEER FIRE CAUCUS - HIGHLIGHTS 8:00 9:15 10:10 10:20 10:35 10:50 11:50 12:00 1:00
2:45 5:00
Registration FEMA Region 6 Staff on AFG Grants OSFA Legislative Update - Don Armes, OSFA Legislative Consultant Firefighters Pension & Retirement System Forestry Report OSFA Roundtable - Moderator: Mike Duncan. Panel: David Thompson (Slaughterville FD), Greg Moore (Onapa FD), Mike Weinkauf (Orlando FD), Travis Fortune (Fairview FD) American Farmers & Ranchers Insurance (AF&R) - Terry Detrick LUNCH (Sponsored by AF&R) Breakout Sessions & Discussion 1) 2) 3) 4)
PRIMARY Travis Harris Tom Marcum Lee Johnson David Thompson
SECONDARY Tim Townsend Greg Moore Sherri Thomas Mike Weinkauf
OSFA Eric Harlow Mike Kelley Matt Lay Dereck Cassady
ORFA Juan Rodriguez Dana Cramer George Fina Tippy Pierce
Training opportunities for volunteers in today’s world - Dr. Erick Reynolds, OSU-FST ADJOURN
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educational advisory Report Cary Provence
Yukon FD
Educational Advisory Committee Hello all! I can’t believe it is 2018 already! The years keep coming and going, but the Oklahoma Fire Service remains steadfast throughout. Part of the reason for that is the annual John F. Futhey II Oklahoma State Fire School. If you have never attended this yearly event, do yourself and your citizens a favor by coming to one of the top training events around. The committee has been hard at work since June to make this year’s school the best yet. You don’t want to miss this amazing opportunity. We have top notch instructors coming in from around the country to share their knowledge on everything from Incident Command to Fire Inspections, Haz-Mat to Active Shooter, First Due Fire Operations to
Cancer Prevention and so much more. The best part about it all is that it’s free! Thanks to our amazing vendors and sponsors, the OSFA is able to provide this firstclass training to any and all who show up with a willingness to better themselves and their departments. The OSFA and Educational Advisory Committee want to make this bigger and better each year, but we can only do that with your help. Classes are offered a la cart style, so come and go to whatever you can; you don’t have to attend all four days. Tulsa Fire Department has, once again, been gracious enough to allow the use of their first class facility. So, mark your calendars now for May 3-6, 2018, to ensure that you don’t miss this incredible school and opportunity. Stay safe everyone! I’ll see you in May!
Tahlequah FD History On April 19, 1895, flames swept down both sides of Muskogee Avenue -- from Shawnee Street to Delaware Street -- destroying three residences, 14 businesses and one stable where the fire originated. This devastating fire became known as “The Great Fire of Tahlequah.” On April 26, 1895, the city council passed an ordinance that no more wooden buildings could be erected in the business district. To fight these fires, the town established the Waddie Hudson Fire Company No. 1, a volunteer fire department, and acquired a water wagon with a pump. On June 5, 1905, the city council was asked to recognize the needs of the department. The city council answered with the procurement of a new wagon and equipment from the New York Betting and Packing Company at a cost of $1362.35, and a team of horses to pull the equipment was bought for $350. On Sept. 12, 1906, the city council published an ordinance: “The Waddie Hudson Fire Company No. 1, a volunteer company, and the User and Custodian of the city’s fire equipment, is hereby declared a part of the administration of the incorporated town of Tahlequah.” The staff began with twenty-one firemen. The Waddie Hudson Fire Company No. 1 continued until 1912 when the city council called for a special election of bonds in the amount of $3,500 to be used to purchase a city fire station, which would be operated by the City of Tahlequah. Thus began the fire department, which Tahlequah has maintained since that time. In 1918, the renamed Tahlequah Fire Department received its first mechanized equipment. The ‘pumper’ was a used 1916 Kissel truck purchased from Anderson Fire Equipment. George F. McNett was the first driver and in 1926, Sid Bean, OSFA President in 1938, was also a driver. In October 1930, the TFD received a new 1931 Chevrolet fire truck with a 350 gpm pump and a 70 gallon water tank. The TFD still owns this truck.
The TFD has four OSFA past presidents In addition to Sid Bean, there is Steve Smith (1982), Robert Adrian (1992) and current Tahlequah Fire Chief Ray Hammons (2010). The Tahlequah Fire Department continues to grow and change with the times. In 1976, the city council was again asked to expand the department. This time the council met these needs with a new headquarters fire station that is still in use. In 2014, fire station #2 opened on the south side of town. Other services provided by the TFD include public education, a smoke detector program and many types of rescue services. In recent decades, Tahlequah has become a training hub for fire departments in the northeastern quadrant of Oklahoma.
OKLAHOMA FIRE SPOTLIGHT
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TAHLEQUAH FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Chief: Ray Hammons Number of Stations: 2 Number of Full-Time Personnel: 17 Number of Volunteers: 12 OSFA Member Since: 1906
Historic Footnote: Tahlequah is one of the oldest cities in Oklahoma. It was founded in 1843, shortly after the Cherokee Nation established its capitol in that area.
Engine 1 2004 Pierce 1250 pump/1250 tank
Engine 2 2014 Pierce 1250 Pump/1000 Tank
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201829
BY GREG ROBERTS Norman FD Retired
If you would like to see your FD featured in a future issue, please contact Greg Roberts at groberts1960@gmail.com or 405-424-1452
Engine 3 1997 Pierce 1500 Pump/1250 Tank
30February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter
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in memoriam Everette Brewer, Enid FD Past OFCA & ORFA President
The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Retired Enid Fire Chief Everette Brewer on Dec. 16. He was 83. Everette served as OFCA President in 1986 and ORFA President in 1993. He served four years on the Board of Directors for the Retired Firefighters Pension and Retirement System and was a current member of the Oklahoma Firefighter Museum Board. A natural leader, Everette also served as president of a hot rod car club called “The Playboys.” When he and the club members requested permission to use the name “The Playboys” and the famous Playboy bunny logo, they received a hand-written letter from Hugh Hefner granting his approval. Everette joined the Enid Fire Department in May 1960. He served as Fire Chief from 1973 until his retirement in 1987. His wife Marilyn served as the Oklahoma State Firefighters Women’s Auxiliary President in 1989. She died in August 2012.
Lt. Jeff White, Oklahoma City FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Oklahoma City Fire Department Lieutenant Jeff White on Dec. 26. He was 53. Jeff started experiencing complications from a medical condition while at Fire Station 36. He was transported by ambulance to an area hospital where he later died. Lieutenant White was an active member of the department for 23 years. He was a member of the Honor Guard, a member of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, a Hazardous Materials Technician, a Rescue Diver and a Peer Fitness Trainer.
Timothy J. Leierer, Aline FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Aline Volunteer Firefighter Tim Leierer on Jan. 1. He was 33. Tim died when a BNSF train collided with the pickup he was driving near Goltry. Tim was proud to have worked to buy his own acreage and to have his real dream come true -- a small cow-calf herd. He also loved serving on the Aline Fire Department. He got an adrenaline rush the moment his pager went off.
Gary Allen Martin, Canton FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Canton Volunteer Firefighter Gary “Papa” Martin on Nov. 29. He was 65. Gary had the privilege of being on a search and rescue team during the OKC bombing. He was a member of the Canton Lions Club, former President of the Canton Sports Boosters and a dedicated loyal Sooner fan. He also worked in the oilfield industry for various companies until his retirement in October 2017.
Melvin “Buddy” Lumus, OKC FD & Oklahoma Firefighter Museum The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Retired Oklahoma City Firefighter Buddy Lumus on Dec. 10. He was 67. Buddy started as an Oklahoma City Firefighter on Aug. 11, 1972, and he enjoyed a 35-year career with OCFD. In 2015, Buddy began a “new career” working as a full-time employee in the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum. He was a dedicated and hard-working employee who truly helped to advance the operations of the Museum in a positive and The OSFA Memorial Flag energetic way. is flown for all active firefighters Shortly after starting work at the Museum, that the OSFA is made aware of. Buddy was diagnosed with cancer. He fought It is flown full mast diligently and even continued to work at the when it is not in-the-line-of-duty Museum until six weeks before his death. and half mast for all LODDs. The OSFA Board, Oklahoma Firefighters Museum Board, OSFA Staff and Museum Staff thank Buddy for his dedicated service to the firefighters of Oklahoma and express our deepest sympathies to his family. Buddy will be missed.
Carl Holmes, Oklahoma City FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Retired Oklahoma City Assistant Fire Chief Carl Holmes on Nov. 24. He was 90. Carl began his service with OCFD in 1951 as one of 12 black firefighters hired that year. He became the department’s first black assistant chief in 1978, where he worked to promote diversity and develop leadership and management skills of black firefighters. After retiring in 1981, Holmes was sought across the country as a keynote speaker and instructor and was courted by major cities, such as Chicago and Los Angeles, to become their fire department chief. Despite the offers, Holmes chose to focus on the development of minority firefighters and managers in the fire service. In 1991, Florida A&M University created the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute with the goal of training black firefighters to prepare them to attain higher ranks. Since its founding, the program has led to hundreds of graduates who now serve as officers, chief officers and fire chiefs. At the 28th Annual National Fire and Emergency Services dinner last May, Holmes was given the Congressional Fire Services Institute/Motorola Solutions Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award.
Richard “Rick” Severin, Goltry FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Goltry Volunteer Firefighter Rick Severin on Nov. 30. He was 62. Rick was a member of the Goltry FD since 2002. He also owned and operated RNB Plumbing along with Neal Wallace; ran a custom harvesting business with his brother Frank; and worked at Farmers Exchange Co Op. -- all while also helping his Dad on the family farm. Rick enjoyed welding and loved leathercraft. He made many gifts for friends and family.
Oklahoma FirefighterFebruary 201831
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32February 2018Oklahoma Firefighter