OKFF March 2018

Official publication of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association

March 2018 Volume 35, Issue 2

Why is Saint Patrick’s Day So Important to the Fire Service?

See Page 28

ALSO INSIDE: OSFA Convention Info Page 4 Stavros Scholarship Info Page 12

Oklahoma Fire Pipes & Drums

AFG & SAFER Grants Saved Pages 16-17, 23

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2012 in Oklahoma City

I N S I D E

OSFA Executive Board Members’ Comments............................................................. 5-6 Executive Director’s Report ...............................................................................................7 Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Report ...........................................................................8 OSFA Women’s Auxiliary Report .....................................................................................8 SAFER Grant Report ...........................................................................................................9 ISO Report ........................................................................................................................ 10 Firefighter Near-Miss Report ........................................................................................ 11 Museum News ................................................................................................................. 14 2018 OFCA Conference Details & Winter Workshop Photos .................................. 15 2018 OSFA Volunteer Fire Caucus Photos & Roundup ...................................... 20-21 In Memoriam ..................................................................................................................23 Executive Board Meeting Highlights ....................................................................... 26-27 Oklahoma Fire Spotlight -- Cloud Chief FD .................................................................. 30

ChangeService ServiceRequested Requested Change

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

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2March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 20183

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

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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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Phillips Murrah P.C. ......... 8

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Roberts Testing ................ 3

Jon’s Mid America ............. 31

Sharp Testing ..................... 19

The Kloset Gifts ..................4

Unruh Fire ......................... 18

4March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

124th Annual OSFA CONVENTION June 13-16 at Hyatt Regency Downtown in Tulsa

DUES: Membership in the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association will be forfeited if dues are not paid by May 15.

CREDENTIALS: Delegate registration must be on the credentials form with proper signature. Pre-registration may be mailed at any time, but all credentials are due in the OSFA office no later than June 4.

REGISTRATION: Registration cost for delegates and members is $60.

Registration cost for spouses and guests is $50.

The OSFA encourages all members to attend convention, whether as a delegate or as an interested member.

Everyone should pre-register, including spouses and guests.

This allows the OSFA office to have your name tag pre-typed so the registration lines can move more quickly. You do not need to pre-pay to preregister. You can also call the OSFA office to register members and guests.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Hyatt Regency in Downtown Tulsa is the host hotel.

It is located at 100 E. 2nd St., Tulsa, OK 74103.

The hotel’s phone number is 918-234-1234.

Rooms are $91 per night. (Check-in time is 3 p.m., Check-out time is Noon).

Book by May 15 to receive the special rate (mention Oklahoma State Firefighters Association to receive the correct rate).

MEETINGS: Daily meetings will be held at Hyatt Regency Tulsa Hotel.

ACTIVITIES: Golf Tournament is Wednesday, June 13, at Owasso Golf and Athletic Club, 13604 East 84 St N, Owasso, OK 74055. Cost is $75 per person or $300 per team. Tee times at 7:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Bass Tournament is Wednesday, June 6, at Grand Lake’s Wolf Creek.

AR-15 Steel Shoot Tournament is Thursday, June 14, at the Tulsa Police Dept. Gun Range, 6066 East 66 St, Tulsa. Poker Run is Friday, June 15.

MDA PICNIC: The Muscular Dystrophy Association will host the picnic on Thursday, June 14, beginning at 5:30 p.m at Hyatt Regency Hotel.

This is MDA’s way of showing appreciation to firefighters around the state for all they do for MDA.

2018 OSFA Convention Deadlines APRIL 13: LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTIONS DUE APRIL 13: CONSTITUTIONAL RESOLUTIONS DUE APRIL 30: DEPARTMENT DELEGATE ELECTIONS APRIL 30: NEW EMPLOYEES COUNT IF DUES PAID MAY 15: MEMBERSHIP FORFEITED JUNE 4: CREDENTIALS DUE

MEMORIAL SERVICE: To honor those members who have passed since our last convention, a Memorial Service will be held Thursday, June 14, at 10 a.m. at Hyatt Regency Hotel.

If a family member is unable to attend, the OSFA asks that someone from their area pick up the certificate and deliver it to the department or family.

DOOR PRIZES: Each department is asked to bring three door prizes.

Please indicate who the door prizes are from and turn them in at the registration table.

Grand door prizes will be given away at the banquet, and you must be present to win.

ATTENTION ALL CANDIDATES FOR THIRD VICE PRESIDENT Oklahoma Firefighter will give approximately 1/4 page of free space to all candidates running for Third Vice President of the OSFA. Deadline for submitting information and/or photos is March 15 (for May issue).

Contact Oklahoma Firefighter editor Penelope Soldan via email (penelopes@osfa.info) to take advantage of this offer.

the kloset

BANQUET/DANCE: Scheduled for Friday, June 15, at Hyatt Regency Hotel.

BUSINESS MEETING: Reports from the State Fire Marshal, the Firefighters Pension and Retirement System and the OSFA Committees will be presented. Written reports also will be made available from some of the different organizations in the fire service.

You will select the OSFA Third Vice President, who will represent you and serve on the State Pension Board for the next five years.

There will be detailed discussions and voting on legislative and constitutional resolutions that will affect the fire service over the next few years.

Questions? Call OSFA at 405-424-1452 or 1-800-308-5336.

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O W N E D & O P E R AT E D B Y F I R E F I G H T E R S

2400 S. WESTERN AVE., OKC

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Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 20185

2017-18 OSFA Executive Board

PREsident n

Matt Lay

Tulsa FD

www.osfa.info (405) 424-1452

matthewlay@icloud.com • 918-760-9065

This spring begins like so many before it in Oklahoma; nature seems a little manic, calls begin to pick up and firefighters get ready for challenges and triumphs that mark our calling.

Some of those challenges feel beyond our control. Early in the legislative session, both parties failed to come to consensus and pass a bipartisan budget deal. Regardless of whether you supported teacher raises, opposed revenue increases, or fell anywhere in between, there was feeling of angst that it seems NOTHING can be done. Yet, we carry on.

There are more than 100 bills that could affect firefighters, some carried over from last year, some new this year. Your OSFA Board and Legislative Team are hard at work mitigating potential impacts and fighting for positive gains in the middle of the pitched battle that marks our current political discourse.

But there are a few things we can impact …

Fire School – Fire School is absolutely on FIRE! More than 300 people signed up in less than 10 days to attend our largest and most exciting school yet.

I cannot say enough about Chairman Jason Louthan, Vice-Chairman Brian Brush, the entire Educational Advisory Committee and all of our partners for creating a world-class firefighter training event yet.

Add to that a line-up that rivals anything south of FDIC, and Oklahoma Firefighters are in for the best training out there ... for FREE!

Pension System – Our system continues to see incredible returns including a +3.5% uptick in January, moving our total for the first seven months of the fiscal year to just over +12.5%.

The incredible work of our Firefighter Pension Staff, Consultants, and Board have created a retirement fund valued at north of $2.76 billion in assets with which to provide benefits to our members. Strong work by all!

Congrats again to longtime Executive Director Bob Jones on his retirement after 23 years with the system. Much luck to his successor Chase Rankin as he takes the reigns moving forward FIRE Grants – Did everyone get their Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) turned in on time? This federal grant program, one of the big 3 (AFG, FP&S, & SAFER) is designed to furnish local fire departments with equipment, PPE, training, and just about anything else they may need to protect the communities they serve.

These were a hot topic at the Volunteer Caucus in El Reno.

The district reps from FEMA Region 6 were in attendance to assist attendees with their questions and prepare them for the next round of applications to open.

Point of personal privilege, I want to thank OFCA President Dewayne Burk and ORFA President Dana Cramer for co-signing a letter along with myself in support of federal fire service grants reauthorization legislation.

Within hours of the submission of our letter to the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation and the House Committee to which it was assigned, we had follow-up from both staff and a Congressman. Within days, the bill was moved out of committee and onto the floor. Within two weeks, the bill was signed into law.

Many thanks to all of our fire service partners that moved the needle in this legislation including the NVFC, the IAFF, the IAFC, and Chris Neal with the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI).

IAFF Centennial – On February 28, 1918, Oklahoma Firefighters joined delegates from across the United States and Canada to help found the International Association of Fire Fighters. On that date, 100 years later, the IAFF including almost 3000 Oklahoma firefighters and affiliates celebrated A Century of Progress through Unity.

Executive Director – Last month, we posted an announcement in the Oklahoma Firefighter about hiring the next Executive Director of the OSFA. I couldn’t help but think back to the meat grinder that was the State Capitol in the Spring of 2010. That was the environment that Phil Ostrander and I first worked together -- and worked in ever since, in one way or another.

The institutional knowledge that I and so many others have gleaned from Phil’s work at the Capitol and in the Fire Service has been immeasurable. He is a giant that will be missed among these halls when he departs. The next person in line will have some major shoes to fill. But this organization will move forward, always stronger than ever before.

Stay tuned and stay engaged to see what exciting chapter comes next!

1-800-308-5336 PRESIDENT: Matt Lay 918-760-9065

matthewlay@icloud.com

1ST VICE PRESIDENT Dereck Cassady 580-761-5338

3RD VICE PRESIDENT Eric Harlow 405-520-2893

2ND VICE PRESIDENT Mike Kelley 405-623-4388

PAST PRESIDENT Mike Duncan 918-214-6865

IAFFLocal2479@yahoo.com

ericharlow200@gmail.com

mkelley@local157.org

mduncan51@aol.com

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 part-time 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.

6March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

1st vice PREsident n

Dereck Cassady Ponca City FD IAFFLocal2479@ yahoo.com 580-761-5338

As many of you know, the schedule for State Fire School has been released, and registration is underway.

The Educational Advisory Committee has been working hard, and they have put together what looks like will be the best school yet.

Some classes are already full, so don’t wait! Get online and register now!

The 56th Legislative Session is underway at the State Capitol, and everyone needs to be paying attention to texts and email blasts.

We have many lobbyists at the Capitol looking out for firefighters’ interest and watching all the bills that pertain to us or may have an impact on us.

This is another big election year as quite a few legislators will be terming out and we have some statewide offices that will be up for grabs, including the Governor’s seat.

As campaigns get going this spring and summer, get involved, find a candidate that will support us and ask them what you can to do help with their campaign. Make sure your friends and family are registered to vote and that they get to the polls to support those that support us.

Helping put the right people in office will help to protect the benefits we have. Like I have said before, you can make a difference if you get out and help.

Let your firefighter voice be heard! And STAY SAFE!

PAST President n

Mike Duncan

Dewey FD

mduncan51 @aol.com • 918-214-6865 Hello All! I hope everyone is doing well.

This has been a really bad flu, cold, and virus season. Keep yourself protected, wear a mask and gloves when needed and wash hands often.

If you have it, stay home. We don’t want it.

There are lots of things going on.

The Volunteer Caucus in El Reno was a great success. There was a great turnout and a lot of good discussion. We had quite a few first timers, which is always great.

All of the OSFA Committees have been meeting and working on their respective areas. It is great to have so many to volunteer to participate on so many committees and to help the cause of the OSFA. The State Fire School is really doing great, with a lot of new classes and a few coming back from last year. This will really be a great learning experience for all. I can remember when we did it just for the weekend, we would have a couple hundred or so attend, and they were mainly volunteers, which was really great.

The Educational Advisory Committee has really stepped the game up, making it four days for both paid and volunteers. We thought last year was great, but this year will even be better.

The National Volunteer Fire Council will have their Board meeting in April in Alexandria, VA, and it should be a great meeting. There will be representatives from most states there. It is always a great meeting, and some long days getting all the committee meetings worked out to meet.

The NVFC Training Summit will be in Concord, NC, the first week in June. There will be limited attendance, so if you are interested in going, register now at www.nvfc.org.

NVFC has a lot of online classes that are available. They are very involved in Cancer awareness, Share the Load, Heart Health and other Safety and Health issues. It is a great organzation promoting and helping with the issues for Volunteer Fire Fighters and Volunteer Fire Departments.

Remember to wear your PPE on calls and wash your hands often!

Be safe!

2nd vice PresidenT n

Mike Kelley

Oklahoma City FD

mkelley@local157.org

• 405-623-4338

We held OSFA’s annual Volunteer Caucus Feb. 3, and we had a nice turnout of volunteers and fire service leaders from across the state.

While this is an opportunity for our brother and sister volunteers to get first hand updates, for the OSFA Board it is an important opportunity for us to hear directly from those affected along with the challenges and issues that are faced throughout the state.

Those in attendance were able to hear updates on legislation and priorities that were set at last year’s caucus and determine the priorities/road map for the coming year.

Your OSFA Board is committed to serving all of our members, whether volunteer, career, or retired.

There are several upcoming events to plan for, including the 96th annual Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association (OFCA) Conference April 4-6 in Lawton.

Plan to attend one of the nation’s premier fire training events, your very own State Fire school that will be held May 3-6 at the Tulsa FD Training Center/Tulsa Community College. This event is free to participants due to the commitment of your OSFA and several great sponsors/partnerships.

You can sign up now for classes by going to the OSFA website (www.osfa.info) or the OSU-FST website (my.osufst.org/conferences/711).

There is something for everyone, whether you want leadership training or hands on classes. Additionally, you don’t have to attend every day -- just schedule the classes that meet your schedule.

The 37th Annual ORFA Convention will be held June 12 in Tulsa in conjunction with the 124th Annual OSFA Convention June 13-16 and the 86th Annual OSF Women’s Auxiliary Convention.

During our annual OSFA Convention, we honor those that have gone before us and conduct the business of our association. This is also a great opportunity to fellowship with our brothers and sisters from around the state.

President Matt Lay and his team are working on giving the membership a convention to remember.

Anyone who is not supporting your museum by displaying a Firefighter Tag on your vehicle should go to your local tag agent and get one. This is a great way to demonstrate your pride in your profession and support your museum.

Additionally, if you don’t have the OSFA App, go to your devices App store and download the free App and get breaking news and information on upcoming events.

On the pension front, we had Bob Jones’ retirement reception Feb. 28 at the Pension office. Bob served our members well and his expertise will be missed.

Our new Executive Director is Chase Rankin and his previous experience representing our members will allow him to hit the ground running and continue the strong history of leadership.

It’s not too early to start planning for your required interest distribution that will begin June 30, 2018. If you haven’t registered for the new self-service feature for the pension website do so now at www.ok.gov/fprs.

Stay safe brothers and sisters!

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 Joe Thompson • joet@osfa.info Quintin James • quintinj@osfa.info Robert Noll • bobn@osfa.info

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 20187

OSFA EXECUTIVE DIRECtor n

Phil Ostrander phil@osfa.info

•

405-424-1452

Fire Service Family, It is 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening (Feb. 20), and I am in my office at the OSFA trying to decide which of the one million thoughts circling in my brain I should write about for this month’s article.

We talk a lot about the Volunteer Recruitment and Retention grant and its statewide successes. We have talked about the upcoming $10 million expansion and redesign of the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum.

We have shared information with you about legislation and the possibilities of a COLA or a Stipend for our retirees. Others might talk about our committees and the hard work and dedication to working for your needs.

We will continue to promote and talk about the upcoming OSFA State Fire School in Tulsa this May. Specifically, the fact that it is FREE to all firefighters and first responders.

And the fact that we are expecting over 1,000 participants this year and that the OSFA State Fire School is THE LARGEST FREE FIRE SCHOOL IN THE SOUTHWEST. It might be the largest of its kind anywhere, but we haven’t been everywhere, so I am sort of being modest.

Those things will all hold til another time. How about instead of me talking to everyone about everything, let’s have a private conversation. Just you and me. We have never done this before in the paper, and I think we need this private time.

First, I hope all is well with you and yours. Is that knee still bothering you? It must be the weather because mine is a little stiff, too. I heard that you avoided the flu bug. That’s really good because not everyone was so lucky.

Are you still having trouble sleeping lately? I know that after a call like that one, it’s hard to get it out of your head. That one just felt like it hit just a little too close to home, didn’t it?

After everything else you have been through with the family and around the house, it is just really hard to move on. Yes, you and the wife seem to be arguing more. And if the kids would quit fighting, you wouldn’t have to yell at them.

Yes, I know that you love them all, but it’s just hard because everything just keeps piling on. Agreed, it feels easier to just isolate yourself because nobody else seems to understand what it’s like except you.

No, you are not a burden to anyone else. You do want us to just let you be so you can find your own way out, but that just isn’t going to happen. We all love you too much! We are here at your side, walking hand in hand with you.

Yes my friend, there are ways to get out of the dark place you have been drawn to. One is to call me personally -- anytime night or day at 918-231-7765 -- because I have your back. I am not an expert or a trained counselor, but I need to be able to grow old knowing that you have my back, too.

That’s what we do for each other in the fire service world.

If it would be easier, we have trained and professional counselors that are firefighters from across the country that would be glad to take your call anonymously.

That number is 1-888-731-FIRE. This is the Fire/EMS Helpline, from the NVFC which offers free 24-hour assistance with issues such as stress, depression, addiction, PTSD, and more.

You have to make the call. Do it for us all.

It is tough on all of us here at the OSFA every time we get word that another firefighter or retiree took their own life. Let’s work together to save each another just as hard as we work to save strangers.

Reach out to your loved ones who are struggling and let’s get them the help they need. No more waiting until it’s too late. The Helpline is for spouses and family members, also.

Help support your Oklahoma Firefighters Museum Expansion and the Oklahoma Fallen & 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 & 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.

8March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

n

women’s auxiliary Report

ORFA REport Dana Cramer

n

Norman FD Retired

Diana Burch

It was great to see such a nice turnout for the Volunteer Fire

Caucus. I think accomplishments were made, and the first timers seemed to appreciate the process.

If they didn’t know it before, I hope they realize that what happens there is not dropped when they leave. It is followed up on and is put in motion.

Updates from previous year(s) are given to keep everyone in the loop on where issues stand. Surprising to some, some do get completed, and it all started with an idea at the Volunteer Caucus.

So you do make a difference.

Chiefs Conference is fast approaching. It’s another great way to communicate thoughts and ideas with fellow peers.

There are always some interesting topics discussed. Be sure and make plans to attend April 4-6 in Lawton.

You can now register online for the OSFA State Fire School in Tulsa. Numerous talented instructors will be providing an abundance of different class options, so check them out and sign up.

This Fire School is becoming a big regional favorite, and that’s due to the quality classes and instructors that the committee has put together.

Can’t hardly wait to see if the legislature “Steps Up” or “Steps Out.”

As of this writing, no vote has happened. But by the time you get this edition, we should have a better idea how this session will proceed.

Remember, if you haven’t logged on the members services link on the pension website, be sure and check it out. It’s helpful with lots of information at your fingertips. If you have any problems signing up, don’t hesitate to call the pension office, as the staff is great at talking you through the process.

In just minutes, you can find out your balance, do projections and more -- what a great and useful tool you have available to you. Be sure and give it a try.

Until next month, Be a Leader!

2005 President

2017-18 ORFA Executive Board PRESIDENT Dana Cramer, Norman dcramer3@cox.net 405-570-1387 1ST VP Juan Rodriguez, Lawton jrod911@gmail.com 2ND VP Tippy Pierce, Moore fftip@swbell.net 405-924-1104 3RD VP George Fina, OKC gomsc38@gmail.com 405-373-2409 PAST PRESIDENT Phil Ostrander, Tulsa phil@okgov.us

2017-18 Women’s Aux Executive Board PRESIDENT Tennie Green tennie.green@gmail.com (918) 440-7060 VICE PRESIDENT Erica Koch ejv97@cox.net (405) 308-2010 SEC/TREASURER Susan Walker sw233821@gmail.com (580) 351-4116 PAST PRESIDENT Diana Cramer cramerdr@cox.net (405) 613-2513

dburch66@aol.com

Wow! Time flies the older I get.

It’s already March, spring is around the corner and before we know it summer, storm season and Convention will be here.

The OSFWA Auxiliary provides much needed support to the firefighters of Oklahoma. It was the ambition of this state auxiliary to help in organizing local auxiliaries throughout the State with the following purposes: • To promote understanding of fire service thus enabling wives to grow in their position of helpmates • To promote friendship among firefighter’s families • To promote educational and social ideas • To promote fire prevention • To promote better public relations • To raise the standards of the fire department, both active and civic.

There are many auxiliaries across the state, and no two are exactly alike.

However we all have one very important bond -- the fire service.

If you are interested in establishing a local auxiliary, you can contact one of the board members, call the OSFA office at 1-800-308-5336, or visit the OSFA website.

Tulsa is hosting the 37th Annual ORFA Convention on June 12.

And June 13-16 in Tulsa, the 86th Annual OSFWA will be held in conjunction with the 124th Annual OSFA Convention.

The host hotel is Hyatt Regency Tulsa Hotel, and you can contact them at 918234-1234. Be sure to notify them you are with OSFA for the rate of $91 per night.

Membership dues are $10.00 per year for individuals and $10.00 per year for local auxiliaries.

You do NOT have to be a member of a local auxiliary in order to join.

If you are sending in your dues for your local auxiliary, please include a list of names, addresses, and emails addresses for all members.

You can send those dues to Secretary/ Treasurer Susan Walker.

I encourage all ladies to join us at the Women’s Convention for fun and fellowship.

I have made many long lasting friendships from all over the state. And you will, too!

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 20189

Question & Answers Oklahoma Firefighter asked last issue’s readers this question: “What is your favorite song to sing or sing along with?”

Here is what they said: w David Fincher, Lawton: My go-to song is “I Say a Little Prayer” when I shower in the morning. w Mike Kelley, Oklahoma City: Bob Seger’s “Turn the Page.” w Mike Weinkauf, Orlando: “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks. w Ray Hammons, Tahlequah: The best song to sing along with is a song about my wife: “Up on Cripple Creek she said to me, If I sprang a leak she’d mind me, I don’t have to speak she defends me, A drunkard’s dream if I ever did see one!”

I’m the luckiest guy alive! w Bre Horn, Marshall: “Saving Amy” by Brantley Gilbert, or “Rain” by Breaking Benjamin. w Yogi Cole, Tulsa Ret.: “Choices” by George Jones. w Richelle Treece, Bethel Acres: I’d say anything from the 80s when I was growing up. I have trouble trying to understand what they are even saying in today’s music -- never mind singing along to it! w Jeremy Goodrich, Yukon: “Fireman, “The Toast” and “Jessie’s Girl.” w Brian Foughty, Moore Ret.: My wife Susan said that would be all of them. I sing along to all of them. w Aaron Burns, Broken Arrow Ret.: Cranked all the way up ...

Joe Walsh ... “Life’s Been Good.” w Bryan West, OSU-FST: The one I enjoy to sing with is “Fly Over States” by Jason Aldean. w Diana Burch, Women’s Auxiliary: I sing along with whatever is playing on the radio, even though I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and make up words if I don’t know the song. w Bert Norton, Midwest City: “The wheels on the bus go round and round.“ w Bruce Anthony, Tuttle: “Put Another Log on the Fire” recorded by Tompall Glaser. I sing it to my wife on a regular basis. w Greg Lindsay, Oklahoma City: I like whatever is on the radio -- as long as I can understand the words. w Juan Rodriguez, Lawton Ret.: “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” by Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. Lead singer: Teddy Pendergrass. w Mike “Rookie” Billingsley, Nichols Hills Ret.: “We Are The Champions.”

March’s question -“What is the best thing about the OSFA? Everyone is Welcome to Submit an Answer Email Your Response to penelopes@osfa.info

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SAFER Grant

Sheri Nickel

OSFA Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Coordinator They say time flies when you are having fun, and for me I find spending this SAFER grant money quite fun.

For one, I get to spend money on bunker gear and it doesn’t affect my own fire

department’s budget.

And for two, we are training firefighters. And with as many roads as I travel throughout our state, it makes me feel better knowing that good quality firefighters are filling our volunteer fire departments and will be there to respond if I need them.

It is the second week of February that I am writing this article, and I have approved 14 departments and new firefighters for the opportunity to take advantage of the grant money.

That means that there is funding available for 61 more candidates to be trained.

By the time this newspaper is published, the firefighter-1 programs in Guymon and Weatherford should be complete and hopefully those recruits will soon receive their IFSAC certification.

Bunker gear has been ordered for Clinton, Chandler, Mustang, Elmwood and Lakewood volunteer fire departments and is in the process of being custom made by Globe and Fire-Dex. I hope to start delivering it to those departments in the next few weeks.

Remember, the process to be included in the grant money is simple.

I just need a letter from the fire chief, the candi-

dates name, the date that they were hired and what firefighter-1 program that they are wanting to attend.

Along with the letter, I need worker’s comp rosters showing the names of the firefighters on your department for the last five years.

In addition to paying for the new recruit benefit, the grant also has some retention funds available for leadership and structural firefighting training for existing firefighters.

It was a surprise to those attending the Leadership for Small Departments training at the Southeast regional fire school that was held in Hugo in January and the Destry Horton wildland school at Ft. Sill in February. The OSFA was able to cover some of those student’s travel expenses and several were reimbursed for mileage and hotel rooms.

Hopefully, we will be able to do the same at the upcoming State Fire School in Tulsa. I will be reviewing the leadership classes that are being offered there to see if they fall within the grant’s purpose.

If any of you are interested in starting a structural firefighting class or would like to bring the Leadership for Small Department’s classes to your area, please get a hold of me and we will see if we can make it happen.

This grant has brought so many things to light that the OSFA will continue to address other than the need for training. I look forward to the continuation of administering these funds and the identification of areas that need addressed in our fire service.

Please do not hesitate to contact me or call the OSFA office if there is anything that we can to help your department. That is what we are here for.

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.

Contact the OSFA for assistance.

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.

OKLAHOMA STATE FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION Sheri Nickel Grant Coordinator 2716 NE 50th, OKC, OK 73111 www.OSFA.info 405-424-1452 office 580-554-7123 cell sherin@osfa.info

10March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

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ISO Report

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Yogi Cole

Gary Dill

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 that 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 maximum credit, 60 hours are needed and it is worth 5% of the available 9 points.

6 - Existing Driver/Operator Training Program

For maximum credit, 12 hours per year for each Driver/Operator are needed, and it is worth 5% of the available 9 points.

7 - Hazardous Materials Training Program

For maximum credit, 6 hours per member per year, and it 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 in accordance with the general criteria of NFPA 1001.

Firefighters who obtain the FFI and FFII designation before joining the FD also meet the requirement of this section. Class hours spent toward the completion of FFI 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.

Chaplain’s corner Chaplain, Edmond FD Retired

I spent today saying goodbye to my father. He has begun his transition into Eternity.

My family and I had begun to discuss some of the final arrangements for his memorial service.

Now my parents had discussed these issues many times over the years, and even in recent times.

The problem is that some of the plans brought to light today don’t match what we believed were his wishes.

Why am I telling you this? I want you to have these discussions with your immediate family now, while you still can.

None of us know when our last day will be. It is not easy to talk about our own death and plans, but how can our families honor us in the way we wanted if we don’t help them by doing the hard preparation ourselves?

Make sure that you have a last will and testament that is in order. Make sure you have corrected your beneficiaries on insurance policies, retirement benefits and other documents.

Some of the listed beneficiaries in your life may have passed away or you may have added some, or they are no longer the preferred recipients of your assets.

As important as I believe these things are during our death, I also believe it is much more important

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to have a proper relationship with our Lord.

My father has had quite a bit of preparation time to get things in order, but the Lord’s word tells us we do not know the time of our death.

We cannot delay just because we are young and in the prime of our lives. We live and work in a violent and sinful world.

You and I have seen our share of “good” people who died unexpectedly, or at the least became incapacitated to where they can no longer care for themselves, or make decisions for themselves.

Luke 12:35 to 40 tells us; “Be ready for service and have your lamps lit. You must be like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed.

“I assure you: He will get ready, have them recline at the table then come and serve them. If he comes in the middle of the night, or even near dawn, and finds them alert, those slaves are blessed.

“But know this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.”

I urge each of you, get your house in order.

More importantly, get your relationship with the Heavenly Father in proper order.

OSFA STAFF REPORT NEED GEAR? Tim Bartram OSFA Special Projects

I want to look at something past, present and future.

For the past, I want to look back at the 16th Annual Volunteer Caucus.

There was a great amount of discussion of issues facing the Volunteer Fire Service in Oklahoma. The wind kept the number of attendee’s down, but those that were there were very active in the discussion. I also want to thank American Farmers and Ranchers for sponsoring lunch.

For the present, the discussions that OSFA’s new EMS Committee is having on the issues facing Fire Based EMS are very enlightening.

These issues are important to both Rural and Urban Oklahoma and both Paid and Volunteers. As EMS is becoming a bigger part of what we do, the Fire Service needs to be more involved with the regulatory agencies at both the State and National level.

We are a little late in getting involved in these discussions, but we are catching up quickly.

For the future, I want to talk about the 2018 OSFA State Fire School.

Enrollment numbers have been outstanding already. At the time I am writing this, enrollment has only been live for a couple of days and we already have several classes full.

If you are wanting to attend, you better enroll early or you may not get in to the classes you want. We are shooting for 1,000 students this year.

Look for some new things in the way we communicate with you all in the future. The Membership committee is looking at some new benefits for members that we are excited about.

Apply for Globe Gear Giveaway Proper turnout gear is vital to the safety of firefighters.

That’s why Globe by MSA, DuPont Protection Solutions (DuPont), and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) are teaming up for the seventh year to provide state-of-the-art turnout gear to volunteer fire departments.

A total of 13 departments will each receive four sets of new gear, for a total of 52 sets.

The first 500 applicants will also receive a one-year NVFC membership, courtesy of Globe.

To be eligible to apply for the Globe Gear Giveaway, departments must meet the following criteria: • Be all-volunteer or mostlyvolunteer (over 50 percent).

• Serve a population of 25,000 or less.

• Be located in the U.S. or Canada and legally organized under state/province law.

• Demonstrate a need the gear.

• Department or person applying must be a member of NVFC. Learn more and apply for Globe gear at www.nvfc.org/globe-geargiveaway.

The deadline to apply is June 1, 2018.

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201811

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NEAR-MISS REPORT

By Greg Lindsay

Risking the Slide Assignments on the fire scene can challenge us both mentally and physically. We have an opportunity to save the lives of people in the community, but it may require some risk on our part.

Risk is measured by what we can save (risk/benefit analysis), but a fire scene is dynamic and can change in an instant. Our ability to accomplish this mission could hang on a thin thread.

The report this month is from an urban department. The second alarm blaze found more than 60 responders on the scene. Assignments ran the gambit at this event, and multiple reports of people trapped in known locations prompted crews to use Vent Enter Isolate Search (VEIS) techniques.

The thin thread mentioned above prompts this August 2016 nearmiss report.

Sliding Glass Door Failure Drives Firefighters Off Balcony

Published: 2/3/2018 • http://firefighternearmiss.com/Reports?id=11742 EVENT NARRATIVE What was the initial size-up?

Four-story garden level apartment with fire showing from Charlie Side on all four floors. The fire was reported to have started from a gas leak that led to a building explosion. There were multiple reports of parties trapped on our arrival.

EVENT DESCRIPTION My crew arrived on the scene of a working two-alarm fire that was initiated by an explosion. Our initial assignment was to the Charlie-side of the building. Upon our initial size-up of the Charlie-side, we observed that several individual apartments were fully involved with fire. We immediately realized that those apartments were uninhabitable and we would focus our efforts on what we could save.

The decision was made to throw two ground ladders to the second-floor apartments where we could make safe entry, performing Vent, Enter and Search (VES) tactics with visual confirmation of savable occupants. As my officer and I ascended the ladder to the second-floor, stepping off the ladder to a balcony, a sliding glass door on an apartment failed, resulting in a massive conflagration of fire and heat.

My officer immediately gave the command for us to get off the balcony and bailout down the ladder. I quickly threw my forcible entry tools to the ground and performed a “ladder bailout” maneuver. My officer did the same right behind me.

The experience and knowledge of “Recognized Prime Decision Making” by my officer got us off that balcony and home to our families.

LESSONS LEARNED Due to the explosion blowing out the center of the building, we had multiple holes in floors. We also had numerous reports of people trapped throughout the structure.

With rapid-fire development, we couldn’t have the occupant’s shelter in place.

You have to understand how fast fire can progress and think about flow paths and what it is missing. Why hasn’t this room flashed, why isn’t if fully involved? What is it missing? Practice your ladder bails, train like your life depends on it because a routine search takes on a whole new meaning in a fire of the magnitude of this report.

Describe the leading practices you noticed at this incident: This fire was a great example of high risk, low-frequency fire. The decisions made would determine where we could take a stand and what risks were necessary or acceptable.

One of the highest risk maneuvers we perform is VEIS. Because of the risk, this is indicated only when we have a known victim in what appears to be a tenable environment.

Time and fire dynamics are the factors that press this type of rescue, but they also cause the conditions that endanger firefighters using this practice.

Discussion topics: • Implementing VEIS requires skilled firefighters to accomplish the technique.

Review the recommended steps for this practice.

• Sizing up a fire of this magnitude could take more time than we have available. Given the resources you have in your department, what assignments could

OKC Fire Department

you make that address this event?

• Life safety is a top incident priority. How can we address the need to search the floor over the fire with the knowledge of the outcome from this incident?

• How can we assess structural stability in a building that had experienced this type of damage?

• It is possible that we all do not have this type of structure in our community, are there any types of structures where this is applicable.

Garden apartments are difficult for many reasons. Most of the time, these are large buildings that prevent easy access, have many residents, and were not built to accommodate large apparatus. Additionally, when the building has structural damage, normal egress by the residents is impossible, and security from collapse is hard to judge.

The thin thread in this event was the failure of a sliding patio door. Relying on training and experience is how this crew survived when the conditions changed.

The author stated a sliding patio door failed; this was what determined the need to bail off the second-floor balcony.

While VEIS is risky, the bailout maneuver is also a high risk / low-frequency technique that requires practice for mastery. From the officer’s standpoint, this could mean waiting in the fire while other crewmembers go first.

I would not want personnel to have to consider the technical aspects before making the slide. Training and experience made the difference.

How would you summarize this report when a newer crewmember asked about it? What information would you be willing to share from your own experiences?

Many firefighters realize the need to share what they know and have their experiences included in the www.Firefighternearmiss.com database.

Consider what you could say about this event if your recruit asked you, and take a moment to share that story with the North American fire service. It could save firefighters lives.

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12March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

STAVROS SCHOLARSHIP FoundatiON Pete & Lela

Pete Stavros, a retired Oklahoma City firefighter and OSFA Legislative Director Emeritus, established the scholarship fund in 2002.

It offers children and relatives of active or retired Oklahoma firefighters who are members of the OSFA help with college expenses.

Do you know a graduating high school senior who is related to an active or retired member of the Oklahoma Fire Service and the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association?

Have you told them about the Pete and Lela Stavros Scholarship Foundation?

Scholarship Award: $1,000 TO APPLY: Fill out and submit application form online at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation’s web site (www.occf.org/stavros).

If you do not have Internet access, call OSFA at 1-800-308-5336 for an application form.

DEADLINE: All scholarship materials must be submitted by April 1, 2018.

Recipients will be notified by mail. Scholarship packets will be disbursed during a special ceremony at the 2018 OSFA Convention in Tulsa.

Five $1,000 Stavros Scholarships Available -- Application Deadline April 1 Looking for scholarship opportunities for graduating seniors?

Students who are children or related to Oklahoma firefighters who are OSFA members are eligible for the Stavros Scholarship.

And five $1,000 scholarships will be handed out at the 124th OSFA Convention June 13-16 in Tulsa.

But hurry -- April 1 is the application deadline. Go to www.occf.org/stavros.

Applicants must complete a General Application before applying to specific scholarship opportunities. Think of the General Application as setting up a Student Profile. Submitting a General Application does not mean that an applicant has applied for any scholarships.

After completing the General Application, applicants must submit the Supplemental Questions listed below to complete the application: 1. Describe your career goals and how your education will help you achieve them. (Please limit to 500 words.)

2. Describe three activities outside the classroom that you value and how they influenced your educational goals.

(Please limit to 500 words.)

3. Are you the child of, or are you related to, an Oklahoma firefighter(s) who is a member of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association (active or retired)?

4. OSFA Member Name 5. Fire Department

6. Your Relationship to the OSFA Member 7. Service status

8. What will your college living arrangement be?

9. On the General Application/Student Profile, please make sure the person you requested to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf is your high school guidance counselor or principal.

10. Did you submit your household’s 1040 or your FAFSA for the coming year when you completed the General Application? (NOTE: If you answered “no”, please know that finan-

cial need may be considered for this scholarship, and to be eligible for this scholarship you need to return to the General Application/Student Profile and attach a 1040 or FAFSA.) 11. Did you submit a picture? A yearbook style headshot picture is required.

All application materials will be reviewed by the Pete and Lela Stavros Educational Foundation and the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association to verify the applicant’s relationship to an OSFA member.

Funds may be used for educational-related expenses such as tuition, fees and books at any academically accredited two-year, four-year or vocational technical nonprofit institution in the United States. Payments are made directly to the school.

Pete Stavros and his wife Lela established this scholarship foundation in 2002. Pete passed away on Jan. 28, 2015, at age 83 after a lifetime of helping firefighters.

Offering $1,000 scholarships to the children and relatives of firefighters was always a dream of Pete’s.

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201813

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14March 2018Oklahoma 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

As was discussed in the previous article, some-

time during the late Fall of 1896, the Springfield, MA FD replaced “Monitor” with a new steam fire engine.

This new steamer was manufactured by the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company of Elmira, NY. The American LaFrance agent, whose business was headquartered in New Jersey, took the “Monitor” as a trade in. The “Monitor” then remained in limbo for a short period.

There’s an approximate period of 24 months that the location and disposition of the “Monitor” remains somewhat of a mystery. It is thought, but not substantiated, that the boiler was reconditioned by the ALF agent. It was then offered for sale to the Ft. Smith, Arkansas Fire Department.

Ft. Smith did not have a pumping engine during this time period. Water pressure in their municipal water system was provided by a pump at the water treatment plant.

The Chief of the Ft. Smith FD had considered a steam pumper for several months. The Chief had informed his city council of the need for a steam fire engine at the April 10, 1899 council meeting.

After a fire occurred and the water system failed to meet the department demands, the need for a steam pumper became critical. Contact was made with the American LaFrance agent and negotiations were begun to purchase a “steamer”.

The story now moves to Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Muskogee suffered the “Great Fire of 1899” on February 23, 1899. The fire started about 5 a.m. at P. R. Ceaser’s Tailoring and Cleaning Plant, located on the east side of Second Street between Court and Broadway. Allegedly, a worker at Ceaser’s poured kerosene over hot coals in the building’s boiler room. An explosion occurred and the building was soon engulfed in flames.

At the time of the fire, the Muskogee FD consisted of a volunteer force that manned a ladder company and two hose companies. The temperature that morning was near zero degrees and the wind was described as “strong.” Several city blocks were destroyed before the fire was stopped at the south corners of Broadway and Main. The need for a steam pumper was now obvious.

At this point, both the cities of Ft. Smith and Muskogee were interested in buying a steam fire engine.

Research revealed that Ft. Smith FD had originally wished to acquire the “Monitor.” However, a deal was struck prior to shipping the “Monitor” from New York between the cities of Ft. Smith and Muskogee after Ft. Smith realized that city needed a more powerful engine.

The Muskogee city council at its meeting of Tuesday, Sept. 26, 1899, authorized Mayor P. J. Byrne to buy a fire engine. Mayor Byrne contacted the LaFrance agent and the “Monitor” was shipped midOctober from New York to Muskogee, arriving on

9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

1 to 4:30 p.m.

Nov. 16, 1899.

On Wednesday, Nov. 22, 1899, Mr. A. C. LaFrance, president of the LaFrance Engine Company, Elmira, NY; Mr. Frank Horn, Ft. Smith Fire Department; and Mr. E. P. Corley agent for LaFrance were in Muskogee to conduct service tests of Muskogee’s “new” steam pumper. The test was passed, the results satisfactory and Muskogee accepted the steam pumper.

Once the “Monitor” was accepted by Muskogee FD and placed in service, it was renamed. The new name “Pat Byrne” was chosen to honor Muskogee’s first mayor P. J. Byrne.

One source, the Muskogee Fire Department history, states that Mayor Byrne purchased this “new” steam fire engine from his personal funds. The “Pat Byrne” remained in service in Muskogee as the MFD’s Engine 4 until replaced in 1909.

At that time the steamer, having had its boiler rebuilt again in 1902, was deemed too good to be disposed of. The name “Pat Byrne” was carried forward to one of the new steam fire engines and the original name plate remounted on the new designee.

The “Pat Byrne” remained with the Muskogee FD for many years. It was used in reserve service and for jobs that a first line engine would not generally be tasked to do.

After several years in a secondary service role, it became inoperable. Since it was several decades old at this point, a decision was made not to repair the boiler or the pump. Muskogee FD, being one of the most progressive fire departments in Oklahoma at that time, was in the process of changing over to motorized fire apparatus so that also influenced the “no repair” issue.

Sometime in either 1939 or 1940 Stillwater, OK Fire Chief J. Ray Pence noted that the old steamer was available for adoption. A deal was made with the Muskogee FD and the steamer was moved to Stillwater FD Station #2 (Campus Fire Station).

It was placed on display there and cared for by the members of the Stillwater FD and students of the recently established Oklahoma A&M School of Fire Protection Technology. The exact date of transfer is unavailable. However, a recent video clip produced by the Stillwater FD showing period apparatus at the Campus Fire Station dated 1940 clearly shows the steamer on the ramp.

Sometime after being “adopted” by the Stillwater FD, the early name “Monitor” and the later name “Pat Byrne” were lost to history… at least in Stillwater.

I was a resident and student volunteer firefighter with the Stillwater FD from 1963 through 1967 and never heard either name or the steamer’s history. I remember polishing the steamer in the company of many members of the Fire Protection Society as part

Hello Everyone!

We have a new employee here at the museum.

Joe Thompson is retired from the Village Fire Department, and he is a great addition to our staff. He will work in the gift shop and help with keeping up the grounds around the museum.

Welcome Joe! The Volunteer Caucus was a great success. Thanks to all who attended.

So many great ideas were shared to help volunteer departments. Thank you all for your dedication.

For those who could not attend, please mark your Joe Thompson calendar for next year. We look forward to your input.

The museum expansion is moving forward.

We are busy making plans on how to make your museum the best in the country.

The Expansion Committee is working very hard to make this dream a reality. Thank you all for your donations to this worthy cause.

There are several events coming up: OFCA Conference in Lawton, OSFA State Fire School and OSFA Convention.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Thank you for supporting the Museum. of our Rookie week activities. The steamer appeared in the OSU Homecoming Parade on Oct. 19, 1963.

There were several times the steamer was “loaned” (mutual aid, perhaps) to neighboring fire departments for their local celebrations.

Ponca City FD borrowed it and unfortunately had an encounter with a low railroad bridge. That accounts for some of the “battle scars” on the smoke stack.

The Seminole FD borrowed it in the late 1940’s to exhibit it in the Seminole “Gusher Days” celebration.

The steamer was a star of an Oklahoma A & M Engineering Week exhibition and fire school in 1950.

Smoke pots were placed in the boiler to simulate it being fired and water from a fire hydrant was run through the pump and attached hose line.

Under the guidance and efforts of Stillwater Fire Chief Bill Maddux, the steamer was transferred to the Oklahoma State Firefighter’s Museum in Oklahoma City in 1969. It is now on permanent display there.

It is generally regarded as the oldest Amoskeag Harp frame steamer in existence in the United States and one of two remaining stream fire engines in Oklahoma. Its existence should be noted as a tribute both to American industrial prowess and the Oklahoma fire service’s commitment to preserving our heritage.

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201815

OKLAHOMA FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION 96th OFCA Conference April 4-6, 2018 • At Lawton’s Hilton Garden Inn • Hosted by Lawton FD • Wednesday, April 4 -- Golf Tournament at Lawton Country Club. Registration 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tee off 1 p.m.

Entry fee is $75 per person or $300 per team.

Includes lunch, green fees, cart, prizes.

• Thursday, April 5 -- Keynote speaker Mike Boettcher, veteran network news correspondent.

• Friday, April 6 -- Business meeting.

Reports from OSFA and ORFA; Election of OFCA 3rd Vice President.

REGISTRATION:

n By March 16 $125 per member (includes spouse)

n After March 16 $175 per member & $175 per spouse (or $50 banquet ticket only for spouse) Cancellations must be made by March 16.

Otherwise, there will be a charge

Please plan on attending -- and bring as many folks from your FD as possible.

The 2018 OFCA Conference will be a learning experience & great time to socialize.

ACCOMODATIONS: Hilton Garden Inn in Lawton: 580-280-2101 $91 per night (plus tax) Reservations must be made prior to March 5

2018 OFCA WORKSHOPS

FOR MORE INFO:

405-424-1452 • 800-308-5336 405-424-1032 (FAX) trishac@osfa.info • www.osfa.info

n

Jan. 24-26 in Stillwater

A total of 54 Fire Departments were represented at the 2018 OFCA Workshops held Jan. 24-26 at the Stillwater Community Center.

The New Chief Officer Workshop had 75 participants.

The Winter Workshop -- Budgeting a Career: Time, Money & Me -- had 122 in attendance.

U.S. Fire Administrator G. Keith Bryant provided an update on the activities of the U.S. Fire Administration and the floods and fires they have been assisting local jurisdiction with around the country.

Dean Shelton from the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters gave a presentation on Healthy In, Healthy Out: Cancer Prevention. He outline ways in which our departments can easily obtain a goal of reducing cancer risks.

Some of the easiest and most valuable recommendations were to wear our SCBA’s during overhaul operations, do a gross decontamination of our bunker gear prior to removing our SCBA immediately after leaving the fire environment, and not wearing our bunker gear inside the fire station quarters.

Videos that drive home the point can be found at http://www.osfa. info/resources/general-information/ “Firefighter Cancer Network Videos.”

Many positive comments about the Workshops were heard.

Chief Kyle Davis of Altus said it was very worthwhile and should be a must-attend event on everyone’s schedules each year.

16March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

Our Efforts Paid Off -- President Sign

Letter sent to Congressman Jim Bridenstine

Letter sent to Congressman Tom Cole

An Act To reauthorize the United States Fire Administration, the Assistance to Firefighters Grants program, the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program, and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Fire Administration, AFG, and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017’’.

SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION. Section 17(g)(1)(M) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2216 (g)(1)(M)) is amended— (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 2017’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2023’’; and (2) by inserting ‘‘for each such fiscal year’’ after ‘‘$2,753,672’’.

Letter sent to Congressman Frank Lucas

Letter sent to Congressman Steve Russell

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS PROGRAM AND THE FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS PROGRAM. (a) SUNSET.—Section 33(r) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(r)) is amended by striking ‘‘the date that is 5 years after the date of the enactment of the Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2024’’. (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 33(q) (1)(B) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(q)(1)(B)) is amended, in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. (c) AUTHORIZATION FOR CERTAIN TRAINING UNDER ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS PROGRAM.—Section 33(c)(3) of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229(c)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(N) To provide specialized training to firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical service workers, and other first responders to recognize individuals who have mental illness and how to properly intervene with individuals with mental illness, includ-

Congress had until Jan. 2 to pass the “AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017” or the AFG and SAFER Grants would go away.

We took decisive action and contacted our Representatives regarding the need for passage of H.R. 4661 “AFG and SAFER Program Reauthorization Act of 2017” to reauthorize the AFG and SAFER

gra W wo hav thre sign sho on issu O and the P it o

ing strategies for verbal de-escalation SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF STA FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE (a) SUNSET.—Section 34(k) of the Fed Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a(k ‘‘the date that is 5 years after the date Fire Grants Reauthorization Act of 201 tember 30, 2024’’. (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPR (1)(I) of the Federal Fire Prevention an U.S.C. 2229a(j)(1)(I)) is amended, in th (i), by striking ‘‘2017’’ and inserting ‘‘2 (c) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATIO Section 34(b)(3)(B) of the Federal Fire Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229a(b)(3)(B)) ‘‘of subsection (a)(1)(B)(ii) and (F)’’ an (a)(1)(F)’’. (d) MODIFICATION OF LIMITATION Fed- eral Fire Prevention and Control 2229a(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘p ment of this section’’ and inserting ‘‘p application for the grant’’. (e) MODIFICATION OF WAIVER AU (1)(B) of the Federal Fire Prevention a U.S.C. 2229a(d)(1)(B)) is amended by (E) or sub- section (c)(2)’’ and insertin (2), or (c)(4)’’. (f) EXPANSION OF STAFFING FOR A EMER- GENCY RESPONSE GRANT AUTHORITY FOR CER- TAIN USE O TRANSFERRED TO ASSISTANCE TO GRANTS PROGRAM.—Section 34(a) Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (1 amended—

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201817

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ns Bill to Reauthorize AFG and SAFER Grants

ants.

We also felt that it ould be beneficial to ve the presidents of all ree organizations be natories on the letter to ow support and unity this very important ue.

Our actions paid off d the bill passed before e deadline.

President Trump signed on Jan. 3, 2018.

n of crisis.’’.

AFFING FOR ADEQUATE E GRANT PROGRAM. deral Fire Prevention and k)) is amended by striking of the enactment of the 12’’ and inserting ‘‘Sep-

RIATIONS.—Section 34(j) nd Control Act of 1974 (15 he matter preceding clause 2023’’.

ON REQUIREMENTS.— Prevention and Control is amended by striking nd inserting ‘‘of subsection

N.—Section 34(c)(2) of the l Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. prior to the date of enactprior to the date of the

UTHORITY.—Section 34(d) and Control Act of 1974 (15 striking ‘‘subsection (a)(1) ng ‘‘subsection (a)(1)(E), (c)

ADEQUATE FIRE AND PROGRAM; REPEAL OF OF GRANT AMOUNTS O FIREFIGHTERS )(1)(B) of the Federal Fire 15 U.S.C. 2229a(a)(1)(B)) is

(1) by inserting ‘‘or to change the status of part-time or paidon-call (as defined in section 33(a)) firefighters to full- time firefighters’’ after ‘‘firefighters’’; and (2) by striking ‘‘and to provide’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of crises’’.

SEC. 5. TRAINING ON ADMINISTRATION OF FIRE GRANT PROGRAMS. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, acting through the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, may develop and make widely available an electronic, online training course for members of the fire and emergency response community on matters relating to the administration of grants under sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229 and 2229a). (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall ensure that any training developed and made available under subsection (a) is— (1) tailored to the financial and time constraints of members of the fire and emergency response community; and (2) accessible to all individuals in the career, combination, paidon-call, and volunteer fire and emergency response community.

SEC. 6. FRAMEWORK FOR OVERSIGHT AND MONITORING OF THE ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTERS GRANTS PROGRAM, THE FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS PROGRAM, AND THE STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE GRANT PROGRAM. (a) FRAMEWORK.—Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, acting through the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, shall develop and implement a grant monitoring and oversight framework to mitigate and mini- mize risks of fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement relating to the grants programs under sections 33 and 34 of the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 (15 U.S.C. 2229 and 2229a). (b) ELEMENTS.—The framework required under subsection (a) shall include the following: (1) Developing standardized guidance and training for all participants in the grant programs described in subsection (a).

(2) Conducting regular risk assessments.

(3) Conducting desk reviews and site visits.

(4) Enforcement actions to recoup potential questionable costs of grant recipients.

(5) Such other oversight and monitoring tools as the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers necessary to mitigate and minimize fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement relating to the grant programs described in subsection (a).

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18March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

OSFA Snapshots

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

FAR LEFT: A total of 15 Lawton Fire guys participated in the Polar Plunge for Special Olympics.

ABOVE: Approximately 100 people took part in the OSFA North Central Regional Roundtable held in Ponca City.

LEFT: Fairview FD’s annual Chili and Stew Supper on Feb. 10. Retired Fairview Fire Chief Greg Harmon (pictured with wife Walinda) was honored after 25 years of service as a volunteer.

www.arcpyro.com • 833-ARC-PYRO (833-272-7976) 2018 OKLAHOMA http://arcpyro.com Arc Pyro would like to make SHOOTER SCHOOL a special offer for any FD

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Want to be a part of the team or Edmond Fire Training Center learn how to shoot your own show?

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Arc Pyro would like to make a special offer for any fire department that is interested in a community event or school cooperation activity. We would offer you a 5% discount on any products and shooter school credit with purchase. All you need to do is register at www.arcpyro.com/training and

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OSFA STATE FIRE SCHOOL

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201819

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Bre Horn

May 3-6, 2018 STATE-OF-THE-ART TRAINING At Tulsa FD’s Fire Training Facility & Tulsa Comm. College NE

The #1 Free Fire Training Event in the Southwest United States 4 Days u 135 Classes u All for FREE

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Register Online at www.osfa.info

educational advisory Report Marshall FD

Educational Advisory Committee Let’s get ready to train!

These past few months have flown by as we have been working hard to prepare for the 2018 Oklahoma State Fire School.

This is my first year serving on the committee and I’m excited to help bring this together and help get the training to the individuals and organizations that may not otherwise get this training.

Our goal is to give FREE, top-notch training that is not offered everywhere, to all those willing to come out and join us to make this event bigger and better each year.

Please go online and register now at www.osfa.info.

You can take a single day of training or go to all 4 days of training being offered. There are classes for everyone, whether you have been serving your community for a short period of time or for many years.

The classes have been split up into 2, 4, and 8 hour classes to help be able to take multiple classes in a day, making the most of your time in Tulsa.

We have reviewed many classes submitted for the Oklahoma State Fire School and have picked some great classes, such as Big Rig Rescue, Grain Bin Operations, Leadership Challenges in Today’s Volunteer Emergency Services Organizations, Medical Response to the FireFighter Mayday, and many more classes.

Come join us and help better yourself, not just for you, but also to help continue to be the professional expected to show up when the public calls.

This is also a great time to meet new people, and not only learn from the amazing Instructors coming in to teach, but also those in the classes with you.

So make sure you mark it down on your calendars to come out and join us at the 2018 OSFA State Fire School. Until we meet up in May, you stay safe out there.

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20March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

16th Anual OSFA VOLUNTEER FIRE CAUCUS

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Feb. 3, 2018

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2018 OSFA VOLUNTEER FIRE CAUCUS We had almost 150 people show up for the OSFA Volunteer Caucus on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018. The Caucus was held at the beautiful Canadian Valley Technology Center on the outskirts of El Reno on historic Route 66. It was a cold blustery morning, but a warm welcoming vibe was felt throughout the interior of the building.

The morning started out with coffee, registration and fellowship. We had booths set up by our partner agencies such as OSU-FST, the State Fire Marshal with the FTAC (volunteer tax credit program), the Pension System, ISO/Insurance Commissioner’s Office, Forestry, Homeland Security, FEMA, ORWA, VFIS, and all provided information pertinent to the volunteer firefighters.

After an hour to visit all the booths and network with their peers, the volunteers assembled for the opening session in the large meeting room. Mike Duncan (Volunteer Member of the OSFA Executive Board) was the host and MC for the Caucus. Scott Kirby from Mill Creek (Volunteer Fire Services Committee Member) led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Tom Marcum from Mooreland and also a Volunteer Fire Services Committee Member, led us in prayer to bless the session and the firefighters still out on watch. OSFA Past President Mike Duncan introduced the guests present and President Matt Lay welcomed our volunteer members and friends.

Next, the attendees heard from Roberto Ramirez and his team from the Region 6 FEMA office on the AFG grants. The FEMA folks discussed some of the top reasons why grant requests are denied and how to prepare grants with a good chance of being successful. The attendees had several questions and were very thankful for the presentation, although it did create some doubts and concerns. Those were addressed to some extent later during the breakout sessions and everyone appeared to be excited about their chances in the upcoming grant periods.

There was an outstanding discussion led by Phil Ostrander, OSFA Executive Director, and Steve Lumry, OSFA Administrative Director, on the progress of resolutions from previous Caucuses. It was explained that the Caucus is actually an extension of the OSFA Convention where the delegates are allowed to gather in smaller groups to discuss and determine the direction their specific group believes should be taken on issues facing the organization.

The discussion evolved into some potential future issues, particularly running of lights and/or sirens on personal vehicles. The discussion was so valuable and informative that it put the Caucus nearly one hour behind schedule. After the thorough discussion, the attendees voted overwhelmingly that the risk was not worth the reward and the idea to introduce legislation allowing volunteers to run red lights was soundly defeated by a counted vote of the volunteer firefighters.

Chase Rankin, incoming Executive Director for the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System; Mark Goeller, Assistant Director/Fire Chief from Oklahoma Forestry; and Terry Detrick, President of AF&R, each gave updates on their agencies and organizations that were well received. Our thanks go out to AF&R for their sponsorship of lunch. There were plenty of great pizzas for everyone to get completely full and enough variety to find something that you liked.

After lunch, the attendees were divided into breakout sessions to discuss the topics of importance to the volunteer fire service in Oklahoma. Each breakout room, in addition to the volunteer firefighters, had a moderator to get the discussion moving, and a representative from the OSFA Volunteer Fire Services Committee, an OSFA Board member to hear the concerns and answer questions, and an ORFA Board member.

Phil Ostrander and Mike Duncan dropped in to each room to obtain a feel for the issues and concerns from each group. These discussions continued fervently for an hour and a half.

There was a tremendous amount of peer education that took place along with identifying the top issues from each group. The group elected a spokesperson to present their top issues to the entire Caucus.

At 2:45 p.m. everyone gathered back in the main meeting room to hear the spokespersons present the issues from their individual breakout sessions. Each issue was summarized and written down for the members to see and consider. After all of the presentations, each volunteer attendee used their votes to indicate which of the presented issues was most important to them. Two of the top three vote getters were then written into resolutions right there and the third became a written direction for the OSFA Executive Board to take appropriate action.

The members made changes and clarification and then voted on each resolution in written form to be presented to the OSFA Convention in June for further discussion, vetting, and action.

Finally, two volunteer members announced their intention to run for the OSFA 3rd Vice President position on the OSFA Board at the June Convention. Tom Marcum, Mooreland Fire Dept., went first and introduced himself to the members and stated his reasons for running.

Travis Harris, Kildare Fire Dept, followed up by explaining his stance on the issues and his reasons for running.

Following the Caucus, a social was held at the Montana Mikes Steakhouse with hot appetizers, tea and water. Some chose to have stronger beverages that were available for purchase.

A smaller crowd participated in this social and the discussions that began at Caucus continued in a relaxed pleasant environment.

By all accounts it was a very successful Caucus. The OSFA Board and Staff are very appreciative of those in attendance and those that sent their ideas and concerns through others so the OSFA can be informed and ensure that we are truly meeting the needs of the Oklahoma Volunteer Firefighters.

Thanks for coming and having your voice heard. We hope to see everyone at the Convention in June!

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201821

n

Volunteer fire service Mike Weinkauf

Orlando FD

Volunteer Fire Service Committee Hello my fellow Brothers and Sisters.

Well, another Caucus is in the books, and if you attended, I want to personally thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to have come out and spent the day with us. I would like to thank all the members of the Volunteer Fire Service Committee for their hard work to make this a great event for all those who attended. Also special thanks to Mike Duncan, Phil Ostrander, Steve Lumry, the OSFA Staff and the OSFA Executive Board for their guidance and support of this event.

We started the day off with a presentation from FEMA over the AFG Grant process and how FEMA goes about deciding who gets chosen to receive them. I must say it was quite informative for me and the other members of our department. This is a great way to receive funding for your department and to learn some of the things you can do to help your department’s odds of getting these funds. It was an eye-opening experience for me.

Basically, what we learned is that when they design the deciding factors for awarding these grants, you are categorized with departments like yours as in same size, area etc. Not as in your department is competing with the bigger departments across the United States which is often the misconception of how these grants are given out.

So, you need to tell the story well of your department in the application process in order to improve your chances of getting these grants. If you don’t tell your department’s needs very well you may not get chosen to receive these funds. Makes a lot of sense to me because if you are one of thousands of departments applying then you need to be able to let them know why your department is deserving enough to receive one.

We got to meet and receive an update on the Firefighters Pension and Retirement System from the new Executive Director Chase Rankin.

We also had an update from Forestry about their outlook of this year’s winter fire season and what they are considering for aide to help us all out when needed. It can also be very interesting to hear how they go about getting resources to the areas that they think are going to need the help the most.

It is a challenge that they do very well and I am thankful that we have such great foresters in this great state of ours.

American Farmers and Ranchers Insurance sponsored our lunch, and a big thanks to Terry Detrick for taking care of all the pizzas that we consumed.

In the afternoon, we divided the attendees up in different groups and we opened the floor for folks to voice what they believed we volunteers as a whole need to focus on to improve the fire service. Once again, I was very surprised to find out that most of the groups came up with similar concerns and issues when we returned to the main hall to go over and discuss what everyone had came up with.

The end results were two more resolutions to take to the convention delegates and a request to the Executive Board to take action on.

In conclusion, I hope that if you attended that you got to take some great information back home to your departments and I hope that you will make plans to attend next year and let your department’s voice be heard.

22March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF

Member Services Coordinator

Robert Jones

Terri Williams

Executive Director

n January 19, 2018 MEETING Members Present: Matt Lay, Mike Kelley, Dana Cramer, Michel Duncan, Scott Vanhorn, Jim Long, Craig Freeman, Janet Kohls, Dereck Cassady, Herb Bradshaw, Frank Stone, Brandy Manek.

Member Absent: Eric Harlow.

Others: 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; Ted Aronson, AJO; Craig Auwaerter and Glenn Fortin, Beutel Goodman; John Carl, WCM. Gordon R. Carriger/Claremore/Claremore - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 1, 2018: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Vanhorn to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective January 1, 2018. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Manek, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Joe Voss/Edmond – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 1, 2018: Motion was made by Kelley and seconded by Duncan to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective January 1, 2018. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Manek, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

John-Paul Watson/Lawton - Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 10, 2018: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Cassady to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” effective January 10, 2018 Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Manek, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jimmy L. Secrist/Moore – Application For Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 1, 2018: Motion was made by Long and seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective January 1, 2018. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Manek, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Todd J. Sexton/Norman – Application For Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 1, 2018: Motion was made

by Bradshaw and seconded by Long to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective Janaury1, 2018. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Manek, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Mark W. Argo/Oklahoma City – Application For Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 1, 2018: Motion was made by Bradshaw and seconded by Kelley to modify the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” to “Service”, effective January 1, 2018.

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

Carl W. Bunch/Stillwater – Application For Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Efffective January 1, 2018: Motion was made

by Long and seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty, effective January 1, 2018. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw.

Nayes: Stone, Freeman, Kohls, Mankek. Motion carried.

Request To Declare Jeffrey Scott White/Oklahoma City As A Death In The Line Of Duty: Motion was made by Vanhorn and seconded by Long to approve Jeffrey Scott White’s death as a Death in the Line of Duty. Ayes: Lay, Cassady, Freeman, Stone, Cramer, Duncan, Long, Manek, Kohls, Vanhorn, Kelley, and Bradshaw.

Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Vicki Mulbery

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

Martha Pierce

Accounts Payable Administrator

Chase Rankin

Assistant Director (COO)

Controller

Duane Michael

Than Dinh

Thelisha Clark

Records Administrator

Latoya Battle Data Processor

Assistant Controller

Assistant Director (CFO)

n CONSENT AGENDA (February 16, 2018) CHECKS TERMINATED IN JANUARY 2018 (Deceased): Ardmore Peggy Chamberlain Newcastle Enid Everette Brewer Okeene Frederick Judith L. Gilbreth Oklahoma City Guymon Aurelia T. Grove Owasso Miami Otis J. Smith Ringling

Ronald D. Sauer Betty L. Goforth Wanda L. Ferrish Doris L. Cramer Doin J. Morgan

Sayre Stringtown Tecumseh Tulsa Tulsa Wagoner

$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT: Aline Lanman Funeral Home, Inc. On Behalf Of Tim Leierer Bethany Mercer-Adams Funeral Service On Behalf Of Charles R. Michael Chandler Gayle Smith, Widow Of Benjamin Wert Durant Holmes-Coffey-Murray Funeral Home On Behalf Of Franklin D. Percell Enid Anderson-Burris Funeral Home On Behalf Of Everette L. Brewer Fort Cobb Fort Cobb Funeral Home On Behalf Of Thurman O. Evans Goltry Henninger-Hinson Funeral Home On Behalf Of Richard S. Severin Helena Roger Scott Nichols, Child Of Roger L. Nichols Helena Cody M. Ward, Child Of Roger L. Nichols Mannsville Geraldine E. Gray, Widow Of Charles E. Gray Miami Randall Smith, Child Of Otis J. Smith Newcastle Wilson-Little-Funeral Home On Behalf Of Ronald Dean Sauer Oklahoma City Resthaven Funeral Service On Behalf Of Melvin Lummus Oklahoma City John Ireland Funeral Home On Behalf Of Jeffrey S. White Stringtown Brown’s Funeral Service On Behalf Of Carl Brown The Village Demuth Funeral Home On Behalf Of Samuel G. Fox Tulsa Ruby June Slankard, Widow Of Gearold A. Slankard Tulsa Mowery Funeral Home On Behalf Of Jay M. Stickles Westville Roberts & Hart Funeral Home On Behalf Of Michael A. Johnson APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM: Blackwell Lane Brown Idabel Cole Reece Blackwell Izak Dilley Lone Grove Michael Smith Blackwell Roger Feaster McAlester Tanner Gregory Blackwell Cole Whelton Nicoma Park Braxton Dickerson Broken Arrow Braden Lyon NW Rogers Tanner Dimarco Clinton Justin Hill NW Rogers Kole Koenig Clinton Joseph Williams Oak Cliff Christopher Kent Collinsville Tyler Cole Sand Springs Brian Boyd Cordell Jamey Vanderpol Sapulpa Jordan Combs

Opal L. McBane Carl Brown Lena M. Barnett Gearold A. Slankard Bette Walker Daniel J. Easterling

Skiatook Stillwater Stillwater Stillwater Stillwater Tuttle Yukon

Michael Anderson Tyson Cooper Dakota Markes Bradyn Pressnall Joshua Sherman Kyle Kelley Robert McGuire

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION: 02/01/2018 Blackwell Nancy Whittenburg, Widow Of James Whittenburg 02/01/2018 Chickasha Sharon L. Meigs, Widow Of Michael R. Meigs 02/01/2018 Clayton Janice Alexander, Widow Of Charles Alexander 02/01/2018 Coalgate Donna G. Robson, Widow Of Randy S. Robson 02/01/2018 Davenport Sharon Burden, Widow Of Ronald E. Burden 02/01/2018 Manitou Cynthia Henricks, Widow Of Ricky Hendricks 02/01/2018 OKC Margie Factory, Widow Of Harold Factory 02/01/2018 Picher Loretta Ware, Widow Of Clell Ware 02/01/2018 Ponca City Mary E. Fike, Widow Of Gary R. Fike 02/01/2018 Ponca City Virginia E. Taylor, Widow Of Robert Taylor 02/01/2018 Pond Creek Jerrilyn Lee, Widow Of Harold D. Lee 02/01/2018 Ringwood Joan Unruh, Widow Of Gary D. Unruh 02/01/2018 Seminole Diana L. Knowles, Widow Of Michael L. Knowles 02/01/2018 Union City Edweena Sanders, Widow Of Bob G. Sanders 02/01/2018 Weleetka Cathy Gorden, Widow Of Tommy L. Gorden APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION: 01/01/2017 Carmen Roger Curry 02/01/2018 Carmen Larry A. Schwahn 02/01/2016 Collinsville Timothy P. Nelson 01/01/2017 Dustin Donna J. Brown 10/01/2017 Gotebo David B. Osmond 02/01/2018 Indiahoma Tim L. Fischer 12/01/2017 Loco Glenn R. Knutson 02/01/2018 Lone Grove Curt Kott 02/01/2018 Mounds Jeffrey D. Culbert 02/01/2018 Mustang Michael J. Defranco 02/01/2018 Nowata Robert D. Parrish 02/01/2018 OKC Robert H. Gable 02/01/2018 OKC Thomas W. Kloiber 09/18/2017 Olustee Rolland K. Rogers 02/01/2018 Ponca City Scott W. Layton 02/02/2018 Sand Springs Stan A. Smith 02/01/2018 Sayre Sammy L. Green 02/01/2018 Sentinel Greg S. Chandler 02/01/2018 Shawnee Jim F. Ogle 02/01/2018 Stillwater Robert L. Black 02/01/2018 Wayne Danny J. Claunch 01/28/2018 Wayne Brian E. Keeler

APPLICATION FOR CHILD FOR PENSION: 12/25/2017 Wister Jerri Hildegrant, Guardian Of Tristan A. Knight,

Child Of Joseph Knight (Deceased 12/24/2017) 12/25/2017 Wister Jerri Hildegrant, Guardian Of Rowdy H. Knight,

Child Of Joseph Knight (Deceased 12/24/2017) APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT: 05/16/2017 Jacktown Brian E. Gilliam 12/22/2017 Okeene Donald J. Kraft 02/01/2015 Ryan Stanley E. Barnes REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: William C. McNally Guthrie Blake A. Wiggins Idabel Adam Pitts Lindsay David Mason Tulsa

Hired 03/04/2011 01/18/2013 08/13/2012 02/01/2012

Terminated 01/14/2018 05/15/2016 07/25/2017 06/30/2017

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201823

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in memoriam

Page to ponder David Fincher

Lawton FD Safety & Health Committee

Reese Morrison, Midwest City FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Midwest City Assistant Fire Chief Reese Morrison on Feb. 13. He was 47.

Reese was working at the fire station earlier that day, and then went to watch his son play baseball. While watching, he collapsed and was transported to the hospital where he later died.

Reese started working for Midwest City FD in 1996. He is survived by his wife Shelley and children Shuli and Shea.

Stephen “Norwood” Dunham Tulsa FD Retired The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Tulsa firefighter Norwood Dunham on Jan. 23. He was 92.

Norwood worked in the family business, Independent Lumber and Material Company, until joining the Tulsa Fire Department in 1958.

He was a firefighter for the City of Tulsa until 1988, retiring after 30 years of service.

Jarate Dewayne Condit Asher FD The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Asher volunteer firefighter Jarate Condit on Feb. 6. He was 23.

Jarate, who also served as a Reserve Officer with the Asher Police Department, was killed in a vehicle crash while en route to mandatory training.

Public service was his calling and he was always willing to help anyone.

As I was driving to OKC a few months ago, I came upon a wreck on the interstate. It was an ideal day; it was a clear, dry Oklahoma late afternoon.

Due to advanced technologies in LED lighting, I could see the accident from miles away. As I approached, I could see the frustrated look on a young fellow firefighter’s face as he was standing at the rear of his truck holding up a sign that said “SLOW.” Drivers were whizzing by him without taking note of his warning. To be quite honest, I didn’t notice him either until I was right up on him.

During my career with the fire service, I’ve seen more than my fair share of rubberneckers drive through accident scenes. Despite this, I caught myself being mesmerized by the lights, which is why I didn’t notice my young brother. Maybe it’s because I’m simple-minded, or because I’m drawn to things that are shiny.

Maybe it’s something else.

I didn’t notice him because, despite wearing all of his PPE and a safety vest, he simply blended in with his truck. Had this incident taken place at night, I probably wouldn’t have seen him at all.

In 2013, five firefighters in the U.S. were killed while working traffic accidents.

Is it because of inadequate lighting? Quite the contrary.

The lighting on our rigs is too good. Drivers are being blinded or distracted by on-scene lighting.

The U.S. DOT Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices advises that all emergency vehicle lighting (you know, all the pretty lights) be used to reach the scene.

But once on scene, “its use should be reduced as much as possible.”

The manual goes on to say that if possible, try not to point your headlights towards oncoming traffic, especially divided highways.

I’m not picking on our brother at the beginning of this article. He was probably doing what he was taught, following his SOGs, or what he thought was the safest/ best place to stand during this incident. I’m using him as an example for us all.

Emergency vehicles are bigger, their lighting is brighter and drivers have more distractions than ever. For our safety, perhaps we should consider adjusting the way we work in these unique hazards.

NVFC Legislative Action: A Look Back At Successful 2017 on Capitol Hill

By Dave Finger, NVFC Chief of Legislative and Regulatory Affairs 2017 was a banner year for the volunteer fire service on Capitol Hill, but there is a lot still left to do.

The following is a list of accomplishments over the past year along with an overview of the work left to be done.

2017 Legislative Victory: Reauthorizing AFG/SAFER and USFA

The National Volunteer Fire Council’s (NVFC) top legislative priority for 2017 was reauthorizing the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs, which were scheduled to be eliminated via statute in January 2018.

Instead of being eliminated, AFG and SAFER were extended through FY 2023 when President Trump signed H.R. 4661 into law on January 3, 2018. H.R. 4661 also reauthorized the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) through FY 2023.

2018 Focus: Funding AFG/SAFER and USFA

While H.R. 4661 extends the grants for six years, Congress still needs to fund the programs on an annual basis.

In FY 2017 Congress provided $345 million each for AFG and SAFER. On September 14 the House passed FY 2018 appropriations legislation providing $345 million for AFG and $365 million for SAFER. At the time this article was written, legislation proposed in the Senate would provide $345 million each for AFG and SAFER in FY 2018.

The NVFC along with other national fire service orgs has asked Congress to provide $355 million each for AFG and SAFER in the final FY 2018 appropriations legislation.

2017 Legislative Victory: Tax Reform Legislation Includes NVFC Provisions

The NVFC also worked to include several important fire service provisions in H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. H.R. 1 doubles the federal cap on annual contributions into length of service award programs (LOSAPs), and creates a tax incentive for installing fire protection systems like fire sprinklers in commercial structures.

The NVFC also opposed language in an early version of H.R. 1 that would have increased borrowing costs for private, nonprofit fire departments. That language was not included in the final version of the bill.

2018 Focus: Additional Volunteer Incentive Tax Bills

The Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA) exempts up to $600 per year in recruitment and retention incentives that volunteer emergency responders receive as a reward for their service from being subject to federal income tax and withholding.

An extension of VRIPA – which was law from 2008-2010 – was included in tax legislation that passed out of the Senate Finance Committee in 2016 but was not enacted. That bill is expected to be reintroduced in the near future and the NVFC will work to ensure that VRIPA is included in it.

2017 Legislative Victory: Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) Funding Increase

The NVFC was also able to secure a $2 million funding increase for the VFA grant program in 2017.

On May 5, FY 2017 appropriations legislation (H.R. 224) providing $15 million for VFA was signed into law, representing the first time since 2011 that Congress has provided

more than $13 million for VFA. Then on September 14, the House of Representatives passed FY 2018 appropriations legislation funding VFA at $16 million, after an amendment supported by the NVFC increasing funding for VFA and the State Fire Assistance program was adopted unanimously.

2018 Focus: Continued VFA Funding

Final FY 2018 appropriations have not been finalized at the time this article was written and remain a top priority for the NVFC. The NVFC has asked the House and Senate to provide $16 million for VFA, in line with the funding included in the House-passed bill.

Restoring VFA to $16 million would equal the amount provided in FY 2010, the highest level that VFA has ever been funded at.

2017 Legislative Victory: House Passage of Firefighter Cancer Registry Act

The Firefighter Cancer Registry Act (H.R. 931) passed the House of Representatives in September.

H.R. 931 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to develop a registry of firefighters to collect relevant health information that can be linked to existing cancer registry data.

2018 Focus: Enactment of Firefighter Cancer Registry Act

One of the NVFC’s top legislative priorities in 2018 will be getting the Senate to pass the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act so that it can be signed into law.

You can use the NVFC’s Legislative Action Center to ask your Senators to co-sponsor S. 382, the Senate version of the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act.

24March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

www.osufst.org

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

March 2018 CLASS SCHEDULE Current as of February 15, 2018

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

All courses are FREE unless otherwise noted

Rehab for Incidents, Training, and Wildland (68257) March 2 (4 hours) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater

EMS Instructor Update (68063) March 8 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Enid Fire Department

Wildland Fire Fighting: Skills Train the Trainer (68004) March 10-11 (4 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka

VFIS Traffic Incident Management System (68005) March 11 (4 hours) Atoka Police Department

Vehicle Rescue Technician Level I Part B (67069) March 3-4 (16 hours) Eufaula Fire Department

Communication Training and Instructions (68394) March 8 (4 hours) Altus Community Center

Leadership for Small Departments : Training (68081) March 11 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka

Emergency Services Instructor (Instructor I) (67114) March 3-11 (32 hours) Great Plains Technology Center - Lawton

Hazardous Materials Technician Certification (66174) March 9 (8 hours) Oklahoma City Fire Training Center

NFA - Wildland Urban Interface Firefighting for Structural Company Officers F0610 (68006) March 10-11 (16 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka

Oklahoma Trauma Education Program (OTEP) (68256) March 3 (2 hours) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater

EMS Instructor Update (68064) March 9 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Enid Fire Department

Helicopter Safety Landing Zone (68255) March 3 (2 hours) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater

Advanced Fire Behavior (66249) March 10 (8 hours) Locust Grove Fire Department

VFIS Traffic Incident Management System (68258) March 3 (4 hours) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater

Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (67474) March 10 (8 hours) Fairland Fire Department

NIMS ICS 400 (EMI) Advanced Incident Command System (67869) March 4-5 (16 hours) Limestone Fire District -- Claremore

Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (67746) March 10 (8 hours) Ravia Fire Department

EMS Legal Issues (68252) March 4 (1 hour) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater

Calling the MAYDAY (67826) March 10 (8 hours) Pawnee Fire Department

EMS Documentation (68251) March 4 (1 hour) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater

Emergency Vehicle Driver Training: UTV/ATV (67995) March 10 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka

EMS Standards Rules (68254) March 4 (2 hours) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater EMS Protocols (68253) March 4 (4 hours) OSU-FST Classroom, Stillwater Curriculum Development (Instructor II) (67728) March 5-8 (32 hours) • $250.00 - Okla Emergency Responders • $400.00 - Out-of-state Public Responders Yukon Fire Department Trench Rescue Technician Level I (67070) March 6-7 (16 hours) Altus Fire Department EMS Instructor Update (68061) March 7 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Enid Fire Department Staging Area Management (68393) March 7 (4 hours) Altus Community Center

Oklahoma Emergency Vehicle Drivers Training (67997) March 10 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Wildland Fire Fighting: Foam Application (67999) March 10 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Wildland Fire Fighting: Fundamentals (68001) March 10-11 (16 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Wildland Fire Fighting: Fundamentals (68002) March 10-11 (16 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Wildland Fire Fighting: Skills (68003) March 10-11 (16 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka

Wildland Incident Commander’s Toolbox (68007) March 10-11 (16 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Alternative Fuel First Responder Safety Training (68013) March 10 (8 hours) Gage High School Auditorium EMS Instructor Update (68025) March 10 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Dewey Fire Department Electrical Safety for First Responder (68077) March 10 (4 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Leadership for Small Departments: Tactics (68079) March 10 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Wildland Fire Fighting: Fundamentals (68094) March 10-11 (16 hours) Slapout Volunteer Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (67475) March 10 (1 hour) Fairland Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (67747) March 10 (1 hour) Ravia Fire Department Emergency Vehicle Driver Training: UTV/ ATV (67996) March 11 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Oklahoma Emergency Vehicle Drivers Training TtT (67998) March 11 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka Wildland Fire Fighting: Foam Application (68000) March 11 (8 hours) Kiamichi Technology Center - Atoka

Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66705) March 13 (8 hours) McAlester Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66718) March 13 (8 hours) Ardmore Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66706) March 14 (8 hours) McAlester Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66719) March 14 (8 hours) Ardmore Fire Department EMS Instructor Update (68187) March 14 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Ponca City Fire Department Traffic Incident Management System (67983) March 14 (4 hours) Freedom Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66707) March 15 (8 hours) McAlester Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66720) March 15 (8 hours) Ardmore Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (66752) March 17 (8 hours) Ponca City Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (67789) March 17 (8 hours) Mid-America Technology Center - Wayne Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (67977) March 17 (8 hours) Case Community Center EMS Instructor Update (68058) March 17 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Antlers Fire Training Ground

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201825

www.osufst.org

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

fire service training

Dr. Erick Reynolds

March 2018 CLASS SCHEDULE continued

OSU FST Director

erick.reynolds@osufst.org 405-744-5727 (W) • 405-409-0961 (C)

Courses are subject to change

All courses are FREE unless otherwise noted Emergency Services Instructor (Instructor I) (68287) March 17-25 (32 hours) Vinita Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (66753) March 17 (1 hour) Ponca City Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (67790) March 17 (1 hour) Mid-America Technology Center - Wayne Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (67978) March 17 (1 hour) Case Community Center Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66721) March 20 (8 hours) Blackwell Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66722) March 21 (8 hours) Blackwell Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66723) March 22 (8 hours) Blackwell Fire Department NIMS ICS 300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (68391) March 22-23 (16 hours) Okmulgee County Emergency Mgmt Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMD-HazMat Emergencies (67496) March 23 (8 hours) Edmond Fire Department Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (67497) March 23 (1 hour) Edmond Fire Department Flammable Gas Emergencies (LPG) (67320) March 23-24 (12 hours) Roland High School Oklahoma Emergency Vehicle Drivers Training (68154) March 24 (8 hours) Lakemont Shores FPD - Eucha NIMS ICS 400 (EMI) Advanced Incident Command System (68389) March 24-25 (16 hours) Chandler Fire Department Fire Fighter II Flammable Liquids and Gas Emergency: (LPG) or (FLAG) Evaluation (67323) March 24 (8 hours)

Roland High School Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66724) March 27 (8 hours) Claremore Fire Department NIMS ICS 400 (EMI) Advanced Incident Command System (67874) March 27-28 (16 hours) City of Picher EMS Instructor Update (68218) March 27 (8 hours) • $50.00 - All Participants Chickasha Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66725) March 28 (8 hours) Claremore Fire Department Hazardous Materials Operations for WMD Refresher (66726) March 29 (8 hours) Claremore Fire Department Hazardous Materials Technician Refresher Part A (67537) March 29 (8 hours) Yukon Fire-EMS Training Center Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies (67965) March 31 (8 hours) Tahlequah Regional Training Center Hazardous Materials Awareness for WMDHazMat Emergencies Certification (67968) March 31 (1 hour) Tahlequah Regional Training Center

“Good decisions come from experience.

Experience comes from bad decisions” -- Ritu Ghatourey.

It seems to be that when we are younger, we tend to fall to one side of this equation. And as we get older and we have more scars, we tend to fall to the other side of the equation.

Scott Smith (and Brother Chris Neal) said it best: “Never trust a man that doesn’t walk with a limp!”

So, what does that really mean?

To the younger members of our profession, I would offer this answer to the question.

It means listen twice as much as you speak, especially to the chiseled, old, veteran. Because there is good reason why he, or she, became chiseled and old!

The greatest thing an old firefighter can do for a young firefighter is teach him or her how to become an old firefighter!

It means to observe how the veterans handle the people whose care they have been entrusted to cherish and take care of, whether that be the public we deal with on a daily basis or the younger people whom we know will fill our boots in the not too distant future!

It means doing the little things correctly. Typically, the big things take care of themselves. It is the little things that have a nasty habit of making and/or breaking us, personally and as an organization!

It means doing what is right every time!

We all make mistakes. I certainly have! Go back to what we learned in Second Grade.

There is never a bad time to do the right thing!

It means having a passion for this incredible profession that we all hold dear!

George Patton once said: “I wouldn’t

give a hoot in Hell for a man that lost and laughed!”

Be passionate about the fire service! Do not take a laissez-faire attitude towards the job. Find out what drives you, what you love to do, that thing that you would do for free, and become the very best you can be at it.

When you take this course, you make the entire fire service stronger and safer and people will seek you out!

It means, telling the people that you love that you love them, because in this profession, you never know when you might not get another chance to do that!

OK, the soap box just collapsed under the weight of this old fart, so I will step down!

The Destry Horton Wildland School was Feb. 16-18 in Lawton. The Atoka Wildland School is March 9-11.

In addition to these offerings, please make plans to attend the 2018 OSFA John F. Futhey II State Fire School May 3-6 in Tulsa. We appreciate the opportunity to help partner with the OSFA on this statewide -- and really regional -- training and professional development opportunity!

Also, FST will be holding its annual golf tournament May 2 in the Tulsa area.

Please support this tournament if you are so inclined. We use the proceeds from this event for purposes that cannot be funded using state funds.

Be careful in this wildfire season that is upon us!

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.

Call anytime you might have a question. The phone is always turned on!

The Osborn Memorial Legacy Scholarship The Oklahoma District of Optimist International created the Osborn Memorial Legacy Scholarship to honor its esteemed members, Ron and Judy Osborn.

This $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to a student who is a child of an Oklahoma firefighter.

Ron Osborn, who died in 2015 at age 71, served as Broken Arrow Fire Chief.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: APRIL 30, 2018 FOR APPLICATION FORM: www.osfa.info • There is not an age limit on the scholarship.

• All scholarships will be paid directly to the institution upon presentation of an actual bursar’s statement on applicant’s behalf.

• All decisions regarding the scholarships are at the discretion of the scholarship committee and are final.

26March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

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OSFA Executive Board Highlights

Roll Call: Matt Lay- present and presiding; Dereck Cassady, Present; Mike Kelley, Present; Eric Harlow, Present; Mike Duncan, Present; Dana Cramer (ORFA), Present.

Others Present: Phil Ostrander, Steve Lumry, Sheri Nickel, Tim Bartram, Caroline Reed, Eric Hamilton, Les McGee. Guests: Jim Minx, Chris Neal.

Presentation from AirEvac: Les McGee, presented the possibility of discounted memberships for the OSFA members (normal membership is $65 annually).

Correspondence: Thank you card from Buddy Lummus Family. Thank you card from Chris Bain. Thank you card from Cynthia White & Family in regard to Jeff White.

Fire Marshal Commission Report: Matt Lay Lay stated that he is not aware of anything going on right now. He said that everybody is watching legislation to see what is out there and he knows they will be doing a couple of classes for our Fire School.

Fire Service Training Report: Caroline Reed Reed discussed that they have a couple of regional fire schools coming up. Hugo will be Jan. 26-28, the Destry Horton Wildland School in Fort Sill will be Feb. 17-18.

You do have to preregister for Destry Horton and will have to fill out the security forms to get on base. You can still get on base if you show up without it but it will take you about 45 minutes to go through security. It would be beneficial for those students to fill out the forms prior to the school so they can get cleared and get on base.

They also have Atoka Conference March 9-10.

COMMITTEE REPORTS: Legislative Committee: Steve Lumry Legislative Committee met Jan. 10 and they were brought up to date on the current legislation. There were no bill numbers at that time. They discussed the Hunting and Fishing Licenses for volunteer firefighters. A sub-committee was put together to address specific language for that.

They will be meeting with Don Armes and Wildlife to work out their parameters for the negotiations with the Wildlife Commission to see if there is a way to get that to happen. COLA Bill’s have been introduced and all of the systems are in one.

There is also a bill on the Fire Subscription fees.

Public Education Committee: Lumry Public Education Committee had their very first meeting on Jan. 10. They had a really good turnout, people seem to be very excited about it and as a matter of fact, for a very first meeting this was one of the few that had pretty close to 100% participation. Some were on the conference call but there was only one person that did not make it or call in.

Bob Noll acted as a facilitator for that meeting which helped them out a lot to get off the ground and moving forward. They discussed developing standardized Public Education Curriculum for the state. Lumry stated CR Net is a resource for Public Education nationwide.

One of the things they spent quite a bit of time talking about is that there is no real Public Education training out there established for Public Education people. The training they get, they find on their own mostly from on-line sources, reading it and trying to interpret how to put that into practice.

They discussed establishing ways to provide training for Public Education. They leaned toward a game plan of offering classes at the State Fire School, and if that track fills up and stays full then they will look at doing something similar to what our Volunteer Caucus does, by bringing Public Education people together to meet and discuss their various needs.

If that continues to go well, then they can build that into a Statewide Public Education Conference with potential for a Regional or National Conference. They are going to take it in steps and as each one is successful they will move to the next one.

The committee is looking at doing different public education articles and putting them in the OSFA newspaper. That

January 18, 2018 MEETING

Upcoming Dates to Remember: 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 would not be public education articles in the sense of educating the public on fire safety, but to educate the fire service on what Public Education does.

They are also working on their mission statement, identifying and addressing their various audiences and they’re talking about doing short videos on Public Education type topics that can be put out through social media accounts.

There was discussion about possibly having one of the committee members serving on a Public Education Committee for NFPA and approaching this Board when that time comes for the Board to pay for half of that cost and their department paying the other half of that cost.

Educational Advisory Committee: Tim Bartram The Educational Advisory has met a couple of times since the last Board meeting. They went to Tulsa yesterday and met. They did some more work on classes that the committee had some questions about. Most of them we did some negotiating with and came to an agreement on. There was one that they did table; they want to continue to look at from Chief Naum. They would like to look a little more as to the logistics of it.

Fire Engineering did announce four names they would be bringing in: John Norman, Chase Sargent, and two others. Brian Brush got excited when he heard the four names and he feels that they are four really good names. There was another instructor that had applied through OSFA that Fire Engineering was going to go back and talk with. They may pick up the cost for him as well because it is somebody they are excited about coming.

Bartram stated they did meet with Chief Lloyd afterwards and went over specifically the Hot Classes. From that discussion there was one class that we decided not to offer.

Bartram is going to notify that instructor of that decision.

They have tentatively scheduled a meeting for next Tuesday to begin the scheduling process to keep us on track to have the enrollment live February 1st. There was some discussion by the Board.

Safety and Health Committee: Lumry The Safety and Health Committee met on Dec. 12 and have changed up their sub-committees. They now have a Cancer Awareness Sub-committee that will help advise our members to keep you, your bunker gear, and all those other things cleaned. They are trying to get on the cutting edge of that.

There is also a Risk Education Sub-committee and an Injury Prevention Sub-committee. They had a report of the number of firefighters’ deaths from 2016. They broke that down and discussed it. They talked about Hazardous Exposure Prevention Procedures which were recently implemented in Tulsa.

EMS Committee: Lumry The EMS Committee met and there is some interesting things coming out of it. They found some potential partnerships with people who are already working on GEMT (Ground Emergency Medical Transport) reimbursement

above your normal cost that you can get back from the Federal Government.

The Ambulance Association has already done quite a bit of work in that area. We are going to try and see if we can partner on it, if it is something going in the direction that we anticipate. We will help as much as we can because we think that will bring in a lot of money to the departments that run their ambulance service.

They have identified all the issues they want to address and there are 11 different areas, some of that is going to be combined and some of it will be addressed by the Oklahoma Department of Health. They are going to invite some people from the Oklahoma Department of Health to their next meeting to try and address some of those issues.

Museum Expansion Committee: Lumry Lumry stated that the Museum Expansion Committee made a recommendation to the full Museum Board that we move ahead with fundraising efforts.

Museum Report: Gene Brown / Jim Minx Brown stated that everything is going very well in the Museum. They have several more nozzles refurbished and have them on the trucks that are period correct with the trucks that we have.

One of the things that he would like to mention is that spring is on the way and they just cannot keep up with the lawn. After taking some bids and talking to different people, it is going to be very expensive to hire somebody to take care of that for us, bids are approximately $25,000 a year.

Brown would like to discuss hiring another full time employee since their staffing is down to him and two part time employees. He believes that if they can hire the right guy, they can maintain the yard and have somebody here full-time to do a lot of other things.

Lumry stated with the Museum Expansion coming up and being in the middle of fundraising, the grounds need to look pristine. There will be people driving by to see how it is being maintained.

They have gone back and forth trying to see what will be the best financial aspect, do we hire a lawn care company or do we hire an additional employee. Lumry stated that Brown has put together a work plan that should be able to allow us to keep up with what needs to be done in the Museum and the lawn care if we hire an employee. Or, we can choose to hire a lawn care company to make sure it is looking like a park out there all the time.

The value of that extra employee is that they would be available for other things and to keep the Museum covered.

There were days when Buddy still worked here that he had to go to a doctor’s appointment, Gene would need to run a Museum related errand and there was nobody but OSFA staff to cover the Museum.

It is also a situation where Brown is not really in a position to manage two or three days a week, take care of the overall business of the Museum or tasks he has be given because he has to be in there watching the Museum and running the cash register.

At this point after going through it all, it is our recommendation to the Board to allow us the authority to hire another full time Museum person to implement Brown’s plan. Lay asked, do you forsee any change in what we already budgeted for personnel or basically be about the same? Lumry stated that it would fall right into what is budgeted now. Lay stated that if we are not changing the budget line from what was approved back in November, the Executive Director recommends who and we can approve the hire. The Board gave the authority to hire a new full time employee for the Museum.

Minx discussed that they did a historic thing when they met as a Museum Board and they interviewed Art Cotton.

They eventually came to a motion on the floor to contract with Cotton Consulting for the expansion of the Museum based on what we are trying to complete with the Museum.

It was a 100% unanimous vote and we are now bringing that vote to you to confirm or denied as you please. The Museum Board met Jan. 9, 2018, and discussed possible action and approved contracting with Cotton Consulting for Museum Expansion Fundraising beginning Feb. 1, 2018.

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201827

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OSFA Executive Board Highlights

Minx stated that back in the days when he was first hired to be the Executive Director in the 80s, he used to think, “what do we need to do here, do we need to build an add on to the Museum or do we need to have a Memorial” and he debated that over and over with himself.

Finally he decided on the Memorial, which he felt was right and now it’s so wonderful to be a part of perhaps doing that other dream of expanding the Museum. The more he thought about it and spoke with Art Cotton after his presentation, it seems so fundamentally right for us. He feels that God has sent us this Firm.

Minx stated that he does not know the bottom line numbers yet but the preliminary was a monthly amount over a 30 month period. We were originally talking about raising $4.5 million. Moving forward, realized that was getting bigger and bigger.

Minx said that one time while Cotton was here, he said that he would raise $10 million or less for that figure and he feels that we should visit with him some more. Minx stated he has a proposal for the Board; say if we end up at $9 million, he would like to see us discuss an early completion bonus on that 30 months. For instance, if he did it in two years instead of 30 months, that we give him a bonus and if he gets it in 29 months, he would have a bonus equal to his monthly retainer or something like that. It is something we need to think about.

Minx would like to see us do this quicker, he said he might be able to do it quicker but we never talked about a bonus or anything. Almost any contract you see now days has a time phasing to it and there is a bonus for completing it early.

Volunteer Recruitment & Retention Report: Sheri Nickel Nickel stated that she has it all finished for last year and we came within $20 of spending all of the allocated money.

Reports were filed; we started approving people under the FFI portion and have already approved eight. They all have been scheduled for their Pension physicals, to get fitted for their gear; they are all already enrolled in their Firefighter I Programs.

A Lakewood firefighter was our first one, he enrolled and the class canceled. So he is going to enroll in one in Stillwater. She had to deny Mooreland, Red Oak, Boggy and Owens and Company. She is working with them to get properly qualified.

Nickel presented a Map, showing all the counties that are left to meet with and where her and Brown are going to work on getting to in the next few weeks.

She is scheduled to go to Muskogee next month and she is working on going to Okmulgee.

We were at the KNID Agri-fest last week in Enid for two days with OSU. OSU set their Grain Trailer and Nickel set up a booth. She stated it was the best show she had been to as far as talking to people.

NVFC Report: Mike Duncan Duncan stated that on Gateway 18 today at 1:00 they are going to do a phone call, first on understanding the AFG Grants. Dave Lewis from Maryland was the one who was going to talk about it. He taught a couple of classes last year at the State Fire School. The classes filled up completely and nobody else could get into it. They are going to record the phone call to distribute.

Globe Gear has a giveaway of 52 sets of gear to 13 departments around the United States. He stated that Missouri was the closest to us that received it. There was 870 departments apply for it, so the need is out there. The first 500, they paid their membership to the NVFC for a year.

They have a Training Grant from Josh Cellars Wines.

Their son, Joseph Carr, did it in memory of his dad, who was a volunteer firefighter. They are giving $5,000 for training to ten fire departments. They have approved two so far and still have eight more to go. One of the selection criteria is that the town has to be less than 25,000 population and there are more things through their application process.

OFCA Report: Steve Lumry Lumry discussed the Chiefs Winter Workshop next week.

It looks like it is going to be a well attended workshop; with

January 18, 2018 MEETING

currently a little over 125 people signed up and about 50 for the New Chief’s Workshop. Lumry expects close to 150 with walk-ins.

The OFCA Conference is coming along pretty well, it will be in Lawton and they have been working hard.

ORFA Report: Dana Cramer The Oklahoma Retirees have not met this month and there is not really any big news. Cramer stated that they are here to help OSFA in this legislative session that starts next month. He believes we might see some challenges there and not to be afraid to holler at them.

Cramer said that Brown made contact with Firelake Golf Course yesterday and pretty much confirmed the Retirees Golf will be there again this year with the same deal as last year. It will be on Oct. 10 with the way it is right now. They have been great to work with and seem excited to have us back.

Executive Directors Report: Phil Ostrander / Steve Lumry Ostrander stated that they all pretty much know what is going on. He discussed our current policy with American Income Life. Ostrander stated that Lumry is working right now to find out about the 9/11 Golf Tournament that Hooters Restaurants held and the beneficiary was supposed to be our Museum/Memorial. Evidently, the original contact is no longer employed there and Lumry has been working them to find out a solution for receiving the promised donation.

There are some other things that we need to look and see if we would like to participate in them again, like the Smoke and Guns. Wagoner County Emergency Preparedness Expo Sponsorship, we were there last year and there was a pretty good turnout. Do we want to participate in that again this year? There was discussion by the Board.

Ostrander discussed the Oklahoma City National Memorial has requested a donation. Now, they are working with us on the Museum and are going to participate with a representative on the Museum Board. They are reaching out and wanting to participate to help make ours a better facility.

Ostrander appreciates the Board for allowing the hire of the new Museum employee, Joe Thompson, retired from The Village. We have worked with him before; he has volunteered painting the restrooms and stuff like that. He should be a good addition; he brings skills to the table.

We are currently up to 200 electronic newspaper subscriptions. For awhile now, we have been mailing all the newspapers to the legislators and Ostrander thinks he is going to change that to electronic subscription. That way we can save on the production. Lumry stated the Facebook post we did on the electronic subscriptions generated more than we have had in quite a while. Ostrander reminded everyone about turning their articles in.

They have been doing a good job on getting the membership summaries in. We are already at over 8,000 firefighters dues paid for 2018. It is moving really well and we are at about 360 out of 553 fire departments that have already come in.

The outreach in the field, what Nickel has been doing out in the field is about the most important thing we have done in this organization in a long time. We have more and more fire departments calling and asking for help on issues with the Pension System. They have a meeting scheduled to meet with fire departments that want to get in the Pension System.

We are back to becoming the resource that we used to be.

Nickel receives a lot of phone calls that she deals with from departments with questions about the grant, membership, department operations, etc. Five different departments have contacted her in the last five days to get help with writing their grants for them. She will help them review them and help in anyway but we cannot write their grants for them.

Lumry went to Southeast Oklahoma on an invitation from Amy Howard because she was teaching a Firefighter I class down there. She invited Lumry and several other organizations for a Roundtable discussion with her Firefighter I class.

The staff is working real hard on outreach for us.

We are reviewing our website because it is still reported it is kind of hard to navigate. Lumry stated that we have a certificate from the Chamber of Commerce meeting from a

website company to come in and give a full blown review.

He had that done last month and she went over everything, as difficult as it is to sometimes find things, her own criticism was she thought our logo on the front page in the top corner should be a little bit bigger. Outside of that, the information we provide with the number of organizations that we have and the amount of information we have available to people, she said we cannot tell you a better way to distribute it.

She said as far as search engines go, we are on the first page of every kind of search that she could come up with when typing in firefighters, Oklahoma State firefighters, etc.

One suggestion she did have, that we may look at later in the year when we see how the budget is actually flowing is Social Media, not your normal Twitter and Facebook but things like Yelp that can help us to make sure we pop up when searching.

Ostrander would like for all to remember it is time for Awards for Convention. Lumry said that we have some suggestions for that. He passed out a list with all the Awards to be discussed in Executive session.

RedCross - Chris Neal Neal discussed one of the thing’s he has been doing is pushing their local mangers to get out to the fire service.

They are looking at opportunities to really serve the fire service.

He stated they work with you on Canteens and in some areas on the smoke detectors. They do not want to get out in front of our programs; they want to be supporters in the fire service programs. He said hopefully you will be getting to see more of their folks.

Similarly with Red Cross volunteers, they began to look at opportunities where some of our retired firefighters may be able to stay connected to the fire service. He plans on sitting down and visiting with Dana and the ORFA Board soon.

Neal stated it has been a great adventure, he loves their volunteers and they are absolutely amazing people with great hearts. They have folks that spend 30-40 hours a week volunteering. They would like to begin to work closer, catch our meetings and anything they can help us with, please let him know. One thing that has been pushed out in the last few days, that they have been under an incredible work load and it is amazing what they have had to face. With that, there have been a lot of fire deaths and it has been hitting their folks in the heart as well.

NEW BUSINESS: Consideration 501 (c) 3 for OSFA Lumry stated that Ostrander came to him and they discussed exploring the possibility of establishing a 501 (c) 3 Foundation for OSFA. Basically, run our Fire School and other things like that through there, so when people make donations it would be tax deductable. The new tax policy, we do not know how that affects anything yet but it is something we need to explore. There was more discussion by the Board.

FTAC representation at Volunteer Caucus (forms and explanation) Lay discussed that the Fire Marshal Commission has a set of three Commissioners as their Firefighter Training Advisory Committee (FTAC), with the remainder to be filled out basically from that group. Recipients of the Wildland Firefighting Gear Grant Program should be receiving those now. With this being the first of the year, they are hooked up on tax forms.

On the Agenda here, they will be at the Volunteer Caucus to provide forms and advice. They will be using OSU to verify training as much as they can. Reed stated they are partnering on a lot of things right now and believes that the FTAC Certificates will be embedded in their system. They will do some queries based off the training that is logged in to kick those out. They are working through that process now.

Adjournment: 11:54 a.m.

Next meeting: Feb. 15, 2018

28March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

Why Saint Patrick’s Day is So Important to the Fire Service

By Steve Lumry, OSFA Administrative Director I have been involved with the fire service for a long time. Throughout my 33 years of involvement in the fire service, I have always noticed the traditional tie between the Irish, St. Patrick’s Day and the fire service.

But, I didn’t really know why. I’m suspecting that you may not know the reasons either. So to help us both out, I did a little internet research, and this is what I found. (Most everything from this point on was plagiarized from Wilipedia and, of all places, the Celtic Clothing websites -- both open sources of information).

History of St. Paddy’s Day Saint Patrick’s Day -- or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, “the Day of the Festival of Patrick”) -- is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17th, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron Saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick’s Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland), the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish, in general.

Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, cèilidhs, (I can’t pronounce it either) and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks. Christians who belong to liturgical denominations also attend church services and historically the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday’s tradition of alcohol consumption.

Saint Patrick’s Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora (Irish living outside of Ireland) around the world, especially in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand. Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.

Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America.

In the 1840s, close to two million immigrants from Ireland made their way to America.

For many, the only work they could find was dangerous, low paying “service work” with fire and police departments. The Irish gladly took these positions, as it provided a means of income and acceptance into American society.

Once they began having families, their children (and their children) would follow in their steps. In a lot of large cities like New York and Boston, you’ll still find these departments dominated by Irish members even until present day.

Irish traditions in service Because of the rich Irish history in these service jobs, almost every police or fire department maintains aspects of Irish culture and tradition, including a bagpipe marching band.

Bagpipes are an important part of Irish culture and an Irish funeral. Police and fire work in the 1800s was especially dangerous, and it wasn’t uncommon to lose several members of a force at one event.

When these servicemen would have traditional Irish funerals, the sound of bagpipes quickly became associated in this country with a police or fire department member’s funeral.

That’s why you’ll still find bagpipes at almost any fire, police or military funeral.

In the early 1950s, the Fire Department of New York formed the first “Emerald Society” to help honor the Irish spirit and heritage of its members. Now, you’ll find an Emerald Society honoring American police officers or firefighters of Irish heritage in almost every major city.

Badge of honor Many historians say that Irish were at the forefront of organized fire and police departments, and that those services wouldn’t be in existence today if not for the Irish.

The Irish have a proud tradition in the military, police and fire departments all across America. While they initially took these dangerous positions because they were the only work to be had, it quickly became a badge of honor to serve their new country.

Since most departments do make an effort to honor this heritage, the bond between the Irish and police and fire departments is one Americans can always be proud of.

While this plagiarized information may not be the absolute truth regarding the history of the Irish heritage in the American Fire Service, it sounded plausible enough for me to repeat it to you.

Besides, it was pretty close to what I remember from the movie “The Gangs of New York.”

So, while you “carefully” celebrate this St. Patrick’s Day, you will have a vague understanding of why the Irish traditions are so prevalent in the Fire Service.

And if you see them out and about, take time to say thank you to the Oklahoma Fire Pipes and Drums members for keeping the tradition alive and all the sacrifices they make for us as fellow firefighters.

Happy St. Paddy’s Day and cheers!

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 FirefighterMarch 201829

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30March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter

OKLAHOMA FIRE SPOTLIGHT

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BY GREG ROBERTS Norman FD Retired

CLOUD CHIEF FIRE DEPARTMENT Fire Chief: Nocona Cook Number of Volunteers: 17 Average number of calls per year: 40 -- Mostly grass fires and vehicle accidents

Size of CCFD response area: Approx. 100 square miles CCFD founded: August 2008 OSFA member Since: 2009

ABOVE: CCFD Fleet TOP RIGHT: BP-2 2016 Ford 200 Pump/500 Tank MIDDLE: Tanker 2 2003 Sterling/CCFD 750 Pump/3000 Tank BOTTOM RIGHT: Tanker 1 1995 Volvo 750 Pump/6000 Tank

Historic footnote: Cloud Chief was originally known as Tacola, and was the first county seat in Washita County. In 1906, Congress designated Cordell as the official county seat.

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

Oklahoma FirefighterMarch 201831

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32March 2018Oklahoma Firefighter