Cory Beagles: Volunteer Fire Service Committee Report Another one in the books ... The OSFA Volunteer Fire Service Committee began meeting in August of 2020 to begin planning the 19th Annual Volunteer Deer Creek FPD Firefighter Caucus, which was held Feb. 6. For the first time, the caucus was moved to Lawton and will now be rotated around the state each year. Our goal for this was to bring new departments to the caucus, regardless of membership, and hopefully result in new ideas and discussion of issues facing the volunteer fire service in Oklahoma. That goal was obtained, as we had several new departments in attendance and set a record for overall attendance with 125. The committee also decided to do away with the traditional “guest speaker” and opted to have department members present possible solutions to the usual topics brought up at the Caucus such as funding, recruitment/retention, leadership, safety/health, and training. This idea led to further discussion in the breakout sessions and resulted in new topics being brought to the floor for the creation of the three resolutions for this year’s convention, which were: • Finding better and more stable funding
for OSU-FST. • Doubling the amount that volunteer firefighters can be paid (from roughly $3,600/ year to $7,200/year). • Reverse the 2013 Pension rule requiring 11 years to be vested and 22 years to retire Overall, the 19th Annual Volunteer Firefighter Caucus was a great success, and we are looking forward to next year’s, as we have already had a department reach out that would like to host it in Atoka. A work in progress … Another great idea to come out of the Volunteer Fire Service Committee this year was the “Volunteer Oklahoma Leadership Training – VOLT” program. The original idea was to create a program similar to the “Oklahoma Ag Leadership Program – OALP,” where participants travel the state seeing how farmers and ranchers are successful in other portions of the state. Our goal will be to do a similar program but substitute the farms and ranches for fire departments. Our committee will be doing a trial run this year to develop a more formal itinerary and determine the best way to build this program to be “volunteer friendly” as it will require multiple weekends and travel to get the full benefit. Once the program is developed and ready to be implemented, we will be seeking sponsors to help fund it in order to keep it as cost-friendly as possible for the participants. If any vendors would be interested in
supporting this grassroots effort to promote leadership in the Oklahoma Volunteer Fire Service, please reach out to the OSFA and tell them you would like to help make the VOLT program successful. On the horizon … Our Volunteer Fire Service Committee was asked to help form a new committee to assist new fire chiefs, especially volunteer chiefs, as they step into their new roles. The purpose of this committee is to create a list of resources such as “fill in the blank” Standard Operating Procedures, state & national fire service organizations, city-county-state government resources and contacts, etc… The goal is to help newly promoted/elected fire chiefs take their first steps in leading their department seem a little less daunting, which will hopefully lead to the result of improving their department. It has been an honor to serve as the Chair of this committee for this session. As this was my first year serving on this committee, I have nothing to compare it to, but I would venture to say we have one of the best committees ever assembled with regards to truly having a desire to see the Oklahoma Volunteer Fire Service succeed. Thank you to all of the committee members and OSFA staff who have worked and will continue working for our Volunteers!
Oklahoma FirefighterMay/June/July 2021 15
