Oklahoma Firefighter Nov/Dec 2022/Jan 2023

Editor in ChiEf Mike Kelley mkelley@osfa.info

Sheri Nickel sherin@osfa.info

Managing Editor Penelope Soldan penelopes@osfa.info

or email

office (osfa@osfa.info)

Lawton FD firefighters win Memorial Golf event

Donnie Bennett: OSFA 2nd VP Report

The Oklahoma City Thun der had its most successful team within the organiza tion’s 14-year history during the 2012 season.

as a fan, he metaphorically explained that the outrage of an upset NBA fan would pale in comparison to a displeased “customer” of the fire service.

Oklahoma City FD

Led by coach Scott Brooks, the team was comprised of a young group of superstars such as Reggie Jack son, Serge Ibaka, James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook.

Responsible for over 501 points at the freethrow line, it’s statistically impressive that Kevin Durant’s free throw percentage during the 20112012 season was actually one of the worst of his career at 86 percent. During the 2011-2012 NBA season, the league’s average free-throw percent age was 75.2 percent.

The “free” in free throw is indicative of the shot being uncontested, unchallenged and relatively easy. Simply put, the free throw is a fundamental skill in the game of basketball.

In the course of my rookie year (2012) in Oklahoma City, I had a conversation about the fundamental skills of a firefighter with Major Clint Bowring (Corporal Bowring at the time).

During this discussion, Bowring compared the basic fundamental skills of a firefighter to the free throw of an NBA player.

He specifically asked, “Could you imagine what people would say if Kevin Durant, an expert basketball player, missed every time he stepped to the free throw line”?

As I thought about how upset I would be

When firefighters perform inadequately, we run the risk of ruining our reputation, serious injuries and loss of life.

Regardless of our organizational size or status, paid fire departments, volunteer fire departments and combination fire departments are held in high esteem and considered experts in our respective coverage areas.

While it is extremely important to never forget the fundamental skills of a firefighter (free throws), we should strive to improve our knowl edge, skills and abilities beyond the basics.

Obtaining meaningful education in various disciplines will assist us, both individually and organizationally, in truly becoming a multifacet ed asset to the communities that we serve.

In closing and in encouragement, I leave you with a famous quote from Ambrose Redmoon that goes, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The timid presume it is lack of fear that allows the brave to act when the timid do not. But to take action when one is not afraid is easy. To refrain when afraid is also easy. To take action regardless of fear is brave.”

When shooting free throws becomes easy, simply keep adding skills to your repertoire, and continue being courageous. As always, be safe and stay ready!

OSFA Archive

The Final Fire Alarm sounded for Retired Oklahoma City Fire Chief Byron Hollander on July 24. He was 86. Byron joined the Oklahoma City FD in 1955 and spent 26 years there, the last 12 years as OKC Fire Chief.

During his years as Fire Chief, he helped to move the department toward modernization and had most of the old fire engines replaced with the latest in fire fighting equipment.

He was also heavily involved in helping fire prevention education to be come a priority in the OKC community and many other community service projects.

Byron was OSFA President in 1968 and served as Oklahoma’s State Fire Marshall for eight years.

When Byron Hollander was elected OSFA 3rd Vice President in 1964, he was assigned the project of formulating all the planning for OSFA’s new building.

He worked long and hard on this program, and he presented a preliminary report on the project during the convention in Woodward in 1965.

In 1966, a resolution was enacted to increase OSFA’s annual membership dues to provide adequate funds to construct the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum and OSFA office complex in Oklahoma City.

A state-wide raffle was conducted with a Cadillac automobile and a color television set given as the grand prizes. The raffle produced $45,000 and these funds were used to initiate the construction of the building.

The building was completed and occupied in March 1969 and the Museum was opened on June 1, 1970.

2022-23 OSFA EXECUTIVE BOARD

PRESIDENT

Jim Ed Nimmo

Tulsa FD

jimnimmo7@gmail.com

1ST VICE PRESIDENT

Tony Lopez

Midwest City FD

tlopez@midwestcityok.org

2ND VICE PRESIDENT

Donnie Bennett

Oklahoma City FD donben1889@gmail.com

3RD VICE PRESIDENT

Cary Provence

Yukon FD cprovence@yukonok.gov

PAST PRESIDENT

Cliff Davidson

Ringwood FD davidsoncliff@yahoo.com

UPCOMING EVENTS

Jan. 25-27, 2023

OFCA Winter Workshop in Stillwater

Feb 4, 2023

OSFA Volunteer Caucus at Kiamichi Tech in Atoka

April 12-14, 2023

OFCA Conference in Lawton

June 6, 2023

42nd ORFA Convention in Tahlequah

June 7-10, 2023

129th OSFA Convention in Tahlequah

June 7-10, 2023

91st OSFA Women’s Auxiliary Convention in Tahlequah

Byron Hollander, Oklahoma City FD

Byron Hollander & Jim Minx holding the first dollar donated to build the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum

Mike

Greetings Oklahoma Firefighting family!

I hope that everyone is having a good fall!

At the time of this writing we, just finished our annual Memorial Service to honor those who passed on in the previous year.

We had a great turnout and nearly 200 people watched the service live online.

I want to thank the OSFA and Museum staff for all the extra work that they did to prepare for the service! Thanks to the Oklahoma Pipes and Drums, Midwest City Honor Guard, Tulsa Honor Guard, the Midwest City, Moore and Oklahoma City Fire Departments, Chaplain Chuck Robinson and Past Executive Di rector Herb Bradshaw for their contributions to honoring our fallen brothers and sisters!

Additionally, I would like to thank the OSFA, ORFA, OFCA boards and past presidents for their support and attendance at the service. This association is special and that service and the Memori al itself showcase that fact!

The Volunteer Fire Service Committee demonstrated their dedi cation the last Saturday in August by attending a strategic planning session with Chief Dennis Compton in Stillwater (Photos on Page 12)

I appreciate everyone who attended and collaborated for the betterment of our fire service. A special thanks to Chief Compton for facilitating and to Craig Hannan, IFSTA/FPP for hosting and providing lunch. The committees of your association are constantly at work behind the scenes discussing issues that are important to

you, our member.

We are currently monitoring interim studies at the Capitol that can have positive or negative impacts on our membership. The reason that we do that is to preserve, enhance and protect the resources that are available to you on the frontline as you serve and when your service is complete.

The state recently voted to use over $21 million of ARPA money to fund a military and first responder total wellness center. That, coupled with a recent interim study on PTSD, showcased the fact that awareness is increasing and the discussions are ongoing to find ways to get help to those who serve and protect others.

The state has rolled out 988, a number that anyone can call if they need assistance with mental health. This resource is anony mous and available to anyone.

We too often put on a mask and act like nothing bothers us, often to the detriment of ourselves and those who care about us the most. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but instead likely the bravest thing we will ever do!

And it’s merely a recognition that we are human and that we see and deal with some unimaginable things.

As you prepare for the holidays try to focus on the many blessings that we do enjoy -- not the least being that you have the opportunity to serve your community and give back in an incred ible way! May God richly bless and protect you and your families this holiday season!

Mike Kelley participating in the interim PTSD study at the Capital

Mike Kelley speaking at the NW OK Task Force Meeting held Aug. 23 in Woodward

Sheri

Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean every morning. He would leisurely stroll along the beach and find inspiration to do his writing.

One night, there was a storm and as he took his walk the next morning, he found the beach littered with starfish. Far in the distance he noticed a small boy walking towards him, bending down as if to pick up something from the sand. Then he would straighten up and throw something far out into the sea.

As the two walked closer to each other, the old man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are throwing into the sea?” The young boy walked approached the old man with a starfish in his hand.

He replied “I am throwing the starfish back in the ocean. The storm washed them upon the beach last night. Now the tide is far out, and the starfish cannot return to the sea by themselves. When the sun gets too hot, they will die because of the heat. So I am throwing them back into the water before that happens.”

The old man was bewildered and wondered if the boy was simply stupid. He did not however want to sound rude. “But there must be thousands of starfish on this beach. It is impossible to save all of them. I’m afraid you won’t be able to make much of a difference”, he said.

The boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the water. Then he turned and smiled at the old man, and said, “I saved one more starfish, it did make a difference to that one!”

OSFA’s 2023 membership will look different, and just as the old man in our story wondered if the young boy was stupid, we expect that same reaction from those who are set in their ways.

In fact, we don’t expect that this will be a simple transition. Details will be arriving in your mail boxes in the coming weeks explaining how this change will work.

We are going digital and members will have profiles that will require accurate information be entered in order to gain access to their digital membership card. That’s right, no more paper card will be mailed out. Your cards will be available through your pro file, where you will never have to worry about losing or misplac ing them ever again.

I can imagine the grimaces on faces as I write this, but this is an exciting change that will save the organization money and time that can be utilized in other areas that will improve the over all benefit of your membership.

As the winds of change sweep through the OSFA, I ask for you to think of this story. Making small differences, one step at a time, will eventually help save the population of our members.

Antiquated ways may be appealing to those who don’t like change, but as time goes by, those ways become obsolete and puts us even further behind, and most likely our younger mem bers have lost interest and have no need for an organization that has no zest eventually leading to the demise of the OSFA.

Over the course of the next few months, as these changes be gin to take place, we encourage our members to reach out to our office with any questions or concerns. We understand that while some of you may be excited for this new format, change is dif ficult to others. We are more than happy to work through these new times with you, and hope you give us the same patience and grace as we all learn this new system together.

Just because it has always been done the same way does not make that the right way.

Museum

On Sept. 29, the Norman Fire Department sent its recruit class to spend the day at the Museum.

The recruits helped prepare the Museum and grounds for the upcoming Memorial Service by performing basic building maintenance, grounds maintenance, and reworking some of the museum displays.

Along with that, the recruits got the experience of operating a hand-pumped fire apparatus and seeing how fires were fought more than a century ago.

Hats off to Training Chief Jesse Mitchell and the NFD for making this day possible.

Gene

Firefighters Museum Director

Hello Everyone! We have been busy here at your Oklahoma Firefighters Museum.

Our 1959 La France Pumper is here. Thank you, Frank Wilcox (Tulsa FD Retired). The truck is from Pawhuska FD, and we will be starting work on it in the near future.

Firefighter Training

Keep an eye on our YouTube Channel -- OK Fire Museum -- to see our progress. And please sub scribe to our channel. We have it up and running and are adding content every day.

Ret. The

The Memorial Golf Tournament was a great success. Thank you for supporting our Museum and Memorial.

The meal served during the golf event was provided by NAFECO Fire Equipment. Our chef was Chet Thompson from Moore FD. The food was excellent and there was plenty of it.

This event wouldn’t be possible without all of your support. We look forward to seeing everyone next year.

And thanks to everyone who attended OSFA’s Statewide Memorial Service. We live streamed it and the turnout was great.

It is such a rewarding event for all of us to be able to remember the ones we lost over the past year. Thank all of you for helping make this a success.

I also want to thank our crew here at the museum. Without the help of Bob Noll (Yukon FD Retired), Lance Gill (our tech guru), Andrea Hernandez (OKC FD) and Quintin James (McLoud FD). All their hard work is what makes your museum thrive. Thank you all for a job well done!

Stay safe and keep warm!

1959 American LaFrance Fire Truck

On Aug. 24, the Oklahoma Firefighters Museum took a big step forward and accepted

the donation of a 1959 American LaFrance fire truck from retired Tulsa District Chief Frank Willcox.

The rig served in Pawhuska from 19592016. It is equipped with a 750 gpm pump and a 500 tank.

Pictured at below are (L-R) Museum Direc tor Gene Brown, Frank Willcox, Bob Noll and Harold Leake.

Hats off to Chief Willcox for his contribu tion to Oklahoma fire history and to Harold Leake for delivering the rig to the museum.

Shane Archuleta: OSFA Volunteer Fire Service Committee Report

The OSFA Volunteer Fire Service Committee has been hard at work this year already.

Our mission is to solicit and bring forth the interests, needs, desires, and requirements for the benefit of the vol unteer firefighters in the State of Oklahoma.

On Aug. 27, we met in Stillwater and had a strategic planning meeting, where we dis cussed initiatives and objectives our commit tee can work on implementing to aid current and future members of the committee in continuing progress on volunteer issues.

In the meeting, we came up with three initiatives, and a timeline of 36 months (20232025).

The three initiatives are as follows:

1. Enhance communications with the Oklahoma Volunteer Fire Service (VFSC) through outreach, use of technology, data and more direct communications with individual members.

2. Establish performance criteria and funding mechanisms for the Oklahoma Volunteer Fire Service including emphasis on safety, quality of training, and access to training.

3. Enhance the participation of the Oklahoma Volunteer Fire Service in the OSFA/VFSC to enable buy-in and participation for the goals and objectives of the committee.

Within each initiative, we established 3-4 major objectives we hope to accomplish with a timeline of when we would like to see them done. Our hope is that after each convention, when a new committee is chosen, there will be a similar focus and they can con tinue with the progression.

More details of the initiatives and objectives will be shared at Volunteer Caucus.

Our committee met on Oct. 8, and began planning for the 2023 Volunteer Caucus. It will be in Atoka again, weather permitting, on Feb. 4. We are also doing a gear exchange, and you must be present to claim any of those items.

We have another meeting scheduled for Nov. 5, where we hope to further discuss ideas for speakers or topics we may want to cov er. Be on the lookout for registration info and please remember that registration is required to attend.

We would really love to see anyone who can make it there. It is very important to us that you all feel you have a voice and can share your ideas.

Davis FD

Retired Mesa, AZ Fire Chief Dennis Compton (left) met with OSFA’s Volunteer Fire Service Committee for a Strategic Planning Meeting Aug. 27 in Stillwater.

Keith Bryant: Oklahoma State Fire Marshal Report

Fire Investigations, A Shared Responsibility

According to Oklahoma State Statute Title 74 Section 314 – Investi gation of fires – Report to fire marshal – Record of fires:

The State Fire Marshal and the chief of the fire department of every city or village in which a fire depart ment is established, and the mayor of every incorporated village or town in which no fire department exists, and the sheriff of the county shall investigate the cause, origin and circum stances of every fire occurring in such city, village, town or county by which property has been destroyed or damaged, and shall especially make investigation as to whether such fire was the result of carelessness or design.

Further in Title 11 Section 29-204 – Mini mum Rules and Regulations of Volunteer Fire Departments:

(g) The chief shall see that each fire is care fully investigated to determine its cause, and in the case of suspicion of incendiarism shall notify proper authorities. The chief shall secure and preserve all possible evidence for future use in the case of suspicious incendiarism.

Therefore, as codified in State law every fire is to be investigated to determine cause and origin and that this is a shared responsi bility between the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the appropriate authority having jurisdic tion.

The importance of this responsibility can

not be understated. The investigations of fires in Okla homa impacts life safety, curtailing criminal behavior (arson), the economy and fire prevention efforts.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office relies heavily on the cooperation of the local fire department or law enforce ment agency to ensure that fire investigations are con ducted in a timely, thorough and competent manner. This includes prompt reporting to our office and maintaining security of the scene and preservation of evidence.

When we are requested to provide assis tance with an investigation, our agents strive to respond within two to four hours depend ing on the time, location and availability of the agents.

Investigations that are eligible for immedi ate response include fires involving fatalities or explosions, fires with serious injuries, fires resulting in serious or multiple injuries to fire fighters or law enforcement, fires with known suspects or suspects in custody or fires with evidence of an incendiary fire.

Fires that OKSFM Agents may not be dispatched to include fires where no fire de partment response occurred, fires with known accidental causes, requests from private citizens or insurance companies.

Another key element in the quality of fire investigations is our working relationship with local fire and law enforcement officials.

We encourage those who we may be work ing with to know the OKSFM Agent assigned to your area.

We will gladly provide the appropriate Agent’s name and contact information to you if you don’t already have that.

We can reached at 405-522-5005 or by our arson hotline 800-522-8666.

Craig Hannan: Fire Protection Publications Director

Greetings Oklahoma Firefighters!

At the time of this writing, fall is in the air and the beginnings of the win ter wildland season are upon us.

At IFSTA/FPP, we are seeking applications for two upcoming IFSTA committees -- the Building Construction Related to the Fire Service, 5th edition and Fire Service Rope Rescue, 1st edition.

If you are interested in applying, please complete an application at the following link by Dec. 2 -- https://www.ifsta.org/about-us/ ifsta-validation-committees

All applicants will be notified of the results of their application by early February 2023. Those selected will begin their work at the IFSTA Conference in July 2023.

Leadership, mentoring and coaching are often heard words, but what does it look like in practice?

In our organization, introspection revealed that many internal issues arose because of a lack of training to meet expectations. Spe cifically, our supervisors were trained to meet checkboxes on forms, but not to manage our most important resource, our staff.

A passive approach in developing future leaders left too much to chance and was a weakness in securing a success ful future.

Earlier this year, FPP implemented a training program for all supervisors designed to bring practical leadership skills into our workplace. The program includes a variety of assessments to increase self-awareness, strengths and weaknesses.

Additionally, training on coaching and mentoring is offered to help our supervisors be the first line advocate and leader for our staff. The classes thus far have resulted in discussions on common issues that increase accountability and consistency.

The program is a work in progress expected to last 12-18 months. Time will tell of the true success of this investment of time and resources.

However, actively working to improve our leadership and staff every day gives us the best chance of remaining the fire service leader in producing high quality, technically accurate, state-of-theart, and affordable fire training and educational materials.

Until next time, be safe, be well, be well trained.

Perkins FD

Keith Bryant speaks at the 2022 Oklahoma Public Education Summit held Sept. 20 in Tulsa.

Sales@sosfirellc.com

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Kerr Ave. Poteau, Ok. 74953

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James Fullingim: ORFA President’s Report

ORFA established the Cornerstone Committee three years ago primarily to assist with member ship which was the responsibility of the 3rd Vice President.

Since that time, the committee has certainly become the cornerstone of ORFA and has grown to 26 members and has greatly increased involvement. The current struc ture of the Board identifies the 2nd Vice President as the Chairman of the committee with the 3rd Vice President serving as the Vice Chair.

The committee has fours sub-committees this year -- Membership, Financial/Fundraising, Legislative and Constitution/Resolutions. These sub-committees have been active this year and have already reviewed the constitution and will begin to work on resolutions soon.

The other sub-committees have had their initial meetings this year, as well.

The pension is obviously a concern for all of us this year. As always, a COLA is needed and deserved, even more so with the infla tion we have experienced over the past two years.

Additionally, we have a need to increase the death benefit which has been significantly outpaced by inflation and address an increase in the multiplier for the volunteers.

The difficulty is that along with the inflation we each feel every day is the downturn in the investment world that is taking a substan tial toll on our pension system.

While ORFA will continue to advocate for a COLA and an increase in the death benefit this year, I am concerned that we will not have much support.

Personally, I believe it is time to address the impact the grow ing portion of the Pension that is comprised of Plan B dollars. The Pension Board attempted to address this issue a few years back by requiring the retirees to withdraw their Plan B interest every year, however there is an ongoing lawsuit that has placed an injunction on that action that alone would not likely correct the problem.

It is time look for a meaningful resolution to this problem to pro tect the pension indefinitely for those of us who are already retired, as well as those who will retire in the future.

We must realize that the ability for the system to provide timely COLAs impacts all retirees while the compounding interest granted to Plan B accounts under the current system only benefits a few of us.

With that being said, I will be requesting the Cornerstone Commit tee bring forward a resolution to the ORFA convention in 2023 to help solve this problem.

2022-23 ORFA Executive Board

PRESIDENT James Fullingim, Norman nfdchief@hotmail.com

1ST VICE PRESIDENT

Mike Duncan, Dewey mduncan51@aol.com

2ND VICE PRESIDENT

Dr. Erick Reynolds, Milfay rerick@osufpp.org

3RD VICE PRESIDENT Marshall Dunnam, OKC dunnamm@yahoo.com

PAST PRESIDENT

A.K. “Yogi” Cole, Tulsa ycole@ipa.net

In order to better communicate with our members, your contact information needs to be updated.

Please call the OSFA office at 405-424-1452 to verify your email and cell phone info.

Sara Johnson: OSFA Women’s Aux Report

Hello Firefighter Family! I hope we are all enjoying the weather, as it is finally cooling off as we welcome fall.

I would like to give a thank you to all the firefighters statewide who helped fight grass fires this summer and all the people who came together to help sup port them.

That includes Oklahoma State Wom en’s Auxiliary Board Members Haley Thompson and Courtney Thompson. They gathered supplies needed and drove them to Fargo, OK, to help with relief.

Also, I experienced my first Memorial Service and helped the families honor their loved ones. Thank you, OSFA, for asking the Women’s Auxiliary to help.

On Dec. 3, we will be hosting our Women’s Auxiliary Christmas Party at 11 a.m. at the Oklahoma Firefighters Muse um. We would love to see everyone and encourage you to bring a friend.

If you are not a member or you know someone who would love to become a member, or just want to know what we do, we would love to meet you and get to know you. We will be wearing our ugly sweaters and doing a gift exchange ($20 or less).

Courtney

SEC/TREASURER

Does your auxiliary to support your firefighters? Do you want to be a member of the Oklahoma State Women’s Auxiliary?

If you need information for either one of these questions, please feel free to contact a Women’s Auxiliary Board Member and we will be more than happy to assist you.

ORFA DIRECTOR Tippy Pierce, Moore fftip@swbell.net

Ret. Norman

Ada James H. Manning

Ada Don L. Moore

Ada Chester S. Sneed Jr

Altus Gayland L. Kellison

Alva Delbert G. Rhodes Sr

Amber Jerry L. Kennedy

Anadarko Ronald D. Edwards

Arapaho Donald Kisinger

Ardmore Alvin Hardison

Atoka Billy G. Miller

Barnsdall Cleve D. Javine

Bartlesville John L. Barger

Bartlesville Glenn R. Hall

Bartlesville Joe D. Kirchner

Bartlesville Andrew J. Wilson

Beaver Herman D. Meier

Billings Billy D. Whitchurch

Blackwell John C. Estes

Boynton Ronald M. Ray

Broken Arrow Gerald W. McConnell

Broken Bow Bob Laster

Caddo Dwight D. McKay

Canton Robert Haigler

Canute Monty G. Brinkley

Cashion Charles R. Kordis

Checotah Kelton Buck

Cherokee Bobbie C. Allen

Chickasha James E. Jackson

Chickasha John R. Saxon

Clayton Forest B. Walker Clinton Louie Joe Beauchamp Colony Donnie Melton

Comanche Jimmie P. Sanders

Coweta Max A. Cole

Cushing Oren D. Jones

Deer Creek Glenn Wicke

Depew Jack Lane

Drummond Jay A. Boehs

Drumright Bob Morrow

Edmond James M. Carpenter

Elgin Lonnie Burnett

Enid Don R. Froese

Enid Ralph C. Krehbiel

Enid Buddy G. Lowe

Enid Ronald L. Moritz

Fairview T. Patrick Howerton

Fort Supply Frankie L. Hunter

Fort Supply Eugene T. Munson

Gage Larry Lalicker

Gate Robert Heglin

Geary George L. Wright

Gould Jimmy B. McGee

Grandfield Jerry Josefy

Hammon Wendell Herndon

Hartshorne John W. Ranallo

Healdton Laurence F. Ingrum

Heavener Joe A. Johnson

Henryetta Eugene V. Devore

Henryetta Nowell W. Flanagan

Hinton Ricky Dahlenburg

Holdenville Weldon L. Thetford

Hooker Forest E. Osborn

Hugo Bill Hardaway

Hugo John P. Howser

Hulbert Michael R. Pate

BALKO EDGEWATER PARK Jason Smith April Partridge

Idabel David B. Martin

Kaw City Larry W. Gardner Keota Jimmy Seyler Ketchum Billy W. Sallee Ketchum John B. Shellenbarger Kingfisher Curtis M. Stumpf

Kiowa Kenneth H. Battles Kremlin Billy Simmons Lawton Dale C. Eberhart Lawton Lawrence R. Morgan Lawton Andrew E. Valdez

Locust Grove Dennis Kern Locust Grove Ray L. Vaughn Madill Eugene Christopher Mannford Gary M. McBride Marlow Terry L. Jones Maud James L. Haws Medford Donald G. Curl Midwest City Michael K. Converse Midwest City Kenneth D. Edwards Midwest City Harold Forrester Jr Midwest City Phillip L. Tucker Milburn Stanley Elkins Moore James W. Clark Jr Mounds Raymond E. Pyle Muskogee Charles T. Abbott Muskogee Jerald L. Allison Muskogee Larry D. Cragg Muskogee John D. Field Muskogee Meredith D. Lacey Muskogee Emmitt O. Maxey Muskogee Jerry D. Youngblood Nichols Hills Ronald L. Stone Noble David M. Hartless Noble James E. Stufflebean Oklahoma City Raymond E. Andrews Oklahoma City Raymond F. Baker Oklahoma City Gayle D. Clark Oklahoma City Wade E. Creekmore Jr Oklahoma City Marvin E. Daniels Oklahoma City Jimmy D. Davis Oklahoma City Donald H. Everett Oklahoma City Donald R. Godwin Oklahoma City Wayne C. Goodgion Oklahoma City Byron D. Hollander Oklahoma City Denny L. Kennedy Oklahoma City Calvin W. Mason Oklahoma City William L. McDonald Oklahoma City Howard Dean Owens Sr Oklahoma City B.W. Scott Jr Oklahoma City Elzie C. Smith Oklahoma City Warren F. Southwell Oklahoma City Bud W. Sullivan Jr. Oklahoma City Craig M. Taylor Oklahoma City James M. Wakeman

Oklahoma City Don L. Windle Oktaha John A. York

Owens &Co Todd D. Owens

Pauls Valley Joe E. Eddy

Perry Harry E. Hughes

Ponca City James C. Hall

Ponca City Anthony H. Oates

Porter Darrell McCollough

Poteau Marvin L. Despain

Prague Harold R. Vanzant

Ringling Billy R. Stroud

Roosevelt Jerry L. Downen

Salina Charles R. Haley

Sallisaw Blakely R. Smith

Sand Springs Jerry L. Mellenberger

Savanna Jimmie D. Davis

Shidler J.D. Bland

So. Coffeyville George F. Baker

So. Coffeyville Roscoe D. Mullins

Soper R.L. Lee

Stratford Thomas J. Pickard

Stringtown Glen Mitchell Talihina Lloyd James

Texhoma Jimmy J. Callaway

Texhoma James M. Tanquary Tulsa Rodger D. Baker

Tulsa Kenneth D. Benford Tulsa Mathew C. Cain

Tulsa Phillip W. Carver

Tulsa Milo M. Dean

Tulsa Mark A. Dix Tulsa Wendell I. Evans

Tulsa Dallas L. Fortney Tulsa James L. Gibbs

Tulsa Arthur M. Goode

Tulsa Charles H. Lange

Tulsa Leslie A. Rogers Tulsa Hubert L. Rouse

Tulsa James R. Sanders

Tulsa Eugene E. Sellmeyer

Tulsa Ronnie J. Shroff

Tulsa Ronney W. Surber

Wakita Charles F. Schmitz

Warr Acres Monty T. Weaver

Weatherford Charles B. Meyer

Webbers Falls Paul R. Swearingen

Webbers Falls Eddie D. Ward

Wellston Richard L. Davis

Wilburton Joe D. Cook

Woodward Paul W. Benton

Woodward Donald Johnson Yale Terry W. Darling Yukon Rudy Sanchez Jr

(Determined by OSFA Executive Board)

Reed: OSU

FST Director

During this past quar ter, OSU-FST has been working diligently on our accreditation side of the house.

We were successful with our IFSAC site visit and all 17 levels are accredited.

We have been awarded several grants for the upcoming year. The first is an AFG for PPE for our instructor staff and mobile extractor units to assists in fight against cancer. Our OSHA Susan Harwood grant to support our grain safety training, Instructor I courses are funded through our NFA grant.

OFCA Ex Officio

Our new truck is in service and working wonderfully. Thank you for those who attended our push in Ceremony in September.

There have been several upgrades to our training facility out west. Please stop by and check them out.

As you can tell, we have been very successful in our pursuit of grant funding. We continue to work to get our state funding back up to 2007 levels. In Fiscal year 2007, we were receiving $2 million dollars annually in appropriations to train the firefighters in the state.

As of this year (FY2023), we received $1.1 million annually in appro priations. There are approximately 15,000 firefighters in the state, so that means we are allocated $73.33 per fighter to train everyone.

Those dollars are not enough to effectively meet the needs of the Okla homa firefighters. With inflation on the rise and costs of training materials going up, we are limited on the training we can provide.

It is my commitment to you that we are going to continue to provide low cost and free training as long as the funds are available.

We will continue to write grants and work with all of our partners to keep training available to volunteers within the state.

As legislative season approaches please keep these numbers in mind. Any assistance is greatly appreciated.

Question & Answers

you could go anywhere, where would you go?

Here is what they said:

w Steve Spencer, Ret. OKC: Heaven, because of my faith for salvation with Jesus Christ. John 14:6.

w Darren Alexander, Cedar Country: Back to 1985. Year I graduated high school. Freshman year at OU. Greatest year of my life before I had kids. Anyone got a DeLorean?

w Bert Norton, Midwest City: An elk hunt in the mountains of Colorado or New Mexico.

w Jeremy Goodrich, Yukon: Dominican Republic.

w Melanie Colvin, Lexington: Ireland! I would love to spend some seeing the geography and history of Ireland. The history is fascinating and I would love to get to experience it.

w Shane Archuleta, Davis: I would love to travel to Spain, as that is where my grandparents were from and I would love to see where that side of my family originated.

PROUD TO SUPPORT THE OSFA

w Randy “Rosebud” Rose, Ret. OKC: Getting to go to Destin Florida for the month of September to swim with the sharks, lay on the beach listen ing to the golden oldies and drinking Tennessee sipping whiskey and playing golf ... Heaven!

w Aaron Burns, Ret. Broken Arrow: Ireland, that is where ancestry.com say I am from.

w Joel Bain, Ret. Midwest City: The Four Seasons Resort in Bora Bora is definitely on out bucket list!

w Keith Bryant, State Fire Marshal: I would go back in time to not make some of the mistakes I made or fix some of the ones I did.

w Mike “Rookie” Billingsley, Ret. Nichols Hills: Divide, Colorado.

w Ray Hammons, Ret. Tahlequah: If I could go anywhere I wanted, I would go back in time not to change anything I’ve done or not done, but to see the faces and hear the voices of loved ones now gone once again and to tell them thank you for all they did for me that I didn’t realize until they were gone!

w Kara Owens, Piedmont: Destin, Florida or somewhere in Tennessee.

w Eldon Henderson, Ret. Enid: I would take a trip to Patagonia in South America. This region has everything, from the Andes, large lakes, rain forests, deserts, with the Atlantic on one side and the Pacific on the other.

w Michael Baker, Tulsa: I would go to Germany. I spent several years stationed there while serving in the U.S. Army and I would like the opportuni ty to revisit the place that I lived as an older and wiser adult. I am sure that it will be just as much fun!

w Sara Johnson, OSFA Women’s Auxiliary: If I could anywhere, I would go to England.

w Mike Kelley, Ret. OKC: I would go visit the Holy Land, to walk where Jesus and his disciples walked would be an incredible experience.

w Tom Marcum, Ret. Mooreland: Ireland and Scotland. Both are on the bucket list!

w Bryan West, OSU-FST: When I was younger, I wanted to go to the Moon. Now I am not sure where I want to go.

w Donnie Bennett, OKC: I would like to go on a coffee estate tour in Guatemala.

w Richard Kelley, OKC: I would go to Ireland as I am Irish and I want to visit my heritage and drink a Guinness Beer in the homeland.

Oklahoma Firefighter asked last issue’s readers this question:

26th annual DAVID BAIN Memorial Golf Tournament

1st Place: Lawton FD’s Nolan Berry, Jason Davis, Mitchell Brittain, Alden Konermann

2nd Place: Terry Stone, Derek Rhodes, Logan Gore, Jon Gore

3rd Place: Jordan Powell, Trent Bagget, Gary Bonner, Gary Doty

Closest to Pin: Charlie Payton Longest Drive: Jay Mauldin

ALL team and individual winners donated their winnings back to the Memorial.

2nd Place Team

3rd Place Team Members Closest to Pin Longest Drive

Corey Conrady: The Rural Firefighter

This article is dedicated to all fire departments -- not just rural -- and the kinds of things we deal with as firefighters who live and serve in the com munities we have grown up in.

Building a Culture of Safety, continued

We learned last time what a Culture of Safety means. This issue, we will discuss further how to begin the process of determining the vulnerability of your department.

There are several tools to guide the process. One such tool is the Vulnera bility Assessment Pro gram (VAP) administered by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. This free assessment is available to all fire depart ments -- volunteer, career, industrial, fire/EMS, and combination services.

What is the Vulnerabil ity Assessment Program (VAP) for fire depart ments?

The Vulnerability Assessment Program (VAP) consists of five sep arate surveys which will assist fire departments in identifying vulnerabilities in organizational cul ture, including practices, policies, and procedures which could lead to a firefighter injury or fatality. Once a survey is completed, the organization will receive a series of recommended sources to help reduce or eliminate the identified risk.

The five surveys which compose the VAP are the Fire Service Comprehensive Risk Survey, the Quick 100 (geared toward smaller departments), the Company Officer VAP, the Cardiac Disease Pre vention VAP, and the Fire Service Occupational Cancer Prevention VAP.

A fire department may onboard the VAP with the survey of its choice, but it is recommended that every fire department complete the Comprehensive Risk Survey.

By navigating to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation website at (https://www.firehero.org/event/what-is-the-vap/) you can join a free “VAP” webinar about the assessment and train ing on how to complete it. The VAP can identify existing life-threat ening risks in fire departments and offers recommended solutions to reduce or eliminate identified risks.

The second Life Safety Initiative is Accountability.

As discussed in a previous article of this column personal ac countability vs personnel accountability, we talked about leading from the bottom and being a leader in your position.

So that brings us to the third Life Safety Initiative, Risk Manage ment.

Ideally, fire department risk management is designed to identify problems before firefighter injuries occur. By targeting situations

that could lead to potential hazards, you can reduce injury or loss to your department.

Too many lives are lost in situations where the risks were not justified. The fire service understands risks, yet the same accidents, injuries, and fatalities keep happening. High risk is only acceptable when there is a real possibility of saving a life. Fire command must carefully measure and control risks to save valuable property that can be saved.

I think we have all seen the video by Gordon Graham: High Risk/Low-Frequency Events in the Fire Service and Systems. If you haven’t, then head on over to YouTube and take a look.

Gordon speaks of systems. Systems for doing things, and doing them well. It also speaks to risk/frequency analysis. Everyone should listen to this because it pertains to every level from the Probie to the Chief, mom or dad at home.

Watch it and apply it to your department opera tions and your outcome will be better training, better communication, safer scene operations, & more engaged feedback to the question asked.

Feedback is key when it comes to risk management in the fire service. A risk management plan is only as good as its implemen tation and a risk manage ment system is only as good as its management as a whole. All of this becomes easier when everyone is on board, rules are clearly posted, and the benefits are clearly explained.

People in critical roles, for example, those handling communi cations, maintaining vehicles, managing self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), and handling personal protective equipment (PPE) are more likely to comply with standards when they feel heard. New personnel must also be trained on the specifics of your department’s specific plan of action for risk management.

I am looking forward to another year writing for you and the OSFA. Everyone have a great holiday season and a Happy “Safe” New Year!

Sources

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation leads an “Everyone Goes Home” Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives” plan on their web page https://www.everyone goeshome.com/16-initiatives that lists 16 attitude initiatives, we as the fire service should strive to implement in our departments.

The National Safety Culture Change Initiative (NSCCI) was developed to advo cate for the need for culture change for health and safety within the fire service. This effort is led by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), in partnership with the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA). https://www.ffsafetyculture.org/

Download the report at https://www.usfa.fema.gov/downloads/pdf/publications/ fa_342.pdf

https://www.firecommand.org/risk-management-firefighter-injury

Brianna

States in Fire Service, National Guard

Brianna Pruitt spent just over four years in the New Hampshire National Guard.

She served as a 92A Automated Supply and Logistics Specialist and was deployed to the UAE for about nine months in 2015.

“I’ve always had a drive to serve my country and community,” Pruitt said. “I wanted to travel and to meet new people, as well.

“While at PreMobilization in Texas, a few of the female soldier and myself bought Nerf guns. And later on after we had finished work for the day, we had a Nerf gun fight against some of the male soldiers. It turned into a smoke session because we were being rambunctious -- all in good fun. It was moments like that which made being away from friends and family easier.”

When Pruitt moved to Oklahoma, joining the local fire department seemed like the thing to do. After all, firefighters run in her family.

“My uncle, a few of my cousins and my older brother were on my previous department back in Vermont,” she said. “I saw all the good they did and how everyone they helped appreciated them. It made me love the profession more.”

Pruitt has been with Perkins FD for over five years and currently serves as a senior firefighter and EMR.

The events of 9/11 inspired Eric Halter to join the Army Reserve in 2001.

He did a one-year deploy ment state side, worked his way up through the ranks to Staff Sergeant and left the military in 2009.

The events of 9/11 along with his time in the military then inspired Halter to join the fire service.

He joined the Mustang FD in 2007 and was promoted to Fire Marshal in May 2021. He is a paramedic and will attend Cleet early next year.

“When I watched the terrorists attack our country, I wanted to step up and help in any way I could,” Halter said. “I love my country and honestly believe it is the best in the world.

“I am married with four children, and I want to give a shout-out to all the families of those who served in the military or fire service.

“I know at my house, my wife Laura has been the bedrock with all the time I was away from the family for military or fire.

“Laura was the one there for all the kids’ programs and sick nesses; she was the one who put more work in than I ever have.

“It’s easy to go out and serve and get all the praise. But it is very difficult to do all the behind the scenes work of keeping it all together with no recognition.

“So all you family members of those who served, Great Job! What you do daily makes a big difference and has not gone unnoticed.”

On the next eight pages are the stories of 13 Oklahoma firefighters who served or currently serve in the military.

Also featured are the stories of five Tulsa firefighters who served in World War I, World War II or Vietnam.

Many thanks to Tulsa Fire Historian Dan Little whose research and documen tation helps keep their memories alive.

Dan also compiled the following stats of Tulsa firefighters in the military. He continues to update it as information surfaces.

TFD Military Service At A Glance

U.S.

U.S.

U.S.

U.S.

Korean

Kevin Dixon Followed his Dad into Military, Fire Service

Several factors influenced Kevin Dixon to join the Oklahoma Army National Guard in 1988.

For one, he was able to serve several years with his father J.C., his unit’s Training NCO and Chief of Firing Battery in Alva. Another reason was that Dixon simply enjoyed shooting howitzers.

“I was hooked when I pulled the lanyard firing a howitzer at 17 years old,” he said. “My first weapon system was an M110 A2 203mm (8”) Howitzer and it literally shook the ground when the 200-pound round was fired down range several miles.

“During my career, I was involved with four other howitzer sys tems, but none to me seemed as impressive as the 8 inch.”

Dixon spent 21 years in Oklahoma Army National Guard, serving as a Cannon Crew member in Alva, Platoon Sergeant at Ft. Sill, Advanced Non-Commissioned Officer Instructor at the Regional Training Institute in OKC and retiring as a Sergeant First Class.

Dixon was also inspired to join the fire ser vice because of his father, who was a volun teer captain at Alva.

“One Halloween, as a young teenager, a group of us were ‘allegedly’ being mischie vous and ended up being chauffeured to the PD,” Dixon said. “Dad just happened to be at

Right after Pearl Harbor, Jack Sanders joined the Army Air Corps.

He wanted to be a flier, and he was assigned to the 453rd Bomb Group, 8th Air Force and stationed in Old Buckenham, England.

As a B-24 pilot, he flew 31 mis sions and never lost a crewman. Among his missions were two on D-Day — destroying a big gun in a French coastal town and then taking out a main bridge over the Seine.

Returning from his first D-Day mission, Sanders remembered

the fire department helping cover calls. And after leaving for a moment, he returned with all the necessary items to wax and polish the trucks at the station.

“We didn’t get much candy that year, and we never tried anything foolish on Hallow een after that little incident. Ironically, half of our little group from that night later became firemen.”

Dixon began his fire service career as a volunteer firefighter for Alva FD (1992-94).

In 1999, he was hired as a volunteer firefighter for Woodward FD and went full-time in 2001.

In 2006, he was promoted to C-Shift Captain and served in that role until retiring in August 2022.

“I feel one of my greatest accomplishments in the fire service was graduating from the Oklahoma Executive Fire Officer Leadership Program in November 2017,” he said. “It was an honor getting to know fellow fire officers from across the state, and the class helped develop me into a better person both personally and professionally. All senior officers can benefit from a class of such caliber.”

seeing Omaha Beach below with the Allied invasion underway.

“It was an absolutely sickening sight,” Sanders told the Tulsa World during a 2015 interview. “Guys down there wallowing in that rough sea. It was chaos. The big guns were firing. If you wanted to get a picture of hell, that was it.”

After the war, Sanders joined the Tulsa FD. He served 20 years (1946-1966) and was OSFA President in 1964.

He died Oct. 3, 2016, at age 95.

Rickey Weaver: From USS Enterprise to Beaver FD

Rickey Weaver served on the USS Enterprise CVN-65 while in the Navy.

He worked his way up from Hoseman to On-Scene Leader and ran his own team on the ship.

“I have served in many places in the world while serving on the Big E,” Weaver said.

“What inspired me to join the military was my father, who died in the military when I was about 8 or 9 months old. And most of my family has served in most of the wars that we have had from the Korean War to now.

“One of the most emotional times is when you save a life and they ask why, and you get to tell that person because God has big ger plans for you and he sent me

to get the job done.

“Maybe I will need you to save me some day, because I don’t want to lose a good person or anyone on my watch.“

Weaver joined the Beaver FD five years ago.

“What I am most proud of is that I get to serve again and do it because I want to with no questions asked,” he said. “And if possible, I will help save lives and whatever comes with it. Live life like it is your last day and never have any regrets because God has a plan for us all.

“The last thing I would like to share is that I have been brought to a place

that is not that bad. They gave me a chance and it is like a brother hood here, and I feel very blessed for that. Thank you, Beaver Fire Department.”

Matthew Tumleson is new Pawhuska Fire Chief

Matthew Tumleson enlisted in the Marines as soon as he turned 18.

“My grandfather was in the Army during the Korean War, and the military was always something that

I wanted to do,” Tumleson said. “I remember as a kid playing with the little green Army Men and playing war with my brothers and friends.”

During his five years in the Marines, Tumleson was stationed at Camp Lejeune North Carolina and deployed to Iraq in 2005.

In 2007, Tumleson joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard in Tulsa as a firefighter. He was deployed twice -- to Kuwait in 2008 and to Iraq in 2011 -- and rose to the rank of Senior Master Sergeant.

“I met my wife while in the guard,” he said. “We both were at the gym and she caught me staring at her butt while she ran on the treadmill. When she caught me, she told me to take a picture because it

A photo featuring Dale Luton was used to help promote the 2007 documentary “The War,” which chronicled the impact of World War II.

Documentarian Ken Burns even visited with Luton about the pho to, which showed five Americans -- one dead on a stretcher and four carrying his body. Luton was pictured in the front, and he said he was likely the only one in the photo who survived the war. The others, he

would last longer.”

Tumleson’s first career civilian fire fighting job was at Jenks FD in 2011. He then moved to Berryhill FPD in 2016 and served as a Captain and department train ing officer. He also worked as a State Fire Marshal for a couple of years.

On Oct. 12, Tumleson was appointed Fire Chief/Fire Marshal for the City of Pawhuska.

“ I think what makes me most proud is when I see firefighters I once taught and/or mentored succeed in this career,” he said. “Never stop training and learn ing. Enjoy every day you get to ride out on the truck, because one day you will wake up and it will be over.”

believed, were killed in a Japanese attack soon after the picture was taken in Saipan in 1944.

Luton, who also served in Tarawa and Guadal canal, returned to Tulsa in the fall of 1944. He launched his career with the Tulsa FD in early 1946 and spent 32 years at TFD before retiring in 1978. A few days after his telephone call with Ken Burns in 2007, Luton died at age 83.

Marshall Dunnam Remembers Bloody Battle in Vietnam

In September 1967, Marshall Dunnam was drafted into the U.S. Army.

He went to Fort Polk, La., for

basic training and to Fort Sill for AIT training.

Then he was sent to Tay Ninh, Vietnam, and served with Charlie Battery 7/11 Artillery, 25th Infantry Division.

He spent one year there and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant E-5. In 1969, he received an honor able discharge.

“While in Vietnam, we were in many battles,” Dunnam said. “The one that I will never forget is the one that happened after midnight on May 9, 1968.

“We were under heavy enemy fire at FSB Maury and were over run by the V.C. The battle lasted

all night and we had to call in air support from F-4 dropping bombs, Cobra gunships and Puff the Magic dragon with mini guns. Early that morning, we had lost a Battery of 155 Howitzers, and 13 men lost their lives.

“I served with some of the best soldiers in the Army and I’m able to reunite with those who are left every year at our Battery reunion.”

In 1973, Dunnam joined the Oklahoma City FD and served for 26 years, retiring as a Major.

He was OSFA President in 1995 and is currently 3rd Vice President for the Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association.

Pawhuska FD’s (L-R) Paul Ross, Greg Barnes, Matt Tumleson, Jake Powell and Mike Shoemaker

Manford Vangunda served aboard USS John F. Kennedy

When Manford Vangunda was in Navy basic training at Great Lakes Naval Station, Operation Desert Shield started.

And when he was in Hospital Corps School, Desert Storm began.

Among the places he was stationed were the Naval Hospital Jacksonville, Fla.; the Marine Corps Base Quantico; and the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy CV-67.

“While stationed on the John F. Kennedy, during Mediterranean Cruise 92-93, the Carrier Group covered the northern no-fly zone of Iraq from the coast of Turkey,” he said.

“Later in the cruise, we anchored in the port of Trieste Italy. We were the first US Naval Vessel at that port since World War II.

“The Carrier Group also provided support for Operation Providing Promise, which were humanitarian food drops into Bosnia-Herze govina, the former Yugoslavia.”

Vangunda achieved the rank of Hospital Corpsman Third Class E-4 during active duty. He then spent two years at the Naval Reserve Office with the Marine Heavy Guns Unit.

He left the Naval Reserve to focus on fire fighting, and he has been in the fire service

for the past 27 years.

He is currently a full time firefight er/paramedic for Quapaw Nation FD, serving as the C-shift Lieutenant at Fire Station 3. He has been with QNFD for 12 years.

Also, Vangunda is currently the Fire Chief at the Seneca Area Fire Protection District in Seneca, MO. He has been at SAFPD for 27 years. Additionally, he is a firefighter at the Seneca FD.

“In my career, I am most proud of volunteering for my local community,” he said.

“I am also proud of the fact that my entire family -- wife, both sons and even my daugh ter-in-law -- volunteer at SAFPD.

“My advice to current Oklahoma Firefight ers would be to always be willing to learn. Take as many classes as possible. Remember where you came from and be the kind of person oth ers strive to be.“

Day One in the Navy wasn’t quite what Michael Ashlock was expecting.

“I joined the Navy so I could see the world and be a part of something bigger than myself,” he said. “But the day I flew to boot camp, I saw all the chaos that was going on with new recruits from all over the country coming in to one place. Being from a small town in Oklahoma, it made me wonder why in the world I decide to do this. But I stuck it out and enjoyed the time I served.”

Ashlock spent five years in the Navy, reaching the rank of Machinist Mate 3rd Class.

He served on the USS Saipan LHA-2, USS Shreveport LPD-12 and USS Nassau LHA-4. His home port was Norfolk, Va.

“One of the best sites I enjoyed while on deployment was getting up in the morning on a calm day and seeing the ocean so blue it looked like a sheet of glass,” Ashlock said.

Several years after leaving the military, Ashlock decided to try community service. So he joined the Buffalo FD in 2017.

“I wanted to help my community out when they need help the most,” he said.

Mike Harkey and His Story of Joining Military, Fire Service

“In the spring of 1984, an army recruiter came to Caney HS to give an ASVAB test and talk about military service. Me, seeing no chance of doing good on any test or of me joining the army, I skipped school that day and spent it fishing on Clear Boggy Creek catching some channel cat.

“Then in the spring of 1985 my Senior year, I was standing in a field of tomatoes that my parents thought we could raise and sell, when an army jeep pulled into our driveway and two soldiers got out. They said they were assigned to go out and find recruits, and the hoe that I was holding (not really wanting to use) quickly hit the ground and I was in a jeep heading to Atoka to talk with the unit admin sergeant.

“Being only 17 at the time, I had to convince my mom to sign a paper saying I could join. So, I had to actually take that test and barely scored high enough to get in.

“In October of that year, I turned 18 at Ft. Benning Ga. in the US Army Infantry School. I quickly found out I was capable of doing good at something.

“Who knew you could get paid to camp out and carry a rifle while learning how to blow stuff up and use all types of weapons and navigate through the woods.

“I was assigned to the armory in Atoka and drilled there one weekend a month. After six years, I was approached by our maintenance sergeant about applying for a

full-time position in field maintenance.

“They had heard of a time when I was able to repair a vehicle (HMMWV) that no one had any experience repairing in our unit. I did so with no help or instructions.

“One morning on my way to work, I stopped at a store in Caney to get gas, and a guy saw me in uniform and asked if I knew anything about army trucks. I told him I repaired them every day.

“He said the fire department had a 5-ton truck that they had driven from Goldsby and killed it, and it never started back. I knew before he finished his story that someone had pulled the emergency engine kill switch that had to be reset under the hood.

“I stopped by that evening, reset the fuel shutoff lever and started the truck. He said they had an army pickup that also didn’t run, so I fixed it over the next couple of evenings.

“This was in 1997, and he asked if I ever thought of joining the fire department. Nope, I never had that cross my mind. He said come by on our next meeting, and on Jan. 1, 1998, I became a Caney Volunteer

James Herman Finds

In the Marine Corps, James Herman’s secondary military occupational specialty was Military Working Dog Handler.

And after he left active duty in 2006, he transitioned into the civilian side of the fight as a private military contractor.

“I spent 2007-2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, working bomb detection dogs at Saddam Hussein’s palace, the temporary US. .Em bassy, and surrounding areas known as the Green Zone,” Herman said. “The in famous route Irish between the Baghdad International Airport and the Green Zone was my first introduction to roadside bombs followed by volleys of indirect mortar fire and direct small arms fire.

“All violence aside, I found myself in awe numerous times being in such close proximity to Mesopotamia and seeing such incredible historical monuments like the Crossed Swords and the Monument to the Unknown Soldier.”

In 2009, Herman left Iraq for Afghanistan and stayed six years. His first contract put him in charge of all civilian bomb dog teams at Kabul

firefighter.

“In the Army, I had made the rank of staff sergeant and had leadership training. So in August of 2000, they wanted me to be Caney Fire Chief. I had no clue of how to be that, but I just felt like I needed to try.

“Only having 2-and-a half years of firefighting experience was not giving me a lot of confidence. I took every class that was available to me, and I still do 20+ years later.”

After Marines

International Airport. He also served in multiple facets of combat security in Kunduz, Herat, Mazar-e Sharif, Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Helmand and Kabul.

“Transitioning to the fire service was relatively easy aside from the 18 month hiring process,” he said. “But I had no idea just how much of an impact the fire service would have on my life.”

On Day 1 of Fire Academy, Herman’s assigned seat was just in front of where his future wife Meredith was sitting.

Four years later, they were married, and Herman adopted his daughter Olivia.

“My professional accomplishments pale in comparison to the pride I have in my family,” he said.

“My advice for firefighters is simple -- wash your gear, stay physically fit and please utilize employee assistance programs and peer support to stay men tally strong. You and your family deserve the best you.”

Defining Moments Led Matt Lay to join Military and Fire Service

The 9/11 attacks happened when Matt Lay was a freshman in college. He knew then that he wanted to join the military, and he enlisted in the Army his sophomore year.

“During my time in the service, I trained and deployed with 18-year-old kids who charged into machine gun fire and drove down IED-laced supply routes,” Lay said. “A lot of these same ‘kids’ are entering the fire service now.”

Lay knew that he wanted to join the fire service after his great uncle, Tulsa Fire Captain W.I. Evans was in a devas tating motorcycle wreck.

“My grandmother called me with the news and I raced to hospital to be there for my Aunt Linda,” he said. “But I would have to get in line … a very, very long line.

“The waiting rooms, hallways, even the OR was packed with firefighters. Some on-duty, some off, they were all standing by -- ready to meet any need that arose. And this went on for days, weeks, even months. Meals were cooked, yard was mowed, shifts were

Ray Granger enlisted in the U.S. Navy the day after the United Stated entered World War I.

He became an expert gun Captain and Diver and served as a Seaman after the war until 1924, when he returned to Tulsa and became a firefighter.

In 1933, Granger became Tulsa Fire Chief and served until 1940 when he re signed because of professional troubles.

He rejoined the U.S. Navy during World War II and served as a Lieutenant at Mare Island Navy Yard in San Francisco.

On Nov. 4, 1942, he was injured in an explosion while conducting a series of tests on a secret Navy pro cess that was adapted for war use.

He had just deposited the secret device on the metal deck of a mock battleship and started to turn away when every stitch of clothes he had on were blown from his body and he struck the base of his neck and shoulders against a bulkhead on the mock ship at least 21 feet away.

He recovered consciousness two days later in the Navy hos pital at Mare Island. His face was horribly burned, his right arm seared almost to a crisp and twisted out of shape, and his body dotted and splotched with red burns. The most nearly fatal burn was a huge hole burned in his throat just below the larynx. He was totally blind in both eyes for many weeks.

Two years after his near-fatal accident, Granger died after an operation at age 43.

worked. I was in com plete awe.

“It was at this moment that I realized what I felt called to do. I had always had a desire to help peo ple, and here was a band of brothers and sisters who risked their lives to serve others on a daily basis. Two years later, I walked across the stage at my Tulsa Fire Acade my graduation.”

Lay is now in his 17th year with the Tulsa FD, the last 10 years serving as a Lieutenant.

He’s also served 16 years with Oklahoma Task Force 1 (Rescue Specialist & Planning Team Manag er) and three years with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Wildland Firefighter for Muscogee Nation and Osage Nation).

“Even after 17 years, I feel today like I did the first day I ever stepped into the firehouse: We have best job in the whole world,” he said. “The opportunity to help people and be a part of this Firefighter Lega cy, a legacy built on loyalty and bravery, is an honor and a privilege.”

FIRE HOSE

LADDER

Matt Lay back from Iraq with wife Michelle

Shawn Cearnal Handled Bombs, Nuclear Weapons in Military

For Shawn Cearnal, it was a family tradition to be in the military.

His father was a Marine, his stepfather who raised him was in the Air Force, his uncle was also in the Air Force and his grandfather was in the Army.

Cearnal, who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1990-97, was a Munitions Sys tem Specialist. He handled all munitions from .38 caliber bullets to nuclear weapons.

His duties included storing, assembling, disassembling and arming bombs and nu clear weapons. He also performed armed transport of bombs and missiles to and from the flightline.

He was stationed at Incirlik Air Base Turkey, Morbach Munitions Supply Base and Scott Air Force Base Illinois.

He served during Operation Desert Storm, Operation Provide Comfort I and Operation Pro vide Comfort II. Provide Comfort I and II we were defending Kurdish refugees fleeing their home in Northern Iraq after the Gulf war and providing humanitarian aid.

Cearnal was inspired to get into the fire service by a friend who was on a volunteer department. So he joined his local volunteer department 16 years ago.

A few years later, he applied to Quapaw Nation FD and has been a full-time firefighter ever since.

W.C. Phillips joined the Marine Corps in August 1969.

After eight weeks of boot camp in San Diego, a two-week leave for Christmas and a month at Camp Pendleton, he was sent to Vietnam.

He was assigned to Golf Com pany, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division and based near An Hoa.

And on Jan. 4, 1971, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army attacked the company’s command post.

“It turned into pretty close combat real quick,” Phillips said in a 2012 Cherokee Phoenix interview. “We ended up just calling in artillery on our position because if we didn’t, they were going to overrun us.”

Phillips was in the doorway of the command post when a rocket-propelled grenade hit near him. He was hit with 22 pieces of shrapnel from the waist down. It didn’t take him out of com mission, so he continued calling in artillery support and radio for help. And with artillery hitting all around the command post, the enemy retreated.

“That’s only thing that saved us,” he said. “That was probably the toughest night. I had a lot of other incidents, but that one was probably the toughest one.”

Phillips was med-evaced from Vietnam to Guam and then sent to recover in Corpus Christi, Texas, until April 1971. He was dis charged there as a corporal and returned home to Tulsa, where he worked for the Tulsa FD for 26 years, serving from 1973 to 1999.

“I remember one time when we had been fight ing a grass fire for a couple hours, and I was wear ing a SCBA mask fitted with filters to be used as a wildland mask,” he said. “I stopped the driver in front of a hot spot, my mask was kind of fogged up, but I could see an orange glow, so I started spraying water.

“After about five minutes of spraying water, my partner who was driving got out of the truck, slapped me on the back and asked me what the heck I was doing. I pulled off my mask to see that my hot spot was actually a bunch of pumpkins.

“I am just proud to be a Firefighter/EMT. And let’s be honest, we have a lot of cool things to work with. The only thing I wish I had done different would be to have gotten into this career earlier in life than I did.”

Emily Young: Firefighter, Guardsman and soon-to-be Graduate

Emily Young balances going to school full time at Oklahoma State University, being a traditional Oklahoma Air National Guards man, working a part time job and being a volunteer firefighter with Perkins.

But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I signed on as a firefighter and fell in love with it,” said Young, who will graduate in December with a degree in Fire Protection & Safety Engineering Technology.

“I love being a part of a department that values our people and training. I want to al ways be on a volunteer fire department, no matter where I go. It’s been such a reward ing feeling to be able to give back to my community through the fire service.”

Young joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard in 2017 and currently holds the rank of Senior Airman E-4. She’s been on the Perkins FD since April 2019.

And after graduation from OSU, Young has accepted a job with Henderson Engi neers to design fire protection systems for their Walmart sector.

“It’s so fascinating to look back to see all of the knowledge I’ve gained,” she said. “My improvement in the fire service still impresses me every day.

“I vividly remember another service member in my fire academy class who said, ‘I would never want to be your partner going into a fire. You’re never going to be a

Travis Oliver witnessed the Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945.

He wasn’t aboard the USS Mis souri at Tokyo Bay that day, which history books list as the place the Japanese formally surrendered.

Instead, he was on the USS Port land at Truk Lagoon in the Caroline Islands when surrender documents were signed by Lt. General Sinzabaro Magikura, Commander of the 31st Japanese Army, and Vice Admiral Chiuchi Hara, Commander of the Japanese 4th Fleet.

Roberts Testing

good firefighter.’

“I came very close to letting that break me, but I didn’t. I use that to fuel me in every thing I do now.

“I’ve come so far from my first day at the academy with no prior fire service. My military career represents the same way. I am incredibly proud of where I’ve been and what I am capable of now because I never gave up on myself.

“I think I speak to all of the young wom en firefighters when I say that we have a rightful place in the fire service. It’s a scary thought to walk into a new fire department with no familiar faces and you are the only woman in the room, but we have every right to be there.

“It’s imperative that our fire service strives to be more diverse to gather the most skills and abilities to serve our communities in the highest capacity.”

Oliver didn’t know he would end up on the USS Portland when he quit school in December 1942 to join the Navy.

“I guess I thought I was too smart to go to school,” Oliver said in a 1966 Tulsa World interview. “All my friends were joining up, and I thought, football season is over, I might as well go, too.”

Oliver was sent to boot camp in San Diego and then was quick ly dispatched to the Portland. He was with the ship from March 1943 until his official discharge in January 1946.

USS Portland was anchored at Buckner Bay, Okinawa, on Aug. 14, 1945, when word of eminent Japanese surrender was received.

”We were still on alert for a day or two after that,” Oliver said. “We thought it might have been a trap.”

The ship sailed to Guam and then headed for Truk for the surrender ceremony. Oliver, then Seaman First Class, said Japanese officials were brought aboard the ship and sat quietly through the 30-minute ceremony.

“We were all standing at attention in our dress whites,” Oliver said. “We could hear the interpreters talking amongst themselves, but I don’t remember any big noise or loud celebration. We had done that on V-J Day. This was a more solemn occasion.”

Oliver joined the Tulsa FD in 1955 and retired in 1984. He died in 2006 at age 80.

Emily Young with dad Dean Young, Ret. Air Force

Jacob Stangl: OSFA Public Education Committee Report

On Sept. 20, the OSFA Public Education Com mittee hosted the 2022 Oklahoma Public Educa tion Summit.

The Summit brought together fire and life safety professionals from all across Oklahoma, with several attendees coming from other states.

In total, 73 people attended the Summit.

This year’s event marked the fourth Public Education Summit for the State of Oklahoma and was held at the Tulsa Tech Lemley Memorial Campus.

The previous Summits had been held

in the Oklahoma City Metro area, and the committee hopes to continue to move the host location around the state each year.

Many communities have seen an up-tick in youth set fires since COVID. One of the keynote speakers was Mike Weller, Training Specialist at the National Fire Academy, who presented on Youth Fire Setter Inter vention.

The National Fire Academy provides free training to fire service members on handling these challenging cases. Several committee members have attended this training, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions about handling youth fires in your community.

Additionally, attendees heard from Mike

Klumpp, the ATV Safety Coordinator for ATV Ride Safe Oklahoma. ATV safety is relevant for many of our communities in Oklahoma, especially our rural communi ties. Many injuries and deaths from ATV accidents can be prevented simply through rider training and, most importantly, wear ing the proper safety equipment.

Attendees also heard from Kelly Ransdell of the NFPA. She shared the resources avail able to fire service personnel to assist with Fire Prevention Week and seasonal safety messaging. Toolkits and messaging can be found at FPW.org.

The fire service can use these toolkits year-round to reduce preventable injuries and deaths from fires.

Edmond

Kelly Ransdell: NFPA Report

The latest Fire Loss in the U.S. report released by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) shows the largest number of home fire deaths since 2007, reflecting a 14-year high.

According to the report, people are more likely to die in a reported home fire today than in 1980. These statistics underscore a concerning trend: While the number of U.S. home fires has con tinued to decline over time, the home fire death rate has stagnated in recent years, with annual spikes like the most recent one seen in 2021.

According to NFPA data, home — the place people feel saf est from fire — is actually where they are at greatest risk, with three-quarters (75 percent) of all U.S. fire deaths occurring in homes. Where people used to have more than 10 minutes to escape a typical home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds, today they may have as little as two minutes.

Multiple factors contribute to this much smaller window of escape time, including the way newer homes tend to be construct ed and the fact that modern home furnishings are often made with synthetic materials that burn faster and generate toxic smoke, making it extremely difficult to see and breathe.

NFPA celebrated the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week on Oct. 9-15. This year’s theme, “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.” reinforced the potentially life-saving importance of home escape planning and practice.

Following are key messages behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week theme:

• Make sure your home escape plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabil ities.

• Smoke alarms should be installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home. Smoke alarms should be interconnected so when one sounds, they all sound.

• Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows open easily.

• Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone should meet.

• Practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with ev

eryone in the household, including guests. Practice at least once during the day and at night.

At its core, Fire Prevention Week is a grassroots campaign that fire departments bring to life in their communities each year. These efforts are supported at the national level by NFPA and other organizations that work together to help amplify the campaign and its fire safety messages. Cheers to 100 years of the fire service takes these messages out the public.

NFPA at the Summit

On Sept. 19, The OSFA Public Education Com mittee hosted the fourth annual Public Education Summit in Tulsa.

With nearly 86 attend ees, this event included some great content

and networking for the fire service across Oklahoma.

Thanks to all who attended this annual event.

Planning will start soon for the next summit in September 2023.

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The inaugural Red Line Gala benefitting the Tulsa Firefighters Benevo lent Fund was held Sept. 10 at the downtown Tulsa Club Hotel.

Some 240 guests attended the sold-out event that raised more than $100,000 to support Tulsa Firefighters, their families and the community.

The evening saw a host of City, County, Tribal, State and Federal officials on hand, along with a number of fire service leaders, sponsors, communi ty supporters and stakeholders.

The night’s program included an opening ceremony performed by the Oklahoma Fire Pipes & Drums, Tulsa Fire Department Honor Guard, and the national anthem sung by Tulsa City Council Chairwoman Lori DecterWright.

Also included were the origins of the Tulsa Firefighters Benevolent Fund (501c3) founded after the tragic passing of Tulsa Firefighter Ryan Phillips in 2019.

Since inception, the Benevolent Fund has supported the families of two Fallen Tulsa Firefighters, given out 27 cancer relief grants, as well as assist ed 14 members seeking treatment for counseling and recovery services.

Tulsa Fire Captain / OSFA President Jim Ed Nimmo and Cherokee Nation Deputy Attorney General Chrissi Nimmo

Tulsa IAFF Local 176 Executive Board & Staff

(L-R) Darren Thames, Jeff Harper, Josh Lamb, Matt Lay, Tasha Gilberg, Craig Deerinwater, Eric Acosta, Ronald Stewart Jr.

(L-R) Kendall Williams (Tulsa Fire & Tulsa Metro Women on Fire), Selina Meyer (Hydrants of Hope), Alexa Reed (Tulsa Fire & Tulsa Metro Women on Fire)

OSFA Admin. Director

Sheri Nickel & Darrin Nickel

Senator James Lankford & wife Cindy

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler & Dr. Christine Kunzweiler

(L-R) OK Secretary of Public Safety Tricia Everest & Muscogee Nation Police Commissioner Denise Henry

Tulsa Fire Department Honor Guard & Oklahoma Fire Pipes & Drums member

(L-R) Oklahoma State Representatives Chris Sneed (Muskogee), Tulsa Fire ret. Stan May (Broken Arrow), Lonnie Sims (Jenks)

Osage Nation Congressman Eli Potts & wife Izzy Potts

By

Managing Resources

Operations on the fire scene are not always smooth. Occasionally, we find ourselves with more jobs than we have people.

Lindsay

Firefighter Near-Miss Report

of the heat above and the penetration of the stream caused most of the ceiling to drop.

Addressing each task has its own set of challeng es. We must remember that life safety is the fore most incident priority; I include firefighter safety in that priority. The risk mantra used by most incident commanders is risk a lot to save a lot.

As Incident Commanders, we must remember to monitor all our resources and apply them to conclude the incident safely.

The featured report involves a firefighter responding from home in a personal vehicle. Although this article consists of a volunteer department, the situation could also apply to a person responding as a single resource from a station.

When I initially read this report, I quickly became concerned for the safety of this firefighter. Because of this, I wanted to start with the overarching lesson this firefighter shares after the incident: “I should not have been by myself.”

Roof collapses on FF during attack http://firefighternearmiss.com/Reports?id=4178

A box alarm was dispatched for smoke coming from a house. I responded from home to the station to assist in getting the apparatus out. While en route to the station, the first due Deputy Chief announced he was respond ing, and communications advised him that a neighbor was reporting smoke coming from the house. They were not sure if everyone made it out. The station I volunteer with responded with the Engine, followed shortly by the Rescue. I decided to respond directly to the scene as I could see a large column of smoke.

The Deputy Chief arrived on the scene and confirmed a working fire in a double-wide trailer. As the Engine arrived on the scene, the Deputy Chief advised them to pull two handlines and make an interior attack. I followed the Rescue into the scene. When I arrived, I put my radio with a radio strap over my chest, turned it on to the appropriate tactical channel, put my flashlight over my other shoulder, and then put on my entire PPE to include SCBA.

I went to the front door and met with the Assistant Chief, who was riding the Engine. I asked if a primary had been done, and he stated he heard no one was in there. I observed an attack line going into the front door but could not see anything inside the threshold because of the smoke. Immedi ately to the left of the front door was a bay window that had already been taken out and had fire coming out of it. To the left of that appeared to be an addition, and I guessed it was possibly a bedroom. There was smoke coming from that window.

The Assistant Chief had another attack line, and I told him I would take it. I decided to take the line to the left and start attacking the fire to try to search that area. I saw a firefighter with the first attack line going straight into the house. I entered the house, started towards the left, and encoun tered high heat and zero visibility.

As I crawled into the living room, I kept getting tangled up in some wire, which I realized afterwards was the wire that had dropped down from the ceiling. I continued crawling and hitting fire as I advanced. I got to a door that led to the added room. I opened the door and could hear the fire in the cockloft above my head, but I only encountered smoke in the bedroom. I did a quick scan of the room and did not find anyone.

I called for a hook to get the ceiling opened. As I did that, I opened the line to a straight stream and directed it towards the ceiling. The combination

The Assistant Chief met me with a hook, and I told him I got it open with the stream. He left it there for me and returned to check on the progress of the other crews. I heard operations calling for a line on “Side 4”, at which time I thought I would start in that direction to assist.

As I entered the living room again, I could feel heat above me and saw visible flame to my right. I started to knock that down and crawl towards side D when I felt something hit my head and knocked me down onto my stomach. I realized I had been hit by a roof collapse. Not only did I have trusses on top of me, but I also had wire entangled around me as well as fire impinging on my surroundings. I was able to reach my radio and attempted to call a mayday.

As I hit the PTT button, the radio beeped three times, which indicated I was not transmitting. I took a deep breath and knew I had to get out. I reached the nozzle, directed it towards the ceiling, and started to pencil the area to try and cool the room. I then looked at my air and realized I had approximately 1500 psi of air left in my cylinder, enough for me to self-res cue. I was able to get on my knees and start crawling towards the light of day, which I knew had been side A. Although getting up from under the burned trusses was not too difficult, getting through the wire that had dropped down proved problematic. I kept the line and crawled until I got to the bay window. Two junior firefighters were standing there, and I yelled at them to tell command the roof had collapsed and to get everyone out. Fortunately, I was not hurt and was able to stay on the fireground until the incident was over.

This incident has a few elements to explore.

The first involves a single resource arriving at the scene and begin ning an assignment alone.

The second aspect includes details of command and control, and communications on the fire ground.

Consider these factors while discussing the following:

• What is your department’s policy on entering an active fire building alone? Is it ever appropriate to make entry alone?

• How do your incident commanders utilize single resources when they arrive on scene?

• According to some departmental policies, checking in at an inci dent can be very specific. How does your organization account for personnel on the fire scene?

• Are there procedures you use for ensuring communications are established on scene?

The remainder of this report covers the lessons the reporter want ed to share.

Lessons Learned

I realized after the incident that I should not have been by myself. Although I arrived on the scene POV, I should have been paired up with someone to perform any task within the IDHL environment. Since I could not transmit the mayday, I should have activated my PASS device. This would (should) have alerted someone that there was a firefighter in trouble and relayed that information to command.

Always remain calm. I have been through many mayday and/or firefight er self-rescue classes. Your focus should be to stay calm and to get yourself and/or your partner out of the situation. I believe my years of experience helped me to do just that, and me saying to myself, “I am not going to let this house kill me.”

The ICS is a very important aspect of any fireground. I do not know if a Safety Officer had been assigned. Still, even if no one is assigned, the inci dent commander needs to get feedback from everyone around him/her and

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maintain situational awareness, as well as the firefighters inside.

Looking back, as I entered the living room and became tangled in the wires from above, I should have advised command and operations of the situation to avoid anyone else becoming tangled up. Make sure a RIT/ RIC is in place and ready to go. Had the collapse been worse or I become injured and/or disoriented, the RIT/RIC would have been needed to deploy immediately.

As this very detailed report unfolded, it seemed like resources on scene were sparse at best.

The firefighter that submitted this report arrived on the scene and did not indicate an assignment but identified a need and an nounced what they intended to achieve to a senior member. The re porter said a Deputy Chief had established command but checked in with an Assistant Chief.

Though it isn’t specific about command staff assignments in this report, we should always check in with the incident commander or an assigned accountability officer for our own safety. The incident commander will not know to look for you during a PAR if they don’t know you are there.

In most cases, two personnel working together while there are at least two people outside the structure (2 in 2 out) is recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration as a standard safety practice. The only exception to that rule is if there is a reason able belief that someone may still be in the structure.

The initial information from the Assistant Chief was a report that “no one was in there.” We don’t know how many were in reserve outside, but the reporter is clear about working alone.

As the incident progresses, the reporter is still working alone when the roof trusses collapse, and he becomes trapped against the floor. Suppose the reporter had been injured during the collapse.

In that case, it could have been up to 90 seconds before their PASS alarm activated. Having a coworker in the room could have made the difference between tragedy and a good outcome.

Although we are not aware of why the radio malfunctioned, it is likely that a coworker’s radio would not have malfunctioned at the same time. Another person in the room could have recognized the conditions and avoided the nearmiss altogether.

Significantly, in many “Line of Duty Deaths,” the affected firefight er was working alone when the incident occurred.

A crucial final element to discuss in this report is the command functions. All officers on the scene are responsible for crew account ability. Commanders are responsible for overall accountability during an incident.

More than once, a chief officer encountered this firefighter, only to leave him alone again. A chief officer on the scene is tasked with strategic-level decisions. Avoiding the functional fixity associated with task-level functions and keeping the bigger picture in mind is paramount to success.

Although a successful outcome for this incident would be extin guishment, success for this department would be to avoid lost time injuries, or worse. It seems like the officers monitoring progress allowed an unsafe practice to continue, contributing to this near miss. Safety is everyone’s responsibility.

The details in this report are a reminder that a lot can happen during an incident. Firefighters move from one task to the next to accomplish the goal of concluding the incident quickly. Focusing on the task can be important but is most effective when another person monitors the situation. Working together, we can improve situa tional awareness. The Firefighternearmiss.com website is free to use and contains a library of thousands of reports from firefighters across the nation.

Bret Chew/Bartlesville -Application For Or “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Davidson and seconded by Lay to approve the Applica tion for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jeremy W. Robbins/Midwest City – Ap plication For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 1, 2022: Motion was made by Provence and sec onded by Lopez to approve the Applica tion for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Joseph M. Culp/Oklahoma City – Ap plication For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Lay seconded by Davidson to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” effec tive July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Wendell Cunningham/Oklahoma City –Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and second ed by Bennett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty,” effec tive July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Joseph G. Graham/Oklahoma City – Ap plication For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Bennett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lo pez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Mark A. Smith/Oklahoma City – Appli cation For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and second ed by Bennett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Darrell W. Smith/Sapulpa – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” pension, effective July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

David Anderson/Shawnee – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 1, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and sec onded by Bennett to approve the Appli cation for “Disability in the Line of Duty” pension, effective July 1, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Kinsey Blunt/Tulsa – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pen sion, Effective June 10, 2022: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Bennett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” pension, effective June 10, 2022. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jimmy Poplin/Oklahoma City – Request

To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Cramer to approve the request of Poplin to modify his pension from “Ser vice” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”.

Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Richard Swink/Oklahoma City – Re quest To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Motion was made by Davidson and sec onded by Bennett to approve the request of Swink to modify his pension from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

n MEETING (Aug. 19, 2022)

Scottie Morrison/Atwood -Application For Or “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective January 1, 2022: Motion was made by Davidson and seconded by Lay to approve the Applica tion for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective January 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Richard Koons/Enid – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pen sion, Effective August 1, 2022: Motion was made by Baggett and second ed by Lay to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective August 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Lay, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Matthew K. Godwin/Lawton – Appli cation For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective Aug. 1, 2022: Motion was made by Baggett seconded by Lay to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” effective August 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez,

Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Donald Cocannouer/Moore – Appli cation For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective August 1, 2022: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Davidson to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty,” effec tive August 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Ben nett, Davidson, Lay, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jesse Beard/Sand Springs – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective August 1, 2022: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Baggett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective August 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Lay, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Amanda Moore/Tulsa Application For “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective July 28, 2022: No action was taken.

Scott Hill/Cashion – Application For “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective June 25, 2021: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Baggett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective June 25, 2021. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Lay, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

David Vernon/Oklahoma City – Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Motion was made by Baggett seconded by Bennett to approve the request of Vernon to modify his pension from “Ser vice” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jon T. Wintle/Owasso – Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Provence to approve the request of Wintle to modify his pension from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nim mo, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Adam Gann/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Davidson and sec onded by Lay to approve the request of Gann to modify his pension from “Ser vice” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Jackie Wright/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension

From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”:

Motion was made by Davidson and sec onded by Lay to approve the request of Wright to modify his pension from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Davidson, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Lay,

n MEETING (Sept. 16, 2022)

Brad L. Freie/Anadarko -Application For Or “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective August 20, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and second ed by Lopez to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective August 20, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Bryant, Kohl, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Russell Matthesen/Lawton – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective September 1, 2022: Motion was made by Baggett and second ed by Lay to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effec tive September 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Lay, Kohl, Bryant, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Kevin H. Stainbrook/Lawton – Appli cation For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective Sept. 10, 2022: Motion was made by Baggett seconded by Cramer to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty” effec tive September 10, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Kohls, Bryant, Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Matthew Hampton/Muskogee – Appli cation For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective October 8, 2021: Motion was made by Cramer ay and sec onded by Lay to deny the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty,” effective October8, 2021. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Davidson, Lay, Kohls, Bryant, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Dusty E. Eckert/Ponca City – Application For “Disability In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective September 1, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and sec onded by BryaBaggett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effective September 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Lay, Provence, Bryant, Kohls, Bryant, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Michael Tollison/The Village – Applica tion For “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty” Pension, Effective Sept. 1, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and second ed by Bryant to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, ef fective September 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Lay, Kohls, Provence, Bryant, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Chase

CHECKS TERMINATED IN JULY 2022 (DECEASED):

Ardmore Laquetta Middleton

Bristow Amy Barnett

Carter Kevin P. Street

Cherokee Bobbie C. Allen

Clayton Sally J. Denton

Eldorado Deborah A. Randolph

Enid Leola L. Stone

Grady Marvin G. Polson

Guymon Raevella Hill Pyle

Heavener Joe A. Johnson

Henryetta Juanice Flanagan

$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT:

Idabel Mary F. Mills

Mulhall Mary B. Uhrig

Norman Patricia Wood

Oklahoma City Wade E. Creekmore Jr. Oklahoma City Craig M. Taylor

Salina Connie L. Haley

Stillwater Ellis E. Allison Temple Lenora L. Dowlen Tishomingo Patsy Hutchens

Webbers Falls Lou Ward

Wyandotte Carolyn Neely Wyandotte Carolyn S. Neely

Amber Tribute Memorial Care SW On Behalf Of Jerry Kennedy

Carter Martin-Dugger Funeral Home On Behalf Of Kevin P. Street

Cherokee Lanman Funeral Home On Behalf Of Bobbie C. Allen

Chickasha Valt H. Harris, Chold Of Billye Harris

Hulbert Esther C. Pate, Widow Of Michael R. Pate

Ft. Gibson Clifford Garrett, Family Funeral Home On Behalf Of John Crittenden

Lawton Joann Valdez, Widow Of Andrew E. Valdez

Milburn Cheryl Elkins, Widow Of Stanley Elkins

Minco Cindy Elaine Nickell, Child Of Joe W. Gilbert

Minco Deborah Joann Levick, Child Of Joe W. Gilbert

Minco Becky Merideth, Child Of Joe W. Gilbert

OKC Nikki Rogers, Child Of Wade E. Creekmore, Jr.

Ponca City Poteet Funeral Home On Behalf Of Garry D. Canaday

Red Rock Trout Funeral Home On Behalf Of James E. Potter

Wakita Jesselyn Schmitz-Nakolo, Child Of Andrew R. Schmitz

Wakita Andrea R. Rogers, Child Of Andrew R. Schmitz

Woodward Billngs Funeral Home One Behalf Of Donald L. Johnson

REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Hired Terminated

Joshua Morgan Bethany 03/03/2008 07/01/2022

Steven Scott Collinsville 06/24/2018 07/09/2022

Ryan Gillham Idabel 10/06/2008 05/23/2022

Kasey Pitts Lawton 07/30/2022 09/12/2016

Landon Corbus Miami 11/19/2014 05/07/2022

Walker Crow Muskogee 02/22/2016 06/11/2022

Travis Peevyhouse Seminole 02/03/2017 02/21/2020

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE:

08/01/2019 Gerty Larry D. Haynes, Widow Of Jeri Sue, Widower Deceased 11/12/2020

n MEETING (Sept. 16, 2022, continued)

Pete Matlock/Tulsa – Application For “Disability Not In The Line Of Duty”

Pension, Effective September 1, 2022: Motion was made by Cramer and second ed by Bennett to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, ef fective September 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Lay, Kohls, Provence, Bryant, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Amanda Moore/Tulsa – Application For “Disability Not In Line Of Duty” Pen sion, Effective September 1, 2022: Motion was made by Lay and seconded by Lopez to approve the Application for “Disability in the Line of Duty”, effec tive September 1, 2022. Ayes: Nimmo, Bennett, Lay, Kohls, Provence, Bryant, Fullingim, Lopez, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Kevin Frazier/Tulsa – Request To Modi fy Pension From “Service” To “Disabili ty In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Lay seconded by Baggett to approve the request of Frazier to modify his pension from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Kohls, Bryant, Bennett, Nimmo, Provence, Fullingim, Cramer, Lopez, Lay, Price and Kohls. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

Greta Hurt/Tulsa – Request To Modify Pension From “Service” To “Disability In The Line Of Duty”: Motion was made by Lay and second ed by Bennett to approve the request of Hurt to modify her pension from “Service” to “Disability in the Line of Duty”. Ayes: Bennett, Nimmo, Kohls, Bryant, Provence, Fullingim, Lopez, Lay, Price and Baggett. Nayes: None. Motion carried.

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION:

08/01/2022 Cashion Patricia Beutler, Widow Of Jeffrey L. Beutler 08/01/2022 Chickasha Joann T. Jackson, Widow Of James E. Jackson 08/01/2022 Coweta Donna J. Cole, Widow Of Max A. Cole 08/01/2022 Edmond Becky Carpenter, Widow Of James Carpenter

08/01/2022 Gage Judy Lalicker, Widow Of Larry J. Lalicker

08/01/2022 Healdton Lois D. Hammon, Widow Of Paul Hammon 08/01/2022 Kingfisher Molena Stumpf, Widow Of Curtis M. Stumpf 08/01/2022 Krebs Sherry Crowson, Widow Of Mike C. Crowson

08/01/2022 Lawton Balinda Eberhart, Widow Of Dale C. Eberhart 08/01/2022 Moore Claudia Clark, Widow Of James W. Clark, Jr.

08/01/.2022 OKC Martha Daniels, Widow Of Marvin E. Daniels

08/01/2022 OKC Dorothy Hollander, Widow Of Byron Hollander

08/01/2022 Roosevelt Sherry Downen, Widow Of Jerry Downen

08/01/2022 Texhoma Elaine Callaway, Widow Of Jimmy Callaway

08/01/2022 Tulsa Laura A. Cain, Widow Of Matthew C. Cain

08/01/2022 Tulsa Betty L. Dillard, Widow Of William R. Dillard

DISABILITY IN LINE OF DUTY (Modify To Service Pension:

08/01/2022 Tulsa Kevin Frazier

08/01/2022 Tulsa Greta Hurt

APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION:

08/01/2022 Arnett Jimmie D. Wayland

08/01/2022 Bixby Douglas R. Driscoll

08/01/2022 Boise City Monty D. Wilson

07/21/2022 Country Corner Brian L. Foshee

07/04/2022 Henryetta Rocky R. Kissee

07/01/2022 Hooker Kenneth D. Jacobs

08/01/2022 Lexington Max D. Punneo

08/01/2022 Norman Michael G. Shuffield

07/17/2022 Oak Cliff FPD Cameron W. Prewitt

08/01/2022 Ringwood Gregory S. Palmer

08/01/2022 Rolling Hills FPD Gary D. Sarten

08/13/2022 Salem/Ryal Robert L. Lay Jr.

08/01/2022 Stillwater Wallace J. Sadler

08/01/2022 Strong City Thomas G. Smeltzer

08/01/2022 Wilburton Timothy J. Baker

08/01/2022 Wilburton Jesse A. James

08/01/2022 Woodward Kevin J. Dixon

APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT:

06/07/2035 Bethany Joshua L. Morgan 08/01/2019 Hominy Carl D. Ferguson

APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM:

Altus Joshua Conger

Bethany Hunter Garrison

Bethany Clayton Hill

Bixby Brennan Boles

Bixby Hunter Lewis

Bixby Thomas Raunikar

Blackwell Christopher Ballard

Bristow Lane G. Hinman

Chandler Dakota Higgins

Chandler Zachary Mounce

Chouteau Amber Williams

Collinsville Brandon Wheat

Cordell Heath Syfert

Coweta Trevor Lewis

Durant Zachary Bray

Frederick John Thompson Jr. Glenpool Tyler Hoover

Guymon Daniel Lira

Hugo James Baker

Kingfisher James Girard

Kingfisher Christopher Miller

Lawton Jack Hartman

Monkey Island Chad Tucker

Norman Kye Muzny

Pawhuska Aaron Cheves

Perry Jacob Seay

Perry Michael Southerland

Ponca City Jonah Bullock

Ponca City Garrett Clark

Sand Springs Grant Wresche

Skiatook Benjamin Waldron

Spencer Chris Charmasson

Tulsa Brooks Cataudella

Yukon Brooks Robbins

n CONSENT AGENDA (Sept. 16, 2022)

CHECKS TERMINATED IN AUGUST 2022 (Deceased):

Bartlesville Janet Allred Bartlesville John L. Barger Bridge Creek Paul R. Miller Collinsville John D. Swim Commerce Lynda Thomas Eldorado Billie R. Freeman Fairview Mildred L. Howerton Frederick Brenda E. Whitson Gate Ruby Newby Hugo Andy Feco

OKC Shirley K. Munsey OKC Sara Oriz-Patterson

$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT:

OKC Grace Payne Purcell Rickey C. Witten Red Rock James E. Potter Sentinel Thomas R. Caudill S. Coffeyville George F. Baker S. Coffeyville Teddy J. Chablin Stillwater Janet E. Womack Stilwell Janie S. Johnson Tulsa Linda Osburn Weatherford Nova D. Brown Wilburton Joe D. Cook

Central High Melba Esparza, Death Recipient Of Brent Coleman Chickasha Brown-Thomas Funeral Home On Behalf Of James E. Jackson Coweta Donna Cole, Widow Of Max A. Cole Drummond Lanman Funeral Home On Behalf Of Jay A. Boehs Edmond Becky Carpenter, Widow Of James M. Carpenter Grady Tribute Memorial Care Chapel On Behalf Of Marvin Polson Healdton Alexander Gray Funeral Home On Behalf Of Paul Hammon Kingfisher Molena Stumpf Widow Of Curtis M. Stumpf

Lawton Whitt Funeral Home On Behalf Of Dale C. Eberhart Locust Grove Locust Grove Funeral Home On Behalf Of Dennis Kern Moore John Ireland Funeral Home On Behalf Of James W. Clark Jr. OKC Mary Jane Daniels, Widow Of Marvin E. Daniels

OKC Hart Funeral Home On Behalf Of Craig M. Taylor

OKC Dorothy Hollander, Widow Of Byron D. Hollander

Porter Mandy Stansberry, Child Of Roy L. Essary Porter Michael Essary, Child Of Roy L. Essary Porter Marcy Martin, Child Of Roy L. Essary Roosevelt Peoples Funeral Home On Behalf Of Jerry L. Downen Texhoma Bunch-Roberts Funeral Home On Behalf Of Jimmy Callaway Tulsa Betty L. Dillard, Widow Of William R. Dillard Tulsa Fitzgerald Southwood Colonial On Behalf Of Mathew Cain Tulsa Moore Funeral Home On Behalf Of James L. Gibbs Wilburton Julie I. Chronister, Child Of Joe D. Cook Woodcrest Rural Hayes Funeral Home On Behalf Of Mark J. Bruning

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE:

08/11/2022

Alden Kassie A. Pettit, Widow Of Chandler Pettit Deceased August 10, 2022

07/29/2022 Woodcrest Rural Heather E. Bruning, Widow Of Mark Jeremy Bruning Deceased July 29, 2022

APPLICATION FOR CHILD FOR PENSION:

08/18/2022 SW Lincoln FPD Raelynn Nowakowski, Guardian Of Scarlett Nowakowski Deceased 08/19/2022

08/18/2022

SW Lincoln FPD Odyssey Adams, Guardian Of Addalyn Moore, Child Of Joshua Moore Deceased 08/19/2022

08/18/2022 SW Lincoln FPD Odysssey Adams, Guardian Of Madalyn Moore, Child Of Joshua Moore Deceased 08/19/2022

APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT:

03/04/2028 Comanche Todd K. Block

03/08/2031 Farris Salvador Lopez III

03/01/2022 Kenwood Brad B. Cooper

02/28/2021 Okay Willis A. George Jr.

09/01/2019 Stroud Bobby Dickinson

09/01/2020 Tishomingo Floyd E. Ross

REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Hired Terminated Quentin Shelton Watonga 11/06/2017 07/24/2022

APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM:

Ada Austin Black

Anadarko Edy Perez Lopez

Anadarko Reed Nickel Bixby Mason Hassell Bixby Sydney Hein Bixby Landon Reed

Catoosa Tyler Mccoy Duncan Kaden Stephenson Duncan William Webber Harrah Patrick Williams Holdenville Colton Bridger Hugo Samuel Bussell

Hugo Tyler Plemons

Lawton Jack Hartman

Madill Dawson Bruce Madill Stephen Crochet

Madill Matthew Hawkins

OKC Zane Alexander

OKC Tyler Burns

OKC Jordon Coats

OKC Dalton Coker

OKC Cameron R. Cooper

OKC Collin Davis

OKC Gabriel Elizardo

OKC Marcus Finn

OKC Kyle Foor OKC Jay Quan Gant

OKC Joshua George OKC Reece Gibbins OKC Ignacio Velaso Gil OKC Ryan Hames OKC Geoffrey C. Hatcher OKC Matthew Hawkins

OKC Jackson Hollman

OKC Densil Johnson

OKC Collin Leduc

OKC Christopher Lewis

OKC Maximus Lujan

OKC Devin Major

OKC Randy Maples

OKC Daxx Milligan

OKC Christian Nubine

OKC Gabriel Perez

OKC Colton Piehler

OKC Michael Poorman

OKC David Putt

OKC Caleb Reava

OKC Bryant Reed

OKC Kristal Reynolds

OKC Bretlin Rowell

OKC Luke Sandoval

OKC Ty Schoenhals

OKC Ty Smith

OKC William Sparks

OKC Pierce Spead

OKC Lucas Stanfield

OKC Dax Swanner

OKC Cody Theimer

OKC Roger Thews III

OKC Jalen Weatherington

OKC Logan Weaver

Owasso Edgar Lopez

Sapulpa Cody Burton Seminole Dillion Williams

Shawnee Caleb Amerson Yukon Logan M. Fertic

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION:

09/01/2022 Chouteau Donna K. Riggs, Widow Of Calvin J. Riggs 09/01/2022 Elk City Kathryn R. Pierce, Widow Of Carrol J. Pierce 09/01/2022 Francis Karen Scroggins, Widow Of Larry R. Scroggins 09/01/2022 Henryetta Zella Matthews, Widow Of Kenneth Matthews 09/01/2022 Oilton Frankie J. Posey, Widow Of Walter Posey Jr. 09/01/2022 Tulsa Helena Sellmeyer. Widow Of Eugene Sellmeyer 09/01/2022 Tulsa Linda Gambill, Widow Of Larry Gambill 09/01/2022 Union City Barbara J. Ventris, Widow Of Eldon R. Ventris 09/01/2022 Waynoka Vivian E. Parks, Widow Of James E. Parks 09/01/2022 Weatherford Susan Brown, Widow Of Dean R. Brown

APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION:

07/01/2022 Bessie Mark A. Lawson

09/01/2022 Breckinridge Darryl D. Lucas

09/01/2022 Canadian Kyndal P. Rodgers

09/01/2022 Carmen Matthew C. Oldham

08/01/2022 Chandler Tommy L. Barbee

08/29/2022 Cherokee Robert M. Kimminau

09/01/2022 Davis Dee C. Gregory

09/01/2022 Glenpool Troy D. Radford

09/01/2022 Harrah Brandon L. Brown

09/12/2022 Hinton Toby D. Brookshire

09/12/2022 Hinton Caleb G. Mcloud

08/01/2022 Leedey Marcus Whittington

06/29/2022 Oaks Mitchell A. Christie

06/26/2022 Oaks Billy J. Fields Jr.

09/01/2022 Ringwood Steven P. Randolph

09/01/2022 Sand Springs Justin C. Hall

08/07/2021 Sasakwa Kenneth D. Reich

09/01/2022 Seiling Lanny K. Sander

09/01/2022 Seiling Randall Feuerborn

09/01/2022 Skiatook Robert C. Nail

09/01/2022 Stillwater Steven J. Sylvester

Tim Van Horn

Terri Williams

Than Dinh

Keely Swonger

Martha Pierce Member Services

Vicki Mulbery

Thelisha Clark Records Administrator

Latoya Battle

Processor

CHECKS TERMINATED IN SEPTEMBER 2022 (Deceased):

Anadarko Monnie N. Hargus

Bartlesville Iva A. Vermillion

Bethany Carl W. Lightner

Blackwell John C. Estes

Bristow Margy R. Beach

Cyril Lee E. Gibson

East Duke Sharon E. Moore

Forgan Emma B. Rabe

Ft. Gibson Everett E. Clinkenbeard

Hickory Hills Glenn G. Fields

$5,000.00 DEATH BENEFIT:

Hochatown James P. Dowty Norman Winnona Akin

OKC Shirley M. Cooper

OKC Paula Nance

OKC Lora M. Thompson Red Rock Bobby G. Ratliff Jr. Rush Springs Shirley Hitt Tulsa Ella M. Oliver

Waurika Benjamin Porterfield Yukon Bonnie Dacus

APPLICATION FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE PENSION SYSTEM:

Anadarko Ricky Coats

Anadarko Chase Rogers

Bartlesville Jerison D. Monday

Blackwell Nicholas Compala

Broken Arrow Nathen Koonce

Chickasha Jerimiah Hoffstatter

Muskogee Austin Crowder

OKC Parker Ashworth

OKC Dawson Bassett

OKC Skylar Fenton

OKC Benjamin Hoegh

OKC Carlile Hunter

Alden Kassie Pettit, Widow Of Chandler Dee Petitt

Bartlesville Kelly L. Barger, Child Of John L. Barger

Bartlesville Bobby Joe Barger, Child Of John L. Barger

Bartlesville Terri L. Berbee, Child Of John L. Barger

Blackwell Roberts And Son Funeral Home On Behalf Of John C. Estes

Broken Arrow Rice Funeral Home On Behalf Of Robert M. Graham

Carnegie Ray & Martha’s Funeral Home On Behalf Of Wilson

Cashion Smith-Gallo Funeral Home On Behalf Of Jeffrey L. Beutler

Chouteau Donna Kay Riggs, Widow Of Calvin J. Riggs

Clayton Serenity Funeral Home On Behalf Of Forest B. Walker

Cloud Chief Mariah Sperle, Death Recipient Of Ryan Sperle

Collinsville Mowery Funeral Home On Behalf Of John D. Swim

Cole Eisenhour Funeral Home On Behalf Of Larry D. Birdwell

Francis Smith-Phillips Funeral Home On Behalf Of Larry R. Scroggins

Henryetta Hayfurst Funeral Home On Behalf Of Kenneth W. Matthews

Hochatown Dakoda Dowty, Child Of James P. Dowty

Hugo Mandy Smith, Child Of Andy Feco

Hugo Shelly Baskin, Child Of Andy Feco

Oilton Matherly-Davis Funeral Home On Behalf Of Walter Posey, Jr.

Purcell Wilson-Little Funeral Home On Behalf Of Rickey C. Witten

Sentinel Levi Fry Death Recipient Of Thomas R. Caudill

Snyder Carla Bates, Widow Of Curtis W. Bates

Sw Lincoln Lela Courreges Harpster, Parent Of Joshua C. Moore

Sw Lincoln Addalyn Moore, Minor Child Of Joshua C. Moore

Sw Lincoln Madalyn Moore, Minor Child Of Joshua C. Moore

Stillwater Malinda K. Geary, Child Of Ellis E. Allinson

Talihina Debra K. Dill, Widow Of Kenneth V. Dill

Tuttle Linda Gambill, Widow Of Larry Gambill

Union City Huber-Reynolds Funeral Home On Behalf Of Eldon R. Ventris Waurika Dudley Funeral Home On Behalf Of Benjamin A. Porterfield Waynoka Marshall Funeral Home On Behalf Of James E. Parks Weatherford Susan Brown, Widow Of Dean R. Brown Yukon Stormi D. Sanchez, Widow Of Rudolfo (Rudy) Sanchez Jr.

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE:

12/15/2021 So. Coffeyville Misty Turner, Widow Of Victor O. Turner III 08/23/2022 Yukon Stormi D. Sanchez, Widow Of Rudolfo Sanchez, Jr. Deceased 08/22/2022

APPLICATION FOR SURVIVING SPOUSE FOR CONTINUATION:

10/01/2022 Amber Gwen Jackson, Widow Of Willie L. Jackson

10/01/12022 Arapaho Alice M. Evans, Widow Of Kevin Evans

10/01/2022 Carnegie Casey J. Ponce, Widow Of Wilson G. Ponce

10/01/2022 Cole Paula S. Bridwell, Widow Of Larry D. Birdwell

10/01/2022 Farifax Shirley A. Brewer, Widow Of Dale W. Brewer

10/01/2022 Ft. Gibson Eunice Brown, Widow Of Dan A. Brown

10/01/2022 Holdenville Loretta Brittain, Widow Of Bobby J. Britain

10/01/2022 OKC Janis L. Dill, Widow Of David J. Dill

10/01/2022 OKC Mary P. Lambeth, Widow Of Leslie Lambeth Sr.

10/01/2022 Salina Jean Hedges, Widow Of Michael E. Hedges

10/01/2022 Sand Springs Debra L. Davis, Widow Of Edward L. Davis

10/01/2022 Snyder Carla Bates, Widow Of Curtis W. Bates

10/01/2022 Talihina Debra Dill, Widow Of Kenneth V. Dill

10/01/2022 Tamaha Jeri Borders, Widow Of Casey C. Borders

Clinton Zachary Lustfield Clinton Alex Tyler Collinsville Matthew Boyer Coweta Colton M. Dorris Cushing Bryce Hughey Cushing Jaxson Walker Cushing Boone Westfall Durant Shawn Westmoreland El Reno Zachary Kay Grove Dakota Clark Grove John Heath Guthrie Robert Robbins Hugo Colton Lomen Idabel Jonathan Falling Idabel Jay Tunnell

Jenks Peter Baez

Jenks Alex Crowder

Jenks David Krimbill

Jenks Connor Schultze

Limestone Kane Mcintyre Moore Dawson Padilla Moore Tyler White Moore Daniel Uriarte Moore Quinton Zima

OKC April Jackson

OKC Nathaniel Johnson

OKC Jeremiah Jones

OKC Brian Medeiros

OKC Jennifer Pavlik

OKC Miles Pearson

OKC Kyle Ramsey

OKC Samuel Redenius

OKC Robert Rhynes

OKC Kyle Shiew

OKC Jared Williams

Ponca City Cody Golay

Seminole Trevor O’Daniel

Shawnee Coty J. Davis

Shawnee Conner L. Gitthens

Shawnee Corey B. Holman

Shawnee Ryley G. Owens

Stillwater Hunter Hall

Stillwater Seth Thomason

Tuttle Michael Cain

Tuttle Trae Shores Watonga Dalton Laird Wewoka Aaron Spencer Yukon Justin Houck

DISABILITY IN THE LINE OF DUTY - Modify To Service Pension: 10/01/2022 Tulsa Michael F. Burgess

APPLICATION FOR SERVICE PENSION:

09/01/2022 Agra Bryan Pendergraff 10/01/2022 Berlin Robert D. Perriman 10/01/2022 Berlin Wesley D. Pierce 10/01/2022 Bixby Jon M. Kutz 10/01/2022 Bixby Joel E. Wiedel Jr. 08/03/2022 Braggs Charles B. Cauthon 10/01/2022 Carnegie Robert H. Pettit 10/01/2022 Clinton Calvin E. Baggett 10/01/2022 Commerce Jeremy D. Myers 10/01/2022 Coweta Jerry Burtner 10/01/2022 Durant John E. Vietta 10/01/2022 Lawton Michael J. Wright 09/10/2022 Meeker Gregory Sebastian 09/01/2022 Mulhall James T. Tucker 10/10/2022 Oak Grove James W. Roark 10/01/2022 Orlando William W. Hafner 10/01/2022 Sharon Richard Wilson 06/01/2022 Waukomis Danny R. Turner

APPLICATION FOR VESTED BENEFIT:

09/08/2022 Loyal Michael Drake 06/23/2034 Nash Jeremy L. Dershem 01/01/2039 OKC Megan N. Sandefur 09/15/2039 Sallisaw Clinton N. Agent

REFUND OF CONTRIBUTIONS: Hired Terminated Joshua Tedder Hugo 08/17/2011 08/17/2022

Two major incidents have occurred in the Olive area:

n On June 8, 1974, a massive tornado outbreak occurred along the I-44 corri dor from Lawton to Tulsa.

An F-5 twister did heavy damage in Drumright before leveling most of the town of Olive.

The tornado killed more than 15 people -- 13 in a Drumright nursing home -before ending near Lake Keystone.

n In August 2012, a 60,000 acre wildfire in Creek County destroyed more than 300 structures.

In the OFD response area alone, the fire covered 5,800 acres and 10 square miles.

your dedication and sacrifice.

James Heap: OFCA President’s Report

Greetings!

I hope this finds everyone doing well.

When we meet as an association and elect individuals to represent us as board members, we expect to have representatives who will work together to ensure that we are moving forward to accomplish what is best for the Oklahoma fire service.

As your president and a representative of this organization, I feel it is important to attend as many functions as possible representing you and the OFCA.

Whether it is attending an OSFA board or committee meeting, traveling to Stillwater for an event at Fire Service Training, at tending a State Fire Marshal Commission meeting, attending the OML Conference, or stopping in at a fire station across the state, it is imperative that we have representation at as many events as we can.

As Executive Board members, we work for you, the OFCA members. I feel that transparency of the operations of this association is a vital component of the future sustainability of the association, and as your board we are working to enhance communication between the board and you, the members.

Through the hard work of 2nd VP Craig Carruth and the Legislative Committee, several proposed changes along with some additions have been identified in the Constitution and By-Laws. We will be bringing these to you in the form of resolutions to the conference in April.

As chief officers, I feel that we should lead by example and begin to address areas where changes need to be made. The changes and additions mentioned above, if passed at the con ference, will assist in ensuring that there is transparency and communication for the members in the future.

I would also like to address the number of firefighter deaths and injuries we have had over the past few years. One is too many.

Would any of these horrific events been preventable with a little extra training? If we could save one life or send one more firefighter home uninjured, wouldn’t that make a little extra effort to train worth it?

To prevent firefighter deaths and injuries I think we could start by creating a standard for Oklahoma fire chiefs and encour age the legislature to fund training to meet that standard.

If chiefs have the proper training, then they will have the knowledge to lead their crews in a safe manner.

Once again, leading by example and helping chiefs meet a standard, we can encourage the rest of the ranks to meet a stan dard, as well.

The result should be less firefighter deaths and injuries for the Oklahoma Fire Service.

We can make a difference for the fire service by work ing together. Let us know how we can better serve you.

I look forward to seeing you all in Stillwater at the Winter Workshop in January 2023.

As always, stay safe!

A H O M A F I R E C H I E F S A S S O C I A T I

H O M A F I R E C H I E

S A S S O C I A T I O N

Richard Kelley: OFCA 1st Vice President’s Report

Greetings Brothers and Sisters!

With winter fast approaching and wild land season in our midst, I hope everyone is prepared for the challenges that lay ahead.

Winter time is always filled with increased structure fire incidents, and this year with the extreme drought, the wildland fires have the recipe to grow to conflagration levels.

As fire service professionals, we must increase our focus on smoke alarm checks, installs and the message about defensible spaces, hardening of the home and wildland fire prevention measures.

Although there are numerous challenges for firefighters during the winter season, it is also a tremendous opportunity to enjoy time with the family during the holiday season.

I hope each one of you and your family have an incredible Thanksgiving Holiday and Christmas Season. There are so many things to be thankful for, and I challenge you to ponder on the blessings in your life as you celebrate the holidays.

We are quickly approaching the Chiefs Winter Workshop which will take place Jan. 25-27 in Stillwater.

OFCA 2nd VP Craig Carruth has put together a top-notch program that will be filled with great fire service influenc ers imparting wisdom to Oklahoma Fire Service Leaders.

Not only is this a perfect time to learn from industry leaders, but more impor tantly it is an opportunity to network with fire service leaders in our state. Come be a part of a great program and bring someone with you to learn, as well.

On Oct. 12, we started a new recruit academy in our department with 64 pro

bationary firefighters who are eager and excited to join the ranks of our organization.

I had the honor to speak to them about our department and the great men and women before them who established our high-level expectations and laid the foundation for service to our community.

As I was preparing for this opportunity, it allowed me to re flect on my service and how lucky I am to serve the residents of our community while working with the greatest group of people I have ever known.

So often we get wrapped up in the negativity of life and forget what an honor it is to be called a firefighter. I hope as you read this that you reflect on your service and the phenomenal opportunity you have been given. Never underestimate your level of influence.

Until next time, strive for excellence because leaders are not born, they are made.

Craig Carruth: OFCA 2nd Vice President’s Report

Greetings Everyone!

The holiday season is upon us, which tends to have the ability to bring additional stress with schedules, traffic, gifts, and crowds.

n Watering real Christmas trees on a reg ular basis to prevent a Christmas tree fire.

n Practicing proper ways to dispose of fireplace ashes.

meeting, round table, and networking.

This event is open to new and current fire chiefs representing volunteer, combi nation, and career departments.

Mustang FD

I encourage all of us to push past the distractions and really enjoy this time of year. Make a point during the holidays to slow down and connect with what really matters most: our families and friends.

This is also a great time of year to remind our communities about several basic holiday CRR items:

n Turkey frying do’s and don’ts.

n The importance of not over loading electrical receptacles and abiding by man ufacturer safety standards when it comes to Christmas light installation.

Shifting focus, I would like to encour age everyone who is not a member of the OFCA to become a member of this wonderful association (you have nothing to lose, it’s free for your first year).

Everyone who is a member, please make plans now to attend the 2023 OFCA Winter Workshop January 25-27 at the Oklahoma State University Alumni Cen ter in Stillwater.

The theme this year is “Educate, En courage, Empower -- Leave Them Better.”

It is a reminder to make every day count with your community, department, and especially your members.

We will kick off with a pre-workshop event on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at IFSTA with the Five Bugle Brownbag informational

Again, please make plans on your calendar to attend both the pre-workshop and the workshop.

Utilizing the responses submitted from last year’s conference survey, I have been working diligently to put together an ed ucational workshop loaded with useable and relevant content presented by quality instructors.

I plan to have the Winter Workshop agenda completed in the very near future and look to have it posted on the OFCA website for everyone to view.

This will allow everyone time to get excited and make plans to attend this annual upcoming OFCA event that you don’t want to miss. I can’t wait to see everyone there, so mark your calendars!

OKC

OKC Fire Chief Richard Kelley with OCFD’s previous five fire chiefs.

L-R: Kelley, G. Keith Bryant, Alan Benson, Gary Marrs, Tom Smith and Jimmie Catledge

Michael Baker: OFCA 3rd Vice President’s Report

Reflecting on this Year’s Memorial Services

I was honored that on Oct. 2, I represented the OFCA at the 2022 Memorial Service at the Oklahoma Fallen and Living Firefighters Memorial.

The event was attended by firefighters, families, and friends of those brothers and sisters who we have lost over the past year.

The day before, I attended my third Tulsa Fallen Firefighter Memorial Service as the department’s fire chief. Previously, I attended many of these events over my career as a member of the TFD Honor Guard.

What these services have revealed to me over the years is that one day in October does not adequately honor the sacrifices of our fallen members.

The fire service is truly a unique profession. Regardless of if the work is with a volunteer or career department, a rigorous selection process seeks to find the most trustworthy and brave leaders in our community. We do a pretty good job of finding them.

Our members live together in a special workplace, sharing time flanked by a fire department and personal family. Fire fighters place themselves between danger and those in need, regardless of the circumstances.

There seems to be a constant debate whether leaders are born or made. But I believe that when you review the leadership qualities of a firefighter, the only explanation of their dedication to service is that they are born to lead.

Leadership requires certain qualities, and there are three that can be found within the firefighter.

The first quality is competence.

Doing the job with the utmost of professionalism and con stantly seeking to improve the knowledge, skills and abilities required to ensure that when called to action they are ready. Regardless of rank, career achievements, or station location, our

citizens can count on the fact that they have a fire department that reflects professional competency beyond imagination.

Next is compassion.

A firefighter simply must possess empathy for the communi ty in which they serve. Working with those living with mental illness, gripped with addiction, or experiencing homelessness can test the endurance of any human.

But it is the firefighter, that will serve no matter your status in life. The possession of a servant’s heart cannot simply be a box within a job application, it is a quality that is inherent with each of our members and will grow throughout their tenure of service.

The final quality is caring.

Does the firefighter care about the multitude of things in their professional life? Their fitness, the apparatus, what is occurring in the community, and their fellow firefighters are all areas that firefighters care about. It is the smallest of tasks completed by a firefighter that demonstrates the care for their profession and their community.

Each of the firefighters we remember in this year’s memorial services reflect the qualities of competence, compassion, and caring. The fire service of today was built upon their sacrifices, and the support of their family. They will live forever in the leg acy, tradition, and culture of our departments through stories, memories, their heroic actions and by simply being part of our family.

In his book “Legacy,” author James Kerr writes: “True leaders are stewards of the future. They take responsibility for adding to the legacy.”

These members we honor may have passed from this physi cal world, but they are an integral part of our state’s fire service legacy.

From this moment forward, our collective task is to honor the leadership and legacy of all the members we have lost, each day knowing that we are better for their contribution to our commu nities.

Greg Herbster: OFCA Past President’s Report

Greetings Oklahoma Fire Service!

Once again, we have reached the best season of the year -- football season. So far it’s been rough for us Sooner fans, but how about them Cowboys!

One similarity between football and the fire service is change. Change is something we must have and we must embrace.

Your football team comes into the season with a lot of prom ise and high expectations, but your coach leaves and takes half the players from the team. Your department can be fully staffed, all positions filled, and all the sudden you have a rash of retirements or injuries that set you back.

Embracing change has never been so important. We must have the power to welcome change and look for opportunities to get out of our comfort zone and grow.

Imagine if we didn’t change our PPE and we still fought fire with day boots and no SCBAs, went on medical calls without gloves or masks, operating on the fire scene without ICS.

Imagine fire stations still full of only grey-headed old-timers and everyone having the same viewpoints, skills and opinions.

It seems we are welcoming of change when it comes to fire

fighting procedures more than we are to cultural or generational changes.

The bottom line is, we must be leaders for change. We must have purpose and direction, yet be flexible and open while developing relationships and staying connected.

Changeability is the primary source of giving us a competi tive advantage in our ever evolving profession. Nothing chang es if nothing changes.

Until next time, stay safe and stay involved.

H O M A F I R E C H I E F S A S S O C I A T I O N

Moore FD

Tulsa FD

Moore FD’s July 2022 Recruitment Photo

Oklahoma Chief Officers:

As a fellow administrator, I have found that this last year solidified the impor tance of being a part of this organization. Throughout our careers, we are going to face challenges varying in scale and complexity. When those challenges arise, it is imperative that leaders have quality resources to utilize in making difficult decisions.

Are you currently dealing with chal lenging issues in your department and ever wondered what other departments in our state are doing or have done in similar situations? Well, you have an opportunity to join an organization full of members willing to assist in any way possible.

On behalf of the Oklahoma State Fire Chiefs Board, I am extending an invita tion for you to join the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association (OFCA). It is an asso ciation which enables and encourages all chief officers in the state to share informa tion and learn from each other.

The purpose of the OFCA is to create a general and mutual understanding among all chief officers in the State of Oklahoma for the purpose of discussing general fire department operations and conditions affecting the fire service.

Each year, the OFCA sponsors a Winter Workshop bringing in subject matter experts from across the nation to discuss current issues facing chief officers.

The OFCA also sponsors the Annual Chiefs Conference where members are given legislative updates, reports from state leaders and collaborative partners who interact with the fire service, as well as current information regarding the latest industry trends.

The information gained through the

speakers and networking will help you perform at an optimum level as a chief of ficer and leader within your community.

Membership is open to all members of the fire departments in the State of Okla homa. The annual membership dues for active members or chief officers are only $36 ($3 per month).

For sustaining members or non-chief officers, it is only $18 ($1.5 per month) for those who want to be a part of the associ ation but who do not have voting rights.

Better yet, when you join as a new member, your first year is free.

The return of knowledge you will re ceive dramatically outweighs the minimal amount invested, so step up and become a member of the leading fire service asso ciation in the state.

We will continue to face management challenges in the future, and with your active participation, I am confident there is no challenge we cannot face together.

Before you put this letter aside, please understand the majority of the opera tional needs of the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association is funded by annual member ship dues.

The funds are then used to invest back into the organization, which provides education, training, legislative represen tation, networking opportunities and sup port to its members.

So, please take the time to fill out the membership information and enclose your check or follow the OFCA link on the OSFA website and become a member. You have been sent this letter because of your success within your organization, and we need your expertise in our orga nization.

Below, you will find a heat map show ing where active OFCA memberships are within our great state. You will note we

have plenty of areas without any color, which indicates no involvement in the association. Underneath the map, there is statistical data that support the map.

As Chief Officers in our state, we need to be doing a better job of getting in volved and supporting one another. The data indicates only 27% of fire chiefs in the state are involved in an organization that by design was created by its leaders for its leaders. These numbers should get the attention of any chief officer and motivate them to get involved.

This organization was established to support organizational leaders regardless if they are volunteer, combination, or career.

Please consider joining the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association, as we could bene fit from the knowledge of 73% additional members.

-- Craig Carruth, Mustang Fire Chief & OFCA 2nd Vice President

2022-23 OFCA Executive Board

OFCA PRESIDENT James Heap jrheap@pldi.net

1ST VICE PRESIDENT Richard Kelley richard.kelley@ okc.gov

OFCA DIRECTOR Kent Lagaly klagaly901@ gmail.com

2ND VICE PRESIDENT Craig Carruth ccarruth@ cityofmustang.org

3RD VICE PRESIDENT Michael Baker mbaker@ cityoftulsa.org

PAST PRESIDENT Greg Herbster gregherbster@ cityofmoore.com

O K L A H O M A F I R E C H I E F S A S S O C I A T I