Category Archives: News

Legislative Update

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Most of you are aware of the Fire College bill that has been introduced in the state legislature this year. The senate version of this bill, Senate Bill 134, is scheduled for a vote this coming Tuesday. This bill has strong support, but we need you to call your state senator and tell them how much this bill means to you. You can find out who your senator is at this website: http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html. A phone call from you is better than an email. If your senator is not available, please leave a message and tell them that you support SB 134 (the “Fire College” bill).

Here are some facts about this bill:

* It will insure that the Fire College is operated by firefighters and not by other interests within the state

* It will give both the Alabama Association of Volunteer Fire Departments and the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs a  seat on Personnel Standards Commission

* It will provide more oversight than ever before by creating a legislative oversight committee and by requiring two annual financial audits

* It will help insure funding for the Commission and Fire College

* This bill was drafted by a task force with members from:

* AAVFD

* AAFC

* AFA

* PFFA

* Firefighters Personnel Standards Commission

* Alabama two-year college system

* Elected officials

* This bill has been endorsed by ALL state fire service groups and the State Board of Education In addition to the phone calls to senators, which is VERY important, we also need as many firefighters as possible to come to the Alabama State House in Montgomery on Tuesday. If you are available, please come in uniform and meet at 1300 hrs on the 7th floor outside the Senate chambers. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate what the fire service can do when we work together.

Fire Corps Academy

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Fire Corps Offers Additional Courses for Fire Corps Academy

Fire Corps is offering free online training to help fire and EMS departments achieve more by using non-emergency community volunteers to assist with department tasks. Register now to participate in Fire Corps Academy courses on April 28 and May 6. Each course lasts one hour. Participation is limited to 30 per session, so sign up today!

When:

Thursday, April 28

FC-301: Fire Corps in Disaster Response – 11:00am EDT

Friday, May 6
FC-100: Introduction to Fire Corps – 11am EDT
FC-200: Starting and Implementing a Fire Corps Program – 1:00 EDT
FC-301: Fire Corps in Disaster Response – 3:00pm EDT

How:

Register for these sessions at http://firecorps.org/academy.

Course Descriptions:

FC-100 is designed for fire chiefs, department personnel, municipal officials, and other interested parties who want to learn about the fundamentals of Fire Corps. The session provides an overview of how the Fire Corps program is organized and introduces the benefits, depth, and scope of community volunteer activities in fire and emergency service departments. FC-100 also identifies the basic steps and components to building the infrastructure of a local Fire Corps program.

FC-200 provides information and activities that can be used to train fire department personnel and/or Fire Corps volunteers who are overseeing or who will oversee or manage a Fire Corps program. This session teaches how to successfully grow a program along with avoiding and mitigating issues that slow or hinder healthy growth. Participants will learn about various volunteer management practices and be provided with sample documents and tips to help sustain and further their programs.

FC-301 provides information and activities that can be used to train fire department personnel and/or Fire Corps volunteers who are overseeing or who will oversee or manage a Fire Corps program. This session is designed to show how Fire Corps fits into a community’s disaster response efforts. Because Fire Corps teams already assist fire and EMS departments in their duties to keep the community safe, Fire Corps volunteers can also be used to start, improve, or enhance a fire department’s disaster response efforts.

Additional Courses:

Additional sessions of the Fire Corps Academy will be offered online and in person throughout the year. Stay tuned to the Fire Corps web site at www.firecorps.org/academy for dates and times.

About the Academy

 

The Fire Corps Academy is a series of free training sessions and resources designed for Fire Corps program managers, department leaders, and local Fire Corps volunteers who wish to start and/or participate in a Fire Corps program. Department personnel and Fire Corps program coordinators can benefit from the training to learn about different aspects of implementing, managing, and expanding a local program. Learn more at www.firecorps.org/academy.

About Fire Corps

 

Fire Corps is a federally-funded program under the Citizen Corps initiative, which is a national grassroots effort to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. It is administered on a national level by the National Volunteer Fire Council in partnership with the International Association of Fire Chiefs and many other organizations that make up the National Advisory Committee.  Learn more about Fire Corps at http://www.firecorps.org/.

Apparatus Operator Mobile Water Supply Certification

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The Alabama Firefighters Association in conjunction with Green Pond and Coaling Fire Departments is proud to offer the Apparatus Operator Mobile Water Supply Certification. The 16 hour class will be held April 16th and 17th at Coaling Fire Department, located a mile south of the Mercedes Plant. This is the first delivery of the class to Alabama departments, class is free to AFA members.

 

Marvin Dwane Green

Fire Chief

Green Pond Fire & Rescue

19629 Eastern Valley Road

PO Box 487

Green Pond, AL 35074

Office 205-938-9991

Cell 205-296-6546

Basic Wildland Fire Fighter Course

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 The Alabama Forestry Commission now offers the Basic Wildland Fire Fighter Course as a Web-Rom called Fire in the Field

Fire in the Field FIF 100 (http://itm-info.com/fif100dl.html) is a Web-Rom software program that includes S-130 Basic Wildland Fire Fighter and S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior. The Fire in the Field learning management system includes real time tracking and communication between instructor and student, a powerful tracking and accountability database, Web-ROM delivery that enables robust multimedia instruction, and updating over the Internet to ensure current information.

Fire in the Field is National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) recognized and will be available to new forestry firefighters, volunteer or paid firefighters, prescribe burners, cooperators and others desiring to have a basic understanding of fundamental wildland firefighting. The Alabama Forestry Commission is the only licensee in the state authorized to provide and administer this training program.   The “courses” are self-paced and students can submit questions throughout the time frame they are taking the course.

Part of providing and overseeing the program involves an Alabama Forestry Commission administrator. The Alabama Forestry Commission has a total of 15 administrators with two administrators in each of the six regions.  These individuals monitor a student(s) progress, tracks their accomplishment, questions, testing, etc. associated with a course. At the end of the given time frame, students are brought in for a final practicum exercise. For more information contact Randy Kinman, AFC Personnel/Training Officer @ 334-240-9325 or randy.kinman@forestry.alabama.gov.

Help the Japan Firefighters Association with Relief Efforts

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Help the Japan Firefighters Association with Relief Efforts

The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) joins with the rest of the world in expressing our sorrow at the loss and devastation in Japan that has resulted from Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The NVFC has established an International Relief Fund to assist the Japan Firefighters Association in their relief efforts. Please make a contribution to help aid the Japan Firefighters Association during this time of extreme crisis.

Click here to donate using a credit card.

Donations can also be made via check. Make the check out to ‘NVFC’ and indicate Japan Relief Fund in the memo line. Mail checks to:

NVFC

Attn: Japan Relief Efforts

7852 Walker Drive, Suite 450

Greenbelt, MD 20770

With thousands dead and thousands more still missing, as well as continuing aftershocks, mounting nuclear reactor problems, and millions of people without water, food, or heat, Japan has a long road ahead toward recovery. Join the NVFC in assisting the Japan Firefighters Association with rescue and cleanup efforts by making a contribution to the International Relief Fund. All funds raised by the NVFC for the Japan relief efforts will go to the Japan Firefighters Association.

The Japan Firefighters Association has assisted U.S. firefighters in times of need through donations to 9/11 relief efforts as well as contributions to the NVFC’s Volunteer Firefighter Support Fund, which provides financial assistance to volunteer firefighters in the wake of a state- or federally-declared disaster. Members of the Japan Firefighters Association have visited the U.S. many times to meet with leaders from the NVFC and local departments across the U.S., including a visit in October. NVFC Executive Director Heather Schafer attended a conference of the Japan Firefighters Association in Tokyo last month, and NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg previously attended an international fire service conference in Tokyo in 2008.