Earlier this afternoon, Governor Bentley signed the legislation that grants independence to the Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission, increases the accountability of the organization, and saves administrative costs. It is noteworthy that every vote taken on this bill was unanimous. Thanks once again to all of you who supported this effort, and please thank your senators and representatives.

Allan Rice
Executive Director
Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission

We are in the final stages of approval for the Fire College bill. The last step in this long process is to get approval by the full House of Representatives, which we hope to achieve next week. We need your help!

Please call your state representative this weekend or on Monday and tell them that you, along with all Alabama fire service organizations, support the “Fire College bill” that Rep. John Merrill is bringing forward, and you would like for them to vote for it when it comes up.

If you do not know who your representative is, please visit this page:

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html

You can enter your zip code on the first screen, and then your full address on the second screen and it will tell you exactly who represents you.

Please share with them your support of this legislation, which will increase accountability and save costs so that better service can be provided to Alabama’s firefighters.

Thanks for all you do to protect Alabama,

Allan

Allan Rice
Executive Director
Alabama Fire College and Personnel Standards Commission
2501 Phoenix Drive
Tuscaloosa, AL 35405

ad valorem property tax. The Alabama Firefighters Annuity and Benefit Fund and The Alabama Peace Officers Annuity Fund would split 20% of the funds generated from this tax and the rest would go to the General Fund, which is desperately underfunded at this time. I urge you to contact your member of the Alabama House of Representatives to ask for their support of this legislation.

Talking points:

• Bill received a Favorable report from Committee
• Provides a benefit to dedicated career and volunteer firefighters for their service to their communities.
• Provide incentive for citizens to join and actively participate in their Local Volunteer FD’s- active participation required for volunteers to maintain membership in Fund.
• Let’s the citizens of Alabama vote on the issue- Legislators are not raising taxes the people would have to.
• Provides needed revenue for the State General Fund budget

Please contact as many Representatives as you can, especially yours. Let me know if we get support from them or not. Please contact any of the Alabama Firefighters Annuity and Benefit Fund Commissioners www.alabamafirefightersabf.org

Most Respectfully,

C. R. Vaughan

Vice Chairman

205-499-6905

chief@cubafiredept.org

The Insurance Committee Members are:

Representative Mike Hill (Chair) – 334-242-7715 or mhillcolum@aol.com

Representative Greg Wren (Vice Chair) 334-242-7764 or repgregwren@yahoo.com

Representative Lawrence McAdory – 334-242-7702

Representative K. L. Brown – 334-242-1778 or klbrown@cableone.net

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/house/representatives/houseroster_alpha.html

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 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/.

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