Safer grant awarded
I hope this edition of the FireWire finds everyone doing well, it was a busy summer and is proving to be a busy fall as well for the KSFFA Executive Board. Summer seemed to linger on and leave many of us with extremely dry conditions in many parts of the state. Those of you who were fortunate to experience average to above average moisture over the summer months and even into the early fall will likely experience a higher rangeland fuel load than those of us who were not fortunate enough to experience much rain, especially in the central part of the state where we are nearly 8 inches below average rainfall for the year.
As I mentioned, the summer and fall have been busy for the Executive Board. In addition to monthly regional schools, the past several months many of the executive board members have been busy with meetings, conferences and additional educational opportunities. We had a few executive board members attend Firehouse Expo for professional development and to learn from other instructors. We also had the opportunity to attend a day of the Kansas State Council of Firefighters conference hosted by Lawrance Fire and Medical Local 1596. It was a very informative day with the primary topic of PFAS and its impact on firefighter’s health and wellness.
The KSFFA eboard attended the Kansas EMS Association conference and expo as vendors to represent the association as well as to support KEMSA and their annual conference.
In early October we attended the Kansas Firefighter Memorial Service in Wichita. As usual, the staff from the museum put together a great memorial service for fallen firefighters and we were honored to be able to attend and represent the KSFFA. Special thanks to all of the honor guard, pipes and drum members and area fire departments who take time to support the memorial service.
We also represented the KSFFA as vendors at the Wichita HOT fire school. This fire school has grown tremendously over the years to one of, if not the largest fire service educational event in the state and we will continue to support this event into the future. And last week I had the opportunity to attend the Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs Conference. On Thursday afternoon the Chiefs Roundtable discussion was very informative and paved further discussion during the business meeting portion of the conference. I also presented a brief update about the KSFFA to the KSAFC membership.
The weekend of Nov. 10th-12th the majority of the KSFFA executive board traveled to Des Moines, IA to attend the Mid States Networking meeting. This is an annual event where we have the opportunity to meet with firefighter associations from several other mid-west states to discuss issues related to fire and emergency services. This meeting has been going on for several years and having the opportunity to network with others experiencing similar issues such as recruitment and retention is a great opportunity.
Speaking of recruitment and retention, as many have heard, the KSFFA received a SAFER grant of just over $1.3 million that will be distributed over a 4-year timeframe. The KSFFA was successfully awarded the grant to be used by the association and departments across the state for various things such as recruitment, health and safety and PPE. Please keep an eye on email, social media posts, KSFFA website updates and updates in the firewire on what to expect from the grant and how to apply for and utilize grant funds.
The KSFFA executive board wishes to congratulate Jennifer Johnson as the newly appointed director of the Kansas Fire Rescue Training Institute. Jennifer was a long-time member of the KSFFA during her career with the Kansas City Kansas Fire Department. We have had a few discussions and the KSFFA and KFRTI leadership will be collaborating on several different training opportunities. Both organizations have training and education as top priorities and see no reason to create silos. We intend to bring several KFRTI class deliveries to KSFFA regional fire schools throughout 2024 as well as collaborate on other training and educational opportunities. We continue to work alongside the Kansas Forestry Service on training and education of firefighters in wildland/rangeland fire suppression, mitigation and best practices. A group of dedicated individuals have been meeting over the past couple of years to develop a training and education plan that can be widely distributed across the state. The overall purpose of the plan is for the training to be consistent regardless of who provides the education. Additionally, representatives from the Kansas Forestry Service frequently attend KSFFA regional fire schools to provide information about their agency as well as to teach wildland fire suppression classes.
Our relationship with the Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal remains strong as well. As many are aware, Doug Jorgenson will be retiring this year and over the past 10 or so years we have had the opportunity to build a great working relationship with Fire Marshal Jorgenson and the State Fire Marshal’s office. We greatly appreciate the years of leadership that Doug provided to the office and the fire service in Kansas.
In addition, the KSFFA executive board would like to congratulate and welcome Mark Engholm as the new State Fire Marshal. We look forward to working alongside Mark and continuing the relationship with the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
Lastly, as we move into the fall and winter months, the Kansas Legislature will be re-convening soon. It is our understanding that there will likely be a few pieces of legislation presented that may not be in the best interests of the Kansas Fire Service. If legislative matters that could potentially have a negative impact on fire and emergency services are introduced, we will collaborate with the other professional associations and organizations to ensure that our voices are heard, and that constraining legislation is not passed without careful consideration of the impact that legislation of this nature could have on Kansas Fire and Emergency Service’s as whole.
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for the Annual Firefighter Relief Association Conference being held in Salina on Jan. 20, 2024. More information will be available soon regarding the education that will be presented.
Be safe, be nice and train every day.
Shane Pearson,
KSFFA President