MSFCA E-Newsletter. Election and Bylaw voting begins online July 19, runs through September 1

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1 MSFCA E-Newsletter A publication of the MN Fire Chief Magazine - June 2017 Election and Bylaw voting begins online July 19, runs through September 1 by Nyle Zikmund, Agent for the MSFCA Once again we will be conducing our voting online, just like in We will NOT be voting at the fall conference. All voting will be done online via an link that is sent to voting members by our vendor Survey and Balloting. This link will have a one-time username and password that takes you to their secure web site where the four candidates (two each for President and Vice President) ballots will appear. There are also bylaw proposals, both technical and substantive. The technical will all be grouped as one while the substantive will be offered individually. Full details on all candidates and bylaws will be published in the July/August issue. Candidate profiles will also be available on our website after June 1. You must be a command level officer (Chief, Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief, Battalion Chief, Safety Officer, Training Officer, etc.) to be eligible to vote. If you do NOT receive an by July 19th, contact the office at Fire Officer and Public Educator of the year awards by Nyle Zikmund, Agent for the MSFCA Know someone deserving? NOW is the time to start working on your nomination for Fire Officer (one awarded to chief of department under 10,000 population protected and one over) and public education award for firefighter, citizen or company. Applications and details are all available on our web page. The Fire Officer and Public Educator Award to a firefighter all come with $1,000 award stipends. Deadline to submit is August 1, MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 1

2 In this issue... Election and bylaw voting... 1 by Nyle Zikmund, Agent for the MSFCA Fire Officer and Public Educator of the year awards... 1 by Nyle Zikmund, Agent for the MSFCA From the President...2 by George Esbensen, MSFCA President National Safety Stand Down by Judy Thill, MSFCA Representative to NVFC The new age of techno-training...4 by Steve Flaherty, MBFTE Exec. Director MSFCA meets with meets with federal officials in Washington D.C...5 by BJ Jungmann, MSFCA Legislative Chair Electronic voting and bylaw changes...7 by Nyle & Theresa Zikmund, Agents for the MSFCA Volunteer pension news...7 Nyle & Theresa Zikmund, Agents for the MSCA Tech tools for PIOs... 8 by Christ Powers, Public Information Officer Toward zero deaths...8 by Mark Warner Family!!... 9 by David Schliek, Chairman, Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board Recreational Fire Safety...10 by Jim Smith, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal MSFCA Sponsors...11 From the President... President George Esbensen Office: Cell: gesbensen@edenprairie.org One of the great experiences you get to have as president of our fantastic organization is interacting personally with many of our members and the vendors who support our mission. Over the past few weeks I have had the pleasure of speaking with virtually all of our Diamond, Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors. To a person this is a group of people who wholeheartedly support the mission of the MSFCA to their core. Their collective willingness to contribute to special programs and events is a testament to their shared vision about what the MSFCA represents and what we are striving to build. I would urge each and every fire service leader to always include our supporters in your buying decision making process and help to support those who support us, the Minnesota Fire Service. The MSFCA election season is upon us and voting for the new slate of candidates will take place beginning in July 2017, just a few short months from now. Please take the time to get to know the candidates by reading about them on the MSFCA website, in the MSFCA magazine and at various meetings around the state where you gather. Elections matter, you are picking the future leaders of this great organization who will be tasked with addressing challenges to our future successes, effectively communicating with policymakers, and forming important partnerships with the other fire service organizations in our state. In addition to all of that, our leaders must keep focused on making sure our financial health is sustainable through the good times as well as the inevitable economic downturns. Be sure to vote, it matters! Advertiser index Emergency Apparatus Maintenance..1 Emergency Response Solutions...3 Explore Alexandria...9 Fire Safety USA...4 General Safety...2 MES...5 Minnesota Twins...12 MSFCA Campaign Ad...6 MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 2

3 National Safety Stand Down 2017 by Judy Thill, MSFCA Representative to the National Volunteer Fire Council Get ready for the 2017 Safety Stand Down! The National Volunteer Fire Council s Safety and Health Committee and the International Association of Fire Chiefs Volunteer and Combination Officers Section have again partnered to place an important spotlight on critical safety, health, and survival issues for the fire and emergency services. The focus for this year s Safety Stand Down event, which runs from June 18-24, is MAYDAY, Self-Rescue, and Rapid Intervention. If you need help finding training material based on these themes, go to the Safety Stand Down website ( org/) where you will find videos, training programs and other resources that have been downloaded by various agencies and other departments. If you already have something developed in these areas and are willing to share, you can add your information to the site for others to use. Also, in cooperation with the National Fire Protection Association, a quiz will be available to take on the website during the month of June. Fire departments are highly encouraged to participate in this Safety Stand Down Week; however, that doesn t mean you have to use all of the information provided. Maybe you have a different issue in your department you need to highlight. The important thing is that all fire personnel are encouraged to use this designated week to highlight firefighter safety and health within your departments. EMERGENCY RESPONSE SOLUTIONS Your health and safety is our top priority! Don t be statistic... Protect yourself with H41 Interceptor. Call us today! 4817 Viking Blvd. NE East Bethel, MN Toll Free: Phone: Cell: Fax: /2018 MSFCA Conferences... MSFCA Fall Conference Rochester October Fire Officers School Alexandria February 9-11 Fire Officers School Duluth March MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 3

4 The new age of techno-training by Steve Flaherty, MBFTE Executive Director Although the report on the Firefighter Training Study conducted by Management Analysis and Development will not be finalized until June 30, one merely needed to attend any one of the Listening Sessions held in eight different statewide locations to hear that there is a need for firefighter training to adapt to the new age of technology. However, there was a day (long, long ago) when the overhead projector and the slide carrousel were considered new technology. Fast forward into today s world of technological advances and it seems that even PowerPoint has now run its course. And so the quest is on not only for fire instructors, but for training providers across all disciplines in our society to somehow integrate this fast-paced ever-changing technology into something meaningful for our training needs. Like any other evolution, this switch from old-school to new-school learning does not come without considerations. There are many factors to take into account when migrating to a technological form of how we do things in firefighter training. For example, there are certain firefighting skills that simply require a handson approach to learning, and there are just some things that have to be experienced first-hand to be appreciated by the learner. That being said, think of how technology has already had an impact on our firefighter training in ways our predecessors in this business could have never imagined: mobile props, burn simulators, driving simulators, online interactive training, webinars, cell phone apps and yes even YouTube! If you haven t noticed, the new age of techno-training is already here; we just need to allow ourselves to embrace the opportunities that exist, think outside the box, and pursue the endless technology that awaits us in the days ahead! As always, if you have questions, comments or concerns regarding the MBFTE, please feel free to contact me or any one of our board members. MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 4

5 MSFCA meets with federal officials in Washington D.C. by BJ Jungmann, Chair, MSFCA Legislative Committee In April three representatives from the MSFCA and one representative from the MSFDA traveled to Washington DC to participate in the Federal Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI). We were joined by a few hundred other fire service leaders from across the country. Representing the MSFCA was President/Fire Chief George Esbensen, Fire Chief John Piper and myself. Dave Yurczyk represented the MSFDA. This was my first trip to Washington DC for the purposes of meeting with our federal elected delegation. We learned a lot and were able to meet with the Congressman or their staff of all ten of our state s elected federal officials. It is amazing how in tune some of our federal elected officials are with specific fire service issues. One comment we heard consistently was that you must show up and be present for your issues to be considered. This comment helped confirm the need to not only be engaged in our state legislative process but also with the federal process. We discussed the following issues with the Congressman and their staff: Minnesota s lack of financial support for the fire service while having the second most volunteer firefighters per capita in the nation Protecting funding for FIRE/SAFER grants Funding for the US Fire Administration and National Fire Academy Federal tax incentives for volunteer firefighters Incentivizing fire sprinkler retrofits Creating a nationwide voluntary cancer registry for firefighters Requirement to give back public safety communication spectrum in the T-band Protecting access to emergency medications (DEA requirement issue) Reauthorizing the Mediate ambulance extender payments Improve hazardous materials response training for first responders All of our Congressman and their staff were receptive to our issues and comments. I also requested that the Congressman meet with fire service leaders in their district later this year. Congress has a summer break in August which would be a great time to get them to meet with all of you in their district. If you are interested in helping me coordinate a meeting in your federal legislator s district, please let me know. Bj.jungmann@burnsvillemn.gov MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 5

6 Vote for experienced leadership reflective of - and responsive to - the needs of the Minnesota Fire Service Tim and Tom are both small town boys from rural Minnesota. Both are passionate about the fire service and the Chief s Association in this state. Both are experienced in rural fire and EMS, and will bring their unique combination of rural, suburban, and urban fire suppression, EMS, and special operations experience to bear, and address the issues of most concern to you the members of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association. Tim Butler for President Tom Miller for Vice President We are running on a simple 3-plank platform: 1) Restoration of ethical, transparent leadership to the Board of Directors based on the authority that comes from the membership, expressed by the duly elected representatives of our members, and limited by the bylaws and policies approved by the members. 2) The Regional Representatives serving as members of the MSFCA Board of Directors should be experienced, trusted leaders duly elected by the members of each region. Hand-picked Boards should be eliminated, and Tim and Tom will help restore the voice and the power to the rightful leaders of this Association..YOU, the members! 3) Tim and Tom will work to ensure that the Executive Agents of the Association are Minnesota-based; are fire-focused; are focused on the strategic growth and influence of our Association; and provide an exclusive, full-time commitment to the Minnesota Fire Service. Our issues and our members deserve nothing less, and Tim and Tom will work to restore those qualities in the executive agents for our Association. The Association s current Board of Directors is composed of hand-picked members who were not duly elected by you - the members of the Association. The Board has been focused on internal matters, have pushed aside the rules and policies set by the membership, and have discarded experienced, trusted, and high-performing Minnesota fire service leaders. These actions are detrimental to our history and run contrary to the core principles of fire service leadership. These actions hurt our ability to be truly valuable to you the members, and are bad for the future of our Association. Tom Miller and Tim Butler will change the focus and the leadership philosophies with their three-plank platform, and restore a combination of rural/metro experience to the elected positions of President and Vice President, which has been missing for a number of years. Vote for Tim Butler and Tom Miller in the upcoming MSFCA election! MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 6

7 Z 2 Electronic voting and bylaw changes Nyle & Theresa Zikmund, Agents of the MSFCA Electronic Voting: Just like in 2015, we will be voting for officers President and Vice President, and Bylaw Changes electronically. Presidential candidates include Chief Tim Butler of St. Paul and Chief John Cunningham from Elk River. Vice Presidential candidates include Chief Tom Miller from Pine City and Chief Steve Koering from St. Louis Park. A number of bylaw changes have also been proposed and recommended for adoption by the Board of Directors. An overview is provided below with full details published in our July/August Fire Chief Magazine. Voting members will receive an from our contracted vendor, Survey and Balloting, who conducted the voting in Full details will be sent to each member but in brief, sometime in the middle of July you will get an that includes a hyperlink and a one-time password. You click on the link, type in your password which takes you to the ballot. You mark your choices and hit submit. a resolution to recommend to members a number of bylaw changes of which five are technical in nature and four are substantive. The substantive changes include eliminating language in section that provided for the President to appoint Regional Directors and in conjunction with changes in 5.1, changes the definition of elected officers of the Association to include elected directors from each of the regions. Section 5.3 changes the term of all elected officers to commence at the fall membership meeting after the election results have been certified and presented to membership. The last change is to section 7.3 which removes placing names for nomination from the floor. With elections being conducted electronically and candidates being vetted by the Elections Committee, this statement becomes obsolete. Full details and exact changes will be published in the July/August Issue of the Minnesota Fire Chief Magazine which will come out the last week of June or very first week of July. Bylaw Changes: At their Board meeting on April 21, the Board adopted Volunteer pension news by Nyle Zikmund, Agent for the MSFCA Fire State Aid Some of you may have seen or heard of the amendment to repeal all fire aid. The amendment was voted down UNANIMOUSLY. The amendment was offered by the author as a discussion item to allow him to educate and to some degree, make a point with no intention ever of repealing the Fire Aid Program. State Wide Pension Plan Now has over 142 plans enrolled, and this year s pension bill includes major changes to the law. The biggest is provision to withdraw but also a provision to adjust benefits down should there be a need. These and other provisions are in the Omnibus Pension Bill which at this point, has some work to be done before passage and signage by the Governor. State Auditor s Working Group Bill Is also in the Omnibus Pension Bill and has several provisions, the biggest being an ability, if you so choose at the local level, to include EMS only responders into your volunteer pension plan. MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 7

8 Tech tools for PIOs by Christi Powers, Public Information Officer, Minnesota Interagency Fire Center Wildland fire public information officers (PIOs) are early adopters of social media for emergency and crisis communications. When an incident management team (IMT) is activated to a wildfire or all-risk incident, Minnesota Incident Command System (MNICS) PIOs usually set up a designated Gmail account with an incident name (e.g. Ham Lake Fire). Once known as Google Apps, the list of Google products (Gmail, Google+, Hangouts, Calendar, etc.) are also referred to as G-Suite. Gmail Once a Google account is created, you can use Gmail and other tools. A disadvantage to using a free Gmail account for large, complex incidents is that you are limited to the number of contacts that can be added (about 200 or less). Subscription and fee-based options, such as Mail Chimp or Constant Contact, give you greater bandwidth and the ability to have more contacts for large-group distribution. Google Voice You can designate a phone number (e.g FIRE) and add multiple cell phones to the Google Voice account. All cell phones will ring for incoming calls, so assign one person to initially take calls. A single, identifiable phone number is helpful for the public to remember during emergencies. Google Drive Multiple users can store files in the Google Drive cloud. You can synchronize files across devices (ipad, tablet, iphone or Android). In Google Drive, you can use Google Docs, Sheets, Sites and Slides. These G-Suite tools provide collaborative use and editing, so you can save versions of a document. Set up Google Drive with folders for daily updates, photos, maps, incident action plans (IAP) and other documents to stay organized. Incidentally, Microsoft Office 365 has a suite of similar tools for a cloud-based package price of $99 per year. G-Suite is free. Based out of the Minnesota Interagency Fire Center in Grand Rapids, MNICS has three IMTs on rotation and can be activated within a few hours. PIOs work closely with other Command & General Staff to gather and distribute timely and accurate incident information. Contact mifcpio.dnr@state.mn.us with questions. Toward zero deaths by Mark Warner, representative for: Darfur Fire Department/First Responders, Butterfield Fire/First Responders, Comfrey First Responders, and Mt. Lake Ambulance. On Saturday, March 25, 2017, representatives and equipment from Darfur, Butterfield, LaSalle, Lewisville, Madelia, Odin and St. James Fire Departments, Madelia and St. James Ambulances, St. James and Madelia Police Departments, Minnesota State Patrol, South Central Emergency Medical Services, Watonwan County and State Highway Department, Maloney and Steve s wrecker services, the Watonwan County TZD and the SC/SW TZD regional coordinators met in St. James at the Minnesota State Highway Department building. (Toward zero deaths continued on page 10) MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 8

9 Family!! by David Schliek, Chairman - MN Fire Service Certification Board Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board How many pictures of your family do you have displayed in your home? If your house is like mine, there are quite a few. Many of these pictures show the various stages of your family s growth and development. As the kids grow up and family gets larger, new family members become part of the portraits. Pictures are strategically placed where guests and friends can clearly view them. As I travel the state attending meetings and administering exams, I often notice the hosting fire departments also show off pictures of their fire family. As the family expands over the years, again the collection of photos is proudly located where visitors can easily see them. I would state these pictures are shown with an amount of pride that could be similar to that of the family photos in their homes. family grows those successes are also grabbed a hold of. Certification exams and course graduations are very often a part of the fire family collection. And well they should be! Recognition of such achievements certainly does deserve this kind of boasting. Does your fire department honor the commitment of your fire family this way? Hundreds of fire fighters across the state of Minnesota make this commitment every year. Just as your children move from one level of knowledge, skills and abilities to increasingly difficult tasks, so do your fire family members. With those attributes your members accept varying levels of responsibility or duties that make the family successful. As you move through life or your fire career you can relish in your triumphs. It is great to see the family as it grows! As our children grow and accomplish goals, we capture those moments in photographs. As the fire ExploreAlex.com MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 9

10 Recreational Fire Safety... by Jim Smith, Chief Deputy State Fire Marshal The warm days of spring and summer are upon us finally! Outdoor activities for friends and family are being planned even as I write. We are cooped up for so many months during the winter that the newly planted flowers and smell of freshly mown lawns begs us to spend our free time outside enjoying all that Minnesota has to offer. One popular activity is building a recreational fire in a fire pit. Who can resist a smoky, slightly charred hotdog or brat cooked on an open fire? And to complete the classic summertime festivities, a perfectly prepared roasted marshmallow melting the chocolate inside the quintessential s more. Recreational fires have been a wonderful addition to our summertime events. And, in recent years, there has been an influx of the decorative outdoor gas-fired fire pit tables and heaters finding their way onto patios and decks across Minnesota. Unfortunately, the incidents of burn injuries associated with fire pits and fire tables has not declined over the years. Countless children, teens and adults are burned every year from falling in or coming into contact with the hot coals and/or open flame. What is more disturbing is that many of these injuries occur quite a while after the gas has been shut off or the fire pit fire has died down. The decorative glass rocks around the fire pit table burner retain heat for a relatively long time after the flame has been extinguished. Hot coals from a fire pit fire can remain extremely dangerous for hours, or even days, depending on the size of the fire. In order to keep everyone safe from burn injuries, recreational fires should be doused with water to cool all burning material in the pit. Remember to stir the ashes to expose all hot coals and embers. Keep using water on the fire pit embers until no more steam is generated. For gas-fired fire pit tables, it is best to have a raised grate or vented lid that covers the decorative fire pit area. This will ensure a quicker cool-down of the ornamental glass or rocks, while protecting anyone from inadvertently placing their hand onto a very hot object. The State Fire Marshal Division has a section of their website dedicated to recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces. And, as always, if you have questions regarding the regulations specific to recreational fires and portable outdoor fireplaces, you can call the State Fire Marshal Division at Toward zero deaths... (continued from page 8) Statements were read regarding the safety of all the emergency and highway department personal. Individual department pictures along with a group picture were taken to post to try and make the general public aware of the dangers faced by all the personal that respond to emergency situations, maintain the roads, or serve and protect us on the streets and highways. The goal is not only to have Zero Deaths on the Watonwan County roads but also Zero Deaths Statewide and Nationwide. Please, when you see emergency, law enforcement or highway personal SLOW DOWN and if possible move over and give us room to do our job safely. Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 10

11 The Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association would like to thank our sponsors Diamond Sponsors Emergency Response Solutions Emergency Apparatus Maintenance Fire Safety USA Custom Fire / Sutphen General Safety MacQueen Emergency Group/Pierce Platinum Sponsors Alex Air Apparatus Gold Sponsors Great Plains Fire Lindstrom Restoration Parr McKnight Wealth Management Silver Sponsors Customized Rescue Training Brunton Architects Jefferson Fire Clean Response National Fire Sprinkler Association Minnesota Chapter Clarey s Safety Equipment Waterous Med Compass Marion Body Works Advanced Minnesota F.I.R.E. North Central Emergency Vechicles Granite Electronics Bronze Sponsors BKV Group ANCOM Minnesota Hwy Research Center Five Bugles MES North Memorial Century College Enbridge Fire Equipment Specialists Life Link III South Park MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 11

12 Fire Service Day with the Minnesota Twins! Sunday, August 20 th at 1:10pm Fire Service Day is back in 2017! Come on down to Target Field with your fellow service-folk, family and friends and join us for some bigleague action and fun! We hope to see you! VS. Special Discounted Seating is available: Field Box: $36 Grandstand: $15 Order Online: Order deadline is 2 weeks prior to the game date. DUE TO VERY HIGH DEMAND, SEATING IS LIMITED AND AVAILABLE ON ONLY A FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED BASIS Have questions or a group of 25 or more? Contact Nick Corcoran at (612) or nickcorcoran@twinsbaseball.com The game date and time are subject to change. No refunds or exchanges. MSFCA E-Newsletter June 2017 Page 12