femsa news fall 2011

Fall 2011 • FEMSA.org 1

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anufacturers and Services Association

ANNIVERSARY

1966 2011

The Resource for Public Safety Businesses

Fall 2011

www.FEMSA.org

MEMbEr NEwS8 - 22

21st Century Communications Need FundingPage 14

PrESidENt’S MESSAgE The First Law of Holes Page 2

President Obama Nominates Fire Administrator Page 7

are proud sponsors of the FEMSA 2011 Fall Newsletter and

FAMA/FEMSA Annual Meetings Schedule

– Page 12-13

StAnding Up For FirSt rESpondErS in Challenging Times – Page 6

2 Fall 2011 • FEMSA.org

The First Law of Holes: if you are in one, stop digging.

In today’s environment, one might easily forget about common sense approaches such as this one. FEMSA however, cannot be lumped in with such forgetfulness nor can our membership. Continuing down the path following how things have been done or “mailing in” our ideas

by proxy, is not the FEMSA way. There is too much strong will and resourceful creativity in our membership and board of directors to follow that path!

The FEMSA board of directors has positioned itself over the past few years to “commonsensically” deal with the fact that societies and governments have overspent and may not recover from this cir-cumstance for many years to come. Regardless of the conditions, FEMSA is committed to giving our members the tools to operate and succeed in the markets that we serve.

As federal and state funds continue dry up, FEMSA will continue to support the Governmental Affairs Committee and our industry partners to provide information and champion issues that will improve emergency responder safety. FEMSA will also continue to strengthen itself to provide more industry information and data to help our members make solid business decisions.

Hopefully you are reading this newsletter at our annual meeting. If you are, thank you for investing in yourself and your business. I guarantee you will be provided with the most informative and intrigu-ing information possible from the leaders of our industry. In addition, the business program focused on economics will help you regardless of what you may do for your company. We are providing this information to achieve two goals: 1) improve our members’ businesses and 2) give you value for your membership. If you are not attending the annual meeting, then you missed THE golden opportunity to gain knowledge and to improve your business. Bill Lawson and Janet Wilmoth, with the help of the education committee and the FEMSA board, have put together a tremendous effort to build another unbeatable annual meeting program that will most likely be copied by others for years to come.

Some people “ *could imagine nothing pleasanter than to spend all of our lives digging for relics of the past” but that approach of looking to the past does not appear to be best way to deal with today’s reality. Nor does it adequately address our future. FEMSA will continue to evolve to support you regardless of the future and we will continue to be the leading trade association in the industry.

(*Bonus points if you knew this quote from Heinrich Schliemann, German businessman and amateur archaeologist.)

Dan Reese

Sincerely,

Fall 2011

Official Publication of The Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association, Inc.P.O. Box 147Lynnfield, MA 01940-0147Phone - 781-334-2771Email - [email protected] - www.femsa.orgTwitter - www.twitter.com/FEMSANewsCopy and Advertising Deadlines:Contact the FEMSA office.

Provided to members as a benefit of membership. Articles from members are encouraged. FEMSA reserves the right to edit for factual content, brev-ity and clarity. Articles with product placement and branding will be edited or referred for paid advertising placement.

©Copyright 2011, FEMSA, MA (USA)Editors: Karen Burnham, Dan Reese

Editorial Staff: Mary Murphy-Overmann*Layout and Cover Design: Mindy Rotellini*

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President’s Message

Annual Meeting Planning Bill Lawson and Janet Wilmoth, Board Liaisons Education Greg Toritto/Crosby Grindle Committee ChairsJanet Wilmoth, Board LiaisonGovernmental Affairs/CGC John Granby and Rick Singer Board Liaisons Marketing/Newsletter Joe Skey Committee ChairPaul Andrews, Board Liaison Membership Joe Porter, Committee ChairDoug Schaumburg Board Liaison Nominating Lila Gillespie, Committee ChairLeroy Coffman, Board Liaison Statistics & Research Dan Reese, Board Liaison Strategic Planning Dan Reese, Board Liaison Trade Shows Advisory Ken Nielsen Board Liaison UIG Don Welch, Board Liaison

Current Active FEMSA Committees:

FEMSA News


contents

2 President’s Message

4 2011 FEMSA Board of Directors

6 Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC)

6 Legislation Would Provide Tax Credit To Small Businesses That Hire

7 Canadian Governmental Committee (CGC)

7 FEMSA Welcomes its Newest Members

7 In Memoriam

8 Illinois Homeday

10 Streamlining Distribution in the Manufacturing Industry

11 Fire Drill Breakout Topics

12-13 FEMSA & FAMA 2011 Annual Meetings Schedule

14 A Plan for Fire Service Communications in the 21st Century

16 FEMSA Board of Directors Candidates

17 Trade Show Report Card

18-22 Member News

19 Thank You, FEMSA Annual Meeting Sponsors

23 2011-2012 Fire Service Events Calendar

2011 FEMSA Board of Directors

Ken Nielsen (2013)Executive Committee MemberParatech Incorporated(815) [email protected]

Dan Reese (2012)President (2011/P1) Alexis Fire Equipment Company(309) [email protected]

Bill Lawson (2011)Vice President (2011/VP1)PBI Performance Products, Inc.(704) [email protected]

Don Welch (2011)Executive Committee MemberGlobe Manufacturing Co.(603) 435-8323, [email protected]

Mike Natchipolsky (2012)Secretary-Treasurer (2011/ST1)Firehouse.com(301) [email protected]

Karen Burnham Administrator(781) [email protected]

James J. Juneau, EsquireLegal Counsel(972) [email protected]

Bob Grimaldi Travel PlannerRome Travel Bureau, Inc.(904) [email protected]

Simon Steinbach Gabe SteinbachWebmasterWindmill Hill Consulting, LLC(314) [email protected]

David GattonGovernmental Affairs ConsultantDevelopment Initiatives, Inc.(202) [email protected]

Board Members

Officers/Executive Committee FEMSA Professional Resources

Leroy Coffman (2011)Tempest Technology, Inc.(559) 277-7577 [email protected]

Paul Andrews (2013)FirefighterNation.comGo Forward Media(240) 595-2352 [email protected]

Janet Wilmoth (2011)Fire Chief Publications(312) [email protected]

John Granby (2013)LION(937) [email protected]

Rick Singer (2012)Akron Brass Company(330) [email protected]

Doug Schaumburg (2013)Casco Industries, Inc.(318) [email protected]

Giff Swayne (2012) Past President Holmatro, Inc.(410) 768-9662 [email protected]

Melinda Freeman (2012)Kidde Fire Fighting (352) [email protected]


By Dave Gatton

As FAMA and FEMSA convene in Washington, DC

for their 2011 fall meetings, lawmakers will be search-

ing for ways to jumpstart the economy, spur job creation, and reign in federal spending. Never have the challenges been greater, and the Ameri-can public more skeptical. Yet the country has weathered storms before, and will weather this one.

The Congressional Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “super committee”) that has been formed to trim $1.2 trillion from the federal budget deficit over the next 10 years has now been named, co-chaired by Senator Patty Murray (D-OR) and Representative Jeb Hensar-ling (R-TX). If they fail to achieve their deficit reduction goals, then funding will automatically be cut across programs, with 50% of cuts falling on domestic agencies, and 50% on defense. This “ax over their heads” scenario have many believing that the super committee will actually achieve its mission of sending to Congress ad-ditional budget savings that may include entitle-ment reforms as well as revenue raisers in the

form of tax reform. All of this must be achieved legislatively by the end of this calendar year.

Of course, when Congress returns, it must also continue its fiscal year 2012 appropriations process. For the Assistance to Fire Grants (AFG) and SAFER programs, action has shifted to the Senate. The House passed its DHS ap-propriations bill earlier in the year, funding each program at a $335 million level, down from its current funding of $405 million (a 17% cut), but significantly higher than original proposals from the House Appropriations Committee. Now that the Deficit agreement has determined the FY 2012 domestic discretionary ceiling, the Senate Appropriations Committee has marked up its own DHS spending bill, funding each program at the higher level of $375 million, $40 million more than the House bill. It is very important that FAMA and FEMSA members contact their Senators to thank them for the higher Senate number and also encourage them to keep AFG and SAFER at current funding levels of $405 million.

Why is this the case in an environment of cost cutting and trillion dollar deficits? First, the AFG and SAFER programs have already taken their share of cuts. In FY 2009, the AFG pro-gram was funded at $565 million. If the House number stands, it will represent a 17 percent cut over current funding and a 41 percent cut over 2009 funding. Second, almost every legislator

is talking about the need to revive American manufacturing. There is no better example of a domestic manufacturing success story than the American fire services industry. Third, local governments are hurting. With a crippled real estate base, and layoffs that now exceed 500,000 public sector employees, local fire departments have seen capital budgets slashed and forces cut. All of this is happening while “first responders” have never been busier or more important. As I write this, drought stricken Texas and Okla-homa are literally burning, hurricanes are more frequent and stronger as they barrel up the east coast, and metro New Orleans, along with other metro areas, were deluged with over 15 inches of rain. Oh, have I mentioned the aging popula-tion that will prompt soaring emergency re-sponse calls as they retire and live longer? Never have first responders been more important.

By the time this article goes to print, we will have celebrated the 10th Anniversary of 9/11. That day should remind us, and our politicians, that country comes first—ahead of personal gain, careers, and celebrity. Yes, tough deci-sions confront the country; our economy has some tough sledding; and millions are out of work and under-employed. Yet the sacrifice of that day can still teach us the lessons of public service and being there for the other, part of which is continuing our national support for the nation’s first responders.

Standing Up for First Responders in Challenging Times

Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) joined Michael Bernert, President of Ha-vis, Inc. at the company headquarters in

Warminster, Pennsylvania to highlight efforts to foster small business growth and job creation.

At the June meeting Fitzpatrick said, “We have long said that small businesses are the engine of economic growth and job creation. If we expect small businesses to expand and hire, we must give them the support to do so. We must not let excess government regulation stand in their way. Likewise, the federal tax code should incentivize not penalize businesses for adding employees.”

Havis, Inc., manufacturers mobile worker pro-ductivity tools such as radio and siren consoles, prisoner transports, and computing solutions. Havis products are designed to increase mobile officer productivity by keeping officers safer and

more comfortable without sacrificing system reliability and worker up time.

Havis has over 200 employees in primary manu-facturing locations in Warminster, Pennsylvania and Plymouth, Michigan. Continued growth is on the horizon and land expansion is a priority.

Last year, Havis was unable to get approval to expand its manufacturing facility despite its compliance with required regulations. “After a lengthy, expensive, and often frustrating process, Congressman Fitzpatrick was able to help us cut through the red tape so that we are now able to expand our facilities and hire new employees,” said Bernert. He added, “It is im-portant that government support job creation, not impede it. Havis is actively growing its domestic and international markets. We will quickly outgrow current facilities and needed

options.”

In addition to highlighting the need to reduce excessive regulation that prevents job creation, Fitzpatrick also announced legislation to in-centivize job creation. This proposed legislation will provide a one-time, $1,000 tax credit to any small business that hires a new employee. The tax credit will be available for one year after the Act is passed.

“During these economic times, the tax code should allow businesses to flourish instead of drown. This Act will help foster small business growth and facilitate new hiring,” said Fitzpat-rick.

Legislation Would Provide Tax Credit To Small Businesses That Hire (Home Day)


Canadian Governmental Committee (CGC)

President Obama Nominates 30-Year Veteran for United States Fire Administrator

By Richard Boyes, Chairman

In the summer issue the change in committee chairs was announced and

I would very much like to thank the committee members and the FEMSA and FAMA Boards for their support as I assume the role of committee chair. I would be remiss if I did not thank Brian Nash for his devotion and hard work as the previous chair. Brian

worked tirelessly to promote the CGC and to continue to grow the committee. Thanks again, Brian.

The CGC continues to work on preparing the “10 Important Facts” survey and on building the process for getting it delivered to stake-holders. The political landscape is changing in Canada and as I write we are seeing a large number of provinces in the process of elections. By late fall there will be new agendas set by the new governments and this will create an op-portunity for the CGC to use the survey results to inform them of the need for properly funded emergency services.

A membership drive will be conducted by the CGC to build our committee’s membership and to give us better representation across Canada. A number of companies have been identified and we will be contacting them to explain the benefits of becoming a FEMSA or FAMA member.

Through the transition process of committee chairs, Bruce Whitehouse and Oran McNabb have been a constant source of help and encour-agement to me as I become familiar with the finer details of the committee’s work.

I hope you had a great summer and I look for-ward to seeing everybody at the fall conference.

Chief Ernest J. Mitchell, former presi-dent of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, has been nominated by

President Barack Obama to serve as the next Administrator of the United States Fire Admin-istration.

Prior to his retirement, Chief Mitchell served as Fire Chief and Assistant Director of Disaster Emergency Services for the City of Pasadena, California Fire Department from 1998 to 2004.

In addition, he served as Fire Chief and Deputy City Manager of Monrovia, California from 1991 to 1998. Chief Mitchell has over 30 years of experience in the fire service. Chief Mitchell served as IAFC president in 2003-2004. He currently serves on the Interna-tional Association of Fire Fighters Hazardous Materials Advisory Board and the International Fire Service Training Association Executive Board. Mr. Mitchell holds an A.S. in fire sci-

ence from Long Beach City College, a B.P.A. from the University of San Francisco and an M.P.A. from California State University at Northridge.

Mitchell’s nomination has been referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Allegiant Emergency Services, Inc.Mark BrennemanPresident104 Main St., PO Box 635Hartford, SD 57033Tel: 605-690-2759Email: [email protected]: www.allegiantes.comDealer/Distributor

Finley Fire Equipment Co., Inc.John W. FinleyPresident/CEO5255 N. State Route 60 NWMcConnelsville, OH 43756Tel: 740-962-4328Email: [email protected]: www.finleyfire.comDealer/Distributor

FEMSA Welcomes its Newest Members

in Memoriam

Charles P. (Charlie) McKee(July 21, 2011)Ohio Sales Rep for Breathing Air Systems.


By Janet Wilmoth

On Thursday, June 16th, more than 150 people attended the sixth annual Illi-nois Fire Service Home Day held at the

Mutual Aid Box Alarm System’s headquarters in Wheeling, IL. Located on 4.3 acres, the 72,000 square-foot facility showcases the Midwest regional emergency response equipment housed at the MABAS facility.

Illinois’ Home Day was created to help state and local legislators understand firsthand the importance of grant funding in Illinois. The meeting was co-chaired by Chief Tom Deegan, Metropolitan Fire Chiefs; Paul Darley, president and CEO, Darley & Co., and the Fire Apparatus Manufac-turers’ Association; and Janet Wilmoth, editorial director, Fire Chief and representing the Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association. Besides Congressional leaders and staff members, also in attendance at the three-hour event were Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis, Chicago Fire Commissioner Robert Hoff and more than 100 Illinois fire chiefs.

Speakers at the event included Don Mobley, FEMA Program Specialist and Jay Reardon, president and CEO of MABAS. Both focused on the importance of the DHS Assistance to Firefighters Grants, the SAFER and the Federal Urban Area Strategic Initiatives.

Mobley emphasized the need for more training. “Forty-six percent of all fire departments lack basic fire training and eighty-five percent of the departments [in the U.S.] lack the ability to handle a technical rescue,” he said.

On fire apparatus, Mobley said that one-half of the fire departments are using fire trucks over 15 years old and cited technology changes. He added, “Ten thousand fire stations house in-

service vehicles that are over 30 years old. The good news, these numbers are better than before the AFG program.”

Hank Clemmensen, chief of Palatine, IL, and IAFC Second Vice President stated, “Every dollar we spend in preparedness saves us $12 in response.” Clemmensen cautioned the attendees, that while the grants program was reauthorized to 2016, “There is a sunset clause that says ‘no more’.” Meaning that the grant program will end in 2016 and warned chiefs not to wait till the end to campaign for additional funding.

Clemmensen encouraged fire chiefs to contact their senators to support the D-Block bill for

improvements in emergency communications. “It has to be built into our mission-critical standard; it’s our being prepared for the future.” Clemmensen admitted he “was not too optimis-tic that the D-Block was going to pass, but I can tell you that it came out of the Senate Commit-tee and it did pass. We need 60 senators to make that bill pass.”

Jay Reardon provided an update on MABAS in Illinois and the Midwest region. On uniting fire departments statewide in Illinois and now extending to other states, he said, “We don’t care what patch you are wearing on your sleeve. When we respond, we serve as one team.” MABAS is requested 800 times a year. “One phone call and the wheels start turning; simple, centralized and swift.” In the recent years, MABAS has responded to tornadoes across Il-linois, as well as hazmat incidents and accidents involving trains.

As part of Home Day, MABAS offered a tour of its Midwest regional emergency response equipment housed at the facility. Equipment stored here includes six Urban Search and Rescue vehicles, sea containers of supplies, six specialty vehicles, compressors and six 24-foot trailers of equipment. Over 425 other pieces of MABAS equipment are located throughout Il-linois. MABAS currently has 42 hazmat teams, 41 technical rescue teams, 16 water rescue teams and 25 decontamination units.

“Terrorism is a growth industry and we’re get-ting new suppliers every day,” said Reardon. “Preparedness includes sustainment and resil-ience, not just surge capacity.”

MABAS, one of the first to send 900 responders to Hurricane Katrina, learned to become self-sustaining and currently houses equip-ment and gear including tent cities with sleeping accommodations and the

ability to feed its crews. “We don’t become a disaster in the disaster, we support ourselves.”

Directing his comments to the legislators and staffers, Reardon stressed the importance of continued state and federal resources for terror-ism and disaster response, as well as the need to name the MABAS US&R team to the position of a federal US&R team. “US&R is a closed club, and we want to make MABAS the 29th US&R team,” said Reardon. “We are ready and they are capable.”

Reardon also mentioned the unique partner-ship MABAS has with United Parcel Service, which provides the trucks and drivers to pull the MABAS trailers in emergency situations.

“We have done a lot in the past ten years, we don’t want to lose that investment,” said Rear-don.

Illinois Home Day

“Forty-six percent of all fire departments lack basic fire training and eighty-five percent of the departments

[ in the U.S. ] lack the ability to handle a technical rescue,”

Illinois State Fire Marshal Larry Matkaitis welcomes attendees to MABAS headquarters


Streamlining Distribution in the Manufacturing Industry

By Ted Margison, Pebble, LLC.

As the economy slowly heads forward, most companies need to get more done with the same resources in the manufac-

turing industry. Streamlining operations means eliminating ac-tivities that don’t add value and putting in place controls to make sure transactions get processed quickly and effectively. Eliminate Non-Productive Activities Everyone is really busy – they’re already over-loaded, or are they? “Why does it take so long to turn around orders?” asked the CEO, “Everyone says they’re working as hard as they can but how can it take so many days?” “Your company is doing credit checks when orders are received and again when they are about to ship. Since your customers are Fortune 500 companies, do you really need these credit checks? If you skipped these checks you could save 2-3 days” the consultant replied. “Of course we don’t need to do credit checks on our customers. Why on earth are we doing them? “Apparently, several years ago you sold to smaller companies that had credit issues. To ensure credit checks got done the controller had all orders credit-checked.” “We could probably handle 25% more business by eliminating these delays. We can stop that practice immediately.” A lot of companies think they have a good grasp on how they operate but reality is different. Sev-eral years ago I began asking consultants ‘Have you ever asked someone how their company operates and found out later that what you were told does not match what really happens’. With-out exception, the answer was ‘yes’ for every project they ever worked on. A critical part of streamlining is making sure you understand exactly how you really operate, and eliminating all the activities that don’t add value. Usually, there are several opportunities to immediately free up resources. The following example is one that occurs in many companies: “How are things coming with the new system?” asked the VP.

“I was really struggling with one thing but I finally figured out how to do the Flash report on the new system” the consultant said. “What Flash report?”The one Adam does. He spends about eight hours a week pulling together data from differ-ent sources to create the Sales Flash report.” “Oh, that one. We stopped using that months ago.” Well, now Adam has time to work on other efforts. Make Sure Things Stay On TrackAs you get busier and busier it is easier and easier for things to ‘fall through the cracks’. • Did the customer sign-off on requirements?• Did the job get re-scheduled?• When are the parts going to arrive?• Did the change-order get approved? Some demands might come from new custom-ers or be for new types of products and services, resulting in considerable variation in the de-mand requirements. As such, not only do your personnel have to handle more transactions, they have to handle a lot of different processing requirements. This is where proper controls for managing transaction processing are invaluable. ‘Transactions’ are quotes, sales orders, purchase orders, service orders and so on. “We get about 2,500 quote requests per month. Of these, we auto quote about 800 a month” the Customer Service person indicated. “The rest go to Engineering, so they are really swamped and turnaround takes a long time. Unfortunately, it is taking so long we get a lot of customer com-plaints and lose a lot of business – we only close 15% to 20% of our quotes.” In a subsequent meeting with Engineering, “We work on major quotes – about 25 a month”. Wait, what happened to 1,675 quotes? It turned out that these were going to some clerical personnel in another department that had no formal processes or tracking for these quotes. Two-thirds of all quotes fell through the cracks. Even worse, the people processing these quotes were only looking at how long it had been since the product was last sold and then trying to guesstimate a cost and price based on a more recent sale of similar products. They didn’t take into consideration if the job was a government job or a commercial job, nor if there was one

delivery or multiple deliveries. When a job was run for a government quote the cost overrun was extremely large, causing serious repercussions with the government agencies. Also, no one was tracking costs for preparing the quotes, which ended up being a problem for the government agencies.

In setting up new processes we addressed the issue of ‘transaction management’ – how do we manage the workflow to ensure things are done in a timely manner and cost-effective manner. In this situation, ‘cost-effective’ covers ensur-ing processing costs are properly recorded and cost risks for the transaction (e.g. potential for penalties, lost revenue, lost profit) are properly covered. In this situation, the most expedient solution was to use a shared spreadsheet document to track the processing of quotes. A separate worksheet was used for each type of job – government versus commercial. Within each worksheet, columns were set up for each depart-ment to record the date and time they received the quote and initials for when they completed their portion. Managers could quickly see what should be coming to their department and what was sitting too long in one department. Certain conditions could result in extensive analysis which would require special handling and delay turnaround of the quote. “Red flagging” these special cases allows managers managers to zero in on problem quotes.

In summary, the basic steps for ‘transaction management’ are:

-Identify transaction characteristics that change how a transaction is processed and the steps required to process the transaction.

-Identify the role for each department (or per-son), involved in processing a transaction.

-For each department role, identify what is needed to manage the schedule for processing the transaction---What are ‘milestone steps’ for processing a transaction (based on its characteristics) and the desired timeframe for reaching that milestone?---What are the critical steps and potential red flag conditions?---What is needed to manage costs and ensure they are properly recorded?---How to avoid excess costs (e.g. expediting costs, penalties)?


BACK BY POPULAR DEMANDThe FEMSA/FAMA annual meeting program will feature the “Fire Drill” breakout session with nine varied and distinct topics for members to choose from. This year’s Fire Drill has been expanded to allow members to take advantage of four (4) topics of their choosing. Here is an overview of the offerings:

Fire Drill Topic: Social Media MoDeraTor: Paul Andrews Social media…You have taken the plunge. So what’s working? What’s not working? And how do we even know the difference? Come learn about what others are doing and shouldn’t be doing in the ever expanding world of social media.

Fire Drill Topic: Liability Issues on Social Media MoDeraTor: Jim Juneau

Protect Yourself: Social Media and Legal Liability – Social media applications such as blogs, social networking, tweeting, video sharing, etc. are now pres-ent in almost every workplace. This session will discuss some of the legal risks associated with employees’ use of social media in the workplace, and will explore some useful suggestions for protecting yourself from potential resulting liability.

Fire Drill Topic: Export Sales MoDeraTor: Peter Darley Learn the “why” and the “how” of export sales including information on government programs, logistics, distributor agreements, and specific fire service is-sues relating to export sales of equipment and apparatus.

Fire Drill Topic: Home Days MoDeraTor: Dave Gatton This “Fire Drill” table will provide concrete strategies used by FAMA and FEMSA members in planning and holding HOME DAY events in their area.

Fire Drill Topic: Damage Control MoDeraTor: Dave Statter

When bad news strikes…In our digital age it’s more important than ever to have a plan on how to communicate with your clients, the press and the public when bad news occurs. The Internet allows your reputation to be destroyed at the speed of light. Dave Statter, a fire service blogger who spent 38 years in radio and TV news, provides some important reputation management skills that can help ease the pain and get the bad news behind you.

Fire Drill Topic: How to do a Podcast MoDeraTor: Kris Kaull, FR1 SURPRISE - YOU’RE ON CAMERA! How to be a great video spokesperson.

Every year, public speaking ranks in polls as one of our greatest human fears. With the growth of online video, that fear is multiplied. “What do I say? Who’ll see this? What if I look stupid? How do I make an impact?” And adding to the stress is the fact that you aren’t just representing yourself, but your company and its products. Over the last decade, Kris Kaull has interviewed hundreds of public safety experts on video. During this Fire Drill, Kris will walk attendees through his “Top 10 Tips for Video” and even role play potential scenarios to prepare you for your next online video, commercial or camera interview. This presentation includes a “Video First Aid Kit” handout to keep as a future resource.

Fire Drill Topic: Life After Hours: Planning a multi-generational vacation MoDeraTor: Kathy Moran, KMoran Travel

Galloping Grandparents. While the traditional family still travels together, now we’re bringing grandma and grandpa! As the baby boomer ages, Intergener-tional Travel is the rage. Interested in leaving a legacy rather than an inheritance? Topics for discussion:

• How to plan intergenerational Travel. • What types of vacations make the best experiences for your family? • Not sure how you can pull it off? Kathy will guide you through the rewarding process. There is no better way for families to bond.

Fire Drill Topic: Apps 2 MoDeraTor: Gabe Steinbach, Windmill Hill Consulting, LLC You have an iPhone, an iPad, or an iPod touch. If you don’t, your kids do. Those familiar with these devices know that their lifeblood is apps. Apps are what make these products the coolest, most productive gear on the planet.

In this popular presentation--an upgrade of Apps 1 presented last year--Gabe will provide insight into some of the best known, most revered, and most interesting apps out there. He’ll also provide a peak into iOS 5 which is the underlying operating system that drives these devices. Apple’s fall release of iOS 5 will mean numerous enhancements, upgrades and features, many of which will change these powerful multitasking technologies forever.

Fire Drill Topic: Going Green MoDeraTor: Lynn Reda, LeMay Erickson Willcox Architects Everybody is talking about being “green.” Gain an understanding of how to be more sustainable in your business and learn what the public safety community looks for in being “green.”


A Plan for Fire Service Communications in the 21st CenturyBy Alan Caldwell(International Association of Fire Chiefs)

The shared vision of public-safety prac-

titioners is a nationwide public-safety broadband network—a powerful 4G network that would give the fire service the very same enormous data and video capability that many Americans have today on their Androids and iPhones. Just imagine a device that would deliver building diagrams, hydrant locations, maps and highway infor-mation. Imagine video providing instantaneous situational awareness of major fire and hazmat incidents in real time to incident command. Also imagine, in emergency-medical operations, the ability for digital imaging, portable EKGs and ultrasounds, field blood work and video of an accident scene—all transmitted to an emergency department and a physician many miles away.

To build such a nationwide public-safety broadband network, three key elements must be in place:•SufficientCapacity•UnderPublic-SafetyControl•Mission-CriticalattheOutset

The Network Must Have Sufficient CapacityTo achieve connectivity coast to coast and border to border, 10 MHz of D Block spectrum, currently slated for FCC auction, must be added to 10 MHz of spectrum already licensed to public safety. This would provide the 20 MHz network that is needed to maximize the avail-able technology. As you can see on the spectrum chart shown here, the currently licensed public-safety spectrum abuts the D Block and is perfect for public safety. The Network Must Be Under Public-Safety Control Local control by public-safety agencies is criti-cal. A single licensee utilizing a single technol-ogy with sufficient spectral capacity will ensure nationwide interoperability and allow us to effectively manage both day-to-day operations and major incidents. We cannot have com-mercial providers deciding what is or isn’t an emergency or what our priority is. Public-safety transmissions must speed through without delay. A no-service signal is unthinkable.Public safety anticipates entry into public-private partnerships. We will work with state, county and local governmental agencies; federal partners; electric and gas utilities; and others such as highway and water agencies that also respond to emergencies. However, public safety must have control over the operation of the network in real time with certainty that it will

have full, immediate, preemptive priority over its spectrum on a when-needed basis. This is a public-safety imperative.

The Network Must Be Mission Critical at the OutsetInitially, this system will handle only data and video. At some future time—years from now—there’ll be a transition to mission-critical voice, which means starting with sufficient spectrum.

This will occur when the technology becomes available, when public safety has confidence in it and when it’s affordable.

The network must:•Behardenedtopublic-safetyrequirements.Towers in hurricane-prone areas and tornado alleys must be designed to withstand forces that could disable them. Back-up electrical power must be available 24/7. Redundancy is neces-sary. •Havetheabilitytobroadcastandreceiveone-to-one and one-to-many. It must also have the ability to broadcast and receive when the network infrastructure is inoperative. This is the talk-around mode—a command and control absolute and the very essence of public-safety communications. •Havebackupcapabilitiesintheeventofnetwork loss. We envision the use of satellites when a tower is disabled or some other crippling malfunction occurs. Satellites also cover remote areas that are without terrestrial broadcast facili-ties. Our mission is geography-oriented, whereas commercial carriers are population-oriented.

This essential nationwide broadband net-work is possible only if Congress acts soon to give public safety the targeted slice of radio spectrum: the D Block. Two years ago, nine national public-safety organizations, including the IAFC, created the Public Safety Alliance. Its

single purpose is to lobby Congress to pass a law directing the FCC to allocate the D Block of spectrum to public safety and assist with fund-ing a public-safety broadband network. Because of intense efforts, there are results.

Where it StandsThe issue has support from the President and members of both parties in Congress. The Obama administration has clearly supported

allocation of the D Block to public safety so that the most critical services are provided the best sup-port available.

Legislation supported by the IAFC has been introduced to enact this public-safety vision: S. 911 by Senators John D. Rock-efeller IV (D-WV) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) as well as H.R. 607 by representatives Peter King (R-NY) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS). The Senate bill would allocate the D Block spectrum to public safety. Additionally the bill would establish a public-safety broadband corporation to oversee the effort and provide $11 billion for the construction and operation of the network. S. 911 was report-

ed to the full Senate on June 8 after a bipartisan vote of 21 to 4 in the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Now the bill awaits debate on the Senate floor.

In the House, the Committee on Energy and Commerce is considering the issue. On May 25, Chief Jeff Johnson, executive director of the Western Fire Chiefs Association and IAFC President (2009-2010), gave testimony to the committee on the necessity of a modern public safety communications network. In addition, the current IAFC President and Chairman of the Board, Chief Al Gillespie, and IAFC President (2010-2011), Chief Jack Parow, have testified before Congress about the importance of establishing a nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety.

All the elements are in place for success; now, we must capitalize on the previous hard work and drive this effort to completion.

We urge you to contact your Senators and Representative to ask that they cosponsor the D Block legislation. Even if they are not on the committee of jurisdiction, nationwide sup-port is essential to ensure passage. Your elected representatives must know that the fire service supports this broadband network.

This is an all-hands issue—please use your influence to help direct the outcome. We need everyone engaged in this effort.

Only with this configuration—not with any other—can public safety be assured it will have the ability to build the network it

needs for now and the future.


Judy WeigandExecutive Vice President,AMKUS Rescue SystemsJudy has represented AMKUS at the FEMSA annual meeting each year since 2001. Over the past ten years she has been privileged to be actively involved with

FEMSA on behalf of AMKUS.

Janet WilmothEditorial Director,Fire Chief PublicationsJanet currently serves on the Board of Di-rectors for the FEMSA and the Fire Depart-ment Safety Officers Association. Janet is asking for your support to be re-elected to the board and thanks you for your support.

John McNultyMunicipal Emergency ServicesJohn has been an active member of the FEMSA/FAMA Governmental Affairs Commit-tee (GAC) since July 2008, and have served on several subcommittees within the GAC.

Bill LawsonCOO and Managing Director,PBI Performance ProductsBill is involved in the planning of the FEMSA/FAMA annual meetings in San Antonio (2010) and this year’s meeting in Arlington. Bill also serves as a member on the GAC

Committee, attending all Hill Day events, and works in earnest to bring market statistics as a benefit to members of FEMSA. He is an incumbent member of the FEMSA Board of Directors and wishes to continue to work at making FEMSA a productive and major entity for all of its members.

Bill Van LentPresident, VeridianAs an active participant at the FEMSA Annual Meetings and through his involvement with the UIG Task Group, the PPE Caucus and the Hill Day Congressional meetings, Bill has been impressed by the creativity and pro-

ductivity of the FEMSA membership and inspired by the hard work and commitment demonstrated by the FEMSA staff, board members and task groups.

45th

Fire

and

Em

erge

ncy M


ANNIVERSARY

1966 2011

notice to all femsa members:

Pursuant to Article VII, Section 2 of the Bylaws of the Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association (FEMSA), the Nominating Committee submits for your consideration the following candi-dates for a three-year term on the FEMSA Board of Directors beginning January 1, 2012:

Louis CarpentierINNOTEX Inc.Innotex joined FEMSA in 2001 and has been involved with the association ever since. Louis represents FEMSA on the TCC and served on the new member committee.

Pam MagnaniDirector of Conferences and Education, International Association of Fire ChiefsFor the past several years, Pam has been an involved member of FEMSA, most recently joining the Education Committee.

Floor nominations will be opened and accepted at the Annual Business Meet-ing on Thursday, October 6, 2011, in Arlington, VA, in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised. Any candidate nominated from the floor must be present, must accept the nomination and be prepared to present a printed bio/profile for the records if elected. Once nominations have been closed, all candidates will address the membership. One representative from each FEMSA member company present at the meeting will be asked to vote for no more than four (4) candidates to fill four (4) seats on the Board that are up for election.


As another trade show season winds down, the Trade Show Report Card committee has most report cards ready from this year’s surveys. The

economic uncertainty of 2011 combined with the fire service industry’s changing seasonality for purchases appear to be reflected in members’ trade show apprais-als. With the exception of FDIC, all of the major trade shows this year were given a reduced rating. Results from Fire-Rescue International are not in yet but preliminary reports indicate another tough year for FRI as well.

This edition of the Trade Show Report includes answers from trade show organizers about the most frequent comments and complaints collected from sur-veys. Firehouse Expo is represented in the graph shown here; survey comments and responses from the show’s organizer will run in the next edition FEMSA News. FDIC Responses from Nanci Yulico, PennWell Exhibit Manager.

Comments: Saturday we did not see any traffic at all following the first 90 minutes in LOS. There were no attendees on Saturday. Saturday continues to represent a waste of time and resources. Shut down earlier on Saturday.Response: We know factually that we had attendees as we had a chip in all badges and our RFID report gives us an actual number. That being said, we have added the Fire Fighter Combat Challenge to our Saturday events and in 2012 the Challenge will feature Saturday finals. We don’t feel that Saturday is a waste of time and resource because Saturday is the day that many volunteers are able to make the trip and they are an integral part of the firefighting community.

Comment: The show was too early.Response: Last year was the exception as we are back to mid April for 2012.

Comment: The outdoor demo and exhibitor lounge were too far away from ICC.Response: The footprint of FDIC was changed forever in 2011. In the past, the center of the FDIC universe was Maryland Street. FDIC 2011 saw a new traffic pattern. Given our allotted area, the outside demo is

very centralized to the new Georgia Street main registration. It’s Pen-nWell’s goal to create a “block party” feel to the demo area and with the show being later in April for 2012, South Street will be very well visited.

Comment: Hotels are too expensive. Response: The hotels are trying very hard to be good partners but it is important to remember they are also businesses that have to flourish. It is important that exhibitors and attendees go through PCS to be guar-anteed the best room rates. NEW YORK CHIEFS-FIRE 2011Responses from Sue Revoir, Conferences Coordinator

Comment: Much fewer than expected. Slightly less traffic than last year. Attendance seemed to be down quite a bit from last year.Response: About every 5 years there’s a conflict with a regional fire service association (the Hudson Valley Volunteer Firefighters’ Associa-tion) that clearly had an impact on our show. In 2012, and for the next several years, that conflict won’t exist. But we’re not willing to simply rely on that. We’re currently working on several social programs to in-crease attendance at the annual conference including food competitions, musical events and new training opportunities.

Trade Show Report Card UpdateBy Summer Johnston and Ken Nielsen (Paratech)

FIREHOUSE WORLD 305 6,801 86FDIC 840 28,718 165(FIRE DEPARTMENT INSTRUCTORS CONFERENCE)

NEW YORK CHIEFS-FIRE 2011 346 13,996 62FIREHOUSE EXPO 326 13,998 79FRI 538 8,904 127 (FIRE-RESCUE INTERNATIONAL)

2011 ATTENDANCE RESULTS

EXHIBITORS ATTENDEESFEMSA/FAMA

MEMBERS EXHIBITING


Akron Brass Aids Firefighters in Texas Wildfires.

Akron Brass responded to the needs of local firefighters in early September by donating mis-sion critical firefighting equipment to aid in the battle against raging forest fires throughout the Austin, Texas region.

Delivering the life safety equipment within 24 hours, Akron Brass provided necessary forestry nozzles, hand tools and other equipment to help preserve and protect properties, acreage and lives from the fires. Akron Brass manufactures high performance firefighting equipment and other related supplies necessary in the sup-pression of fires. As a manufacturer of forestry nozzles and hand tools, Akron Brass felt an obligation to the Austin region to step in and aid during this crisis.

Beginning in Bastrop County, these dangerous wildfires spread to engulf over 1,500 homes. Garnering national attention for their relentless efforts, firefighters worked around the clock using vital firefighting equipment to suppress the fires.

Akron Brass Receives OHSAS Accreditation Akron Brass has achieved a Certificate of Reg-istration for Occupational Health and Safety management system standard 18001.

The OHSAS 18001 is an organized and formal approach to managing health and safety issues and is one of the newest and most significant international standards. This health and safety management system enables organizations to control occupational health and safety risks, improve overall performance, and ensure that regulatory requirements and other goals are met. The OHSAS 18001 is compatible with ISO-based environmental and quality manage-ment systems and can be integrated with other management requirements to assist the achieve-ment of health, safety and economic goals.

“Investment in our associates is a top priority and a part of our business strategy,” said Tom Hudak, President. “We are always looking at ways to minimize risks to our associates and to foster a safe work environment. The OHSAS 18001 standard provides the structure to assure we are doing what we say we are doing and for constant improvement. Achieving this certifica-tion is a great accomplishment by the entire organization,” said Hudak.

Akron Brass is one of the first in the North American fire market to adopt this standard. With the 18001 accreditation, Akron Brass will improve investor confidence and communicate more effectively with stakeholders and the general public.

Howell joins Akron Brass as District Sales Manager – Florida

Akron Brass announced that Justin Howell has joined the company as a District Sales Man-ager for the state of Florida. Justin is a recent graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire & Safety Engineering. Justin also brings experience as a Volunteer Firefighter while with the Pleasant-view, TN and Florence, KY Fire Departments. Justin will be relocating to the Orlando area.Working with authorized Akron distributors to meet the needs of municipal fire departments throughout his geographic territory, Howell will provide sales support for the entire Akron Brass product offering, including nozzles, monitors, fire ground appliances as well as reels, scene lighting, tools and Weldon brand warning light-ing and electrical control.

Darley Foundation Establishes William J. Darley Scholarship Fund

The Darley Family Foundation has established a scholarship fund at Dominican University to help provide for the college education of chil-dren of firefighters, military personnel and the families of Darley employees.

The William J. Darley Scholarship Fund is in recognition of Bill Darley’s many contributions to firefighters and firefighting organizations, to local and regional communities, and to Do-minican University.

According to Bill Darley, “Given the many sacrifices made by firefighters, soldiers and our employees, the Darley Scholarship will assist them and their families in making a Dominican University education possible.”

Donna Carroll, President of Dominican Uni-versity, stated, “This scholarship will provide funding in perpetuity. Establishment of the William J. Darley Scholarship Fund is a natural extension of the family’s, and the company’s, support of the firefighting, military and W.S. Darley & Co. community - while also honoring the legacy of the family’s patriarch.” Bill served on the Board of Trustees for many years and several Darley family members are graduates.Founded in 1901, Dominican University is a comprehensive, coeducational Catholic institu-tion. In the 2011 edition of “America’s Best Colleges,” U.S. News & World Report ranked Dominican University in the top 20 of Midwest master’s level universities. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, visit the univer-sity website at: www.dom.edu

First EVT Class at Ferrara a SuccessHolden, LA – Ferrara Fire Apparatus, Inc. had a successful beginning to their series of EVT Fire Apparatus Technician preparatory classes held

in July. These classes were led by Scott Detwei-ler, an EVT certified apparatus technician and Ferrara employed aerial trainer. Twenty-seven students from across the country completed the week of training . Marc Ladegaillerie from St. Tammany Fire District 12 said this about the classes at Ferrara, “Although I already have attained my Master EVTCC certification, this is a very important service provided for the repair side of the indus-try. After having traveled to Florida and Texas for these classes and tests, I can assure you this has been long overdue. This certainly helps put Louisiana on the map for EVT’s! As a customer and technician, again thanks so much for this service, in addition to building great apparatus.”

Mr. Ladegaillerie’s comments were echoed by Chris Ferrara, President/CEO of Ferrara Fire Apparatus. “Not only does the EVT certifica-tion program benefit locals, but it can be a benefit to fire departments everywhere. We un-derstand that in tough economic times such as these, our customers are working to stretch their budget dollars. For this exact reason, all training programs held at our factory are tuition free. In addition, we also provide breakfast and lunch each day. While other manufacturers charge for this service, the only real costs fire departments will incur with our training is their travel costs, hotel and dinner each night. Our business as a custom fire apparatus manufacturer is more than building trucks. We’re in a partnership with each of our customers.” For a complete listing of remaining 2011 calen-dar year training programs at Ferrara’s Holden factory, visit www.ferrarafire.com/Customer-Support/Training.html or call Robin Hurst at 800-443-9006. More information on the EVT organization and certification process can be obtained at www.evtcc.org.

Fire Chief Magazine and Pierce Manufactur-ing, Inc. Honor 2011 Career and Volunteer Fire Chiefs of the Year

Fire Chief Magazine (part of Penton Media, Inc.) and Pierce Manufacturing Inc. (an Osh-kosh Corporation) announced the 2011 “Fire Chief of the Year” awards. Volunteer Fire Chief Robert Perry of the Union Fire District in South Kingstown, R.I. and career Fire Chief Debra Amesqua of the Madison Fire Department in Madison, Wis. received the awards.

Winners are honored for their dedication and leadership in fire and emergency services. The 16th annual awards were presented during the opening session at the August 2011 Interna-tional Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Fire-Rescue International Exhibits and Conference in Atlanta, Ga.

“The leadership, determination and integrity modeled by Chief Amesqua and Chief Perry are an inspiration for all,” said Jim Johnson,

Member News


Member NewsOshkosh Corporation executive vice president and president, fire & emergency.

2011 Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year, Robert Perry, of the Union Fire District in South Kingstown, Rhode Island

Chief Robert Perry has been a volunteer fire-fighter for more than 40 years. He has served as the chief at the 300-member Union Fire District since 2004, and was a deputy chief for train-ing and development for 16 years before being named chief. Intensely devoted to firefighter safety and training, Chief Perry is widely known for changing the paradigm to “Safety Always” in fire departments throughout the state of Rhode Island. During his tenure, he has built a culture that cultivates firefighting skills among all walks of the service. For training purposes, he spearheaded efforts to build – among other multiple props – a tower and a Class A live burn building.

Perry has been an instructor for the Rhode Island Fire Academy since 1988, and for the past 36 years has been an active member of the South Kingston Firefighters Joint Training Committee. Beginning in 1973 and continu-ing through 2009, Perry held several crash-res-cue positions at TF Green International Airport in Warwick, R.I., including officer, lieutenant and captain. He served as an assistant deputy state fire marshal, served on the Rhode Island Central League Training Committee and held the position of assistant instructor at the Rhode Island Fire Academy.

Perry holds an Associates Degree in Fire Science from the Community College of Rhode Island, and has completed coursework and received numerous certificates for a wide range of special-ized training, including: incident command, incident management, hazardous materials, rope rescue, collapsed building, explosives, extrica-tion, confined space and more.

2011 Career Fire Chief of the Year, Debra Amesqua, of the City of Madison Fire Depart-ment in Madison, Wisconsin.

When Chief Debra Amesqua was named Chief of the City of Madison Fire Department in 1996, she was the first woman in the depart-ment’s history to hold the position. And, at the time, she was one of only seven women to head one of the 32,000 fire departments in the country. She began her firefighting career in 1983 as a recruit in the Tallahassee Florida Fire Department, where she rose through the ranks to Assistant Chief for Training for the depart-ment.

Amesqua is nationally recognized for her work on senior level management training for fire service women and breaking down barriers for people of color. She has developed and presented workshops and authored professional papers on subjects related to executive officer career devel-

opment, and building a learning organization in the fire service. Under Amesqua’s leadership, the department’s Fire Station #12 was recognized as the second fire station in the country to achieve LEED® Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, through utilization of recycled and locally sourced building materi-als, geothermal heat pumps, a green roof, solar collectors, pervious pavement and rainwater harvesting.

Amesqua holds a BA degree with honors in business and management from Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisc. She has completed the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Of-ficer (EFO) Training Program as well as the Senior Executives in State and Local Govern-ment Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and numer-ous professional development workshops and programs including the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute (EDI) at Florida A&M University.

Fire News has announced that they have acquired the Delaware Fire Service News, a quarterly publication serving the state of Dela-ware. Frank C. Trotta, publisher of Fire News has reached an agreement with Warren Jones and Tom Mitten to assume publication of the Delaware paper beginning with the September issue to coincide with the Delaware Volunteer Firefighter’s Association Convention.

The Delaware Fire Service News was founded in 1996 by veteran newspaper publisher Sal Devivo and public relations specialist Bill Metten with the support of the Delaware Fire Service. The publication was purchased in 2003 by Emer-gency Services Media, LLC, a Delaware media company, owned by Jones and Mitten, both long-standing members of the fire service. “We wanted to ensure the Delaware Fire Service News would continue to meet the needs of our readers and advertisers. Fire News is a top-quality publication with outstanding manage-ment, making this a great fit,” said Tom Mitten, co-owner and publisher of the Delaware Fire Service.

Founded in 1973, Fire News currently publishes three monthly editions: Long Island, New York State and New Jersey, as a traditional newspaper, as well as, an online publication. “The quality of the Delaware Fire Service News, coupled with our interest in expanding into a fourth market, prompted our discussions with Warren and Tom, culminating in our acquisition of the pa-per,” said Fire News publisher Frank C. Trotta.

Fire News will continue to publish the Dela-ware Fire Service News four times a year for the foreseeable future.

Fire service media veteran Steve Elias joins Elsevier Public Safety

Elsevier Public Safety, publisher of FireRescue Magazine, Firefight-erNation.com and FireEMSblogs.com, announced that Steve Elias has joined the company as Mid-

west Advertising Representative. Elias comes with 12 years of experience in fire service media sales, in both print advertising and trade shows. Through that time, Elias has forged close-knit relationships with many top fire service brands and industry leaders. “My focus as a salesperson is on doing what’s right, what’s best for the customer,” Elias said. “The Elsevier Public Safety team has such an innovative line of solutions, I can’t wait to share all the opportunities and help my custom-ers grow their sales and their business. In this economy especially, this is a time for new ideas and approaches.” Elsevier Public Safety’s fire products have been among the fastest growing in the industry, particularly in the area of social media, with FirefighterNation.com, FireEMSblogs.com and more than 125,000 fans on Facebook. With the addition of Elias in the Midwest, 17-year industry veteran Sheri Collins will continue as Advertising Director/Western Account Manager, and Joe Skey continues as Eastern Sales Representative. The change will allow the FireRescue/FirefighterNation team to be closer to customers and better meet their dynamic and evolving media needs. Steve Elias is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Praetorian Group, parent company of FireRescue1.com, has announced the promotion of Kris Kaull to the position of Vice President of Marketing and Business Development.

Kris joined the Praetorian Group in 2007 as the Online Director for EMS1.com. In his new role, Kris manages Praetorian Group’s online marketing and video initiatives. He is responsible for the development and ex-ecution of the Praetorian Group’s marketing and communications strategy, including managing all events and strategic partnerships to broaden exposure for Praetorian Group’s initiatives within the public safety market. During the course of 18 years in both rural and urban fire and EMS settings, Kris has worked as a street paramedic, field training officer, ambulance service director and fire captain. Kris lectures in Public Safety, specifically in the realm of technology, leadership, social media and the human connection.

Brad Bludau has been pro-moted to the position of Vice President of Online Sales. Brad joined the Praetorian Group


in 2010 as the Director of Sales, and has since grown the number of advertising partners by 25% in less than two years. In his new role, Brad manages Praetorian Group’s online account management and new business efforts, providing custom marketing solutions to public safety companies looking to reach a broad audience of first responders. Prior to his position with Praetorian, Brad spent more than 15 years in television and radio advertising sales. Ten of those years were spent in management roles within various media com-panies. Throughout his career, Brad has worked with a variety of clients, from “mom and pop” owners to CMOs of Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T, AAA, and Wells Fargo. He has a strong reputation for developing creative marketing solutions for clients, with an emphasis on delivering quality, consultative customer service.

Havis To Focus on Higher Growth Product Lines with Sale of Lighting Solutions Product Line to R-O-M Havis Inc., a manufacturer of in-vehicle mobile office solutions, announced in August the sale of its Lighting Solutions product line to R-O-M Corporation. The sale presents Havis with the opportunity to enhance its focus on its four remaining product lines -- Mounting Solutions, Computing Solutions, Transport Solutions and Power Management Solutions -- and reaching out to new customers. “The deal between Havis and R-O-M was a logical next step for both companies, and will provide customers with a single source for fire service products,” said Joseph Bernert, CEO of Havis. “Selling the Lighting Solutions line will also allow Havis to dedicate additional resources to our core business of computer docking stations and equipment consoles, as well as our partnerships with computer and vehicle manufacturers.” Havis and R-O-M will be working closely together over the next six months to ensure a smooth transition for both customers and employees. According to the terms of the deal, the purchased Lighting Solutions include the following brands: MagnaFire®, Collins Dynam-ics, Kwik-Raze, Kwik-Strike and Questar. Havis will continue selling solutions from the remain-ing product lines to the fire, EMS and public safety markets. During this transition period, production and order entry will be gradually relocated to the R-O-M facility in Belton, Mo. R-O-M will honor all Havis pricing and terms through December 30, 2011. In turn, Havis is honoring all warran-ties and service calls during the transition, and is committed to maintaining a hassle-free experi-ence. The Lighting Solutions Product Manager for Havis, Cameron Blain, has accepted the

same position at R-O-M and will be the point person for any sales questions or issues.

IAFC Connects FEMSA Members with ChiefsNew Program Generates Leads and Sales while Saving Time and MoneyThe International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) recently invited chiefs from major departments across the country to meet with companies who do business with the fire service for “conneXions,” a new program, held June 20-22, in Denver. With three days of scheduled individual appointments and relaxed network-ing, conneXions was hailed as a success by chiefs and companies alike.

Bill Hudson of Municipal Emergency Services, Inc., meets with Deputy Chief Chris Celaya and Lo-gistics Captain Terry Kebschull of the El

Paso Fire Department. Also pictured are represen-tatives from Sutphen with chiefs from the Worcester (Mass.) Fire Department.

Representatives from 16 companies hosted chiefs from 13 departments to meet decision makers, learn about agencies’ challenges and constraints, provide advice on current products and identify issues or ideas for future research and develop-ment. FEMSA members who were in atten-dance included FireDex, Globe Manufacturing Company, Municipal Emergency Services, Inc., Plymovent Corporation and Scott Health and Safety.

The event differed from a traditional trade show on many fronts. Companies were stationed at tables in two large meeting rooms, so while the meetings were not private, the venue offered pri-vacy for every conversation that was held. Chiefs also commented that they were able to capture the sole attention of the vendors – as opposed to having to compete with high traffic on the show floor. On the flip side, companies did not have to compete with educational sessions, meetings and extensive exhibits that compete for chiefs’ time at other conferences. The tables allowed some vendors to bring product samples or laptops for demonstrations; however, the simple set-up really encouraged conversations and relationship building.

While the emphasis of the event was on dialogue to foster long-term relationships between industry and fire service leaders, some conneX-ions participants are already reporting a positive impact on sales from the event as well.

In addition to the meetings, attendees joined together for an inspirational guest speaker and had the opportunity to meet and mingle at meals and an opening reception. Expenses for the event were underwritten by the IAFC.

“ConneXions was a great opportunity for me to evaluate Atlanta Fire Rescue’s existing relation-ships with vendors against other competitors in an zero-pressure environment,” said Chief Kel-vin Cochran. “It also provided an opportunity to be introduced to new products and technolo-gy, taking back helpful information to pass on to staff members responsible for making procure-ment decisions. I found great value in network-ing with fire service colleagues and vendors in a smaller more intimate setting as compared to a large conference or trade show.”

Tim Johnson, southern regional sales manager for Rosenbauer, said: “The quality time spent was far better than time and money spent at a trade show.” Johnson also believes that the chiefs’ openness about their challenges with budgets and what they were looking for in future apparatus helped make conneXions a worth-while event for their company.

The next conneXions is scheduled for Nov. 7-9 in Tampa, Fla., with future programs slated for San Diego (February 2012) and Minneapolis (June 2012). For more information on con-neXions and how to participate, visit www.iafc.org/conneXions or contact Tonya McCreary at 703-896-4830 or [email protected].

LION announced that it has acquired Berlin, Wisconsin-based Safeguard America LLC – a privately held manufacturer of the FireGuard® brand of protective structural firefighting gloves and apparel. Formerly operated by Chicago Pro-tective Apparel, Safeguard America now operates as part of Lion Apparel Inc.

LION supplies seven of the 10 largest fire departments in North America with their structural firefighting PPE needs, as well as many other major metropolitan cities, includ-ing Chicago, Toronto, Houston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans and Seattle, among others.

Spartan Chassis Provides Exclusive Techni-cian Training

Maximizing value through preventative mainte-nance was the focus of several training sessions at the 17th Annual Fire Truck Training Confer-ence hosted by Spartan Chassis, Inc., a subsid-iary of Spartan Motors, in Lansing, Michigan. Attended by 166 fire truck service personnel from across North America, the August event included comprehensive service training on the company’s products and services.

As more communities face increasingly stringent budget limitations, Spartan Chassis anticipates growth in the number of departments that will

Member News


begin performing their own vehicle inspections, preventative maintenance and repairs.

“Holding down the cost of repairs, increasing safety and minimizing equipment downtime have always been a focus, but are now major priorities for fire departments already facing intense financial pres-sures,” said Bill Foster, co-founder and Vice President of Spartan Motors. “Technology, emissions, safety standards and customization add complexity to the chassis we manufacture. Communities depend on these vehicles to keep them safe and it is vital that we offer the formal training needed by technicians to maintain and service our products to help keep them operational.”

(front) Spartan Motors Chief Operating Officer Tom Gorman presenting donation to Charlotte Fire Depart-ment Captain Tyger Fullerton; (rear) firefighters Chris Sloan and Brian Neumann

Spartan Chassis Raises Funds for Charlotte Fire Christmas Kiddies

A dunk tank and aerial rides at the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge hosted recently by Spartan Chas-sis, Inc. raised funds for the Charlotte Fire Christmas Kiddies program. Donating was driven by Spartan’s commitment to improving the quality of life in the local community, where a majority of the company’s associates live.

Participating in the dunk tank on behalf of Spartan Motors were: Tom Gorman, Chief Operating Offi-cer; Joe Nowicki, Chief Financial Officer; Ed Dobbs, Senior Vice President of Emergency Response Chas-sis; and Art Ickes, Senior Vice President of Manufac-turing and Manufacturing Engineering.

Attendees had the opportunity to pitch balls at the target to drop one of the Spartan Motors’ leadership team members into the water. For each dunking, Spartan’s leaders donated personal funds and Spartan Chassis then matched the funds donated.

Christmas Kiddies has been a tradition in Charlotte for more than a century, going back to the days when Charlotte firefighters would bring needy families presents with horse-drawn carriages. “The Charlotte Fire Department appreciates Spartan’s donation on behalf of the Christmas Kiddies program,” said Tyger Fullerton, Captain of the Charlotte Fire Department. “Christmas is a special time of year for families with children, but in challenging economic times it can also be difficult. Every dollar of Spartan’s donation will go directly to the children of this community as there are no overhead or operating costs associated with this program, truly making it the purest form of charity.”

Spartan Chas-sis Hosts the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports”

Spartan Chassis, Inc., hosted the

Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge® (FCC) in Char-lotte, Michigan. The two-day July event brought out crowds of spectators as some of the best trained, most physically fit firefighters in North America competed in what has been called the “toughest two minutes in sports.” Jeff Wertz, a Spartan Chassis System Design Engineer and a volunteer firefighter/EMT with the Charlotte Fire Department & Rural Fire Associa-tion, was among the FCC competitors. He was one of more than 80 individual and team participants dressed in full bunker gear and breathing apparatus who raced against the clock to execute the extreme physical demands of firefighting. The event featured a linked series of five tasks, including climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging hoses and rescuing a life-sized, 175-pound “victim.”

“These competitors face rigorous challenges in their life-saving duties every day,” said Tom Gorman, Chief Operating Officer, Spartan Motors. “The FCC event reflected that intensity and truly embodied the spirit of firefighting. It was a great, family-friendly opportunity for our associates and the community to witness the physical challenges firefighters face to keep us protected.” Gorman also praised the various fire departments, competitors, vendors, fans, and the many volunteers, including Spartan associates, who made this spirited event a huge success.

Towers Fire Apparatus Co., Inc.

Brad Towers, President of Towers Fire Apparatus Co., Inc. was ap-pointed to the Task Force Tips (TFT) dealer advisory council and attended their August meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mark Sale, Outside Apparatus Coor-dinator, and Jeff Rennaker, Indiana Service Technician, attended the 17th Annual Spartan Chassis Fire Truck Training Conference in Lansing, Michigan. The August conference and classes covered electrical systems, hydraulic generators, pumps and air conditioning.

Towers will be participating as a vendor at the Illinois Firefighter’s Association Annual Conference, Oct. 6-9 and the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association Annual Conference, Oct. 9-12.

PLACEFEMSA Advertising Rates for the Newsletter and WebsiteQuarter Page ...........................................$175Half Page .................................................$250Full Page (8.5” x 11”)................................$500Newsletter Sponsorship .............................$2700

Website rotating160x600 banner ad, (3 month min.)Maximum of 4 advertisers in the slot at any given time.

3x ................................................$175/month6x ................................................$150/month12x ..............................................$125/month

Non-Members are welcome to advertise on the FEMSA website or in the FEMSA Newsletter. A one-time $750 set-up charge applies.

Postings online for FEMSA members is always FREE.

Members are allowed to post the following types of events:

local, regional and national trade shows; train-ing events and seminars; other Fire/Rescue/EMS events where the public is encouraged to attend.

Submission does not guarantee inclusion. We reserve the right to reject any listings.

Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association (FEMSA)P.O. Box 147Lynnfield, MA 01940-0147Phone - 781-334-2771Email - [email protected]/FEMSANews

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Member News

2011-2012 fire service eventsSHOW/MEETING DATE LOCATION

NFFF Memorial Weekend Oct 8 — 9, 2011 Emmitsburg, MDIAFC Southwestern Div. Oct 7 — 13 Norman, OKPittsburgh Fire/Rescue & EMS Oct 10 — 11 Pittsburgh, PAFireShowsReno Oct 24 — 26 Reno, NVF.I.E.R.O. Fire Station Design Symposium Oct 31 — Nov 13 Charlotte, NCIAFC Volunteer & Combination Officers Symposium Nov 10 — 13 Clearwater Bch, FLPittsburgh Fire, Rescue & EMS Expo 1/14 — 1/15, 2012 Monroeville, PAFire Rescue East 1/20 — 1/21 Daytona Beach, FLFDSOA Apparatus Maintenance Symposium 1/22 — 1/25 Orlando, FLFirehouse World 2/19 — 2/23 (Exhs: 2/21-23) San Diego, CAVA Fire Chiefs Mid Atlantic Expo & Symposium 2/23 — 2/26 Virginia Beach, VALong Island Mega Show 2/25 — 2/26 Uniondale, NYEMS Today 2/28 — 3/3 Baltimore, MDOhio Fire, Rescue & EMS Expo 3/9 — 3/10 Cleveland, OHWildland Urban Interface Conference 3/25 — 3/29 Reno, NVFAMA Spring Meeting 3/30 — 4/3 Ft. Lauderdale, FLSaskatchewan Fire Chiefs 4/12 — 4/14 Moose Jaw, SKFDIC 4/16 — 4/21 (Exhs: 4/19-21) Indianapolis, INFAMA Technical Committee Meeting 4/19 (am) Indianapolis, INCFSI Annual Fire Service Dinner 5/2 — 5/3 Washington, DCFAMA/FEMSA GAC Hill Day 5/2 — 5/3 Washington, DCFire Rescue Med 5/5 — 5/8 Las Vegas, NVOntario Fire Chiefs 5/5 — 5/9 Toronto, ONInternational Hazardous Materials Response 5/17 — 5/20 Baltimore, MDPA Fire Expo 5/18 — 5/20 Harrisburg, PANorthwest Fire Expo 5/18 — 5/19 Portland, ORMetro Chiefs 5/19 — 5/24 Louisville, KYIAFC Eastern Division 5/31 — 6/2 Trevose, PAFDIC ‐ Atlantic 6/1 — 6/3 Wolfsville, NSQuebec Fire Chiefs Convention 6/2 — 6/5 Rimouski, QCFCABC Annual Conference & Fire Expo 6/3 — 6/7 Richmond, BCManitoba Association of Fire Chiefs 6/7 — 6/9 Winkler, MBNFPA Conference & Expo 6/11 — 6/14 Las Vegas, NVIAFC Missouri Valley Division 6/13 — 6/15 Independence, MOIAFC Southeastern Division 6/13 — 6/16 Hampton, VANYSAFC FIRE 2012 6/13 — 6/16 (Exhs: 6/14-16) Verona, NYNEAFC Fire, Rescue, EMS 6/20 — 6/24 West Springfield, MAFirehouse Expo 7/17 — 7/21 (Exhs: 7/19-21) Baltimore, MDTexas A&M Municipal Fire School 7/22 — 7/27 College Station, TXDept. of Defense Training Conference 7/30 — 8/3 Denver, COFire Rescue International 7/31 — 8/4 (Exhs: 8/3-8/4) Denver, COFAMA Technical Committee Meeting 8/2 (pm) Denver, COFAMA/FEMSA Fall Meeting 8/26 — 8/29 Glendale, AZNew Jersey State Firemen’s Convention 9/14 — 9/15 Wildwood, NJFire Rescue Canada 9/23 — 9/26 St. John’s NFNFFF Memorial Weekend 10/6-10/7 Emmittsburg, MDEMS World Expo 10/29 — 11/2 New Orleans, LAVolunteer & Combination Officers Symposium 11/8 — 11/11 Clearwater Beach, FLIndustrial Fire, Safety & Security 11/13 — 11/15 New Orleans, LA

For updates, corrections, or additions contact Brian cassell at (570) 656-0324 or [email protected]


Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association, Inc.P.O. Box 147Lynnfield, MA 01940-0147

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1966 2011

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