>> DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS) and its FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) announced their support for a nationwide emergency alerts and warnings system for state and local partners. The 2006 Warning Alert Response Network (WARN) Act requires that a federal agency verify emergency warnings drafted by state and local governments and provide authenticated alerts to commercial cell networks for delivery to targeted areas. DHS’s announcement implies that state and local officials will soon be able to submit alerts and warnings to their partners at FEMA, which will propagate legitimate messages to commercial mobile service providers on their behalf. (202) 226-2616. www.homeland.house.gov.
>> Two carbon-fiber, composite cylinders produced by STRUCTURAL COMPOSITES INDUSTRIES, a division of Taylor-Wharton International, were on the Phoenix spacecraft that successfully landed on Mars in May. The SCI composite overwrapped cylinders were used to store helium. The helium was channeled through a regulator system to the propellant tanks to maintain constant pressure through the propulsion system to the thrusters. The constant propulsion pressure was one of the key elements of the successful performance of the thrusters during Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) operations. www.scicomposites.com. (909) 594-7777.
>> HURST JAWS OF LIFE® and ONTARGET announce a sponsorship agreement for the national Firefighter Combat Challenge series. Hurst enters its second year of sponsorship. According to OnTarget, owner of the Firefighter Combat Challenge, the series targets more than 483,000 firefighters with 28 events nationwide. The series began in April in conjunction with the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) apparatus and service display on the National Mall. Hurst participated with equipment displays and attendance at the CFSI. Hurst’s sponsorship includes participation and equipment demonstrations at all nationwide events as well as branding on the group competitors’ finalist flags. www.firefighterchallenge.com.
>> INDUSTRIAL SCIENTIFIC CORPORATION has hired T.J. Bloom as director of operations for Industrial Scientific Americas. In this position, he will be responsible for manufacturing, manufacturing engineering, and supply chain functions within the company. www.indsci.com. (412) 788-4353.
>> ROSENBAUER has promoted Scott Oyen to vice president of sales for the company’s Central Division. He will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of sales administration, including specification design, pricing, and support for sales staff. He joined the fire service industry as a production employee of Central States Fire Apparatus in Lyons, South Dakota. www.rosenbaueramerica.com. (605) 543-5591.
>> WARN INDUSTRIES celebrates its 60th anniversary. The company began in 1948 in Seattle, Washington, when Arthur Warn developed a locking hub system that enabled surplus World War II Jeeps to operate in two-wheel drive for civilian use. Warn has since then grown into a multimillion-dollar corporation with multiple factories and worldwide sales. Warn now makes winch applications for trucks and SUVs, powersports vehicles, industrial applications, and utility purposes. www.warn.com. (800) 543-9276.
>> ONSPOT OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. (ONA) celebrates its 20th year in business. ONA is the North American distributor and U.S. manufacturer of the Onspot Automatic Tire Chain System. Since opening in 1988, ONA has become the largest automatic tire chain distributor in the world. Onspot chains are now available from more than 150 original equipment manufacturers as a factory option or from more than 1,000 dealers throughout North America. The company has its own manufacturing plant in North Vernon, Indiana, and regional offices in Connecticut, Colorado, and California. (800) 766-7768. www.onspot.com.
>> CRIMSON FIRE, INC. announced that FIRE EQUIPMENT SALES & SERVICE, INC. (FESS) will be responsible for sales and service for a nine-county area of western New York State (Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Erie, Wyoming, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, and Livingston counties). FESS is a full-service dealer with six employees that offers sales, service and equipment, particularly valves, nozzles, hoses, lights, sirens, and other fire service gear. www.crimson-fire.com. (605) 582-4000.
>> E-ONE named CLASSIC WEST, LLC as its new dealer for Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and southeastern Idaho. Classic West has more than 30 years of apparatus sales experience in the western U.S. www.e-one.com. (352) 237-1122.
>> The HIGGINS & LANGLEY MEMORIAL AND EDUCATION FUND presented its 2008 awards for swiftwater rescue for the following categories: Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Swiftwater RescueKeeseville (NY) Volunteer Fire Department; Lifetime Achievement AwardCaptain Lawrence Roy Collins, Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department; Program DevelopmentChief Fire Officers Association, Management of Major Flood Event Research Project, Chief Fire Officer Paul Hayden, Team Leader, United Kingdom; San Diego (CA) Regional Aquatic Lifesaving Emergency Taskforce (SDR ALERT); IncidentSergeant Kathy Curtice, Fresno County (CA) Sheriff’s Office; United States Coast Guard Station,Tillamook Bay, Garibaldi, Oregon; United States Coast Guard Air Station Humboldt Bay, McKinleyville, California; and Special CommendationUnited States Border Patrol, El Paso Sector, Swift Water Rescue Team; DriverEngineer Edward W. Miller, Colorado Springs (CO) Fire Department. www.higginsandlangley.org. (828) 505-2917.
>> The TEXAS ENGINEERING EXTENSION SERVICE (TEEX) Emergency Operations Training Center (EOTC) has expanded its training capacity and capabilities from 17,000 to 32,000 square feet. The EOTC is operated by TEEX’s National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) in College Station, Texas. The EOTC offers simulated operations ranging from an incident command post or an emergency operations center perspective to a multiagency coordination viewpoint at a regional or state level. This role-playing provides a realistic opportunity to manage a large-scale incident. www.teex.org. (877) 833-9638.
>> ESi® has opened its new training facility, ESi University, in Atlanta, Georgia. The emergency management training center specializes in ESi’s WebEOC, the first Web-enabled collaborative crisis information system. WebEOC links together local, state, federal, volunteer, private, and worldwide sources and provides users with a common operation picture, giving responders and managers access to the critical operational data they need to make sound decisions quickly. At ESi University, emergency management professionals can become WebEOC administrators and participate in several WebEOC-related courses. (800) 596-0911. www.esi911.com.
>> PIERCE MANUFACTURING received an order for 60 HEWATT military-grade, multipurpose water distribution and tactical support vehicles from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). The HEWATT is an Oshkosh® Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) platform-based water tender vehicle. It will enable soldiers to fight fires in a broad range of terrain anywhere in the world and can operate under extreme conditions. (941) 748-3900. www.piercemfg.com.
