*The NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (NFPA) is co-funding tuition for the eight senior fire officials awarded fellowships to attend Harvard University’s 2003 Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The awardees are as follows: Assistant Chief Roxanne V. Bercik, Los Angeles City (CA) Fire Department; Chief Robert W. Farstad, Schenectady (NY) Fire Department; Chief Al Gillespie, Augusta (GA) Fire/Rescue; Chief Jack McArthur, Snohomish County (WA) Fire District #1; Deputy Chief Greg H. Neely, Broken Arrow (OK) Fire Department; Chief Robert Ojeda, San Antonio (TX) Fire Department; Chief Bob Roper, Ventura County (CA) Fire Department; and Chief Adolf Zubia, Las Cruces (NM) Fire and Emergency Services.
Awardees will attend one of two three-week programs in 2003 or another session scheduled for February 2004. The 2003 program will focus on the interplay between fire departments and citizens, the importance of analysis in policy decision making, and the ethical/professional responsibilities that come with leadership.
Partnering with NFPA are the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA), U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA).
The NFPA appointed Kathleen H. Almand, P.E., Donald P. Bliss, and Gary Taylor to the organization’s board of directors for a three-year term. Almand is executive director of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers of Bethesda, Maryland; Bliss is the New Hampshire state fire marshal; and Taylor is a partner in Taylor/Wagner Inc., a firm in Innisfil, Ontario, that provides fire protection consulting services, with expertise in special hazards.
The NFPA named Judy Comoletti assistant vice president for public education. Comoletti has worked in the NFPA’s public education division since 1981. In her new role, she will continue to oversee the NFPA’s nationally recognized Champion Program, which provides fire and life safety educators throughout North America training to implement the NFPA’s fire and life safety education program effectively in their communities. Comoletti will be a key spokesperson for the NFPA’s public education messages.
- The Wildland Risk Management Risk Office of the COLORADO SPRINGS (CO) FIRE DEPARTMENT received the second annual David Ball Award for Fire and the Environment. The award, sponsored by Kidde, plc, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Fire Protection Association, honors the office’s coordinated program designed to reduce the risk of wildfires within the city’s 64 square miles. The program specifically focused on minimizing the intensity and extent of wildfires and the consequential effect on property and the environment.
- THOMAS EDISON STATE COLLEGE in Trenton, New Jersey, and the FIRE DEPARTMENT OF NEW YORK (FDNY) have established an educational partnership to facilitate degree completion for current and retired members of the department and civilian employees. The program is open to those who have completed New York City Fire Academy courses recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE), New York PONSI, and ACE Military. The agreement allows firefighters to apply their ACE credit recommendations earned for successfully completed New York City Fire Academy courses to degree requirements at Thomas Edison State College. Students will also take additional general education degree requirements that will fulfill College degree requirements. For admission information, contact the college at (888) 442-8372, or at its Web site at www.tesc.edu.
- HURST JAWS OF LIFE appointed Todd Langston director of marketing. He will direct marketing and public relations initiatives related to the Jaws of Life, which includes Hurst and Centaur brands. Previously, he worked as director of client services for GMR Marketing, Inc., a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, marketing agency.
- The WFCA FIRE-GPO, a fire service group purchasing organization, awarded the following contracts: Tempo Gloves (firefighting gloves), Allied Power Inc. (Warn Industries winches), Mapping Solutions Inc. (mapping and prefire planning software), Lighthouse Uniforms (Class A uniforms), and Commercial Tire Inc. (industrial tires). These and other fire-specific contracts are available at www.fire-gpo.com.
- AMERICAN LAFRANCE appointed Wayne Miller director of engineering, responsible for all aspects of American LaFrance product design and development, including engineering management of the company’s line of chassis, aerials, ambulances, pumpers, rescues, and tankers. Previously, Miller served as director of body systems in Freightliner’s Engineering and Technology Group and has held several engineering management positions since joining the company in 1998.
- ELKHART BRASS named Mac McGarry Florida regional manager, Hersey Dandini Calfornia regional manager, and Larry Koelemay southwest regional manager. Each is responsible for providing dealer support and resource services, handling equipment demonstrations, and promoting Elkhart products in the their respective regions; Koelelmay is responsible for activities in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
- CELANESE ADVANCED MATERIALS INC. named Helmut Zepf European marketing manager for PBI Fibers. Zepf replaces Walter Lehmann, who was promoted to vice president of marketing. Zepf will assist the PBI marketing team in its overall focus on continental Europe for fire service and industrial apparel and will explore other markets and applications requiring high-performance thermal protection.
- •RAE SYSTEMS named Dr. Andrea Goldsmith, Dr. Lyle Feisel, Dr. Mario Gerla, and Dr. Friedrich Steinhäusler to its advisory board. They will provide technical expertise and advise the company on product development and corporate strategies to respond to homeland defense requirements. Goldsmith is an associate professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University. Her research focuses on wireless communications, including capacity, antenna systems, distributed control, and ad-hoc networks. Feisel is dean emeritus (retired) of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science and professor emeritus of electrical engineering at the State University of New York at Binghamton. Gerla is a professor of computer science at UCLA, where his teaching and research focus on distributed systems performance evaluation, computer networks, wireless and mobile computing, and distributed applications. Steinhäusler is the chair of the Institute of Physics and Biophysics at the University of Salzburg in Austria and serves as the project manager on nuclear terrorism and sabotage at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.
