Assistant Chief (Ret.) John F. “Skip” Coleman is the 2011 recipient of Fire Engineering’s Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award, presented at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Indianapolis, Indiana, on March 24, 2011, during the General Session.
Coleman, who retired from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue in January 2008, entered the fire service in 1975. In 1984, he was assigned to the Toledo Fire Academy to train the department’s recruits in the use of self-contained breathing apparatus and search.
Influenced by “Surviving the Search and Rescue,” an article written by psychologists in North Carolina, Coleman developed the “Oriented Method of Search,” in which he instructed the recruits. The assistant chief of the department requested that Coleman train the entire department in that procedure. This method is now being used from the Seattle area to Fort Myers, Florida. “Oriented search” has become a common term in many fire departments, thereby ensuring that more departments are “searching smarter” and safer.
Coleman has also served as a state fire instructor, a battalion chief, assistant to the operations deputy, deputy chief of operations, deputy chief of training, and deputy chief of fire prevention before being promoted to assistant chief in 2007.
As a department officer, Coleman wrote many of the operational procedures, including the Incident Command Policy and the Mandatory Mask Policy, and revised the Emergency Procedures Manual. When he was the deputy chief of fire prevention, he was named accreditation manager. Under his direction, the department achieved accreditation in 2002, according to the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. Coleman served as the department’s accreditation manager until his retirement.
He is the author of Incident Management for the Street Smart Fire Officer(Fire Engineering, 1997; second edition, 2008), Managing Major Fires (2002), and Searching Smarter (2011). His first two books are used in Fire Science College program curricula in the United States and Canada and have been on promotional process reading lists.
Coleman graduated from the National Fire Academy’s (NFA) Executive Fire Officers program in 2002 and was an adjunct instructor for several of the NFA Command and Control courses. He serves as technical editor for Fire Engineering and is on the FDIC executive advisory board. He has moderated the Roundtable column in the magazine and on fireengineering.com, and blogs as well. He was the FDIC 2002 keynote speaker.
The Lifetime Achievement Award is named for Tom Brennan, who was the editor of Fire Engineering for eight years and a technical editor up to the time of his death. Brennan had more than 35 years of fire service experience, including more than 20 years with the Fire Department of New York and five years as chief of the Waterbury (CT) Fire Department. He was co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995) and the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
January 9. Firefighter Roy Chelsen, 51, Fire Department of New York: bone-marrow cancer resulting from his response to the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
January 11. Captain William (Bill) Floyd Hopman, 53, Quincy (CA) Volunteer Fire Department: cause under investigation.
January 12. Lieutenant Jarrett Eleam, 26, Big Tree Volunteer Fire Company, Blasdell, NY: cause to be determined.
January 13. Captain Jim Duane Niles, 59, Downs (KS) Fire Department: cardiac-related injury.
January 15. Lieutenant Patrick Hannon, 51, Chicago (IL) Fire Department: cause not yet reported.
January 16. Firefighter/Paramedic Harold Frey, 46, Sandown (NH) Fire and Rescue Department: apparent heart attack.
January 18. Firefighter William Henry Quick, 55, Fire Department of New York: injuries sustained as a result of his response to the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
January 19. Firefighter/Paramedic Mark G. Falkenhan, 43, Baltimore County Fire Department – Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company, Towson, MD: injuries sustained when he was caught and trapped by rapidly progressing fire conditions in a multistory residential apartment building.
January 20. Captain Leslie “Les” Clark, 80, Dixon (MO) Rural Fire Protection District: heart attack.
Source: USFA Firefighters Memorial Database
George D. Post Instructor of the Year: Kazmierzak
Chief Brian P. Kazmierzak, a member of the fire service since 1991, has been named the 2011 Fire Engineering/ISFSI George D. Post Instructor of the Year. The award is presented at the FDIC 2011 General Session on March 24, 2011, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Since 1994, Kazmierzak has been with the Clay Fire Territory, South Bend, Indiana, where he is division chief of training and safety. He is the MABAS Division 201 Tactical Rescue Team Task Force leader. He has an associate degree in emergency services administration from Indiana University, an associate degree in fire science from Ivy Tech State College, and a bachelor’s degree in fire service administration from Southern Illinois University. He completed the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program in 2006. He serves as director of operations for www.firefighterclosecalls.com.
Kazmierzak’s selection has been lauded by fire service colleagues. ISFSI President Eddie Buchanan cites Kazmierzak’s “tireless work behind the scenes and in front of the classroom that has had a measurable positive impact on firefighter safety.” Chief Tim Schabbel, Clay (IN) Fire Territory, points to Kazmierzak’s “strong reputation as a ‘Safety Advocate’ for firefighters.”
The award, which incorporates the Training Achievement Award previously given by Fire Engineeringat the FDIC, is named for George D. Post, who was a long-time member of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI). Post was a member of the Fire Department of New York, an illustrator of fire service publications, and a developer of instructional materials; many consider him to be the father of visual training material for fire service personnel around the world.
Zadroga 9/11 Health & Compensation Act signed into law
President Obama signed the Zadroga bill in January 2011. It included a $4.3 billion commitment to assist ill responders and volunteers who worked at the World Trade Center site following the 9/11 terrorists attacks. The bill is named for Joseph Zadroga, a Fire Department of New York detective who died of illnesses related to 9/11. The bill’s compensation and health care benefits will be effective July 1. http://www.nydailynews.com/fdcp?1294067994270.
10,000 residential attic fires occur annually in United States
According to Attic Fires in Residential Buildings, recently released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), an estimated 10,000 attic fires in residential buildings occur annually in the United States and result in an estimated average of 30 deaths, 125 injuries, and $477 million in property damage. The data are based on 2006 to 2008 data from the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS); the USFA’s National Fire Data Center developed the report.
The report also noted the following:
- Electrical malfunction was the leading cause of these fires (43 percent).
- Electrical arcing was the most common heat source (37 percent).
- Almost all residential building attic fires are nonconfined (99 percent); a third of these fires spread to involve the entire building.
- Ninety percent of residential attic fires occur in one- and two-family residential buildings.
Attic Fires in Residential Buildings is part of the USFA’s Topical Fire Report Series. Additional information on topical reports is at www.usfa.dhs.gov/.
California budget proposes cuts for wildland firefighting
California Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed budget recommends cutting CalFire engine crews from four to three firefighters and would shift a considerable amount of CalFire’s firefighting responsibilities to cities and counties. CalFire currently fights fires in the land between cities and national forests, about 31 million acres. The proposal would take $250 million from the state fire budget and allocate it to local agencies. State legislators must approve the change, and the state Board of Forestry must review the new plan.
Some say that increasing the protection areas for counties and fire districts may necessitate charging homeowners in those areas property taxes. The California Professional Firefighters is concerned that cutting staff sizes and adding significant responsibilities to cities and counties could eventually adversely affect the state’s mutual-aid system.
Proponents of the proposed changes say local governments have approved building in rural, high-fire-prone areas of the state, which has resulted in CalFire’s responding to more than 50,000 emergency calls a year, and should bear some of the financial responsibility for those services. Paul Rogers, progers@mercurynews.com, Jan. 2011; Contact: (408) 920-5045.
NFA’s Leadership Strategies class set for June
The second U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA’s) National Fire Academy (NFA) pilot class for the new six-day course Leadership Strategies for Community Risk Reduction will be held at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Emmitsburg, Maryland, from Sunday, June 26, through Friday, July 1, 2011.
Students will learn how fire prevention and other risk-reduction initiatives can help them to provide a safer work environment. The objective is to develop fire and EMS leaders and managers committed “in word and deed to comprehensive multihazard community risk reduction,” says the NFA.
Company officers or field supervisors responsible for fire or injury prevention and reducing community risk at the local level, individuals recently assigned to fire/injury prevention or community risk reduction divisions/bureaus, and those who would like to enhance their skills are encouraged to take this course.
Applicants must complete General Admission Form FEMA 119-25-1, available on the USFA Web site (www.usfa.dhs.gov). There is also an assignment due before class. Mail or fax the completed applications to the address below by the close of business, Friday, April 1, 2011: United States Fire Administration, NETC Admissions Office, 16825 S. Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD 21727; fax: Admissions Office at (301) 447-1441 or (301) 447-1658.
Stipends for eligible students are available. Attendance at pilot courses does not prevent an eligible student from obtaining another stipend within the same fiscal year.
CFSI and MedicAlert institute new EMS awards program
The newly established Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI)/MedicAlert Foundation awards program “Excellence in Fire Service-Based EMS Awards” recognizes U.S. fire departments for outstanding achievements in EMS services. Winning departments will be honored at the 23rd Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner, sponsored by the CFSI, in Washington, D.C., on April 7.
“Across this country, we are hearing of outstanding practices fire departments have implemented to enhance emergency medical care, leading to higher survival rates for the victims and greater safety for our responders,” explains CFSI President Bill Jenaway. “We want to draw national attention to these efforts to encourage other departments to enhance their practices.”
“The adaptation of evidence-based treatment plans, technology, and best practices is the foundation of effective EMS care,” notes Andrew B. Wigglesworth, president and CEO of MedicAlert Foundation. “The agencies that empower their EMS providers to improve on this foundation will lead the way in patient care and provider safety. We are proud to sponsor this award to recognize the leaders in fire service-based EMS care.”
Applications for the initial awards competition were due March 15. The selection committee is comprised of representatives from the International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Fire Fighters, National Fire Protection Association, National Volunteer Fire Council, and Fire Service-Based EMS Advocates. At least one recipient from a volunteer, combination, and career department will be chosen. Additional information is available at www.cfsi.org/awards/awards_ems.cfm and www.medicalert.org/award.
Fire Engineering Archives
