Company/Association News

• GLOBE MANUFACTURING COMPANY was invited by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Industrial Fabrics Association International to speak at the first-ever Smart Fabrics Summit in Washington, D.C., on April 11, 2016. Globe and its project team partner, Propel, will present its Wearable Advanced Sensor Platform (WASP™), the world’s only system for real-time monitoring of physiology and location designed for firefighters and first responders. The WASP™ system tracks heart rate, heart rate variability, estimated core body temperature, respiration rate, activity levels, posture, and other physiological factors, and 3D location inside a building. Currently, WASP™ provides instructors and trainees at training academies with mission-essential situational, real-time awareness of physiological status and location/tracking of personnel to aid in decision making to improve safety and outcomes during training. For more information on WASP™, visit globeturnoutgear.com/innovation/wasp. www.propel-llc.com.
• ACTION TRAINING SYSTEMS (ATS) is releasing three new titles in its Incident Command & Management series, including an overview of the National Incident Management System, the development and expansion of the incident command system (ICS) at different types of incidents, and an overview of the roles and responsibilities of command staff and general staff at the scene. The National Incident Management System (NIMS) title introduces key concepts pertaining to NIMS and reviews this standardized yet flexible system for coordinating large-scale operations between multiple agencies and jurisdictions. Fire Service: Expanding Command focuses on how and when to expand the ICS when an incident is large at the onset or is escalating in size. www.action-training.com.
• KME added Keystone Fire Apparatus Inc. to the KME sales team. Keystone Fire Apparatus, its sales and service facility located in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania, will represent KME in 19 Western Pennsylvania counties. Keystone Fire Apparatus has been providing quality sales and major service capabilities for their customers since 1994, when it was founded by owners Tom and Paula Ball. The dealer operates out of a recently expanded 18,000-square-foot facility with on-site pump testing capability. Keystone Fire Apparatus also provides bumper-to-bumper preventative maintenance, non-destructive testing, collision and body repair, and pump service and repairs. www.keystonefireapparatus.com.
• STIHL SOUTHEAST, INC. named Randy Lail as the new president of the company. Lail succeeds Bob Noble, Jr., who passed away unexpectedly on March 8, 2016. The announcement was made by STIHL Southeast, Inc. owner Bob Noble, Sr. Lail hails from Orlando, Florida, and has a bachelor’s of science in accounting from the University of Central Florida. Lail is also a certified public accountant. www.stihlusa.com.
• The NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (NFPA) selected Sherrie Leeka, public education officer for the Westminster (CO) Fire Department, as its 2016 Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year. Leeka developed the Citizen Fire Academy, covering the topics of fire prevention, hazardous materials in the home, water and ice safety, and fitness and wellness. She has coordinated “Fire Factor,” a program designed to prevent firesetting among sixth to eighth graders; instituted a home safety educational program for older adults; and created a “haunted” safety tent for her local Halloween carnival, where she gets dressed up in part costume and part fire gear to present safety information. www.nfpa.org.
• DEWALT® has partnered with California Casualty for the Work Hard/Play Hard All In” Sweepstakes. The grand prize is an ultimate tool kit filled with $10,000 worth of DeWALT® guaranteed tough tools. The Work Hard/Play Hard drawing is open to peace officers, emergency medical technicians, and firefighters; those who work hard and risk their lives daily. Visit http://go.calcas.com/dewalt to enter and see sweepstakes rules. The deadline to enter is September 21, 2016, with a winner announced in October. www.dewalt.com.
• The CARRSVILLE (VA) VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT received the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) 2016 Rolf H. Jensen Memorial Public Education Grant. The grant will support the department’s program, “Carrsville Loves Older Adults: Remembering When There’s Love, There’s a Smoke Alarm.” As a collaborative effort between the fire service and community groups, the Carrsville program works to educate older adults in the area of Isle of Wight County about fire and fall prevention and the importance of installing smoke alarms in their homes. www.nfpa.org/jensen.

names in the news

• KRISTIN CHILTON was named as the first female chief in the history of the Lexington (KY) Fire Department (LFD). A 23-year LFD veteran, Chilton was previously an assistant chief until Mayor Jim Gray selected her for the top job. Chilton succeeds Keith Jackson, the city’s first black fire chief. Harold Hoskins had been serving as interim chief since Jackson retired in January after 25 years with the department. As chief, Chilton says plans to single out diversity as an area for improvement in the department; only 14 of the department’s 562 firefighters are women.
• MICHAEL SCHOFIELD was sworn in as the chief and chief administrator for the Orland (IL) Fire Protection District (OFPD). Schofield officially took over as the department’s interim chief former Chief Ken Brucki requested a leave-of-absence in August 2015 for personal reasons; he subsequently retired in January 2016. Schofield served as a battalion chief and managed the OFPD’s operational services before being named interim chief. Schofield joined the OFPD in 1977 as a cadet, eight years after the district was created. In 1979, Schofield became paid on call, and was hired full-time by the OFPD in 1986. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1989 and became a battalion chief in 2012.
• BRIAN LAMBEL and JOHN DOLAN were named as chief and deputy chief, respectively, of the Mount Prospect (IL) Fire Department (MPFD). The two have been serving on an interim basis in those positions since October 1, 2015. Lambel has been an MPFD member since 2000, serving 10 years as a firefighter/paramedic, three as a lieutenant, and two as battalion chief. He has also served as the team leader of the Mount Prospect Technical Rescue Team. Dolan started with the department in 1993 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2009. Over the years, he has received a number of certifications specializing in firefighting, pump operations, emergency management, hazardous materials, and dive rescue.