● The FIRE DEPARTMENT INSTRUCTORS CONFERENCE (FDIC) has been ranked the 62nd largest tradeshow in the United States and Canada, according to the 2005 edition of the Tradeshow Week 200. Last year, the show ranked 70th. The Tradeshow Week 200 is compiled through a year-long process of analyzing data on tradeshows in the United States and Canada. Show statistics are collected and compared to the previous year’s numbers and to industry standards to validate the information. FDIC’s 315,805 net square feet of exhibit space, 889 exhibitors, and 22,007 attendees earned the show its current place on this tradeshow ranking list. “This ranking is a tribute to FDIC’s talented staff and support teams. Their dedication to the quality of the training we provide and the integrity of our business is what helps FDIC continue to grow year after year,” says Eric Schlett, vice president, Fire Group, for Penn-Well Corporation. FDIC is part of a suite of products and tradeshows that include FDIC East, FDIC West, Fire Engineering magazine, and fireEMS magazine.
● The INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS (IAFC) FOUNDATION administers a scholarship program that provides financial assistance to emergency personnel for study at college level. Any person active with an emergency response unit is eligible to make application for one of the financial packages available through the Foundation. In its 31st year, this program was initiated to provide financial assistance to those individuals working in fire and rescue. The awards range from $250 to $4,000 and are only awarded once a year. Application information can be obtained by writing the office at IAFC Foundation, 4025 Fair Ridge Drive, Fairfax, VA 22033; by downloading from www.iafcf.org; or by e-mailing iafcfoun@msn.com.
● The FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) has distributed nearly 100,000 copies of the updated Are You Ready? An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness. The guide walks readers through how to get informed about local emergency plans, how to identify hazards affecting their areas, and how to develop and maintain an emergency communications plan and build their own disaster supply kit. The information is based on the most reliable hazard awareness and emergency education data, the latest scientific knowledge, and physical research on what happens in disasters. Nearly 3,000 Are You Ready? Facilitator Guides for delivering the disaster preparedness content in a classroom or small group setting have also been ordered. The guide contains training modules for adults and children and contains a CD ROM tool kit with customizable slides and hazard-specific fact sheets. College credit for the Are You Ready? course is offered through Frederick Community College in Maryland. FEMA’s Publications Warehouse offers Are You Ready? in English only, but the guide can be downloaded in English and Spanish at the FEMA Web site, www.fema.gov. For more information, contact www.ready.gov or call (800) BE-READY.
● THE FIREMEN’S HOME, in Hudson, New York, recently broke ground on the construction of a new building. The Home is the only nursing home in the state dedicated to providing health care to volunteer firefighters. The modern building, due for completion in 2006, will feature spacious resident rooms, a dedicated Alzheimer’s unit, and a high-tech rehabilitation center featuring advanced equipment and a therapy pool. Other features will include a dining room with a gas fireplace, chapel, commissary, barber and beauty shops, activity lounges, and a large multipurpose auditorium.
● The INTERTECH GROUP, INC. purchased the polybenzimidazole fiber and polymer business (PBI) from Celanese Corporation, forming PBI PERFORMANCE PRODUCTS, INC. to complete the acquisition and operate the business as a wholly owned subsidiary of InterTech. All existing management and employees will remain with the business. Fire service products include PBI Matrix and PBI Gold protective apparel. Headquarters for the business will remain in Charlotte, North Carolina, with manufacturing in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
● PIERCE MANUFACTURING INC. plans to invest $18.5 million to expand its manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin by 130,000 square feet. Construction is scheduled to begin late summer of 2005, with completion expected in early 2006. The expansion was spurred by strong growth in its fire, rescue, and homeland security apparatus sales over the past two years. The expansion will provide additional capacity to meet this growing demand, enhance quality, reduce lead times for customers, and streamline the manufacturing processes.
● The CHICAGO FIRE DEPARTMENT (CFD) donated a 1991 public education fire safety trailer to the Ford Heights (IL) Fire Department, allowing it to establish its first fire safety education program for children. The Ford Heights Fire Department had been unable to fully implement such a program because of limited resources. The village of Ford Heights has one of the highest poverty levels with a substantial percentage of residents falling below the poverty level. The village has a 5-to-1 child-to-adult ratio; 30 percent of the 3,500 residents are children under the age of nine.
In addition to the trailer, the CFD has donated 200 fire safety packages that include smoke detectors, children’s helmets, and fire safety information. CFD public education instructors will also dedicate several hours to train the Ford Heights Fire Department staff.
● BRIGHT STAR LIGHTING PRODUCTS named Patrick Pflederer the winner of its “Outfit Your Department” contest held during the 2005 FDIC Show in April. A 13-year veteran firefighter with the Winfield (IL) Fire Protection District, Pflederer was awarded 20 alkaline battery-powered ResponderTM Right Angle (RA) flashlights.
Chosen from more than 800 contest entrants, Pflederer explained that when he entered the contest at FDIC, his department had been considering a large purchase of right-angle flashlights. Winning the contest allows it to apply those resources to other needed equipment, he said. Serving a community of approximately 30,000 residents, the Winfield Fire Protection District is comprised of 47 firefighters.
●FERRARA FIRE APPARATUS, INC. named Mitchell Willoughby vice president of dealer sales and recruitment. He will be responsible for enhancing and expanding the company’s dealer sales, recruitment, and support.
● PL CUSTOM AND RESCUE 1 named Scott O’Neill and Alan Rich of Specialty Vehicle Sales, Plainview, New York, Dealer and Salesman of the Year, respectively, for 2004. Outstanding sales performance was rewarded for both the PL Custom ambulance division and Rescue 1 rescue division.
