The Swiftwater Rescue Committee of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE is seeking nominations for the 2001 Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Swiftwater Rescue. The awards honor a civilian rescuer, Earl Higgins, who died in February 1980 while attempting to save a child being swept away in the flood-swollen Los Angeles River, and firefighter/paramedic Jeffrey Langley of the Los Angeles County (CA) Fire Department, who died in a helicopter accident in March 1993.
The awards recognize outstanding achievement in the field of swiftwater-flood rescue. Individual acts of heroism; swiftwater-flood rescue team efforts; swiftwater-flood rescue training programs; and public safety-media-education efforts will be considered for nomination. The deadline for submissions is August 31, 2001. For more information and nomination forms, contact: Paul McMinn, National Association for Search and Rescue, Swiftwater Rescue Committee, c/o South Bend Recreation Department, 727 Eddy St., South Bend, IN 46615; phone: (219) 235-9328; fax: (219) 235-5566. Download nomination forms at: http://www.cfspress.com/. Direct Link: http://www.cfspress.com/ hlawards.htm.
H. Wayne Boyd, Martin J. Maddaloni, and Jaime Moncada-Perez have been elected to the NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION (NFPA) board of directors, and Ronald P. Bertone and Phillip C. Stittleburg were reelected to the board, all for three-year terms. Boyd is president and CEO of U.S. Safety and Engineering Corporation; Maddaloni is general president of the United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Sprinklerfitters; and Moncada-Perez is president of Pirotec, Ltd. Board members are elected based on their experience in business, finance or administration, and commitment to the association.
Three-time American League Baseball “Fireman of the Year” Dennis Eckersley will work with NFPA officials on Fire Prevention Week 2001 (October 7-13). This year’s theme is “Cover the Bases & Strike Out Fire.”
The NFPA awarded Louis A. Witzeman the Research Foundation Medal for Extraordinary Contribution for his efforts with the Fire Protection Research Foundation. Witzeman was instrumental in the organization’s founding in 1982 and has served as a trustee since then and as the secretary for the board since 1994. Witzeman is the founder and chairman emeritus of Rural/ Metro Corporation, a private fire and ambulance service that serves more than 400 communities throughout North and South America.
The NFPA awarded J. Randall Lawson and William (Ruddy) Mell the Harry C. Bigglestone Award for their paper “Heat Transfer Model for Firefighters’ Protective Clothing, ” which appeared in first quarter 2000 issue of Fire Technology. The award is presented to the authors of the most outstanding paper submitted to the journal in the previous calendar year. Lawson is a physical scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Building and Fire Research Laboratory; Mell is with the University of Utah.
The NFPA awarded the Glenwood (IL) Fire Department and Rhodia, Inc. (a chemical manufacturer) the 2001 Rolf H. Jenson Partners in Public Education Award for their collaboration in the 23-city tour of “Sparky’s Fire Prevention Parade.” The award recognizes outstanding collaboration between a private sector and a fire service partner in implementing a successful fire and life safety education program in their community. The parade made its debut during Fire Prevention Week 2000.
D. Harold Ware received the NFPA Standards Medal for his contributions to fire safety in the development of NFPA standards. An NFPA member for more than 35 years, Ware has chaired the National Electrical CodeT (NEC) Technical Correlating Committee since 1993.
John F. “Sonny” Scarff III received the NFPA 2001 President’s Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the NFPA’s mission. Scarf is the senior corporate director of fire protection for Marriott International, managing the company’s fire protection program for all hotels, life care, and assisted living facilities. He has been instrumental in ensuring compliance and maintenance of NFPA consensus codes and standards in these facilities and for his advocacy of sprinkler technology in the lodging industry.
AMERICAN LAFRANCE CORPORATION provides customers with information on the company’s training programs (including tuition-free programs) at its Web site, www.americanlafrance.com. The courses will be offered at various Freightliner regional and dealer training centers throughout the United States and Canada. Courses related to American LaFrance apparatus and components will be offered at the Freightliner training center in Cleveland, North Carolina. Specialty classes include hands-on fire pump testing and operation, maintenance, lubrication and adjustment of the complete aerial device, complete fire pump and gearbox repair, and ambulance service and maintenance.
Tuition-free courses are available at Freightliner training centers in Cleveland, North Carolina; Wood Dale, Illinois; Bridgeport, New Jersey; Duluth, Georgia; and Portland, Oregon. Canadian courses are available in Toronto, Ontario; and Calgary, Alberta. Technical training courses are available in Vancouver, British Columbia; and Montreal, Quebec, for a fee.
EMERGENCY ONE received an order for 34 ARFF vehicles from the Royal Netherlands Air Force and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. The contract specifies 34 8 2 8 aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles equipped with MTU 1005-bhp engines and dual-coil spring independent suspension axles that allow faster travel over difficult terrain. Twenty-five of the vehicles will be deployed to protect air force and military installations around the country, and the remaining nine will be deployed to protect the Amsterdam airport.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) ordered an E-One Titan HPR 6 2 6, the sixth ARFF vehicle the CAAB has ordered in the past three years. The HPR cab includes a European-style monitor platform option with Chubb aspirated roof turret that flows between 595 and 1,190 gpm.
VFIS EDUCATION AND CONSULTING SERVICES, a division of VFIS, appointed Dr. William Jenaway executive vice president. He will be responsible for the strategic design and development of new education, training, and consulting resources. Previously, Jenaway was president of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. He serves as chief of fire and rescue services for the King of Prussia (PA) Volunteer Fire Company and has also written articles and books related to fire, safety, and management issues.
NAMES IN THE NEWS
GARY MORRIS has been selected as chief of the Seattle (WA) Fire Department. Morris was chosen for his local and national leadership, labor-management experience, and the ability to develop effective working relationships with local law enforcement. The appointment is subject to confirmation by the city council.
Morris said he plans to expand the department’s efforts to promote diversity throughout the organization; strengthen internal department management through maintaining a positive environment, delivering quality service, and cultivating change and improvement for the future; determining and addressing long-range facility needs; and building on the department’s community and customer service efforts. He will oversee a department that includes 33 stations and 1,123 personnel and protects a population of 540,000, which increases to 1.5 million during the day.
At the time of his selection, Morris was an assistant chief with the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department, directing the urban services division. Previously, he directed the training section and corporate communications. Morris joined the department in 1971.
DENNIS L. RUBIN has been appointed chief of Norfolk (VA) Fire and Paramedical Services. Previously, he served for five years as chief of the Dothan (AL) Fire Department. His accomplishments there included reducing the city’s Insurance Services Office rating from class 3/9 to class 2 (there are only five other class 2 cities in Alabama) and constructing four new fire stations and a new fire administration building. At the state level, Rubin served as vice president of the Alabama Fire Chiefs Association. There he produced a videotape training program entitled “Front Line-Safety First,” which was distributed to fire stations throughout Alabama.
