Nineteen fire chiefs from around the world will participate in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Fire Forum in Boston, October 19-22. Also in attendance will be R. David Paulison. Paulison is currently the Under Secretary of Federal Emergency Management/Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and was formerly Miami/Dade Fire Chief and Administrator for the U.S. Fire Administration.
The forum will focus on firefighting strategic planning and preparing the next generation of firefighting leaders. Some topics of discussion include firefighter health, safety and wellness, an overview of FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security, protective equipment and public safety communication. The event is sponsored each year by the NFPA.
“Today’s firefighters face a myriad of challenges and are our first line of defense against not only fire but a host of other public safety issues,” said NFPA Metro Chiefs Secretary Russ Sanders who coordinates the event. “The Urban Fire Forum is a critical way to bring together some of the best and brightest in fire service from across the world to share ideas and chart future direction.”
This year’s participants are:
Chief Bob Khan, Phoenix, AZ
Chief William J. McCammon, Alameda County, CA
Chief Keith Richter, Contra Costa County, CA
Chief Michael Smith (Retired Fresno, CA) Fairfield, CA
Chief Charles Teale, Hartford, CT
Chief Larry Trujillo, Denver, CO
Chief William “Shorty” Bryson, Miami, FL
Commissioner Ray Orozco, Jr., Chicago, IL
Chief Bob Hendricks, Lexington, KY
Chief Kelvin Cochran, Shreveport, LA
Chief Bill Goodwin, Baltimore City, MD
Chief Tom Carr, Montgomery County, MD
Chief Sherman George, St. Louis, MI
Chief Luther Fincher, Charlotte, NC
Chief Salvatore Cassano, New York City, NY
Chief Robert Ojeda, San Antonio, TX
Chief Wes Shoemaker, Winnipeg (Canada)
Chief William Stewart, Toronto, (Canada)
Chief Ken Knight, London (England)
The Metropolitan Fire Chiefs (Metro) Section brings together fire chiefs from large metropolitan fire departments to share information and focus on major issues effecting policy changes in the U.S. and abroad. The Metro is a Section of both the NFPA and the IAFC and its members are the fire chiefs of jurisdictions with minimum staffing of 400 fully paid career fire fighters. For more information visit www.nfpa.org and look in the member access section or contact Metro Executive Secretary, Russ Sanders at rsanders@nfpa.org.
NFPA has been a worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 1896. The mission of the international nonprofit organization is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training and education. Visit NFPA’s Web site at www.nfpa.org.
