SETCOM CORPORATION will sponsor the SCOTT Firefighter Combat Challenge (FFCC). The competition consists of multiple three-day events taking place throughout the United Staes and Canada to promote firefighter fitness and wellness. The Challenge is now in its 18th year of competition and has been hailed by ESPN as “the toughest two minutes in sports.” With more than 25 events taking place throughout the year, the Challenge annually attracts hundreds of U.S. and Canadian municipal fire departments at more than 25 locations and is now expanding to countries around the world, including New Zealand, Germany, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa. www.SetcomCorp.com. www.scotthealthsafety.com.
The UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION (USFA) released a technical report titled Northern Illinois University Shooting. On February 14, 2008, a 28-year-old former Northern Illinois University (NIU) graduate student opened fired in a large lecture hall, killing five students and wounding 18 before committing suicide. The report cites the City of DeKalb Fire Department, the NIU Department of Public Safety, the Kishwaukee Community Hospital, and other mutual-aid responders as being prepared by practicing emergency drills together and coordinating their planning. The USFA develops reports addressing a variety of issues that affect the fire service such as homeland security and disaster preparedness, new technologies, and firefighter safety and health. www.usfa.dhs.gov.
The NATIONAL VOLUNTEER FIRE COUNCIL, in partnership with BASKIN-ROBBINS®, has selected 10 outstanding junior firefighters to receive a $5,000 scholarship through the National Junior Firefighter Program. The selected winners are Edward Ball, Bloomingdale (NJ) Fire Department; Tyler Cegielski, Channelview (TX) Volunteer Fire Department; Reeve Chilton, Lake Elmore, Vermont, Elmore Volunteer Fire Department; Brittany Forsstrom, Jamison, Pennsylvania, Warwick Township Fire Company; Katelyn Hall-Garrant, Montross, Virginia, Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department; Zachary Kues, Heathsville, Virginia, Callao Volunteer Fire Department; Sierra McKinney, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, Citizens Hose Company No. 5; Joseph Petrone Jr., Erie, Pennsylvania, Kuhl Hose Company; Brittany Smith, Bridgeport (NY) Volunteer Fire Department; and Kelly Smith, Williamsville (NY) Fire Department/Hutchinson Hose. www.nvfc.org/juniors.
RESCUE 3 INTERNATIONAL celebrates its 30th anniversary with news that it is training its 150,000th student. Rescue 3 trains approximately 12,000 students a year in various rescue disciplines including water and flood rescue, ice rescue, technical rope rescue, animal rescue, tower safety, and boat operations. With a network of more than 500 instructors, Rescue 3’s courses are taught in 10 languages in more than 30 countries. A majority of the U.S. students are involved in public safety as firefighters, police officers, military personnel, river guides, and private boaters. www.rescue3.com. (800) 457-3728.
The city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, has ordered 10 ROSENBAUER custom pumpers from Rocky Mountain Phoenix that will be manufactured at Rosenbauer’s General Division in Wyoming, Minnesota. This first order of pumpers is the start of the department’s fleet plan for the next five to seven years. The pumpers will be built on Spartan Gladiator LFD chassis with an extra four-inch high roof and will feature top-mount enclosed pump panels; Waterous 1,750-gpm pumps; Detroit Diesel Series 60 455-hp engines; angled rear crew seats; and DeckMaster monitors. The first delivery date will be April 2010. www.rosenbaueramerica.com. (605) 543-5591.
HURST JAWS OF LIFE donated more than 115 rescue tools worth more than $130,000 and its Latin American master distributor in Mexico, Importada Fabregat, S.A., which donated an additional $51,500 in power units. Firefighters Crossing Borders will use some of the sets to train with various departments throughout Mexico and the remainder of the tools will be placed in kits and distributed by Importada Fabregat to Mexican fire departments. Importada Fabregat has agreed to donate power units and logistics support for the American charity. www.firefighterscrossingborders.org. www.jawsoflife.com. www.fabregat.com.
The State of New Hampshire general court and SIMPLEXGRINNELL announced that all 46 fire extinguishers in the New Hampshire State House complex in Concord were upgraded with en-Gauge, Inc.’s electronically-monitored fire extinguishers. The New Hampshire State House is the nation’s first to install these safety devices. Donated by SimplexGrinnell along with its partners, en-Gauge, Inc.; Ansul; Pacom; and Inovonics; the extinguisher monitoring platform provides lower maintenance costs and reduces the likelihood of fires. The system instantly and wirelessly alerts building management the moment a fire extinguisher has been removed, becomes obstructed, or loses operating pressure. www.simplexgrinnell.com. (561) 988-3600.
Elkhart Brass Chairman RUSSELL “PETE” ASHBAUGH JR., died on August 16 at the age of 88. A World War II veteran and a member of two national championship Notre Dame football teams, Ashbaugh began his corporate career at Elkhart Brass in the late 1940s, eventually ascending to the positions of president, CEO, and chairman of the board, where he led the company as one of the world’s largest firefighting equipment manufacturers. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Jeannie, four sons, and five grandchildren. www.elkhartbrass.com.
