NAMES IN THE NEWS
Chief Clyde A Bragdon Jr., was recently sworn in as administrator of the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) following unanimous Senate confirmation. Bragdon was nominated for the post by President Reagan in April. The USFA has been without an official administrator since B. J. Thompson left as chief administrator in the fall of 1982. Bragdon, a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. He retired as county forester, fire warden and chief of the Los Angeles County, CA, Fire Department in March.
Richard E. Stevens, vice-president and chief engineer of the NFPA, recently received a newly-established distinguished service award from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, New England Chapter. The honor was given in “recognition of his many contributions to the New England Chapter and to the profession of fire protection engineering.”
Michael T. Mitchell, a former assistant chief of the Los Angeles City, CA, Fire Department, has been named deputy director for resident programs at the National Fire Academy. As deputy director, he will implement the academy’s new four-level curriculum, designed to meet the requirements of the national professional qualifications standards program. The curriculum emphasizes a command and staff program and an executive fire officer program.
Paul R. Powers, director of safety for Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, TX, has been appointed chairman of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee on Heliports, Helistops, and Helipads.
Formed this past April by the NFPA Standards Council, the committee is responsible for documents concerning fire protection criteria for heliport design, construction, maintenance and fueling, in addition to rescue and firefighting operations.
