Names In The News

JASON HOEVELMANN was selected as the new chief of the Florissant Valley (MO) Fire District (FVFD). He replaces Scott Seppelt, who will retire in March 2019. Hoevelmann has been with the FVFD since 2000, rising through the ranks from firefighter/paramedic to captain and then to battalion chief. He has been published in Fire Engineering and is a speaker at conferences such as the annual Fire Department Instructors Conference International. Hoevelmann has served as second vice president for the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and a board of director for the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Fire Life Safety Section.

JON STRATTON was appointed as the new chief of the Plainfield (IL) Fire Protection District (PFPD). He takes over the PFPD from former chief David Riddle, who retired. Stratton began with the district as a volunteer firefighter in 1994 before being promoted up through the ranks, becoming deputy chief in 2005. Stratton indicated that the department is above compliance with training requirements.

MICHAEL HANNIGAN was named the new chief of the Franklin Township (OH) Fire Department. Hannigan replaces former chief Tom Snively, who resigned in November 2018. A fourth-generation firefighter, Hannigan begin his public safety career with the city of Oakwood, Ohio, serving as both public safety officer and public safety sergeant. In 1984, Hannigan became the first full-time fire chief for the Lebanon (OH) Fire Division (LFD), where he was responsible for guiding the LFD in its evolution from a volunteer into a combination part- and full-time department. His sons, Matthew and Kyle, are firefighters with the Deerfield Township and Union Township/South Lebanon Fire Departments.

Hand entrapped in rope gripper

Elevator Rescue: Rope Gripper Entrapment

Mike Dragonetti discusses operating safely while around a Rope Gripper and two methods of mitigating an entrapment situation.
Delta explosion

Two Workers Killed, Another Injured in Explosion at Atlanta Delta Air Lines Facility

Two workers were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion Tuesday at a Delta Air Lines maintenance facility near the Atlanta airport.