Emmitsburg, MD – Alan Patrick Sondej led a life of compassion and generosity. From his undergraduate days at Notre Dame University through adulthood, Sondej committed himself to helping others affected by poverty and hunger. He raised money for relief efforts and traveled the world to teach sustainable agriculture techniques.   

Alan Sondej also gave his time and energy to helping his local community. A graduate student at the University of Maryland, Sondej was a live-in volunteer firefighter with the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department in Prince George’s County, Maryland from 1977 – 1988. It was on his last night with the department before heading back overseas to teach that tragedy struck. While battling a house fire, Firefighter Alan Sondej sustained serious burns which eventually claimed his life.  

Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department:
Remembering Al Sondej – Died in the Line of Duty, March 16, 1988

In recognition of Alan’s spirit for giving, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has established the Alan Patrick Sondej Memorial Scholarship Fund for Families of Fallen Firefighters. This new scholarship will be part of the Foundation’s Sarbanes Scholarship Program and was made possible by a donation from a former volunteer firefighter from Prince George’s County. 

The scholarship will be formally introduced at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Al Sondej Memorial Scholarship Announcement & Alumni Event that will be held on Saturday, March 10th at 11:00 a.m. at the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department, 6200 Belcrest Road, Hyattsville, MD.   

“We were overwhelmed when contacted about establishing the scholarship in Alan’s name,” said Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the NFFF. “This year marks the 130th anniversary of Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department. March 16 is also the 30th anniversary of Alan’s death. To be able to announce the scholarship at Hyattsville makes it that much more special for everyone.”  

 

About the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 

The United States Congress created the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to lead a nationwide effort to remember America's fallen firefighters. Since 1992, the nonprofit Foundation has developed and expanded programs to honor fallen fire heroes and assist their families and coworkers. The Foundation also works closely with the U.S. Fire Administration to help prevent and reduce line-of-duty deaths and injuries. For more information on the NFFF and its programs – including the Scholarship Programs – visit  www.firehero.org.

TargetSolutions, a Vector Solutions brand offering the leading online training and records management system for public safety agencies, and Halligan, known for its powerful mobile truck checks application, announced today they have joined forces to deliver the industry’s most dynamic technology for tracking fire apparatus and equipment inspections on a mobile device.

Through this partnership, TargetSolutions will deliver a new Web-based application called TargetSolutions Check It, built for streamlining routine maintenance checks of trucks, tools, medical supplies, drugs, and other items logged in inventory records. The application will be accessible through the TargetSolutions platform.

“This is an exciting development for emergency responders,” said Marc Scheipe, who serves as executive vice president for Vector Solutions. “For years, TargetSolutions has been at the forefront of innovative technology for delivering and tracking training and compliance. Now, we have a powerful new mobile application for apparatus and equipment checks.

“With TargetSolutions Check It, routine inspections are simplified, and the data is easily accessible through the TargetSolutions platform. TargetSolutions Check It gives Fire and EMS agencies insight into their inventory, so they can spot issues in real time. This is the kind of technology TargetSolutions strives to deliver because it makes agencies more efficient and effective.”

With TargetSolutions Check It, agencies can create customized checklists or download checklists from a shared library. They can track their resources online and view intuitive reports featuring automatically generated graphs and figures. These easy-to-digest records help agencies visualize risk, ensure performance, and achieve compliance.

TargetSolutions Check It will be available on desktop and iOS and Android mobile devices in April. If you would like more information, please check online at http://www.targetsolutions.com/check-it.

Vancouver firefighters responded to a house fire Wednesday morning and found a man in the driveway suffering from smoke inhalation. The firefighters were dispatched about 6:19 a.m. to 820 N.E. 101st Court, a home in the Marrion neighborhood. They arrived at the scene of the fire within five minutes, said Vancouver Fire spokesman Kevin Stromberg.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2018 10:43:54 AM - SOURCE: Vancouver Columbian

A man who had apparently fallen out of a boat on Kitsap Lake was rescued by two firefighters who had to borrow a canoe from a lakeshore neighbor. Firefighters from Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue were called to the old boat launch Wednesday morning just after 7 a.m. to help a man in the water. When crews arrived, they could hear the boater calling for help.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2018 9:08:56 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 and Radio 1000

All they want to do is to keep fighting fires on millions of acres of private, state and tribal-owned forestlands as part of Washington state's largest on-call fire department. But the firefighting fates of Noe Vazquez and Christian Garcia Herrera, who have each fought more than 20 fires, are in limbo until the federal government reaches a deal on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, otherwise known as DACA.
- PUB DATE: 3/7/2018 5:33:23 AM - SOURCE: Crosscut