On February 25th, 2015 the Training, Safety and Officer’s section wrapped up another successful annual conference held in Yakima, WA.  The event was a great success solely because of the hard work put in by the Board members and their spouses from around the state who volunteered their time to make it happen.  And another round of ‘Thank You’ is necessary for all the staff at the Washington Fire Chief’s office.  There were 5 full days of classes covering topics of leadership, instructions, driver safety, Train-the-Trainers and more!  It was great to see so many departments represented and the networking that took place is always an added benefit. 

Chief Rick Lasky (Ret.) was our keynote speaker and did a fantastic job.  If you have ever heard Chief Lasky speak or if you have read his book Pride and Ownership then you can imagine the lasting impression he left with all of us.  In his general session presentation he delivered a powerful historical overview of the fire service and touched on why we as a fire service have come to do things the way we do.  From code enforcement changes to safety practices developed Chief Lasky relayed real life examples, which have killed civilians and firefighters, and the resulting changes that emerged following these tragic events.  As the class was entitled, it truly was something that They Should Be Teaching This on the First Day of the Academy...