Looking back, a lot has changed over the last thirty years in fire and EMS officer development.  Our industry was considered a trade and a high school diploma was sufficient to get hired.  An Associate’s degree was rare and a Bachelor’s degree was unheard of, even as we promoted through the ranks into management positions.  However, as an industry, we recognized the need to move from a trade to a profession.  There were many topics, such as human resources, finance and budgeting, strategic planning, and the like, that were not covered in high school or the fire academy. 

Realizing this, leaders began to focus on encouraging our incumbents to go back to school and earn a two year technical degree.  Employers also began to give more credit to candidates with college degrees who were seeking employment as a firefighter or paramedic.  This slow evolution created a new norm where a two year degree in fire science was an edge for those competing for company officer promotions or entry level positions.  This created a ripple effect upward and soon raised the bar within the profession for senior incumbents and chief officers.  Chief officers and chief officer candidates were headed back to school to earn their four year college degrees, and fire chief hopefuls were seeking post-graduate degrees.  Today, many entry level firefighters possess graduate and post-graduate degrees, and this has also served to encourage incumbent supervisors who want to lead these new firefighters to obtain more formal education...

The Washington State Fire Chief’s Training and Safety & Officers section are proud to announce that the new Emergency Vehicle Incident Prevention (EVIP) program is approved and in motion!  After a laborious update process the new program has been approved by the State Department of Licensing and the Washington State Patrol, Fire Protection Bureau. There are some major updates to the program that will need to be communicated state-wide.

The new program now has a trainer re-certification policy that requires trainers to have a Train-the-Trainer (T-t-T) refresher course every 5 years. Those who have been trainers under previous EVIP standards will still need to receive this most current T-t-T course and use the current course materials to remain a certified EVIP trainer.  Fire service members may register through the Washington State Fire Chief’s online for any of the upcoming T-t-T courses that are scheduled across the state.  There are also two opportunities to take the course at the Training and Safety & Officer’s Conference in Yakima the first week of March 2014. As part of the T-t-T course students will receive the newest EVIP program disc and all needed materials to bring the EVIP program back to their departments for immediate implementation...

Jan. 10, 2014 the Treasury Department issued a clarification that fire departments will not have to provide health insurance to volunteer firefighters.
 
Specifically, the IRS announced that its forthcoming regulations governing the shared responsibility provision "generally will not require volunteer hours of bonafide volunteer firefighters and volunteer emergency medical personnel at governmental or tax-exempt organizations to be counted when determining full-time employees (or full-time equivalents)."

Under the Shared Responsibility Provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), an employer with 50 or more full-time employees must offer affordable and adequate healthcare coverage to its employees. For this purpose, full time means 30 hours or more per week on average, with the hours of employees working less than that aggregated into full-time equivalents...

Alan M. Petrillo

The Hummelstown (PA) Chemical Fire Co. No. 1 needed to replace an aging pumper but wanted to do so by building a combination vehicle-one that could serve as a first-line pumper as well as a rescue truck. The department found what it needed with Alexis.

"We're an all-volunteer department and sometimes have scarce staffing during the day," says Charlie Cogan, Hummelstown chief. "We had a pumper that needed to be replaced, and our rescue truck runs a lot because it handles a lot of mutual aid. So, we decided to spec a vehicle that can handle almost anything with a crew of five-whether it be fire suppression or a rescue."

The Hummelstown (PA) Chemical Fire Co. No. 1 chose Alexis to build a rescue-pumper that would replace an older pumper and worn-out rescue in the department's fleet. (Photos courtesy of Alexis.)

Cogan says the department put together a committee composed of line officers and the fire company president and treasurer. "We determined what we wanted on the vehicle and started out with a $1 million truck. [We] tweaked it back to what our budget would stand," Cogan notes. "Once we got a good idea of what we wanted in the vehicle, we sent our specs out to a list of different manufacturers to see what they could do for us."

Ultimately, five companies placed bids for the Hummelstown vehicle. "We wanted a pumper first and a rescue second, along with a Class A foam system and a light tower," Cogan points out. "This is our first vehicle with a light tower, and we wanted a big enough generator to handle that light tower as well as all the other power requirements on the vehicle. Alexis is the one we chose to build the truck."

The rescue-pumper carries a Hale QMAX 150 1,500-gpm pump with a left-side pump panel, a 750-gallon water tank, and an integral 30-gallon foam tank.

Filling Multiple Roles

Rick Debroisse, owner of I.M. Apparatus, the Alexis dealer for Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey, acknowledges that Hummelstown wanted to design a multifunctional piece of apparatus. "They wanted a front-line pumper merged with a rescue because this apparatus would be their first-due piece in their own district as well as for mutual aid," Debroisse says. "They wanted all the multifunctional capabilities we could offer, including space for all the equipment that goes along with it."

Dirk Jordan, lead sales engineer for Alexis, says the rescue-pumper design Alexis came up with for Hummelstown "allows a combination of the best of both worlds. They wanted a low hosebed, lots of compartment space, and upper storage compartments on the roof." He adds, "When you go for a low hosebed and a big water load, it's a challenge to put in deep compartments because there is only so much space available, but we were able to do it. In addition, Hummelstown wanted a short turning radius on the vehicle, which we also were able to give them."

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