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Mission Statement

The objectives of this Division shall be to further enhance the education of all Fire Service Administrative Support by conducting workshops and seminars; to increase the proficiency of Fire Administrative Support by establishing a network sharing of information systems through various channels of communication; and to faciliate a statewide standardization wherever possible in all phases and aspects of the Fire Administrative Support field for the benefit of the Fire Service.

Recent Fire Administrative Support News

Posted: Oct 20, 2020
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Greetings all~

At the yearly business meeting of the WFAS, usually a part of the annual conference, 2020 elections were held. Two Regional Representative terms were up this year along with that of the Secretary and Chair. Cathy Blakeway, Tumwater Fire, will continue to serve as a Regional Rep and Tasiya Deering, Moses Lake Fire, was reelected to the position of Secretary. Kristen Cole chose not to run again for the Regional Rep position she has held but has opted to remain on the board as the Hospitality/Activity committee chair. Slita Bradley, Benton County Fire District 4, was chosen to fill that Regional Rep position. Caity Karapostoles, Clallam County Fire District 3, was elected to serve for the next two years as Chairman when Mykel Montgomery stepped down. Mykel will stay on the board as Past Chair, allowing her to help deliver the 2021 WFAS Conference in Chelan postponed from October 2020. A huge shout out to everyone for stepping up to run for positions on the board and to volunteer on the various committees, along with everyone who continues to serve as board/committee members. It takes all of us to create and maintain the valuable network that is the WFAS! And along those lines, the Vice Chair position is open if you or someone you know is interested, please let me know as soon as possible. In keeping with our policies and procedures, the vacancy will be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Board at our next meeting. The person chosen will serve until the next election at the 2021 WFAS Conference,

In lieu of this year’s conference and workshops, a number of webinars are being planned for our group. Check the website and the group’s Facebook page for more information as it comes available.

Please feel free to contact me or any of the other board/committee members, if there is anything we can help you with. I welcome comments, concerns and suggestions!

Take care and stay safe.

As always,

Caity K

WFAS Chair

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Posted: Apr 21, 2020
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Wednesday April 22nd

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Posted: Jun 27, 2018
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 A recording of the hour long webinar How to Apply for a Local Records Grant is now available at Washington State Archives’ website at:

 https://www.sos.wa.gov/archives/RecordsManagement/Local-Records-Grant-Program.aspx

 

The Online Grant Application form will be available on July 2, 2018.

If anyone has questions or would like assistance in planning and preparing their application, please email recordsmanagement@sos.wa.gov.

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Posted: Apr 25, 2018
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On behalf of your Washington Fire Administrative Support (WFAS) Board and Committee Members, we would like to acknowledge your hard work, dedication and commitment to the fire service and the work that you do. We all play an integral part in the departments we work for and the communities we serve, but perhaps don’t always get the acknowledgement that goes along with it. I hope everyone feels valued for their efforts and feels the support of your network of peers within the WFAS Section. Enjoy your day and I am so excited to see 96 of you in Walla Walla at our annual conference next week!

 

Ashley Becker, WFAS Section Chair

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Posted: Apr 2, 2018
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In accordance with the Washington Fire Chiefs' Bylaws, and the WFC Fire Administrative Support current Protocols, the recommended updated version of the protocols has been posted 30 days before conference

If you would like to see a version noting all of the changes, that document is shown as well. Feel free to share any concerns or comments regarding this updated document with us at: wfc@washingtonfirechiefs.org 

The updated protocols will be voted on by members at the WFAS conference in Walla Walla, Washington on Monday, May 7th.

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Posted: Feb 21, 2018
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Nominations need to be submitted to the WFC office by Friday, April 20, 2018 to kathleen@washingtonfirechiefs.org.

  • Nominee can be nominated by any WFC member, belonging to any WFC Section – please include: nominees name, position title, years of service;
  • The nominee must be a current member of the WFAS;
  • Nomination should list the nominee’s administrative accomplishments and contributions during the previous year as well as their leadership abilities, demonstration of professional performance and personal character.  A short story should be submitted to enhance the nominee’s accomplishments.
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Posted: Aug 8, 2017
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We currently have an opening on the WFAS Executive Board for an Eastern Representative, partial term, to serve through May 2018 (until the conference in which an election will take place for a two-year term).

 

Please submit a Statement of Interest to abecker@centralpiercefire.org, no later than Tuesday, August 15, for consideration at our upcoming Board Meeting in Walla Walla.

 

Feel free to reference the WFAS Board Campaign on the website for more information on Board involvement or reach out to a Board Member.

 

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Posted: Apr 26, 2017
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On behalf of the WFAS Board, we would like to thank you for your endless dedication to the fire service and your commitment to learn and grow.

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Posted: Apr 6, 2017
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In accordance with the Washington Fire Chiefs' Bylaws, and the WFC Fire Administrative Support current Protocols, the recommended updated version of the protocols has been posted 30 days before conference

If you would like to see a version noting all of the changes, please contact us. Feel free to share any concerns or comments regarding this updated document with us at: wfc@washingtonfirechiefs.org 

The updated protocols will be voted on by members at the WFAS conference in Olympia, Washington.

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Posted: Jan 31, 2017
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Nominations need to be submitted to the WFC office by Friday, April 28th of this year, 2017.

  • Nominee can be nominated by any WFC member, belonging to any WFC Section – please include: nominees name, position title, years of service;
  • The nominee must be a current member of the WFAS;
  • Nomination should list the nominee’s administrative accomplishments and contributions during the previous year as well as their leadership abilities, demonstration of professional performance and personal character.  A short story should be submitted to enhance the nominee’s accomplishments.

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FIRE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT SECTION UPCOMING EVENTS

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FIRE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BOARD & COMMITTEES

Fire Station Dashboard

By Robert Tutterow

My previous two columns have been about ways to cut fire station operating costs-both existing and new. These are costs that have no direct bearing on service delivery or firefighter safety. As stated in the previous columns, 49 percent of a building's lifespan costs are the ongoing costs for utilities, maintenance, and replacing furnishings. Items that were covered included materials selection for the exterior and interior of the station. This is a substantial sum of funds that, if properly managed, could be applied to apparatus, personal protective equipment (PPE), equipment, training, and other mission-critical items. In this column, there will be a bit more information on materials selection plus a tool that can be used to manage utility costs.

Minor but Big Payoff

There are minor expense items that have a big payback in a station's sustainability. These include corner guards for drywall-hopefully "abuse-resistant" drywall. Vinyl-wrapped ceiling tiles or epoxy painted drywall make for long-lasting ceilings. Flooring materials should be of materials that do not require vacuuming or waxing. Stainless steel is the most durable and easy to maintain material for kitchen appliances and cabinet surfaces. Never use particleboard for kitchen cabinets. Commercial-quality cooktops and ovens provide the best return on investment in a station where there is frequent cooking. Use porcelain or ceramic tiles in restrooms and shower areas.

Building Dashboard

And, now for the aforementioned tool-the building dashboard. Building dashboards are exactly what they sound like. Just as an automobile has a dashboard to inform drivers of what is going on with the vehicle, there is a growing number of buildings that have dashboards. In short, a building dashboard is a Web-based tool that provides real-time information about the building such as electricity or gas use, water use, temperature, humidity, and air quality. The dashboard can be configured to meet the needs of users and their capabilities, and expandability is almost limitless.

The dashboard can be used by management to monitor usage and detect areas of wasted energy. Firefighters can access the dashboard to learn more about energy usage and modify their behavior. If a department has more than one station, reducing energy consumption can become a competition. For example, several college campuses have placed building dashboards in their dormitories. They then have contests among the dorms to see which one can reduce its utility usage by the highest percentage. Students in the winning dorm receive a prize.

The beauty of the dashboard is that it provides data-manageable data. Think for a moment about driving a car without a dashboard. How do you know your speed? How do you know how much fuel is in the tank? How do you know how many miles are on the vehicle? In effect, that's what the fire service and society have been doing with buildings forever. Today we have the technology to manage a building-specifically a fire station.

Chart the Course

One beauty of the dashboard is its ability to provide graphs that chart utility usage over a period of time. At last year's Annual F.I.E.R.O. Fire Station Symposium, Keith Pehl with Optima Engineering gave a presentation about building dashboards. He referenced an example of a building with a dashboard that indicated the air-conditioning had started to come on at night when the building was not occupied. This was during the winter months when the outside temperatures were below freezing. An investigation revealed that new information technology equipment had been installed in the building, and the venting system to release the heat was shut down when the building was not occupied. The problem was remedied, and the utility costs for the building returned back to a lower level. Without the building dashboard, the higher electrical costs could have continued for months or years. As Pehl stated, building dashboards must be transparent-that is, everyone using the building must have access to the dashboard. Typically the dashboard is displayed on a monitor in a frequently visited common area of a fire station such as the kitchen. This allows for conversation about the dashboard and the subsequent hidden benefits of dashboards-education!

ROBERT TUTTEROW retired as safety coordinator for the Charlotte (NC) Fire Department and is a member of the Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment editorial advisory board. His 34-year career includes 10 as a volunteer. He has been very active in the National Fire Protection Association through service on the Fire Service Section Executive Board and technical committees involved with safety, apparatus, and personal protective equipment. He is a founding member and president of the Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization (F.I.E.R.O.).

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Posted: Dec 9, 2013,
Categories: Fire Mechanics,
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