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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

Upcoming Events

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FIRE ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT BOARD & COMMITTEES

Five Questions for Chris Ferrara, President and CEO of Ferrara Fire Apparatus

Chris Mc Loone

CM: How has the F-Shield been received and what led to its development?

CF: It was really a unique theory and process. We all thought, looking at the fire industry, that we really wanted to come up with something that could have a dynamic impact on the fire service throughout the country.

One thing we have seen year after year-that a lot of the frame rails are deteriorating and rusting. So, we reached out to fire departments across the country and found that that is really a growing problem. With some of the corrosive materials they use for salting roads and deicing roads, it's really playing havoc on a lot of the understructure of fire trucks, mainly in the northeast but really all across the country with some of the issues even in the south with salt conditions around Florida and the Gulf Coast areas.

We did some research and we found this product that we think is going to set the bar to solving the rust and corrosion of frame rails. As you know, fire departments have to keep fire trucks longer than any other time before with the tough economy. So, we came out with this idea and it seems to be taking off by storm. I think we set the bar and I think it's going to be a great savings and a mechanic's dream working on these trucks as the trucks get older.

CM: What is the biggest issue in the fire service today and what is Ferrara doing to address it?

CF: I think the biggest issue is the funding-whether it's firefighters getting laid off or funding to purchase equipment. I think we really have a tremendous problem across the world of helping fund fire departments so they can maintain their services. That's a big concern to me and I'm sure it's a big concern to a lot of fire departments. Every time we see our U.S. congressmen [or] our U.S. senators, we tell them day in and day out that they have got to help fund this fire service program. So any time we can reach out to any of our politicians or anyone that will listen to us, we spread the word that we have to have additional help in the fire service to help promote fire safety across the country and help support these fire departments.

CM: What is the most important product Ferrara makes?

CF: That's a tough question. We build so many different products. We're so diverse in building rescues to aerials to specialty units, but what really sets us apart is that we are still a custom builder today. Customers love what we do where we can sit down with a customer and say, "What best fits your needs?" If you want a special compartment size, a special length of body, a special length of chassis, we can do it. It really makes a big difference in my mind that the customer really wants what he wants and why he wants it. And, we want to give it to him and fulfill his needs. So, the most important product is all the products we manufacture. Because whether it's a rescue or an aerial, it's a heavy duty product. We really set the bar of building the heaviest product out there. As Peter [JØrgensen] would say, we have more extrusions in our body. I was nicknamed Mr. Heavy Duty by him many years ago, and we have stuck to that tradition.

CM: What's next for Ferrara?

CF: We are constantly looking for new ideas and new ways to make the product better and last longer. We're known to come up with different innovations and we really like to show our customers how the trucks are built from the inside out. So, you'll see at some of the major trade shows that we actually bring an unfinished body on one side and a painted body on the other side so we can show customers how our product is built from the inside out. The number one goal as we move forward is finding ways to enhance the product to last a lot longer given the restraints of the economy today. But not only that, also making the product safer for the fire departments. Our number one goal has been building a safe product. When a fire department is unlucky and gets in a wreck, we want firefighters to always walk away from the product. And, we've demonstrated that over the years.

CM: What keeps you up at night?

CF: Well, you know a lot of things. But mainly in this day and time, it's the economy. With all the budget cuts, and we see fire departments really struggle to buy vehicles; that's what really keeps me up today, that hopefully the economy can turn whereby we can all succeed in business and the fire departments can succeed in buying new equipment. Because let's face it-a lot of these government officials sometimes don't understand that this product does wear out over time. It's a high-dollar-cost item. We feel and I feel that if the economy continues down this path, we will all struggle. When I say "we"-both us and fire departments across the country.

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Posted: Aug 2, 2013,
Categories: Fire Mechanics,
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