By Robert Tutterow

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Life Safety Initiative 7 states: create a national research agenda and data collection system that relates to the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

In November 2015, the NFFF held its third National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium in Arlington, Virginia. The previous symposia were held in 2005 and 2011. The symposium brought together representatives from major fire service organizations and researchers from academia.

Purpose

The symposium report from 2011 states: “The intent of the research symposia is to provide a reference source and a starting point to direct research efforts and funding toward those priorities that have been identified by the fire service. Most of the research efforts that focus on fire service issues are performed by universities, public and private sector research organizations, and independent researchers, often working in partnership with fire departments or fire service organizations.” Much of recent research funding has come from the Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development Grants as part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program under the purview of FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate. There is no requirement that a research project be identified in the NFFF’s Research Agenda Report to get funding. However, during the grant review process, it is always helpful if the grant writers can reference a project to one or more of the topic areas identified in the NFFF report.

Figure 1: Firefighter Health Research. Graph furnished by Dr. Sara Jahnke, Director of the Center for Fire, Rescue and EMS Health Research at the National Development and Research Institutes Inc.

There has been a recent surge in firefighting research projects that have greatly benefited the fire service, such as the Underwriters Laboratories and National Institute of Standards and Technology fire behavior reports. Figure 1 shows the increase in just firefighter health research alone in the past 40 years.

Focus on Fire Service Programs

It is easy to think of something like a research symposium to be focused on issues like emerging technologies. However, all of the symposia, including the most recent one, tend to focus more on what and how the fire service does things rather than product development or the latest technological advances. There is lot of emphasis on trying to understand the effectiveness of existing programs-such as fire department health and safety-as well as developing new programs. Naturally, there were several projects identified that relate to firefighter cancer prevention.

Research Focus Areas

The 2015 symposium was divided among the following seven focus areas :

1. Community Risk Reduction
2. Data Management
3. Emergency Operations
4. Health and Wellness
5. Occupational Diseases of Firefighting
6. Tools and Equipment
7. Wildland Firefighting.

Each group consisted of seven to nine members plus a three-person facilitation team. There were also 17 observer

By Robert Tutterow

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Life Safety Initiative 7 states: create a national research agenda and data collection system that relates to the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

In November 2015, the NFFF held its third National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium in Arlington, Virginia. The previous symposia were held in 2005 and 2011. The symposium brought together representatives from major fire service organizations and researchers from academia.

Purpose

The symposium report from 2011 states: “The intent of the research symposia is to provide a reference source and a starting point to direct research efforts and funding toward those priorities that have been identified by the fire service. Most of the research efforts that focus on fire service issues are performed by universities, public and private sector research organizations, and independent researchers, often working in partnership with fire departments or fire service organizations.” Much of recent research funding has come from the Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development Grants as part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program under the purview of FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate. There is no requirement that a research project be identified in the NFFF’s Research Agenda Report to get funding. However, during the grant review process, it is always helpful if the grant writers can reference a project to one or more of the topic areas identified in the NFFF report.

Figure 1: Firefighter Health Research. Graph furnished by Dr. Sara Jahnke, Director of the Center for Fire, Rescue and EMS Health Research at the National Development and Research Institutes Inc.

There has been a recent surge in firefighting research projects that have greatly benefited the fire service, such as the Underwriters Laboratories and National Institute of Standards and Technology fire behavior reports. Figure 1 shows the increase in just firefighter health research alone in the past 40 years.

Focus on Fire Service Programs

It is easy to think of something like a research symposium to be focused on issues like emerging technologies. However, all of the symposia, including the most recent one, tend to focus more on what and how the fire service does things rather than product development or the latest technological advances. There is lot of emphasis on trying to understand the effectiveness of existing programs-such as fire department health and safety-as well as developing new programs. Naturally, there were several projects identified that relate to firefighter cancer prevention.

Research Focus Areas

The 2015 symposium was divided among the following seven focus areas :

1. Community Risk Reduction
2. Data Management
3. Emergency Operations
4. Health and Wellness
5. Occupational Diseases of Firefighting
6. Tools and Equipment
7. Wildland Firefighting.

Each group consisted of seven to nine members plus a three-person facilitation team. There were also 17 observer

By Robert Tutterow

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Life Safety Initiative 7 states: create a national research agenda and data collection system that relates to the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives.

In November 2015, the NFFF held its third National Fire Service Research Agenda Symposium in Arlington, Virginia. The previous symposia were held in 2005 and 2011. The symposium brought together representatives from major fire service organizations and researchers from academia.

Purpose

The symposium report from 2011 states: “The intent of the research symposia is to provide a reference source and a starting point to direct research efforts and funding toward those priorities that have been identified by the fire service. Most of the research efforts that focus on fire service issues are performed by universities, public and private sector research organizations, and independent researchers, often working in partnership with fire departments or fire service organizations.” Much of recent research funding has come from the Fire Prevention and Safety Research and Development Grants as part of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program under the purview of FEMA’s Grant Programs Directorate. There is no requirement that a research project be identified in the NFFF’s Research Agenda Report to get funding. However, during the grant review process, it is always helpful if the grant writers can reference a project to one or more of the topic areas identified in the NFFF report.

Figure 1: Firefighter Health Research. Graph furnished by Dr. Sara Jahnke, Director of the Center for Fire, Rescue and EMS Health Research at the National Development and Research Institutes Inc.

There has been a recent surge in firefighting research projects that have greatly benefited the fire service, such as the Underwriters Laboratories and National Institute of Standards and Technology fire behavior reports. Figure 1 shows the increase in just firefighter health research alone in the past 40 years.

Focus on Fire Service Programs

It is easy to think of something like a research symposium to be focused on issues like emerging technologies. However, all of the symposia, including the most recent one, tend to focus more on what and how the fire service does things rather than product development or the latest technological advances. There is lot of emphasis on trying to understand the effectiveness of existing programs-such as fire department health and safety-as well as developing new programs. Naturally, there were several projects identified that relate to firefighter cancer prevention.

Research Focus Areas

The 2015 symposium was divided among the following seven focus areas :

1. Community Risk Reduction
2. Data Management
3. Emergency Operations
4. Health and Wellness
5. Occupational Diseases of Firefighting
6. Tools and Equipment
7. Wildland Firefighting.

Each group consisted of seven to nine members plus a three-person facilitation team. There were also 17 observer

Excellance Inc, producer custom ambulances and emergency vehicles, announced their presence for FDIC International 2016.

Excellance, Inc. will be at booth #4939 showing the custom built First Class Emergency Vehicle from its dealer in North Carolina. Attendees can also check out booth #5139, where Ford will be showing the Bossier City (LA) Fire Department compressed natural gas (CNG) unit by Excellance, alongside the Freightliner Truck booth #4921 for Excellance's most recently completed unit for Avon Lake (OH) Fire Department.

"You will find a broad variety of emergency vehicle designs and features among the three apparatus that we are displaying. Thank you in advance for taking the time to come visit us at any of our multiple locations. We wish everyone a safe and informative visit to the 2016 FDIC convention in Indianapolis, IN.," states FDIC coordinator for Excellance, Johnathan Cody.

The CNG-powered ambulance, custom-built for the City of Bossier City Fire Department in Louisiana, has proven to lower fuel costs while helping the environment with its lower carbon footprint. “Excellance believes the CNG industry has reached a point that makes CNG a safe and cost-effective match with this new ambulance design,” explains Excellance CEO, Charlie Epps.

For more information about Excellance's presence at FDIC, contact Tommy Pugh at (800) 882-9799 or visit the official blog at www.excellanceinc.com.