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Section Chair's Welcome Letter:

WFC Public Fire Educators is a section of the Washington Fire Chiefs, representing nearly 100 departments throughout the State of Washington. WPFE is dedicated to the reduction of injuries and lives lost due to fire and other hazards through prevention programs.

WPFE Goals:

  • The promotion of professional interaction with the citizens of Washington State.
  • The standardization of comprehensive educational materials and programs throughout  the State of Washington.
  • Cooperative development and planning with other fire service divisions, WFC Section and other related organization.
  • Educational opportunities for fire and life safety educators.

Members learn together and from each other. Sharing resources and ideas is the mainstay of this organization. We strive for standardization of concepts to serve our communities more effectively and we encourage creativity to personalize and enhance our audience appeal.

Educational opportunities are provided at minimal cost to ensure that public educators are prepared to develop, present, and evaluate their programs - not to mention inspired to present them! 

Four business meetings are held annually and the dates are posted to our website. The business of the section is determined at these meetings, so your participation is encouraged and welcomed. It's easy to join - simply click "Join WPFE" on the right. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact any Board Member. We will be glad to help in any way possible

WPFE is always on the lookout for innovative, creative, friendly educators who wish to help us combat fire and injury in Washington State. As our mission says, we "Ignite Awareness, Extinguish Risk."
 
Sincerely Welcome,
 
Ben Shearer, Chair

PFE Section Board

 CHAIR - Ben Shearer (Pasco Fire)

VICE-CHAIR - Erica Littlewood (South Whatcom Fire Authority).

PAST CHAIR - Melanie Taylor (Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority)  

PIO - Jamie McIntyre (Spokane Fire) 

SECRETARY - Shawneri Guzman 

(South Sno Fire)

BOARD MEMBER AT LARGE- Kelly Hawks - (Valley Regional Fire Authority)

MEETING INFORMATION

WPFE meets quarterly for business meetings. The location varies to afford departments around the state the ability to attend. The Annual Business Meeting is for the purpose of installing officers newly elected.  Currently, meetings are scheduled each year in March, May during the Washington State Chiefs conference, August, and October during the Fire Prevention Institute hosted by WASFM, unless otherwise noted.

Anyone may attend a general WPFE meeting, even if they are not a member.  We encourage everyone to join us and share their ideas with other public educators!

We are always looking for motivated educators and PIO's to share their ideas with others around the state.  Currently we are working with the Washington State Fire Marshal's Office to provide Fire and Life Safety Educator 1 with IFSAC certificate on each side of the state every other year. This years class is being hosted by The Spokane Fire Department March 31-April 3. The cost is $300 Contact Jamie McIntyre at SFD.  jmcintyre@spokanefire.org 

Impact Teen Drivers program is being offered in Kent coming up March 10 at 930 AM - 130 PM Register at info@impactteendrivers.org

If you have questions about the WPFE or CRR programs please feel free to contact me.  

Ben Shearer

shearerb@pasco-wa.gov

Recent PFE News

Posted: Jul 25, 2017
Comments: 0
The primary responsibility for any fire department is to respond to calls from the public. Emergency response has steadily increased year after year. However, the response model and staffing are slow to respond to the growth in call volume. Training officers must evaluate the training plan and determine if calls are undermining the efficiency of training.

In high call volume systems, it is a constant battle between quality training and units being forced to break away to respond to calls. Online training has become a popular method for dealing with this conflict, though overuse of this format of training can be detrimental to core competencies. Drill ground evolutions and Instructor-Directed courses should be the primary method of training for the fire service. Online-individualized training and group Instructor managed training must be able to strike a balance. 
Read more
Posted: Aug 31, 2016
Comments: 0
Make plans to attend the 2017 Washington Fire Symposium, presented by the Washington State Training, Safety & Officers Section.  February 25- March 1, 2017; Yakima

We all know that in recent years, some organizations have cut back on conferences and events. It is known that during tough budget times, businesses that continued to spend on advertising and employee training fared better that those that did not. I believe the same holds true fire the fire service, both in public education and firefighter/officer development. 
A great way to engage and be proactive is sponsoring staff to attend the Washington Fire Symposium. Centrally located, this symposium is somewhat close to home or requiring minimal travel. Attending the symposium, in-person, has the following advantages:
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