Search
Menu
SectionsยปPublic Fire Educators

Welcome

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

Real Help for Training Officers - Sample Schedules, WAC Requirements, Curriculum and Tools

Real Help for Training Officers - Sample Schedules, WAC Requirements, Curriculum and Tools
Real Help for Training Officers - Sample Schedules, WAC Requirements, Curriculum and Tools
Posted: Nov 30, 2015
Comments: 0
As a volunteer training officer, I was often frustrated by the amount of time necessary to research training requirements, develop classroom materials, design evolutions and generally prep for classes that I DON’T HAVE.   It’s not that I didn’t want to put the effort into it, it’s that it is definitely a full time position and I only had a couple of hours a week to throw at it.  On top of that, add the Health and Safety Officer duties, and overwhelmed was an understatement.  

I knew if I was feeling this, every volunteer training officer in the State was feeling it to.  And though Training Officers meetings and organizations are a great resource, it takes time to attend them also.  I knew weekly I was re-inventing the wheel and wanted to find a way to leverage the resources and experience of my fellow training officers....
Read more

Leadership or Commandership

Posted: May 28, 2015
Comments: 0

What image in your mind do you have of a leader? It was very clear what leadership looked like when George Washington was leading troops across the Delaware River. He was standing upright leaning into progress with eyes on the objective, one knee up braced for action, but with a sense of calmness. An early image of fire service leadership looks very much the same; recall Currier and Ives prints. All of them have scenes of action, a bent knee, and eyes on the objective, leaning into the task. In every multi company scene there is, a commander, bugle in hand, majestically pointing the way. These images indicate what fire service is very good at, coordination, where others see chaos. That coordination is that what is critical to our safety, the safety of the citizens we serve, and the quick solutions to progressing problems.

Today the image portrayed of fire service leadership is often from television; a chief officer with a white helmet, grey hair, and deep creases of character in his face, with a presence of calm competence. He is usually behind the main characters not part of the action but playing a role we all know the importance of.


We all have personnel examples of what leadership should be or could be. Often it is an example of a person we experienced early in our lives who we respect for one reason or another, through their actions or ability to communicate a clear plan and expectation...
Read more
RSS
124678910Last

Theme picker

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement - Copyright 2024 by Washington Fire Chiefs