IAFF Redmond Symposium

For the last three days , I’ve had the pleasure of attending the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) John P. Redmond Health and Safety Symposium and the Dominick F. Barbera EMS Symposium in Denver.  For the non-fire folks who may be reading this, the IAFF is the firefighter’s union and it is affiliated with the AFL-CIO.  The symposium wasn’t about ‘union’ stuff however.  Instead, it was three solid days of plenary sessions and workshops focused on firefighter fitness, safety, and emergency medical services.

Unlike last week in Chicago at FRI where every minute of every day was spoken for, I actually had the opportunity to sit in some sessions in Denver and learn.  The biggest takeaway, for me, was the progress we are making in truly understanding – from a science perspective – fire behavior.  The folks at NIST, NIOSH, and UL are doing incredible work studying the science of fire behavior and they are breaking new ground in what they are learning about how we use ventilation and water application in our suppression tactics.  They are learning valuable things about how air (and heat and flames) travel through fire structures (flow path) and how we can use that knowledge to help us in our suppression efforts.  Good stuff that will eventually translate into significant new tools in our toolbox for fighting fire and keeping our people safe.  As I was leaving, my question was, how will we go about getting this new and important information out to our firefighters and fire officers who really need it?  It’s a challenge that we are all going to have to tackle.

I taught two workshops with Lori Moore from the IAFF on how to have a conversation with your policy makers about the benefits of a fire-based EMS system.  On a Saturday morning – early – on the last day of the conference, we had a packed room for both sessions.  I’m impressed by the energy and enthusiasm of the firefighters and officers in attendance at the symposium.  They were here to get some serious education about health, safety, and EMS.  It was enjoyable to spend time with such dedicated professionals!

A Meeting with Tokyo (Japan) Fire Department Leadership

One of the many highlights in Chicago last week was having the opportunity to spend about 1.5 hours with Deputy Chief Jun Takahashi and Sergeant Misa Tokunaga of the Tokyo (Japan) Fire Department. Myself , 1st VP Chief Bryan, 2nd VP Steve Dean, and Executive Director Mark Light enjoyed a great conversation with the Chief and Sergeant.   This was my second time to meet with TFD leadership - I also had the chance to meet with the Fire Chief last year when FRI was in Denver.  Tokyo Fire Department is the largest urban fire department in the world with more than 18,000 employees and over 26,000 volunteers serving the entire Tokyo metropolitan area and, as we learned, providing mutual aid support throughout the nation and Asia.

A couple of observations as I think back on our meeting:

-  Even though our departments are dramatically different in size, many of our issues are exactly the same!  They are struggling with ever-increasing demands on the EMS component of their system....with the challenges caused by the dramatic influx of non-Japanese speakers to the community....loss of leadership due to retirements....and the increasing costs of doing business.

-  Since one of my priority issues is to reframe our conversation about firefighter line of duty deaths, I asked Chief Takahashi about their experience.  He said that, as an entire country, they have on average one (1) line of duty death in the fire service every 5 years or so.  They have been surprised to hear about our death toll.  I told him that it was obvious that they are doing something right and much better in Japan and we need to learn from their experience!

-  Last year, we spoke at length about the TFD response to the Fukushima nuclear power plant and the long-term impact on their department.  The good news is that - so far - they have not seen any significant illnesses among their personnel who responded to the incident.  They still have personnel deployed to the area and the problems at the power plant continue (even thought there isn't much media coverage these days).

-  TFD and the Japanese fire service in general looks to us here in the US as a model for them to follow when it comes to the fire service (well.....maybe everything EXCEPT our LODD experience).  Their EMS system is fire-based - both first response and transport - and includes both EMT and Paramedic levels of providers who are cross-trained firefighters.  They have also developed what they call an International Response Team (IRT) that is based on our USAR model.  Their teams deploy throughout the country and throughout Asia as needed.  They are very engaged with helping the Chinese to develop a USAR capability.

As an interesting side note, every time I have the opportunity to do something like this where I have to speak through an interpreter, I find it very mentally exhausting.  Sergeant Tokunaga did a terrific job of interpreting, but it is just difficult to carry on a conversation and stay focused when you have to constantly break your train of thought and allow time for the interpreter to pass along your words.  I've spoken to big groups using an interpreter, but I think I find these one-on-one conversations more challenging.

Although our uniforms and apparatus may look different, I am always struck by the fact that we in the fire family around the world have so much in common.  It is truly a family worldwide with common threats, risks, concerns, and challenges.  We need to do more bridge-building with other fire service leaders from around the world.

IAFC TV Interview at Fire Rescue International in Chicago

The IAFC has posted the interview that I did for IAFC TV on Youtube.  The link is here and it lasts about 7 minutes.  It gives you a glimpse of the priority issues that I mentioned in yesterday's post here.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54mXYKyGHPQ&feature=youtu.be

What you can't see, that made this interesting to do, is that the set is right in the middle of the conference registration area.  The whole time that the interview is happening, there is a constant stream of people walking by and activity swirling all around.  It took a lot of concentration to staff focused on the questions.

The Journey Begins

A lot of folks have suggested that I start a blog to keep my friends and colleagues informed about my adventures for the next year as the President of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC).  This is my first attempt at a blog......so bear with me!  I'm sure I'll get better as I get used to the software.  My intent is to share my travels, experiences, and observations as I represent the fire service.

Dotty and I are on the way home now from Fire Rescue International, the big educational conference, trade show, and business meeting for the IAFC.  FRI was in Chicago this year.  What a terrific city!  Although I didn't get out of the hotel or convention center much, the weather was spectacular and we ate at some terrific restaurants.

I was blessed to have 4 company officers from our fire department at the conference, along with a couple of Board members from my home department, the North County Fire Protection District.  The best evening out was Friday evening when we had a group dinner for our friends and fire department family.  What a great way to celebrate.

Saturday morning, I was sworn in as President of the IAFC.  My closest friend, Cliff Myers, was there to swear us in and too many friends to count were at the Presidential Celebration to congratulate me.  I'm not a stranger to the Board as I have served 4 years as Treasurer and 2 years as 2nd and 1st Vice President, but the new role is going to be different and challenging.  I'm looking forward to serving and giving back to my profession.  I had the opportunity to give a few remarks (I guess you could call it my inaugural speech).  In it, I challenged the fire service to take on what I think are 4 critical issues:
-  Leadership Development in the Fire Service
-  Renewing our commitment and support of Diversity and Inclusiveness in the fire service
-  Raising awareness of the growing problem of cancer among firefighters
-  Commiting to not just a reduction, but elimination of firefighter line of duty deaths
I got lots of positive feedback and Fire Rescue Magazine has already electronically shared my thoughts with the 50,000 subscribers to their on-line edition.

It was a long week, but very satisfying. It was a blessing to have Dotty along for all of the events and activities....too many to describe here.  I was reminded of how broad and diverse the fire department family is across the nation and around the world.  In addition to all of my US colleagues, I was able to share the week with chiefs from more than 22 other countries.  While our languages may differ, many of our issues are the same.

Home briefly and then on the road again later this week to Denver to speak at a major International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) conference.

My journey as IAFC President begins.....I hope you enjoy coming along.