It's Good To See Old Friends

A very quick trip this week.  Off to Reno to speak at the Nevada Fire Chiefs/Fire Shows Reno conference.  Arrived on Wednesday afternoon and caught up with friends at the conference networking reception.  Had the opportunity to go to dinner with several members of the NFCA Board of Directors.  On Thursday morning, I did the keynote presentation on Wicked Problems in the Fire Service.  After lunch I did a workshop on the state of the economy and implications for the fire service. Now on a plane headed home.  A very quick turnaround.

The best part of the trip, from my perspective, was having the chance to see several old friends from the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District in Incline Village, NV, where I worked before heading for Southern California.  My time at NLTFPD was a very special season in my life and I have a lot of great memories of my time there.  I don't often get a lot of chances to get back and it was a real treat to see Mike, Mike, Ian, Jeff, Ryan and a bunch of other friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  I'm glad I got to see them, if only for a little while.  Glad to see that everyone is doing well!

Now home to my bride for two whole days before I'm off to Brussels, Belgium on Sunday.  Another post on that trip next week!

A Little Europe North of the Border

This was a two stop trip....I was able to combine a couple of stops into a single trip.  First off was the Detroit area where I was the speaker for a meeting of the Southeast Michigan Association of Fire Chiefs.  I haven't been to the Detroit area for quite a while.  Like many of us, my impression has been colored by what I see on TV - in particular, all of the media about the financial disaster in the city of Detroit.  It was great to see that Detroit is Detroit and the surrounding communities are doing just fine, thank you very much.  Communities are recovering from the economic downturn and the fire service in the area is doing great!  It was good to see old friends and make some new ones at the meeting.  The neatest thing was that there were four IAFC Presidents in the room at the same time!  It was a reminder for me of the great chief officers who have gone before me in this position.

Four IAFC Presidents together in one place!  (L-R) Chief Richard Marinucci, Chief Bill Metcalf, Chief Jim Halsey, and Chief Jim Harmes.  Good friends and great chief officers!

From Detroit, I move on to Quebec City, Quebec, Canada for a meeting of the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA).  CSAA is an organization that represents companies in the alarm business (fire, burglary, etc).  If you or your business has an alarm that is monitored by an alarm company, this is the organization that represents that business.  Each year, CSAA invites the President and Chief Staff Officer of the IAFC, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), the National Sheriff's Association (NSA) and a few other public safety-related associations to come to their annual conference for a series of meetings about common issues.  The big issue that we have been working with CSAA to try to fix is what have come to be called 'nuisance' alarms.  Those are alarms that indicate there is a fire, but when we arrive we find either a sensor malfunction, a system error, or something else that doesn't require us to be there.  As an example of the scope of the problem, a major US fire department studied 10,000 recent commercial alarms and found that only 2 out of those 10,000 actually had a problem that required assistance from the fire department.  That's a lot of unnecessary emergency responses!  In any case, there were a number of very good conversations about this and other issues.  And it was also good to get the chance to meet my counterparts from the IACP and the NSA.

Quebec City was beautiful.  My first time there.  I was told that it was a little taste of Europe in Canada and that was a perfect description.  We stayed in the Old City at the Chateau Frontenac - a historic hotel that is much photographed.  It was built in 1893 for a World's Fair.  In 1943 it was the site of a historic meeting between Churchill and Roosevelt in build-up to World War 2.  It is generally recognized as one of the most photographed hotels in the world because of the way it dominates the skyline of the city.  If it looks like the Banff Hotel, its' because it was built at about the same time and by the same company.

The Old City is built on the cliffs overlooking the St. Lawrence River and is all narrow cobblestone streets with little shops, restaurants, and pubs.  In between meetings, we did a lot of just wandering around.  It was a treat to visit and I highly recommend it if you have the chance.  Oh....in case you don't know.....they speak French there.  The good news is that everyone was very friendly and as soon as they figured out that you didn't speak French, they switched to perfect English - cab drivers, hotel staff, wait-persons in restaurants, etc.  Well.....except for the cab driver who took me to the airport.....but we found a way to communicate ;-).

Home now for a whole week before I head out again.  Looking forward to seeing my bride!

A Special Experience

Once a year, the nation's fire service comes together in a special ceremony to remember the firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty in the previous year.  The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service is held in Emmitsburg, Maryland which is the site of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial on the grounds of the National Fire Academy.  The IAFC President is always invited to participate in the ceremony.  I've had the opportunity to do it twice.  Two years ago I filled in for the then-IAFC President because he was out of the country.  This year I got to return and participate again as the IAFC President.  If there is one thing the fire service does well, it is ceremony and traditions.  This year's event was special for several reasons.

First, Dotty got to go with me!  She has suffered through me attending many classes and meetings at the NFA, but has never seen the campus.  She also heard me talk about how special the memorial service is and I really wanted her to have a chance to experience this very special ceremony and see the actual memorial.  It was great to have her along for the trip.

Second, the federal government shutdown made this year's event a signifiant challenge.  You see, because the NFA campus was closed, the initial word was that the ceremony would not be allowed to take place at the memorial site.  More significantly, the 300+ families and loved ones of the fallen firefighters from 2012 would not be able to see their firefighter's name added to the memorial.  The fire service is not to be deterred, however!  With only a couple of days notice, the hundreds of volunteers and the staff at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation made alternative plans and the ceremony went on - even with the campus being closed.  The Saturday night Candlelight Service was held at the Basilica of the Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton that is located next door to the NFA.  The Memorial Service on Sunday morning was held in the huge gymnasium at Mt. Saint Mary's College located down the road just a mile.  Thanks go out to the Daughters of Charity and the College for making their facilities available.  The services went on - in spite of our government's disfunction!

At the last minute - literally - Congressman Stenny Hoyer (MD), FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, and US Fire Administrator Ernie Mitchell arranged for the NFA campus and the Fallen Firefighter Memorial to be opened for a brief 2-hour window immediately following the Saturday evening service.  While the public was not allowed in, the 300+ survivors and a few others (us included) were allowed to visit the memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony.  It was a special time - especially for the families of the fallen firefighters.  It was also a blessing for us because Dotty got to see the campus and see the memorial.

As the IAFC President, I got to participate as a Flag Presenter.  During the memorial service, the name of each of the 81 fallen firefighters being honored this year is called out, their families come forward, and they are presented with a folded US flag, a red rose, and a special badge.  I was one of several flag presenters.  Our role was to receive the flag, rose and badge from an honor guard member, and then present it to the family, along with a special message.  While it is heartbreaking to see the grief on the face of these survivors, it is very rewarding to have the opportunity to participate in this ceremony.  As one of my fellow presenters told me later, I got all of the emotional families.  It was VERY hard to hold it together as I carried out my duties!  You can see a video of the full 2 hour service at http://weekend.firehero.org/.  You can see my part starting at about 1:20 - 1:30 or so.

For those who may be curious, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation is a non-profit that exists primarily to support the families/survivors of fallen firefighters.  The Foundation provides counseling, support programs, an annual seminar, and is the power and energy behind this annual memorial service.  Due to the last minute changes this year, the Foundation incurred more than $100,000 in additional costs.  If you would like to help support the Foundation, they can always use the help - but especially this year. 

You can learn more about the Foundation, their activities, make a donation, and see video from the memorial service (you might even see me!) at http://www.firehero.org.