It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint

What a blur!  This past 8 days has been a whirlwind of activity and it illustrates one of the fascinating aspects of this job as President of the IAFC.  Forget the travel and hotel rooms – I promise that’s not fun.  But the variety of activities and issues and people and organizations that I’ve had the opportunity to work with is incredible.

Let’s see…..today is Wednesday…..I started last Tuesday by flying from San Diego to Washington’s Dulles Airport to that I would be in position for meetings at the IAFC offices on Wednesday and Thursday.  A calm day of flying with everything on time.

First on the agenda last Wednesday morning was filming a video.  The IAFC operates the FirefighterNear Miss Reporting System.  We developed it from scratch with federal grant funding.  It includes a website where firefighters from across the profession can anonymously post ‘near miss’ stories….accounts of things that went badly and what was learned from them.  The reports are reviewed and vetted by a group of firefighting experts and then are turned into training resources so that we can all learn from the near misses experienced by others.  The system is modeled after one used in the aviation industry and our system has been applauded as a model system.  Near Miss had it’s own near miss this past year when the federal grant funding ran out.  We pulled together an interim survival plan and we’re getting ready to roll out a new and reinvigorated system in January.  I got to film a piece of video that will be used to announce and promote the rollout.

The rest of Wednesday and Thursday morning were spent in a meeting of the IAFC Executive Committee.  The EC is comprised of the President, Past President, 1^st Vice President, 2^nd Vice President, Treasurer, and Director at Large.  We act as the Finance Committee for the IAFC and also serve as a filter/sounding board for staff.  The association business continues to be challenging, from an economic perspective and much of our discussion was about the adjustments/changes we need to make to keep the IAFC healthy and productive.  On Thursday afternoon, we met with the full IAFC Board by web/teleconference.  Following the Thursday meeting, several of us made a dash to the airport to fly to Tampa for the next step in the trip.

Friday through Monday morning found me in Clearwater Beach, FL at the Symposium in the Sun – an annual educational conference put on by the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS).  VCOS is a special interest group within the IAFC focused on the unique needs of fire service leaders who lead volunteer departments and departments that are a combination of paid and volunteer.  The conference has turned into the premier educational event for volunteer and combination chiefs – this year more than 500 attended the meeting.  Educational sessions were packed from morning until late at night.  It was enjoyable to participate in the conference.  I also spent quite a bit of time in IAFC-related business meetings.  While it was in a beautiful spot and the weather was terrific, I really didn’t get outside much!  This part of the trip ended with breakfast with my wife, Dotty’s, brother and then it was off to the airport for the next stage of the trip. The rest of Monday was spent traveling to Charlotte, NC.

On Tuesday morning, I got to visit the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) Research Center in Richburg, SC – about an hour south of Charlotte. 

The center was created by the insurance industry to provide a laboratory to do science that will help reduce losses in our communities.  The lab tests roofing material, simulates hailstorms, and has a huge chamber where an almost full-size house can be placed in front of a giant wind tunnel to simulate hurricane/tornado force winds.  The chamber can also create an ember storm that simulates what happens in a wildland fire.  It is an amazing place doing outstanding science about how buildings can be made safer.  We traveled to IBHS because there is a bill in Congress to provide incentives for states to adopt safer building and fire codes.  4 members of Congress and the SC Governor came to the center for a tour and a demonstration, followed by a roundtable discussion by industry experts (that was my role) about how important building and fire codes are to public safety (and to reducing loss in catastrophic events).    We got to watch a simulated wildland fire ember storm that nearly burned the test house down and then got to have a great discussion with the members of Congress.  We will have to see how it goes when the bill comes up.  There is a lot of resistance to the government telling people what to do!  Following the tour, demonstration, and roundtable, another mad dash back to the airport to fly back to Washington, DC for one more meeting.

Wildland Fire Ember Storm Simulation in IBHS Test Chamber

Today, I spent the morning that the American PetroleumInstitute (API) headquarters in Washington, DC at the first meeting of the API/Association of Pipeline Operators Emergency Response Advisory Board.  The liquid pipeline industry is creating the advisory board to help them improve safety in communities where pipelines move petroleum products through the country.  It was a fascinating first meeting with lots of brainstorming and discussion about how we can help the fire service – especially in rural America – be better prepared to respond when bad things happen with petroleum pipelines.

So……eight days……4 cities…..9 flights….4 hotels….and meetings that covered everything from video filming to budgets to leading volunteer departments to research on safer building construction to encouraging adoption of model fire codes to preparing the fire service for pipeline emergencies.  A fascinating trip that will provide food for discussion and thought for many days to come.

Of course the best news is that I’m now on the way home after being gone far too long!  I am truly blessed to have a loving and supportive wife…and a great team back at the North County Fire Protection District.  I couldn’t do any of this without their help and support.

Once In a While, You Run Into the Nicest People!

For the most part, travel today is a frustrating experience with lots of delays, crowds, and rude people.  Once in a while, however, you run across some very nice people on airplanes!  This couple was sitting across the aisle from me on a recent flight:

President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn.

Before we pushed back from the gate, he walked up and down the aisle and shook everyone's hand.  I understand this is his usual practice, but it was obvious that he enjoyed doing it.  As you can see, they were even understanding of those of us who wanted a picture!

So now that I've had a nice experience with some good people, I guess a can tolerate a few more flights with the frustrating and rude flyers!

Big World....Small Fire Service Family

Global Fire Service Leadership Alliance Meeting in Brussels, Belgium

Three years ago, the idea emerged at the IAFC that it might be valuable to try to bring together the leaders of fire leadership associations from around the world to share issues and lessons learned.  Meeting arrangements were made, invitations were sent, and the very first Global Fire Service Leadership Summit was convened in Zurich, Switzerland, hosted by the IAFC.  I didn't get to go to that one, but I attended last year's edition in Sydney, Australia hosted by the Australian Association of Fire Chiefs (AFAC).  It was fascinating to visit Sydney and learn more about how fire protection is provided in Australia.  This year, the Chief Fire Officers Associaton (CFOA) of the United Kingdom hosted the 3rd Annual Global Fire Service Leadership Summit in Brussels, Belgium.  As I write this edition of the blog, I'm flying home and, on reflection, it was another extraordinary week.

In attendence this year, in addition to the IAFC, were representatives of the NFPA, the South African Emergency Services Institute (SAESI), the Federation of European Fire Officer Associations (FEU), the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC), and the International Association of Fire and Rescue Services (CTIF).  We also had speakers from the Belgian Fire Service that joined us periodically throughout the meeting.  The Russians were supposed to join us, but we learned that their delegate was hospitalized at the last minute and was unable to respond.

The format of the meeting is a very informal roundtable discussion.  A month or so out, the host sends out a request to all of the associations asking what issues we want to discuss.  This year, as with the last two, it was fascinating that the issues brought up by us as individuals crossed almost every border.  Among other things, we discussed:

-  The impact of the economic downturn on the fire service.  The UK is still facing major reductions.  There are 46 fire agencies for all of the UK, but they are funded mostly with national government dollars with a small piece of local funding.  The national government is drastically reducing funding for emergency services and local governments are having to put up more local money or drastically reduce service.  Every nation has struggled through the downturn and we had a great discussion sharing approaches that work and those that don't.

-  Hazardous materials and pipeline safety were a hot topic for CTIF and the FEU.  We were able to share out experiences in West, Texas and the CAFC was able to share their experience with the railroad derailment, fire and explosions in Lac-Megantic, Quebec.  The Belgians shared a disaster that occurred with a high pressure natural gas pipeline.  As it happens, I'm attending the first meeting of an Emergency Service Advisory Board being created by the American Petroleum Institute next week and the discussions have given me much food for thought.

Oil Train Derailment in Lac Megantic, Quebec

-  We had a great presentation from a young fire officer from Antwerp, Belgium about the use of social media by emergency services.  For me, this was one of the most interesting because I normally think of social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc) as a way to get information OUT to the public.  He talked a lot about using social media as a tool to gain intel about what's going on out there in the world - even before we get emergency services personnel on scene.  As fascinating concept that I want to explore more.

Anyway....it was two full days of very interesting discussions with fire officers from around the world.  Although our uniforms and out apparatus may look different, many if not most of our issues are very, very similar.  It was also great to make new friends and expand our networks of chief fire officers that we can reach out to when we need help.

I should mention that the meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium.  It is an old European City......I believe it was founded in the 10th century by Charlemagne.  Beautiful old architecture....they don't build them like that any more!

Old City Hall in the Gran Plaz (Grand Plaza).  Built in 1627

The Gran Plaz is surrounded by these ornate "Guild Houses" which are decorated with gold leaf.  The picture doesn't do them justice!

Today it is known as "The Capitol of Europe" because it is home to the European Union.  There is also a big UN and NATO presence in the area.  During our down time, we were able to wander the old town, visit the huge Cathedral of St. Michael, and sample some of the local food.  Of course, Belgium is known for beer, chocolate, and waffles, so we managed to sample those also.

If you're going to be in Belgium, you should probably sample the Belgian Waffles!

 A couple of us also squeezed in a visit to the local Harley-Davidson dealership.  Gotta expand that T-Shirt collection!

I was also reminded how close together everything is in Europe.  The folks from the UK traveled by Eurostar train and got there in 2 hours from London through the Chunnel.  The folks from France and Switzerland were able to get there in an hour or so.  I guess that's what makes the whole area such a great tourist destination....you can cover a lot of ground very quickly.

Language wasn't a problem at all.  In Belgium Flemish, French, and Dutch are spoken, depending on the region you are in.  But 99% of the folks all speak English as a universal language.  Everything from street signs to menus to the meeting room signs at the hotel are all in multiple languages and they always include English.  And all of the folks at the hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers, etc were all fluent in English.  They also drive on the same side of the road as we do in the US.

The only downside is that it is a long plane ride - especially from San Diego!