April 2020 Florida Fire Service Magazine

THE PUBLICATION

OF THE

FLORIDA FIRE CHIEFS’ ASSOCIATION

April 2020 • VOLUME 28 NUMBER 4

Thank you Fire Chief Brady Rigdon and Nassau County Fire Rescue!

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Florida Fire Florida Fire Fire Chiefs’ Florida Fire

Service is the monthly publication of the Chiefs’ Association, provided to Florida Association (FFCA) members, by the Chiefs’ Association.

Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association 221 Pinewood Drive Tallahassee, FL 32303 Phone: (850) 900-5180 Email: info@ffca.org • www.ffca.org FFCA Staff Wm. Ray Colburn - Executive Director & CEO Denise Holley - Office Manager Scott Leisen - Marketing Director Ngoc Huynh - Conference & Events Director Donna Chason - Administrative Assistant Liz Aperauch - Administrative Assistant FFCA Board of Directors Darrel Donatto - President Ty Silcox, MPA - 1st Vice President TBA - 2nd Vice President John Miller - Immediate Past President Douglas Riley - Secretary/Treasurer Ryan H. Crawford - Northwest Region Director Carlos Aviles - Northeast Region Director Terry Wooldridge Jr. - East Central Region Director Julie Downey - Southeast Region Director Ian Kemp - West Central Region Director Michael Murphy - Southwest Region Director Wm. Ray Colburn - Executive Director & CEO Cindy Morgan - Foundation Chair Ronald Parrish, MPA, CFO, EFO - Senior Member

FROM THE SECTIONS Message from the Foundation Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

6 FEATURES

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Hope in the Face of COVID-19 . . . . . 8 Performance Evaluations for Public Safety: Sowing the Seeds of Risk? . 10 Is Your Organization Developing Future Leaders? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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Coffee Stains: Marks of Leadership Lessons Learned . . . . 16 Pandemic Response: Not Your Typical Disaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

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The Weakest Link . . . . . . . . . . . 30

FURTHERMORE Editorial Submissions magazine@ffca.org (850) 900-5180

FFCA New Members . . . . . . . . . . .11 The Day the World Changed . . . . .14

Advertising Scott Leisen, Editor in Chief scott@ffca.org (386) 717-0055

Department Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . .18

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Meet the EVT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Featured Vendor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Subscription rate for members is $36, which is included in member dues. Archived electronic monthly editions of Florida Fire Service magazine are available at www.ffca.org. Log in as a member and click on the Publications tab.

Florida Fire Service April 2020, Volume 28, Number 4 USPS # 016-759

Periodical postage paid in Daytona Beach, Florida, and additional post offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Florida Fire Service, 221 Pinewood Drive Tallahassee, FL 32303.

Statements of fact and opinion are the responsibility of the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of the officers or the members of FFCA. Copyright 2020 by the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association.

All rights reserved. Materials may not be reproduced without written permission.

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Brevard County Fire Rescue COVID-19 EMS Response Exercise . . . . . . .24 Meet the Fire Training Officer/Instructor . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Meet the Operations Chief . . . . . . .28 The Importance of Fire Sprinklers . .33 In brief . . . news from around the state . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Advertisers Index . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDATION CHAIR

Cindy Morgan

T

he Florida Fire Chiefs’ Foundation is blessed to be a part of supporting, educating, and encouraging the Florida fire service. I am saddened by the loss of so many things, including the wonderful FFCA events, conferences, and meetings. I cannot express

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enough how I appreciate and pray for you all out on the front lines of this pandemic while still handling the other normal fire and EMS calls and activities.

While so many of us are physically separated from each other, we work to stay connected the very best that we can. The Foundation is working with a company called Kaleidoscope to professionalize our scholarship application and review process.

This interface will make it much easier for students to apply online for our scholarships as well as allow for a quicker, smoother review process. We should be up and running within 30 days. When this is completed, we will send an email out to our members with the new website and application process.

In the meantime, please keep your eyes open for possible candidates for our Firefighter Community Scholarship. Our current application can be found on our website at https://www.ffca.org/scholarshipopportunities. As many young men and women search for what their career is going to be, the brotherhood and sisterhood of the

Zack Hernandez - Florida Fire Chiefs' Foundation Firefighter/EMT Community Scholarship Recipient

fire service is a strong calling. Many that want to join the fire service family do not have the financial means to attend fire school. As you come across men and women in your communities, I hope that you will share about the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Foundation and our Firefighter Community Scholarship. Please take the time to mentor them and help them fill out the application. God bless you all, and I look forward to seeing you in person in the months to come!

By Rick Spence, FFCA Chaplain

O

ne month ago, most of us probably could not spell coronavirus, but now, we probably know more about COVID-19 than we ever thought or wanted to know. Stores have been depleted of basic supplies, “March Madness” is now having NO sports to watch, and theme parks have closed in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. What are we to do, both as a nation and in the fire service?

Americans are some of the most determined and resilient people in the world, and we will get past this latest crisis. This was initially ingrained in us when we won our independence from England. This continued as our nation fought against itself and then rebuilt following the American Civil War. We were able to survive almost 10 years of The Great Depression in the 1930s, as well as endure a world war where the United States had to fight battles simultaneously on separate continents on opposite sides of the world.

During the 1960s, we endured the most socially turbulent time in our nation's history.

And after the September 11 attacks, we emerged a much stronger and better nation.

During each of these events, Americans adapted and accepted change going forward while innovation and technology grew to help ensure similar events and circumstances did not reoccur.

As for the fire service, we are made up of some of the most skilled, outside-the-boxthinking, and mentally strong people in the

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country. Our profession has been tested by fire (no pun intended) just in the last 20 years and we have come out stronger and better for it. Prior to September 11, most of our training consisted of auto extrication, structure fires, EMS, and occasionally hazardous materials scenarios. We then evolved into learning about weapons of mass destruction and on into mass casualty situations. This eventually led to active shooter training also. During each phase, our profession led the way in mitigating these incidents, and it was our own members who took the lead in changing how we respond to and overcome these incidents.

I'm absolutely positive the fire service will be on the cutting edge of mitigating the current crisis that is now facing our country.

As Fire Chiefs, what is our role in this? First of all, we continue to do what we have always done, which is making sure our crews have the resources necessary to properly to do their jobs. Just as God gave Moses his staff and David his slingshot, so should we equip our crews with the tools they need to do the job.

Gloves, masks, and cleaning supplies are a staple in the fire service as much as coffee, eggs, and a BBQ grill. Second, keep your crews updated on the most current information coming from the CDC, DOH, and other state and federal agencies. This is an extremely fluid and dynamic situation with changes and updates occurring every few hours. Next, be upfront and honest with your

staff and all those within the department. You expect openness and honesty from them and they expect it from you. If you don't know, don't understand or can't do something, let them know. Firefighters have an intrinsic sense of recognizing when someone is trying to BS them. Our newer generation of firefighters are extremely skeptical and quickly recognize when someone is trying to pull the shade over their eyes. Lastly, let your people know that you care about them. Openly acknowledge that our job is difficult and dangerous at times, and you appreciate the job they are doing in representing you and the department.

In closing, know that we are not traveling alone in this situation. Throughout the Old and New Testament, God says, "Fear not, I am with you," and "you do not go alone, I will be by your side." These verses and similar passages are mentioned 365 times throughout the Bible. It is not just a coincidence that God says He will be with us 365 times and our modern calendar has 365 p Rick S ence days in it. Rest assured that regardless of what situation arises and where this virus goes, God will be with us and will get us • • through the fire. God FF n CA lai p a C h Bless each of you and stay safe.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY: SOWING THE SEEDS OF RISK?

By Gordon Graham, Co-founder, Lexipol

G

ordon Graham here again. As promised in my last article, I want to continue talking about the importance of “getting and keeping good people” in your public safety agency. Today’s focus: understanding performance evaluations.

Please note that I did not say “the importance of performance evaluations.” I have a different view of performance evaluations than most people, and I would like you to reconsider your view of the entire process.

I will start off with this thought: DO AWAY WITH PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS. BURN ALL THE CURRENT RECORDS. BURN THE BUILDING WHERE THE CURRENT RECORDS EXIST. DO AWAY WITH THEM. And before you dismiss this as the ramblings of some psycho ex-California cop who got hit in the head too many times, at least hear me out.

As a lawyer, I have learned what performance evaluations are. They are written documents prepared annually (allegedly) without a lot of thought that then “lie in wait” until they come back to haunt the agency—which happens on a regular basis. As a lawyer, I have learned to hate performance evaluations because they pose risk.

As a lawyer, I am risk-averse, so that is why I say do away with them.

But I also wear my “risk management” hat.

And as a risk manager, I love performance evaluations. I love them, but with one caveat: I love them so long as they are taken seriously. A properly prepared performance evaluation is an excellent risk-management tool. It is a regular opportunity to assess how a given employee is currently doing and what future risks they may face, and provide appropriate control measures to address those risks, with the ultimate goal of

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improving the employee’s performance.

But here is the rest of the story. I have been around a long time, and have consulted in every one of the 50 states in this great country, and I am not aware of any public safety agency—not one—that takes performance evaluations seriously. They are a joke, and everyone knows they are a joke. Deep down, you know you agree with me.

With the advent of word processing some 25 years ago, performance evaluations have turned into a “search/replace” exercise in which a supervisor pulls up the last evaluation prepared for a given employee and asks himself, “How much do I have to change to make it look fresh?”

If you actually believe your agency is taking performance evaluations seriously, I have a challenge for you. Assuming you have the authority to do this, go to your department files and pull up 10 performance evaluations at random that were prepared last year. After doing this, go back one more year and pull up the same employee evaluations prepared that year. Then compare the evaluations. I guarantee you that at least one of the 10 sets (possibly more) will be identical—with the exception of the date.

If you want to continue this process, then take those 10 employee names to your internal affairs, professional standards or HR people and ask: “Have you had a negative contact with anyone of these 10 employees over this two-year window?” At least one of the employees will have had a negative contact. And what is said about that negative contact in the performance evaluation? NOTHING. If you really want to continue, then give me a “drinking budget” and let me take the

supervisors of these 10 employees out and get them drinking. Let me get them up to the 0.17 range (when loose lips sink ships) and then ask them, “So what do you really think about these employees?” I guarantee you that what they tell me when they are inebriated will be much more accurate than what they wrote in the performance evaluation.

Here is the bottom line for me: Your average cop or firefighter is overrated every year. You heard me correctly: Cops and firefighters are overrated.

Oh, to be fair, occasionally there is a supervisor who for some reason does not like an employee and they will deliberately underrate that person. But that is pretty rare, and when it occurs, the given employee will usually raise holy heck with their union and the executives, and there will be some type of investigation to determine the validity of the poor performance evaluation.

And why does this occur? One reason we tend to overrate people is bias. Supervisors and managers generally like their people—they have worked together, they know the spouses and the kids, and their employees are generally good people. Even if the supervisor wants to be accurate, there is a built-in bias in favor of their personnel.

But the real reason that cops and firefighters are overrated is … it’s easy. It is the path of least resistance. No one complains when they get overrated—this has never happened in the history of public safety. I cannot picture a cop or firefighter making an appointment with their chief and saying, “You have to do something about this, Boss—once again I have been overrated!” This has not and will not happen.

But if someone thinks they have been

underrated, they will be pounding on the boss’s door with their union rep, and there will be some big investigation to determine the accuracy of the performance evaluation. The supervisor will be in the hot seat: “I just hope you can justify the ratings here, because the boss and the union are very angry, etc., etc.”

It is much easier to just overrate people because there will never be any complaint. And this is exactly where we are today in public safety. If you take people on and try to improve their performance, and they pitch a beef, you will likely be facing an allegation of bad behavior yourself.

Ultimately, you get paid X. And if you overrate people to avoid problems, you still get paid the exact same X. So if this is how things are, then what’s the problem? There are so many nasty consequences that occur when employees are overrated—but that is a discussion for our next article. Until then, thanks for reading and for all you are doing to improve the quality of our profession.

TIMELY TAKEAWAY—If possible, conduct the audit I discussed earlier. Pull 10 evaluations and take a close look at them. Do the ratings of the given employee really reflect what you know about that employee?

Is the performance evaluation just a reprint of the prior year’s document? I hope this is not the case, but I fear it is.

Gordon Graham is a 33-year veteran of law enforcement and the co-founder of Lexipol, www.lexipol.com, where he serves on the current board of directors. Graham is a risk management expert and a practicing attorney who has presented a common sense risk management approach to hundreds of thousands of public safety professionals around the world. Graham holds a master’s degree in Safety and Systems Management from University of Southern California and a Juris Doctorate from Western State University.

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Is Your Organization Developing Future Leaders?

A

By Dr. Eric Smith, EFO, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, Barry University

simple question, yet sometimes a complicated answer. Is your organization developing leaders through a well-designed leadership development program, or are you simply promoting people and hoping it works out? There is no 100% guaranteed system for developing top-shelf organizational leaders, but you can be confident that using outdated and inefficacious methods of selecting organizational leaders will often guarantee you will eventually be disappointed in your selections.

How does your organization select its midlevel and senior managers? Many organizations continue to put the most criteria weight on seniority. Unfortunately, using seniority as part of the criteria has no basis in fact. Seniority is a metric that simply measures the passage of time, it has nothing to do with competency. However, replacing the word seniority with the word experience creates a metric that is measurable and valid. Experience can be viewed through a lens of ever-increasing responsibility over a period of time. What has the potential leader accomplished over the course of their career? Have they participated in training and education activities beyond minimum standards requirements, or have they just showed up for work on time and managed not to screw anything up?

Another methodology many organizations use to measure suitability for promotion is written testing. One problem with written testing is that promotional study material typically consists of specific organizational manuals and standard operating procedures, etc. Unfortunately, this methodology is not very useful in capturing a promotional candidate’s 12

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leadership potential and only marginally assists in measuring a candidate’s managerial knowledge. Those who do well on written tests are often those who are adept at memorization, which in itself is not a leadership skill.

If seniority and written tests are poor indicators of leadership potential, then what is a valid method for identifying those who are the best candidates for promotion? One answer is to create leadership programs to identify organizational members who show the most leadership potential. Leaders are not born, they are created!

The first step in developing a leadership program is to identify the traits you are looking for in a leader. Reams of research have identified certain leadership traits that transcend all organizations. One of the most mentioned traits of a good leader is integrity.

Used in this context, integrity is defined as someone who speaks the truth even when it is not in his or her best interest to do so. All leaders have weaknesses. Good leaders have no problem admitting they are not perfect. Rather than alienating subordinates, this frank assessment often results in subordinates showing their gratitude through buying into the leader’s vision.

Another often-mentioned trait of good leaders is empathy. Empathetic leaders truly care about their subordinates, both on and off the job. It is a fool’s errand to think subordinates should “leave their feelings at the door” when they come to work. This expectation is absurd and adhering to it always leads to problems downstream.

Yet another universally identified leadership trait is communication skills. Well-developed

communication skills are one of the most important, yet most overlooked, traits associated with a good leader. Look at any organization experiencing problems and you will likely find organizational communication difficulties as one of the root causes.

Most organizations would be well-served by creating a leadership development program.

Why not identify those subordinates who have demonstrated leadership potential and groom them to be the organizational leaders of the future? As noted previously, leadership is a learned skill – it can be taught.

Keep in mind, however, what leadership programs are not. First, a good leadership development program is not one size fits all. To be successful, the organization must be very careful in the leadership selection process. In addition, and even more importantly, those whom you have entrusted to administer your leadership development program must be forward thinkers who possess the traits you are looking for in future leaders. Nothing sinks a leadership development program faster than E ri c S m it h having a stubborn dinosaur running it.

Ever since the America Burning report • • Ba commissioned in rr y U n i v e r sit y the 1970s, the American fire service has changed dramatically. Unfortunately, many organizations remain mired in ancient and archaic leadership concepts. Maybe it’s time for some changes!

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The Day the World Changed

By Joseph A. LaCognata, Chaplain, Fire Rescue Support

ou are reading this several weeks after I wrote this. I have no idea of the condition of our world on this day. As I write, the coronavirus is wreaking havoc on our way of life. The latest predictions tell us to expect a very difficult two to three weeks, anticipating 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the US. You’ll know if those predictions were accurate.

COVID-19, a term we didn’t even know a month ago, has brought about changes in every aspect of our lives. Schools, churches, and businesses are closed. Sporting events, concerts, and eating out have all been put on

hold. We are becoming masters of social distancing.

Even my work as chaplain has changed.

Normally my days are spent traveling around Marion County visiting firefighters at their stations. It’s these routine, day-to-day contacts that give me the opportunity to get to know crews a little better. This is imperative so there is a connection to rely upon should there be a difficult situation that needs to be worked through. But these days I’m relying upon Zoom, Facebook and Instagram to stay connected. While it’s certainly not the same as

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being with someone faceto-face, it’s an alternative that I’ll be using for a while.

But with all these changes, and many, many more, is there anything that has remained the same? Is there anything that I can hold on to as a source of consistency? Is there a foundation that remains?

The answer is a clear, confident, and resounding “Yes!” Our faith.

Faith provides stability during shifting times. Faith provides a constant in a world that is constantly changing. Faith provides a foundation that will not be shaken. Since I know of nowhere else to turn when life seems out of control, allow me to share these words from the Bible with you. h A. La C ogna se p ta Psalm 31:2 Jo “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to Fir t save me.” eR or escue Supp Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

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Y

You can find out more about Chaplain Joe and Fire Rescue Support by visiting www.firerescuesupport.com.

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Part 1- Know What Matters

By Matthew Love, Fire Chief, Fort Myers Beach Fire Department

W

e all have “that thing” – you know that thing in our lives we just can’t quite see making it through the day without. For me, a hot cup of coffee is that thing. I really can’t imagine being productive without it and, in my mind, the smell of coffee represents the essence of what’s right in the world. I will never forget those long shifts in the firehouse where we went through pots of coffee, or the mornings we came back from a job and the stories we shared over a cup. There is one thing I never expected to gain from this essential fuel: a leadership perspective from the marks of lessons learned through success and failure, what I call “Coffee Stains.”

Accessibility A few years ago, our family made the life altering move from Colorful Colorado to Tropical Florida. Like many major life changes, this leap was packed with lessons, challenges, and rewards far greater than I could have anticipated. We miss many things about Colorado: the seasons 16

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changing, the beautiful snow, and for me, the absolute and complete accessibility of my required daily fuel – good coffee.

In Colorado, coffee takes on a different standing in one’s life than here in Florida.

In Colorado, I could be in my favorite coffee shop and simply look down the street to see another coffee shop of the same brand. I am sure this is part of a marketing plan based on convenience and product demand, which resulted in an unmistakable and reliable level of accessibility. It is this accessibility that provided me, the avid coffee drinker, with comfort. I knew that wherever I was, my little cup of joy was near.

They opened early, closed late, and I always knew what to expect. My fuel was accessible, and that accessibility provided me comfort.

In Florida, things are a little different.

Not only is my favorite coffee location not as prevalent, it takes some searching to track it down. As a foreigner in a new land, this lack of accessibility created discomfort.

The reliability I knew so well, and depended on time and time again, was

absent, and this absence led to an uncertain, unreliable feeling.

As a fire service leader, accessibility is essential to building a high-performance department. There are many stages of team development, all of which require time, planning, strategy, and growth. Within these phases of building the team we desire, the need to model actions requires accessibility, which in turn provides reliable comfort for our team.

When team members know they can count on us, that we will be there when they need us and are experiencing that reliability, we can gain the freedom to allow growth and development at varying levels as they evolve. Just like my favorite coffee franchise right down the road bringing me a feeling of comfort in seeing that logo in close proximity, we can provide this same feeling to our team through accessibility.

Accessibility provides our team with a level of comfort and reliability, and that comfort can be the needed link to unlock high performance results.

•

our work is no longer in the firehouse.

Environment is paramount in leadership and is ever tthew Love, Ma changing.

Asking questions and actively discovering information, ye rather than rs ep Bea re D i c F h hoping it falls in our lap, is a strategic way to get what we need to lead in an environment where things can be hot one minute and cold the next. e nt

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There is no doubt that as a leader the answers don’t just end up on your doorstep, we have to get out there and find them. As our environment changes, we must have an open perspective to recognize change, and we must initiate information gathering in order to find out just how to change with our environment.

Some of the best leaders are also the best listeners, however we must recognize when the need to stimulate the conversation exists. This may be the required leadership action to engage our members and initiate the information we need to keep up with the pace of progression, especially when

•

Environment Coffee has become more than a trend, and certainly more than a morning drink.

Over the years, coffee has evolved into an activity, and even an excuse, to engage in relationship. So many times, we hear the phrase “let’s grab a cup of coffee” or “how about we discuss this over a cup?” I have worked through many tough challenges over a cup, or maybe a pot (challenge level dependent)!

Frequently, as a relational gesture, I bring a cup of coffee when I meet with someone.

On my way to a meeting, I run through my favorite coffee place and grab two cups of paradise. This gesture was always welcomed with great appreciation from those I met with and did a great job of breaking the ice and demonstrating my commitment to them as well as my desire to spend deliberate and valuable time together.

This concept has not changed as I have become a Floridian, though the application needed some tweaking. After a time or two of showing up with two fresh cups of coffee and receiving a different facial expression than I was expecting, I realized it was time to ask a few more questions. Come to find out, in addition to the customary questions of “cream or sugar?”, in Florida a key determining factor that must be clarified is “hot or cold?”

Who knew that this new element to a classic drink would require a change in my operation based on my new environment?

Maybe the ninety-degree temperature and one-hundred percent humidity could have told me that, but I was blind to this alternative reality. Why was I blind? Why did this come as such a shock to me? My environment had changed, and I hadn’t asked the right questions to change with it.

Visit us at WWW.FFCA.ORG

17

By Beth Stuglik, Fire Administration Manager,

P

alm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, located in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, was created as a volunteer-based non-profit corporation in 1963.

In 1968, the department was reorganized to form a career department and established as a branch of city government. The city of Palm Beach Gardens covers an area of 58.9 square miles and is the largest city by area in Palm Beach County. The department services approximately 56,000 residents and operates out of 5 stations. The department is comprised of 114 shift personnel, 8 personnel assigned to the Community Risk Reduction Division, 7 command staff and 4 civilian personnel. The department responds to over 12,000 emergency calls for service annually and has an annual budget of $26.5 million.

Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue (PBGFR) is

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a full-service fire rescue agency that provides fire suppression, advanced and basic life support, technical rescue, and operations-level hazardous materials services within city limits and to surrounding areas through automatic aid agreements. The department’s Community Risk Reduction Division provides fire inspection, fire investigation and public education services to city residents and businesses.

The department utilizes evidence-based medicine protocols to ensure that patients receive the best care available. All fire medics are certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric Advanced Life Support, Tactical Combat Casualty Care, and as American Red Cross Lifeguards. EMS training is conducted in the agency’s EMS Training Simulation Lab, which is a state-of-the-art facility complete with high-fidelity adult and pediatric simulation manikins.

The Community Risk Reduction and EMS Divisions collaborate to provide education on life-saving skills to residents, local schools and business owners using a high-tech public

education trailer that simulates real-life fire emergencies and teaches participants how to mitigate those emergencies. Hands-only CPR, AED familiarization, stroke awareness, and Stop the Bleed training are available to residents and business owners on a regular basis. PBGFR has community partnerships with UTC/Kidde© and the American Red Cross to provide and install free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to residents.

PBGFR also works with local youth within the community by partnering with the Palm Beach Gardens High School Pre-Medicine magnet program to provide EMS training and ride-time for students. In addition, the department has an active Fire Explorer program through Boy Scouts of America. Both programs allow department personnel to interact with, educate, and mentor these youth for future careers in the fire and EMS industry.

PBGFR is one of five dual-accredited fire rescue agencies in the state, holding international accreditation with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International and the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services. In 2019, the department was honored to be named EMS Provider of the Year by the Florida Department of Health.

ETR Thanks You!

There are no words big enough.

There is no hug strong enough.

There is no smile wide enough, to thank you for all you do.

Thank you to all first responders for selfless giving day after day.

ETR is still open for business as usual.

Whatever you need, we are here to be of service to you.

PARTS COLLISION SERVICE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Call us toll free at

1-844-612-8148 M-F | 8AM-4PM

19 YEARS OF RESPONDING TO YOUR NEEDS

Pandemic Response Not Your Typical Disaster

By Scott H. Chappell, US&R/Haz-Mat Program Coordinator, Division of State Fire Marshal

I

have the honor of serving as the Deputy Operations Section Chief for Marion County Fire Rescue’s COVID-19 response. We are on our tenth operations period and the incident specific differences of this deployment are becoming clear.

To begin with, I am “deployed” in place assisting my own agency’s response efforts.

Deployments generally take staff away from their normal duties clearly delineating a new

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set of responsibilities as they respond to disasters and support recovery. Similar to the 2004/2005 hurricane season, where many of us were essentially deployed to serve our own communities, COVID-19 deployments are mainly local with a handful of responders traveling to the State Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate statewide unified operations. With in-house deployments, lines between normal duties and disaster duties are

blurred. The battle rhythm of meetings as outlined in the Planning P is often interrupted by the department’s day-to-day levels of service which still need attention.

Second, pandemics are slow moving and immediate impacts are mostly invisible. With the exception of personal protective equipment (sources and shortages), direct patient care, decontamination of personnel and equipment, and a 14-day isolation of crew

•

perhaps did not know existed.

On the other hand, there is one similarity I see: the need to come together, anticipate, and resolve all issues at hand – whatever they are.

The differences listed above may be making it difficult to notice we are all in this together. We must work as a unified force to push through this – we will get there. Know that our emergency responders and emergency management professionals prepare for “all hazards.” While this may seem broad, it really means we do not just prepare for hurricanes, tornados, floods or earthquakes; we prepare to mitigate and respond to the consequences of any disaster, regardless of origin. We improvise, adapt, and overcome while staying flexible – Semper Gumby!

While I am honored to be a part of the COVID-19 response, I . Chapp ott H ell look forward to seeing Sc it in the rearview mirror and referring to it in the past tense. It will be our afterio a action reports that n M of S ir e F t a t e identify things we did well, things we could have done better and exactly how large the impact was. Pandemics are not your typical disaster. l

ha

vi

s

rs

Di

history has simultaneously threatened all 50 states, just as no blizzard has made its way to Florida. If COVID-19 were a hurricane, every state and territory of the United States would fall within the five-day cone of uncertainty.

Furthermore, every nation on every continent is facing the same dangers and uncertainty.

Finally, the nationwide strain on our supply chain is unprecedented. Normally, less impacted regions are able to divert food, fuel and commodities to the hardest hit area.

Residents on the west coast are not buying all the batteries and bottled water to prepare for a hurricane’s impact on the east coast. With this nationwide impact, our supply chain is being stressed like never before. Items that are not normally consider traditional disaster commodities, like N95 masks and toilet paper (who knew?), are as rare as any precious metal.

In fact, I am certain that I could go to the pawn shop to buy a few ounces of silver right now, but I have no idea where to find any paper products. Farmers, workers, truck drivers, warehouse workers, retailers and everyone else in the supply chain are now considered to be critical infrastructure. Grocery store employees now fall under the category of emergency workers. Our reliance on the “just in time” shipping of goods has never been greater, which has exposed some shortfalls that we

•

members who were potentially exposed or contaminated, there is nothing to see with this crisis. There are no downed trees or powerlines, no collapsed buildings, rivers and waterways are not only normal but are very attractive to everyone forced to be at home with nothing better to do than to be outdoors.

Though fire departments, emergency workers and emergency management professionals are hard at work, there are no aerial photographs to help the public visualize impacts or progress.

There are no heroic pictures to put on the front page of the Incident Action Plan.

Widespread impacts and potential cascading consequences are truly invisible. In fact, communities may already be impacted so severely they may already be on the way to a mass fatality incident, yet few understand the disaster is here.

Third, the magnitude of this pandemic has already touched communities from coast to coast – a footprint far beyond that of our nation’s most severe natural disaster (at least in living memory). As such, there is no region of the nation that is not affected. There are few resources available to be EMAC’d in from other states (definition: EMAC’d verb to utilize resources under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact), as they are all facing the same disaster. No hurricane or earthquake in

Visit us at WWW.FFCA.ORG

21

Matt Warner, Fire Equipment Supervisor, Lakeland Fire Department

Fire Service Tenure: 18 Years Form of Government: Municipality Department Background: The Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) was established as a career department in 1916. The Lakeland Fire Department has an Insurance Service Office (ISO) Public Protection Classification 1, the highest achievable rating.

The department has seven stations serving approximately 110,000+ people in the City of Lakeland. The department has 179 employees, of which 156 are emergency response personnel. In 2019, the department responded to over 25,900 service calls in its 84 square-mile response area, which includes the

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city limits as well as portions of unincorporated Lakeland.

The department offers a wide range of services which includes heavy rescue, technical rescue, fire prevention, fire code enforcement, fire investigation, aircraft rescue and firefighting, and in-house fleet maintenance; all in addition to outstanding fire suppression and emergency medical response.

The Lakeland Fire Department is also passionate about being an active participant in its community and consistently giving back through philanthropic efforts and through non-emergency services like community outreach and preventative public education.

Career Journey: Matt has been a mechanic/technician for his entire career. He started working professionally with Mobile Chemical, but at the age of 26 decided to transition to a career

in public service. Matt has served with the Lakeland Fire Department (LFD) for 18 years.

He has worked for the City of Lakeland for a total of 23 years, having worked in general City of Lakeland fleet services prior to joining LFD. He started at the fire department as a fire equipment mechanic and was promoted to fire equipment supervisor approximately four years ago.

Matt is very experienced and is equally as educated in his field, holding several technical certifications that include: Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) Master Technician, Emergency Vehicle Technician (EVT) Master Technician, and MSA Care Technician certifications. Matt is a beloved member of the Lakeland Fire Department, and is not only a highly certified mechanic but also a certified Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). In addition to his many certifications, Matt has attended the University of Florida, Hillsborough Community College, and Polk State College.

QUESTIONS FOR MATT What is your favorite part of the job?

Everyone at the department cycles through the maintenance shop. I love getting to interact with the line personnel and building the rapport that allows me and my team to do our jobs well and serve our customers, which are the men and women in the trucks we work so hard on. Good relationships allow us to take good care of the equipment because we have open communication and it helps the department’s internal customers feel comfortable bringing issues to my attention.

You come to learn each person’s style, based on knowing what that person is like as a

friend and colleague.

How would you describe your work and management style?

I am a person who leads by example. I truly believe that you can’t understand, connect, and manage someone if you aren’t willing to get your hands dirty and work alongside them. I would never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do, and I manage my team the same way. We work together on the apparatus and equipment when I am able to. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What are some of the biggest challenges of the job?

This job has challenges, just like any other.

It comes with some interesting ones, though.

Manpower is the biggest challenge in what I do, because there is an overabundance of work with limited personnel to do the work and tight turnaround times. Additionally, budgeting is a major challenge of the job, managing to purchase the equipment and tools needed with a set budget. Sometimes unforeseen equipment issues pop-up and force us to come up with some creative solutions, due to budgetary limitations. We work on pricey pieces of equipment but always make the most of our money, as expected in responsible public government.

Also, it is important for me to develop and grow my staff and provide proper succession planning. With so much to do day-to-day, it is sometimes challenging finding the time to develop a possible successor. However, I know it is a priority because there’s no sense in working hard to build up your division or program unless you have someone capable to continue on that same trajectory of growth and success once you’re gone.

What are some unique things you get to do in your line of work?

I get to work on some great projects and take care of some impressive equipment. In addition to all of the work my team and I put into our department’s fleet – which includes apparatus, aircraft rescue and firefighting trucks, and staff vehicles – we also do all of the department’s SCBA maintenance and testing in-house as a MSA certified care facility. We perform pump testing, hose testing, ladder testing, transport service, spec future apparatus, provide equipment training to firefighters, serve on-call and more.

My team and I are also certified firefighter and EMTs, so we work towards maintaining our certifications and meeting the same training requirements in place for the rest of line personnel at the department.

Compliance is also a big part of what we do.

What do you do for fun?

This job keeps me busy! So, it’s important to have an outlet and for me it’s hunting and fishing. I’m an avid sportsman who enjoys a bit of time at the hunting camp with family and good friends. I thank the Lord I am able to do so.

Visit us at WWW.FFCA.ORG

23

W

orking with numerous public safety agencies around the State of Florida, there is one thing we can say with certainty, “there is nothing uniform about uniforms!”

Florida First Responder Apparel is a locally owned and operated disabled veteran small business in Satellite Beach, Florida. We specialize in screen-printing, embroidery, and apparel needs for police, fire and EMS agencies throughout Florida. Our relationships with other local vendors allow us to ensure unparalleled quality, competitive pricing and a quick turnaround for all our customers no matter how large or small.

Florida First Responder Apparel distributes some of the largest names in the industry such as ASP, Blackinton, Bianchi, Elbeco, Hope Uniforms, 5.11 Tactical, C.W. Nielsen, Premier Emblem, Smith & Warren, Tact Squad, TruSpec, Vertx, Under Armour and United

Uniforms. Whether your organization wears custom-embroidered navy-blue uniform shirts with tactical pants or light blue uniform shirts with collar brass and cargo pants, our knowledgeable and friendly staff, with 62 years of combined experience, are dedicated to providing the highest quality product for our public safety partners.

As department budgets are getting tighter, we have collaborated with our clients to find new and innovative cost savings that may have been overlooked in the past. Recently, we were able to save a midsize fire department nearly $40 per employee. This cost savings allows them to improve both the quality and quantity of clothing items offered to their employees.

Additionally, the organization was able to purchase additional items which were not possible before due to a limited budget.

During this time of crisis, we would like to assure our customers that we are working tremendously hard every day to ensure we can still meet your apparel needs. We are collaborating with our many vendors across the country who are dealing with logistical issues from the COVID-19 epidemic. Together we are strengthening our supply chain to enhance our value to you as our customer.

We understand that fire &

emergency service organizations will be a direct catalyst for our successful outcome from this pandemic. Although our store hours have changed to allow our staff to take care of their families, we will make ourselves available by phone (321-586-9889) or email at FloridaFirstResponderApparel@gmail.com, Monday through Friday, during normal business hours. Once it is safe for both our employees and our customers, Florida First Responder Apparel staff will once again provide our custom fittings and service calls for our departments throughout Florida. Until then, if there is anything we can do for you and your department, please let us know or visit us online at www.FloridaFirstResponderApparel.com.

Please like or follow us on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you for your patience and continued business!

Doug Mack, Sales Manager 321-586-9889

Brevard County Fire Rescue COVID-19 EMS Response Exercise S

By Susan L’Argent, BCFR Office of EMS, Brevard County Fire Rescue

ince January, Brevard County Fire Rescue (BCFR) has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic and diligently staying on top of any and all changes/updates. On Thursday March 19th, the BCFR Office of EMS worked closely with the Brevard County Space Coast Government TV (SCGTV) to coordinate the filming of a COVID-19 transport exercise. The video was created to show each step of the process, capturing everything from the initial 91-1 call, transportation, transfer of care to hospital staff, the deconning of the unit and everything in between. With the help of our Dispatch, Public Safety, Rescue 46, municipal city agency Rockledge FD/PD & local hospital Rockledge Reginal Medical Center, the filming was a success! We look forward to sharing the training video with our municipal agencies and with other agencies outside of Brevard County https://youtu.be/EJoYWyfbJ7w

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Meet

the

Fire Training Officer/Instructor Lieutenant Robert Wozniak & Engineer Michael Rock, Clermont Fire Department

Career Journey: Lt. Wozniak has been actively involved in the fire service for the past 15 years. He began his career as a volunteer with Sumter County FR. After two years of service he was provided an opportunity to join the Clermont Fire Department as a Firefighter/EMT. He has an A.A. degree and has served as a reserve law enforcement officer for the past seven years. He currently serves as the A-Shift, Lieutenant/Paramedic on Heavy Rescue 1. A selection of courses he has completed include advanced rope rescue, incident safety officer, paramedic, special ops. disciplines, and truck company ops II. Additionally, he has attended a variety of conferences to include IFSI Rapid Intervention Team Technician, Hazardous Materials Training Symposium, North American Heavy Rescue Symposium, Orlando Fire Conference hands-on and Officer Development as well as WMD Hazardous Materials Technician (COBRA).

Eng. Rock has been actively involved in the fire service for the past 15 years. He began his

Engineer Michael Rock 26

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career in New Jersey as a Firefighter/EMT where he worked as an Instructor, Fire Inspector, Training Officer, Lieutenant and EMS Captain. He then moved to Florida, ultimately joining the Clermont Fire Department as a Firefighter/Paramedic. He currently serves as an A-Shift Engineer/Paramedic on Engine 101. A selection of courses he has completed include hazmat, incident safety officer, special ops. disciplines, RIT, swift rescue, and traffic incident management. Additionally, a selection of conferences he has attended include Baltimore Fire Expo, Fire Department Instructors Conference, Ft. Lauderdale Fire Expo, Hazardous Materials Training Symposium and Orlando Fire Conference hands-on.

Form of Government: City of Clermont is governed by five elected city council members including the mayor, and a city manager in a Council-Manager form of government. City Manager Darren Gray serves as the Chief Executive Officer, handling day-today operations.

Population served including square miles covered: 40,000 population, 19 square miles Department Type: Internationally Accredited, Four Stations Career Department (ALS) with approximately 100 personnel (uniformed and civilian) Department Equipment: Frontline apparatus include three engines, one brush vehicle, one heavy rescue, one ladder, one tower, one marine unit and one zodiac rescue boat Does your department have a formal, long-range strategic plan and is training an integral part of that plan?

CFD has a formal long-range strategic plan which aligns with City of Clermont initiatives as well as accreditation and ISO requirements.

Training and professional development are integral components of each plan to include hands-on skills, in-person presentations, and online learning management system opportunities.

Describe the structure of your training program and how it is implemented: Our current training model utilizes a Training Captain who oversees CFD training development, direction, logistics, management and scheduling. Six Field Training Officers (FTOs) facilitate the training of CFD personnel with the assistance of Instructors.

CFD generally utilizes a two-week approach for personnel rotation through EMS, fire, hazmat, and HR training, ex. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for two-weeks. Additionally, Special Operations training is typically hosted on Monday for three consecutive weeks to provide an opportunity on each shift – A, B, and C. Two recent department-wide training opportunities were created and led by Lt. Wozniak and Eng. Rock, the topics included MAYDAY/RIT and Rope-Assisted Search. Our facilities training is typically scheduled at the

Lieutenant Robert Wozniak

Institute of Public Safety in Tavares, Florida.

The MAYDAY/RIT training was completed in December 2019, our FTOs/Instructors completed 192 cumulative hours of training for 48 personnel. This training covered a number of firefighter lifting techniques, air consumption drills as well as navigation of a zero-visibility maze. The Rope-Assisted Search training was completed in February 2020, our FTOs/Instructors completed 292 cumulative hours of training for 63 personnel. This training covered the effective application of rope-assisted search techniques, importance of search line management as well as maintaining orientation inside of structures.

We encourage our Battalion Chiefs and Ride-Up Battalion Chiefs to participate in each facilities training opportunity to ensure our Incident Commanders remain informed of the equipment, strategies and techniques available to personnel. We also distribute surveys to acquire anonymous feedback from participants immediately following the

completion of scheduled training. Capturing real-time feedback is helpful toward personnel, process, and program improvement as it relates to future department training opportunities.

Both FTOs, Lt. Wozniak and Eng. Rock

were able to help create and implement these facilities training opportunities due to their dedication to professional development, and their continued efforts by attending training throughout the country and bringing the knowledge and skills back to our personnel.

Visit us at WWW.FFCA.ORG

27

Meet

the

Operations Chief J. Nolan Sapp, Assistant Chief of Operations, Greater Naples Fire Rescue District

Fire Service Tenure: I started my fire service career in rural Campbellsville, Kentucky at a young age in 1978. I currently serve as the Assistant Chief of Operations for the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District; a result of the merged fire districts of East Naples Fire Control & Rescue District, Golden Gate Fire Control and Rescue District, Isles of Capri Fire Rescue District, and Ochopee Fire Rescue District.

Career Journey: I served as a volunteer firefighter for

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Campbellsville/Taylor County Volunteer Fire District in Kentucky from 1978 to 1980. From 1980 through 1984, I worked as an engineer for Career City of Campbellsville, Kentucky Fire District. From 1984 through 1991, I worked for Career City of Campbellsville, Kentucky Police Department as a sergeant and served as a volunteer firefighter for the Volunteer Taylor County Fire in Kentucky as a sergeant. In 1991, I ultimately made my way to Naples, Florida and was hired as a career firefighter/captain at North Naples Fire Control and Rescue District. In 2002 I was asked to join Golden Gate Fire Control and Rescue District as the deputy chief of operations and was promoted to Assistant

Chief in May 2008. My final position with Golden Gate Fire Control and Rescue District was acting fire chief in 2013 when it merged with the East Naples Fire Control & Rescue.

The district began merging administrative duties in the spring of 2013 until the official merger of the two districts on November 4, 2014 into the Greater Naples Fire Rescue District, where I serve as the assistant chief of operations today.

Form of Government: Greater Naples Fire Rescue is an independent special district created by the Florida Legislature on November 4, 2014. In August 2016, the Isle of Capri Fire Rescue District was merged into Greater Naples Fire District. In November 2016, the district began management of the Ochopee Fire Rescue District. Recently the merged district went from an eight-member (combined 2 district board) to a current five-member Board of Fire Commissioners who are responsible for making certain the district is meeting the needs of the community.

Source of Funding for Jurisdiction: Ad Valorem taxes account for the majority of the funding for the fire district. The current millage rate is 1.5 mills per $1,000 of assessed property value. The current annual

general fund budget is over $38.5 million.

Other sources of revenue include impact fees and user fees for fire inspections of new and existing buildings.

Population served including square miles covered: The District has a population of approximately 160,000 yearly residents. The seasonal population increases by an additional 33 1/3%. The District covers about 1,512 square miles and includes approximately 200 miles of coastline on the Gulf of Mexico and 105 miles of interstate highways.

Composition of Department: The District’s Command Staff includes the Fire Chief, 5 Assistant Chiefs (Operations, Logistics, Planning, Fire and Life Safety, Professional Development and Administration and Finance.

Department Equipment: The District operates with 10 engines, 2 aerials, 1 heavy rescue apparatus, 3 daily medical squads, 5 water tenders, 10 brush apparatus, 2 boats and 2 Battalion Commanders. The District also has approximately 30 support vehicles necessary to operations the Administrative, Planning, Logistics, Operations, Planning, Fire Life Safety and Professional Development Section personnel.

Call Summary: The District continues to grow and increases call volume yearly. The District responded to 22,627 calls in 2019.

What is the most challenging issue facing your department today?

The most challenging issue is the blending of the 4 different agencies to create the newly merged District. All four agencies need to come together to operate on the same playbook. Of course the District will need to keep up with the growth in Southwest Florida and growth is expected to continue for several more years. This will require more fire stations, equipment, and personnel.

Describe your management style: I believe in being fair and consistent across the board. The Fire District is operations driven. Community service plays a vital part to the District.

How have current economic times impacted your department?

The District had some very trying years with the tremendous down turn of the economy and is only now starting to see growth and positive impacts coming back to Southwest Florida. The District is picking itself up with the replacing of old, well-worn apparatus and equipment that had to be put

on hold until the economy was in an upswing mode. Additional stations are in the works to better serve the ever growing area.

Does your department have a formal, long-range strategic plan?

The District has a strategic plan and updates the plan to continue to meet the needs of the District. The District’s Vision is to increase response effectiveness, enhance professionalism and operational efficiencies, and use taxpayer dollars responsibly.

Explain how you are doing things differently because of the economy: The District is now able to prepare for both manmade and environmental hazards such as active shooters, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.

What challenges do you see facing the fire service today?

The main challenge facing the fire service today is the increasing demands on call load and the ability to increase personnel due to the cost associated with budget constraints.

What do you look for in a new recruit?

I look for a candidate’s ability and willingness to be in the Fire Service with the traditions of the Fire Service. Candidates should be willing to be of service to their community.

How do you view training?

Training today is driven by specialty type team training and is reliant on company officers and personnel with many years of experience to do basic skills and ongoing daily training with the personnel.

Do you have a close working relationship with your neighborhood departments?

Greater Naples Fire Rescue District works well with all safety partners in Fire, Emergency Medical Services, and Law Enforcement. The District also has a very cooperative partnership with the Florida Fire Service due to the District’s large wildland urban interface.

What is the future for the fire service as you see it?

I believe the fire service will become more of an all hazards service and will potentially have to face more things such as active shooters or other mass casualty events.

Visit us at WWW.FFCA.ORG

29

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

THE WEAKEST LINK

By J. Marvin Hart, Retired Chief Officer, City of Pembroke Pines Fire Department, Indian River State College Fire Academy

T

here are a number of preventative measures in place to guard our citizens from the coronavirus, but despite all the protocols developed and initiatives taken to protect both them and our first responders, if we cannot ensure the accountability of everyone exposed, we will remain vulnerable to the silent and invisible threat of disease, illness, and death. We have been in the business long enough to know what can happen when there is a defect or breach in our protective equipment while operating in a hostile environment, so when it comes to protecting ourselves and the community during a pandemic, there can be no room for error. We must not allow ourselves to become complacent to precautions. This is our story and a sobering thought of what is to come if we fail to take our responsibilities seriously.

For two weeks, my wife, daughter and I were escorted by two staff sergeants of the United States Airforce while we were in Germany.

Stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base, the largest NATO-controlled air base in Europe, our grandson Leon and his wife Adriana were exceptional hosts in every sense of the word. We had the honor of touring the air base and boarding a C-17 that was in for maintenance; it was one of the most incredible experiences we had during our visit. The appearance and demeanor of everyone from the main gate to the command center, airfield crew to those working on the C-17, was an impeccable display of professionalism down to the slightest detail.

A reflection of what pride, accountability, and competency can achieve when everyone is working together for one common cause, the

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support and defense of a nation and its inhabitants, these were true professionals in every sense of the word.

During our visit to Germany, our cell phones were set on vibrate and used for photos only to curtail any distractions from the rest of the world, but three days before we were scheduled to return to America, everything began to change very quickly. We were well aware of the threat of the coronavirus pandemic in Southeast Asia, but had no idea how far reaching it had extended. We thought we wouldn't be impacted, but that changed in a matter of minutes.

On March 12th, we were just outside Ramstein, Germany exploring when our grandson and his wife received simultaneous notifications on their cell phones that travel restrictions were in place for all military personnel and no one was to journey more than 50 miles from their post. We were fortunate that we were well within the boundaries. At the same time, preventative measures were also being taken to protect both civilian and military personnel on the base while working in close proximity to each other.

Like a giant tidal wave that had overtaken us, we were now caught up into the coronavirus pandemic and there was nowhere to turn but home, or so we thought.

As we watched the news unfold, we learned that at midnight the following day, March 13th, all borders to the United States will be closed and the only people who would be permitted to re-enter the United State will be U.S. Citizens.

Concerned whether or not our flight would be canceled, a feeling of uncertainty came over us

as we considered the possibility of not being able to return to America as scheduled. After a call to the airline, the agent assured us that our flight would not be affected, but to make sure that we were on the plane when it left Paris.

In lieu of the fact that our grandson and his wife were now on travel restriction and they could not take us to Paris for our flight home on the 15th, alternate arrangements for transportation had to be made quickly. That evening, we considered the feasibility of renting a car. It was a 4.5 hour trip from Ramstein to Paris compared to a 1.5 hour trip to the RheinMain-Flughafen International Airport in Frankfurt. We decided to make reservations on a Norwegian flight from Frankfurt on the 15th to Paris early that morning so we could make our connection to Ft. Lauderdale later that day.

Arrangements were also made to have us picked up early the morning of the 15th and dropped off at the Frankfurt airport as well.

After a lot of juggling schedules, we discovered that our flight to Ft. Lauderdale had been rerouted to Miami so it was back to the drawing board where we made arrangements to have our car brought to Miami so we could go directly home from there; another 2.5 hour ride. The urgency to return home began to sink in rapidly, but our faith that everything would work out as planned was strong, so we took a deep breath, continued to pray and took one step at a time to make sure we didn’t get ahead of ourselves.

Early the morning of the 15th, we said our goodbyes and were transported to the airport in Frankfurt, Germany where we boarded a flight to Paris that took 2.5 hours. The flight was

nothing to do with our health, past or present, nor did they have anything to do with the coronavirus and we began to wonder if they had disinfected the machines prior to our arrival in lieu of the fact they had nothing to wipe or disinfect our hands after we completed the questionnaire. Once we had completed the process, received a slip of paper from the machine and stepped away, the customs agent waved us on and told us to follow the concourse to customs where we would be processed.

You could tell that everyone was exhausted after being in the air for 10 hours and we were all anxious to go home, but we would not reach our next demarcation point with customs until after walking almost a half mile and traveling across multiple moving walkways to get there.

When we finally arrived, the room was filled with people waiting to be processed so we found a line and waited our turn.

When the three of us approached the customs agent, he asked for our passports and slips of paper from the Kiosk machine which we presented to him along with our Travel Health Declaration forms which he laid aside on the counter. After answering a series of questions which again had nothing to do with our health or the coronavirus, he stamped our passports, returned the Travel Health Declaration forms back to us and asked us to move on. I asked him at that time who were we to give our Health declaration forms to and he commented, “keep them”. Somewhat puzzled that we had been through customs before and the only place to go afterward was to baggage claim, we moved on expecting to see another demarcation point for health screening, but it never happened; we entered the baggage claim area and I was concerned.

While waiting for our baggage, I approached a number of people wearing official airport identification badges and asked them if passengers were supposed to be screened for the coronavirus before being released by customs, that we had just arrived from Paris but they kept coming back with the same statement, “If you were cleared by customs then you are ok”. Totally frustrated that a vital link in the chain of command had been broken and that the health and safety of other citizens was now being jeopardized, I could do nothing more than watch helplessly as other passengers from the same flight picked up their baggage and exited the terminal to go home.

I have been a fire officer for well over 45 years and a paramedic for close to 25 - I can assure you, I was never trained or raised to take my responsibilities lightly. When any first responder takes a complacent approach to a task designed to protect human life, I am ready to get into someone’s face regardless of status

or time in grade. The employees who I stopped and questioned were wearing official airport identification badges and their apparent lack of concern regarding passengers that had not been screened properly before being released on their own recognizance was beyond my comprehension.

In my estimation, instead of them becoming an integral part of the solution, they were a contributory factor in the problem. Perhaps that is why on April 3rd, Miami-Dade reported over 3,029 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 25 deaths; you will have to draw your own conclusions from that.

I am extremely proud of the men and women in the armed forces, our medical professionals and first responders on the front line for the work they are doing and though we have never experienced anything like the COVID-19 pandemic, it would be inexcusable to think that we can let our guard down for even a moment. There is no margin for error or room for complacency when we have taken the oath to defend and protect America’s greatest interest, the life of every citizen, man, woman and child who enters the borders of the United States.

We must continue to pray daily for those brave men and women who take their calling seriously; the first responders, medical personnel and armed forces who are laying everything on the line for our health, safety, and protection. Those families who have lost a member to this horrific disease, those who have been impacted by its effects, and our families and friends weathering isolation and quarantine. To our Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States, his staff and the political forces that are working tirelessly around the clock with him, not against him, to achieve one common goal: the preservation of liberty and the health and safety of humanity.

Regardless of who you are or where you may have come from or what your calling may be, I encourage you to settle for nothing less than your best especially when lives are hanging in the balance, or someone may not go home at the end of the day. Do not become the weakest link; honor, courage, sacrifice, and ownership n Mar vi Hart are required to get the job done, but there is no greater force available to you other than the power of prayer and Re tir e ce God has given that to d C h i e f O f fi you as a key to open doors you never thought possible.

God Bless you all and may God Bless America! r

congested with an occasional cough that caused a number of raised eyebrows and the possibility of exposure increased stress levels. Less than half of the passengers had a mask.

In Paris, we boarded a Norwegian Boeing 787-9 Dream Liner that would accommodate 344 passengers, not including the crew, but it was apparent during the boarding process that more than a few seats would be vacant. While storing our baggage, I took a quick glance around the massive fuselage and down the seemingly endless isle toward the aft section of the plane and noticed that most of the seats were empty. Later in flight, we found out that there were only 83 passengers aboard the plane; an eerie feeling to say the least but the crew could not have been more accommodating.

After almost eight hours in flight with two hours until touch down, the flight attendant announced that they would be giving everyone a United States Traveler Health Declaration form pertaining to the coronavirus and that we were to fill it out and present it to the authorities who would screen us when we landed. We carefully answered all of the questions, folded the piece of paper in half and placed it with our passports. As we looked at one another, we were grateful that we had not been sick or ill while on vacation nor were we feeling any discomfort while in flight, but we sensed that things were much more serious than we had anticipated and looked forward to getting home soon.

When the plane landed in Miami, what we expected to happen and what happed next was beyond our comprehension. The flight attendant instructed everyone to take the enclosed cross walk from the plane to the terminal and follow the arrows to the room where the authorities would be waiting for us.

We had no difficulty in following their directions and when we walked into the room, there were approximately five lanes with a customs agent waiting at the end of each lane. I took the first lane, walked up to the agent and he asked for my passport which I handed to him along with the Traveler Health Declaration form. He took a quick look at me, glanced at the document, then shouted for everyone to back up, that no one was going to get processed. He spoke to several other agents then instructed all of us to move down another hallway to the Automated Passport Control Kiosk machines where we would process our own passports. I had the distinct feeling that we must have missed something somewhere along the way, but we followed the agents’ directive and after a considerable distance we found the machines.

We processed our passports on the Kiosk using the touch screen but the questions had

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31

The Importance of Fire Sprinklers!

By Tommy Demopoulos, Asst. Fire Marshal, Tamarac Fire Rescue

S

moke and flames showing from the alpha side, show Engine 78 with command and declaring a working fire! Tamarac Fire Rescue sent this communication on February 20, 2019 when a structure fire broke out at a commercial warehouse. This warehouse was approximately 7,600 square feet, with business use in the front and storage/industrial use in the rear.

This firefight lasted roughly three hours and caused over $100,000 in direct fire damage.

It caused a huge setback for the business, a partyplanning company.

They lost much of their product, as well as time needed to set up at scheduled events. In addition, they now faced the struggle of relocating their business.

Ironically, approximately one year later in January 2020, the same Without sprinkler system company had another fire in their second warehouse, located just two buildings down from the first. This incident went drastically different. For starters, the impact was limited to a single workstation in the warehouse with minimal water damage. The business was shut down for a few hours during the investigation but was then able to re-open later that evening.

Why such a difference in the damages? Two words, FIRE SPRINKLERS! This second fire took place in an identical warehouse except for the use of fire sprinklers, a requirement during the permitting process.

There are many great benefits of fire With sprinkler system sprinklers such as tax incentives, insurance discounts and life safety enhancements not to mention property conservation and economic stability. Two fires, same company and type of building, two different results due to fire sprinklers. This is a perfect case study to highlight the importance of this life safety system.

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Patrick McKeon, a seasoned EMS executive and past Director with some of the largest RCM companies in Florida, is also a Firefighter, Paramedic and EMS instructor. Operating out of our Tampa office, Patrick is introducing Medicount to potential clients in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Medicount Management, Inc. www.medicount.com Patrick McKeon, Account Executive 813-539-0176 Visit us at WWW.FFCA.ORG

33

Lakeland Training Captain Awarded Managing Officer Designation by National Fire Academy

Sanford Fire Department Promotion

By Janel Vasallo, Public Relations and Information Manager

Congratulations to Firefighter/Paramedic Greg Boone on his promotion to Fire Lieutenant effective Monday, April 6, 2020. Lieutenant Boone has been a valued member of the Department since 2012 where he has constantly improved his professional development particularly obtaining his paramedic certification and his ability to “ride up” as a Lieutenant. He has also improved the Department by getting involving in several teams such as the Honor Guard, Standard Operating Procedure committee member, taken the lead in ordering logistical supplies for the entire Department, and an excellent member of Tower 31. Greg has the ability to take on additional roles and responsibilities over the past year by riding as a Lieutenant early in his career. Greg was selected by Department leaders to be a recipient of Firefighter of the Year by the Women’s Club of Sanford in past years as well as receiving multiple accolades from the public over the past 7 years.

The Lakeland Fire Department and the U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) National Fire Academy (NFA) is pleased to announce that Training Captain Matthew A. Brown has successfully completed the Managing Officer (MO) program. Captain Brown is the first person at the Lakeland Fire Department to earn this designation!

“The Managing Officer program is designed to provide company level fire/emergency medical service (EMS) officers with a broad perspective of today’s fire/EMS management, leadership, and administration,” according to US Fire Administrator G. Keith Bryant. “This program provides fire service officers with the expertise they need to develop professionally and to make significant contributions to both their departments and communities.”

The Managing Officer program’s goals are to promote and enhance the professional growth of fire service leadership while preparing future leaders through a combination of education and linking people and ideas.

Participants in this program receive instruction on leadership, community risk reduction, firefighter and community safety, contemporary training issues, and analytical tools for decision making. Students also gain critical insight concerning national response planning and incident management.

This important two-year program comprises four unique courses requiring the participant to develop and complete a Capstone project directly benefiting the fire officer’s department and community.

Hillsborough Using AeroClave to Decontaminate

By Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, Public Relations

With the number of COVID-19 patients increasing daily, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR) is making greater use of aerosolized decontamination systems for its rescue vehicles. The AeroClave device emits a mist which kills viruses and reaches every area of the transport vehicle. The vehicle is then aired out while our crews decontaminate themselves and can go back into service within 30 minutes.

HCFR continues to use its regular stringent wipe-down decontamination protocol for rescue vehicles in between patients, but the aerosolized system is available if crews know or believe they may have transported a patient with COVID19. All crews are being trained in the use of the device.

The media has been very interested in our protocols and came out to observe them – at a safe distance, of course. HCFR Quality Management Chief Jeremy Fischler noted, “It’s a bit of the same concept as a bug bomb.

It mists and fogs and it reaches all the nooks and crannies that are inside of that ambulance.”

34

FLORIDA FIRE SERVICE

April 2020

By Ronnie McNeil Jr., Deputy Fire Chief

Fort Lauderdale Assistant Chief Earns Master’s Degree Timothy C. Heiser, Assistant Chief with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, completed a Master of Arts Degree in Security Studies at the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS) on March 27, 2020.

During the 18-month online and in-residence program, Heiser collaborated with homeland security officials from across the nation on current policy, strategy and organizational design challenges. His thesis was “Pills, Powders, and Overdose; North America’s Illicit Fentanyl Crisis.”

Located at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), CHDS is the nation’s homeland security educator. Master’s degree students develop critical thinking, leadership and policy skills during a rigorous 18-month program. Each graduate completes a thesis on a current issue facing his/her jurisdiction. These theses often translate into policy and practice. The CHDS is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Preparedness Directorate, within the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

St. Lucie Fire District Recognizes Trail Blazers

By Brenda Stokes, Public Information Officer

On February 19th, the St. Lucie County Fire District recognized four individuals that have each blazed a trail in the District’s history for others to follow. In a ceremony at Station 15, Robert Lewis (first African American firefighter), Bill Smith (longest serving African American), Derek Foxx (highest ranking African American), and LaToya Young (first African American female firefighter) were honored. A wall inside the station was dedicated to memorializethose honored and a mural painted by artist Julian Reams (also a SLC firefighter) was unveiled.

Clay County Unveils New Fire Engine

Sanford Fire Department Promotion

By Ronnie McNeil Jr., Deputy Fire Chief

On Friday, April 3, 2020, Clay County Fire Rescue Station 25 Firefighters stationed at Camp Blanding will be presented with a fire engine newly wrapped in images honoring the men and women who serve in the Florida National Guard.

Clay County is proudly placing Engine 25, with the Protecting Those Who Protect Us theme in service at its Camp Blanding Fire Station on base.

Acting Fire Chief David Motes said, “Clay County is proud to offer fire and rescue services to the Camp Blanding Joint Training Center (CBJTC) located in the Kingsley Lake area, encompassing the 73,000-acre post.” The CBJTC is a critical function of the U.S. Military that provides resources to enhance joint, interagency, intragovernmental and multinational training in support of our nation, state and local communities.

The mission and motto of the Florida National Guard is “RIGHT….

READY…. RELEVANT,” and Engine 25 vibrantly depicts this theme. Chief Motes stated “Clay County is honored to protect those military service members that protect all of us.”

Plantation Designates Truck for Coronavirus Transport

By Joel Gordon, Battalion Chief

In an effort to reduce the risk of exposure to its First Responders and residents the Plantation Fire Department has deployed a specialized, Covid-19 Response Vehicle, Fire Chief Donald Todd announced today.

The specialized truck is assigned to strictly transport patients with signs and symptoms of Covid-19 virus from within the City of Plantation to local area hospitals.

The crew assigned to the specialized EMS vehicle are equipped with high risk personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition, the vehicle gets decontaminated daily as well as after each response.

Unless indicated on the 9-1-1 call patients are transported as nonemergency and are brought to the closest appropriate facility that can manage Covid-19 cases.

The PPE worn by the Paramedics and EMTs on the vehicle may seem scary but it is important to understand the ensemble is worn out of an excess of caution and the need to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

This process also helps Plantation reduce its need for use of the scarce supply of N-95 masks.

Congratulations to Lieutenant David Frost on his promotion to Battalion Chief-Training effective Saturday, April 4, 2020. BC Frost is considered to be one of the most respected professionals in the Department. Many fellow employees who have worked closely with David for most of his career can vouch for his level of professionalism, quality of care, and dedication to helping those around him succeed. With his over 21 years of Sanford Fire Department experience. David has a gift to teach, is very active in mentoring younger employees, and is an excellent instructor, which makes him a great fit for our next Training Battalion Chief.

St. Lucie Fire District’s New Firefighters

By Brenda Stokes, Public Information Officer

The St. Lucie County Fire District welcomed 21 new firefighters on January 27th. On February 21st, after a 4-week intense, hands-on orientation the recruits were sworn-in by fire district attorney, Kim Sabol. Fire Chief Nate Spera congratulated them on the beginning of their career with St. Lucie County and presented them with their badges in front of family and friends during a brief ceremony. This was the largest hire since 2015.

Bonita Springs Honors Fire Marshal Janet Washburn

By Nicole Hornberger, Public Education Coordinator

This month our Fire Marshal Janet Washburn was to receive her Champion of the Industry Award for advocating for fire sprinkler systems. Because of the pandemic, the ceremony was postponed. The Bonita Springs Fire District would like to congratulate Fire Marshal Washburn's hard work and efforts behind her success.

Fire Marshal Washburn recently attended Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After her studies at Harvard, she was requested by the department chair to return and work with the undergraduate students for a special project on decision making for the retrofitting of fire sprinkler systems in residential high-rises. In addition to her career in Bonita Springs, FM Washburn serves on national technical committees developing fire codes such as NFPA 101 Assembly Committee and the NFPA 1 Fire Code committee.

She serves on the Florida Fire Code Interpretations Committee, Florida Fire Marshal and Inspector Association Legislative Committee, is Past President of the Fire Inspection Association of Broward County, is a peer reviewer for the fire marshal designation for the Center for Public Safety Excellence and serves as a peer reviewer for International Fire Protection Engineer group. She was elected to the Board of Director’s for NFPA’s Certified Fire Protection Specialist group. Fire Marshal Washburn enjoys teaching fire code interpretation to local architects, fire marshals, and fire inspectors in Florida.

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35

Lake County to Begin Sterilizing N95 Masks

Fire District Transforms School Bus into Ambu-Bus

By Tiffany Henderson, Lead Public Information Officer

By Brian Blizzard, Assistant Fire Chief

Lake County Fire Rescue will begin the process of sterilizing N95 masks for reuse among first responders in Lake County. In partnership with the Florida Department of Health, the Lake County Office of EMS and Medical Director, and the Lake County Office of Public Safety Support, the procured Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination Unit can sterilize up to 300 masks at once during the three-hour process.

The mask integrity will be routinely evaluated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). A sample run was completed over the weekend and tested by Advent Health. The test was negative for any bacteria or the virus, proving that the process is successfully sterilizing the masks.

“This will put our first responders at ease knowing that there is a system in place that will ensure an unlimited supply of PPE,” said Lake County Fire Rescue Chief Jim Dickerson. The Sterilization process is being conducted by Lake County Fire Rescue’s Special Operations Response Team; Hazardous Materials team members will wear personal protective equipment during the process to protect both themselves and the integrity of the sterilized masks.

“The science behind it is highly effective,” said Meaghan Hislop, a biologist with CURIS Decontamination Systems. “What our device is going to do is disperse the Hydrogen Peroxide into the air and then hold the saturation in the air for a certain time period.”

Plantation’s First Responders Salute Healthcare Workers

By Joel Gordon, Battalion Chief

To show their support for the healthcare community serving on the front lines of the Coronavirus outbreak, Plantation’s firefighters, paramedics, and police officers lined up outside Westside Regional and Plantation General Hospitals and saluted the hospital personnel.

With lights flashing and sirens blaring, Plantation’s personnel, joined by Lauderhill firefighters, held signs and applauded the hospital staff during a “Salute from the Streets”.

Many of the nurses, doctors, administrators, and staff filled the hospital parking lots and applauded back.

“We are all part of a team,” said Plantation Fire Chief Donald Todd, Jr. “In a flight like this it’s easy to feel alone and isolated. We want the healthcare team to know we have their backs.”

Submitting Articles Please submit your article as a MS word document and include a high resolution jpeg image as an attachment (do not embed photo in document).

Try to keep submissions under 300 words if possible. E-mail files and pics to: magazine@ffca.org. If you have an interesting topic that would be informative or entertaining to other departments - feel free to write a feature article for this magazine, we welcome all your submissions!

All articles must have a title or headline and a byline as part of the article.

36

FLORIDA FIRE SERVICE

April 2020

The Florida Department of Health instituted a program to provide bus conversion kits to support the transport of multiple patients during large scale emergencies and disasters in Florida, called the Ambu-Bus program. The Fire District took part in this program and partnered with the state and local Health Department and the St. Lucie County School Board; a process two years in the making.

Through the assistance of the local health department, we were able to acquire a conversion kit and approximately $25K in grant funding and the St. Lucie County School Board donated a serviceable school bus. These partnerships enabled the Fire District to convert an ordinary school bus into a Mass Casualty Transport Vehicle capable of transporting to 12 to 20 patients at a time to a receiving hospital or facility. This vehicle has other potential uses such as patient evacuation, FF rehab and shelter during extended scene operations.

Our Fleet Maintenance Division took this ordinary school bus and converted it into a specialized, multipurpose piece of equipment. Engine, electrical and AC work was performed, seating removed, inside cleaned, installed conversion kit, painted, graphics installed, installed new interior lighting, exterior emergency lighting added, new tires, rims, etc.

This project would not have been possible without our supporting agencies.

Sanford Fire Department Retirement

By Ronnie McNeil Jr., Deputy Fire Chief

Please join us in congratulating Battalion Chief Chris Murphy on his retirement from the Sanford Fire Department after over 26 years of outstanding service to the community. Chris started his SFD career in December 1993 as a Firefighter/Paramedic. During his tenure, he served as a member of the Department’s Honor Guard, EMS Bike Team, Dive Team, and many other Department teams. He was promoted to Engine Lieutenant early in his career, then assigned to the Lieutenant on Tower-31 where he became an key member in the Department’s Special Operations Team. He assumed a higher level of responsibility during his career, taking on extra duties, training, and leadership in the Department. Chris was promoted to Battalion ChiefTraining/ Safety in October 2013 taking the Department to the next level in training, safety, and ISO grading. On behalf of the City, Department, and citizens of Sanford and Seminole County, we would like to thank Battalion Chief Chris Murphy on his dedication and commitment to our community over the past 26 years and wish you the best in retirement!

Lake County Fire Rescue Promotions

By Kate Jarocki, Public Communications Coordinator

Lake County Fire Rescue recently promoted three employees, taking effect March 29. Firefighter Shane Helton was promoted to lieutenant, Lieutenant Kraig Gilligan was promoted to training captain and Lieutenant Glenn Bidwell was promoted to battalion chief.

These three employees endured an extensive promotional process and finished as the top candidates. They are evaluated for interpersonal skills, tactical consideration and public speaking. These skills will help them in their new responsibilities, which include taking control of fire scenes, overseeing equipment and managing their teams, among other duties.

“We certainly enjoy promoting those who display dedication and commitment to the organization,” said Lake County Fire Chief Jim Dickerson. “Even during times of crisis, it is important to continue with normal activities of the organization when possible.”

The promotions occurred as the result of recent retirements. They are critical positions that provide direction and leadership to our firefighters Pictured: Kraig Gilligan, Glenn Bidwell and Shane Helton.

Terry "Max" Smart, Lakeland Fire Department's Longest Serving Firefighter, Retires With 47 Years of Service

By Janel Vasallo, Public Relations and Information Manager

Driver Engineer Terry "Max" Smart joined the Lakeland Fire Department in 1973. Max, as he is affectionately called around the department, is known for his passion for the profession and conviction in serving others. His record as the department's longest serving firefighter will be a tough one to beat, considering he has served for a longer period than most of the department’s current firefighters have been alive. He is a legend at the department for more than just his tenure and experience; he has mentored many fellow firefighters and, as a Vietnam War veteran, has advocated on behalf of military veterans in the community – prior to joining the fire department, Max was in the United States Army. Max has been part of LFD's evolution and growth in five separate decades! A remarkable feat, for a remarkable man.

The Lakeland Fire Department is extremely grateful to Max for his selflessness, sacrifice and service for so many years. The entire department wishes him lots of happiness and well-deserved rest in his retirement.

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FLORIDA FIRE SERVICE

April 2020

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