APRIL - JUNE 2020 | VOL.50 | NO.2
PINES NAMED NEXT UMD PRESIDENT This article is republished with permission by Maryland Today, published February 13, 2020 . The entire article can be found at https://today.umd.edu/
The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents appointed Darryll J. Pines, dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, as the 34th president of the University of Maryland, effective July 1. Pines, who will succeed President Wallace D. Loh after a decade in the position, has spent 25 years on the College Park campus, serving as both dean and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering since January 2009. He arrived in 1995 as an assistant professor and chaired the Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2006 to 2009. His notable accomplishments as dean include improving teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses and raising student retention, achieving success in national and international student competitions, placing new emphasis on sustainability engineering and service learning, promoting STEM education among high school students, increasing the impact of research programs and expanding philanthropic contributions to the school. Pines called it an honor to accept the position of president at Maryland, a place he knows and loves. “As professor and dean of engineering, I am well acquainted with and have long admired the outstanding faculty, the executive leadership, and the passionate and civically engaged alumni and students who make Maryland such a special place,” he said. “I’m excited by this new challenge and can’t wait to listen, learn and lead this incredible university.” Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD, said the selection of Pines should be well received across the system. “This is the first major appointment since I became chancellor, and it’s something that I felt we had to get absolutely right— so I couldn’t be more pleased to see Darryll Pines appointed as the next president
of the University of Maryland, College Park,” Perman said. Under Pines, the Clark School was a key player in the successful conclusion of the University of Maryland’s most recent $1 billion campaign, raising more than $240 million—well over the school’s initial fundraising goal of $185 million. For Fearless Ideas, the Clark School has already raised $503.9 million, exceeding its $500 million goal. Most notably, Pines and his leadership team were instrumental in securing a $219.5 million investment— which was in 2017, the sixth-largest ever to a public university—from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. Pines has also made diversity at the student, staff and faculty levels a hallmark of his tenure. Under his leadership and as a co-principal investigator, the university became an National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant recipient under the theme of developing “A Culture of Inclusive Excellence,” which is focused on improving work environments, retention and advancement of tenured and tenuretrack women faculty in ways that improve the culture for all faculty. At the Clark School, the number of tenured and tenuretrack women and underrepresented faculty has more than doubled under Pines’ leadership. During a leave of absence from the university from 2003 to 2006, Pines served volume 50 | no. 2 | p 1
as program manager for the Tactical Technology Office and Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). There, he initiated five programs primarily related to the development of aerospace technologies, for which he received the Department of Defense’s Distinguished Service Medal. He also held positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Chevron Corp. and Space Tethers. At LLNL, Pines worked on the Clementine spacecraft program, which discovered water near the south pole of the moon. A replica of the spacecraft now sits in the National Air and Space Museum. He has served and continues to serve on the boards of several major corporations and not-for-profit organizations, including Engility Corp., Aurora Flight Sciences and Underwriters Laboratory. In 2015, Pines was awarded the Maryland House of Delegates Speaker’s Medallion, presented to a citizen who has made an outstanding contribution to the state. In 2018, Pines was recognized with the University of Maryland President’s Medal, and last year he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his “inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education.” Pines’ current research focuses on structural dynamics, including structural health monitoring and prognosis, smart sensors and adaptive, morphing and biologically inspired structures, as well as the guidance, navigation and control of aerospace vehicles. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and has received an NSF CAREER Award. Pines received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR In this issue, I thought that it would be appropriate to talk about the word resilience.
The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute of the University of Maryland is the state’s comprehensive training and education system for all-hazard responses. The Institute plans, researches, develops and delivers quality programs to prepare agencies and individuals to protect life, property and the environment.
BULLETIN STAFF Editor Ashley Collier Creative Editor Ana Maizel Assistant Editor ShaVon Diaz
CONTACT MFRI tel: 301-226-9921 fax: 301-314-0752 www.mfri.org bulletin@mfri.org
The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute Bulletin (MFRI) University of Maryland (ISSN 1074-2298) is published quarterly by the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute of the University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. Periodical postage paid at College Park, MD 20740. Postmaster: Send address changes to Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, Bulletin, 4500 Campus Drive, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742. The MFRI Bulletin is distributed as a public service of the University of Maryland. The Bulletin is dedicated to the publication of information that will help educate its readers on the subjects of fire protection, emergency medical services, rescue, leadership and training. This publication may contain some articles and illustrations provided by readers. MFRI does not necessarily agree with information nor endorse any products depicted in the Bulletin. Address all communications to Editor at MFRI. For change of address, send mailing label and new address.
Webster’s dictionary defines the word resilience as: “an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or changes.” The events of the last few months have definitely challenged the hearts and souls of our faculty, staff, instructors, and students. The COVID-19 crisis took us by storm with over 65,000 cases here in Maryland and more than 2.3 million cases nationally. In many instances, this virus has hit close to home both here at the university and throughout the region’s emergency services communities. Sadly as I write this, 121,117 people nationally have succumbed to this novel disease. While there were many challenges that accompanied this pandemic, I’m extending my gratitude for the work of our entire MFRI team and our emergency services partners who have done everything to mitigate such an event. Other than the direct hit the Institute suffered in September 2001 from a tornado; there has not been any other threat of this magnitude that has evoked the dedication, innovation, commitment, and change in such a short period of time here at the Institute. While businesses have closed, jobs have dwindled, and people were restricted to their homes; our faculty, staff, and instructors worked diligently to improvise, adapt, reinvent and overcome. New work processes, locations, procedures, and learning methods were quickly put in place to ensure the continued delivery of emergency services training programs for our first responders in a safe and efficient manner. While we can never predict what we may be faced with in the future, I am confident that our faculty, staff, and instructors will always rise to the occasion as they have proven in the past while fulfilling our mission. Because that is what a world class organization does when faced with any challenge.
Michael E. Cox Jr.
The MFRI Bulletin is produced entirely in house. We extend our gratitude to our contributors who make this publication possible.
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A SHORT STAY IN NYC AND A TRIP TO NEBRASKA Daryl Sensenig, Special Programs Section As a firefighter who has been retired for almost 15 years, I still serve in the field. I have been a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and have served with the Assistant Secretary for the Preparedness and Response (ASPR) National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) for 22 years. NDMS provides medical, veterinary and mortuary support services to the state, tribal governments and to other federal agencies. I am considered an intermittent employee who occasionally works full-time for a short time frame. Since 2002, we have been given the same level of employment status and rights as members of the U.S. National Guard or reservists in the U.S. Military.
In early April I traveled to New York City to assist ASPR/NDMS with their mission. The Javits Center in New York was reconfigured from a convention center into a hospital. NDMS’s mission included supporting the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with an ever increasing number of COVID-19 related death cases. Our IMT covered both elements of the mission.
Through ASPR, I serve as a safety officer on a National Incident Management Team (IMT) that provides the coordination and control of the elements of the NDMS or other parts of HHS that have been deployed to provide primarily medical support. We develop Incident Action Plans (IAPs) for the operational periods and provide oversight, planning, logistical and administrative support to the NDMS teams when deployed. In February, I was deployed to Omaha, Nebraska as a safety officer on the IMT supporting the quarantine mission for the U.S. citizens who were evacuated from Hunan Province of China. We prepared daily IAPs and provided emergency medical support for the evacuees and force protection medical support for the federal employees working the mission. This included U.S. Marshals that were providing security at the quarantine site and the HHS employees that were providing assistance to the evacuees during their 14 day quarantine and helping them to continue their trip after the quarantine ended.
As the HHS IMT Safety Officer I was part of a large unified command structure operation which was one of the best examples of a Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) that I have ever seen. I was part of a safety committee made up of members of the New York National Guard, Air National Guard, U.S. Army Medical, Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Navy, U.S. Public Health Service, and New York State Fire and Homeland Security Agency. The team also included private sector medical professionals that were going to take over the operation of the hospital after construction was completed. We contributed to the development of the overall IAP as well as evacuation and other plans for the hospital. As relationships grew closer, we got to know each other and learned that most of us had other “day-jobs” other than the National Guard or Reserves. It was very rewarding to see MFRI’s brand in action, as the New York State Fire and Homeland Security Agency and other active duty military personnel were pleased to learn of our work. Our deployments generally last two weeks or less and mine was no different. By April 12 I was home again in Odenton. After two weeks of monitoring and having a normal temperature I was cleared and available to be redeployed on another mission.
CHARLES W. RILEY FIREFIGHTER AND AMBULANCE AND RESCUE SQUAD MEMBER SCHOLARSHIP Active career firefighters, ambulance or rescue squad members in an organized fire department, ambulance or rescue squad in Maryland are eligible to apply for the Charles W. Riley Firefighter and Ambulance and Rescue Squad Member Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded to candidates pursuing an undergraduate degree in fire service technology, emergency medical technology, fire service management, or public safety administration with a minor or concentration in fire service technology or fire service management. Applicants must be accepted for admission or enrolled in an undergraduate program at an eligible institution or in a 2-year terminal certificate program in which the course work is acceptable for transfer credit to an accredited baccalaureate program in an eligible institution. Recipients are required to serve for one year as a firefighter (volunteer or career), ambulance or rescue squad member, in a full-time or part-time capacity, of an organized fire department, ambulance or rescue squad in the state after completion of an eligible program. The deadline to apply for the scholarship is July 1, 2020. The application can be found on the Maryland Higher Education Commission website at https://mdcaps.mhec.state.md.us. volume 50 | no. 2 | p 3
TEACHING LIFE-SAVING PROGRAMS IN A NEW ENVIRONMENT OF SOCIAL DISTANCING This year 19 cadets from Washington County Technical High School’s Fire and Rescue Academy expected to finish their rescue classes in person. Instead, due to the novel coronavirus, classes were moderated online. Washington County Public Schools Fire and Rescue Academy is offered at Washington County Technical High School through a partnership with the Washington County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association, the Washington County Board of Education and MFRI. To be eligible to enroll, the cadets must be at least 16 years of age and associated with a volunteer firefighter company. Through this partnership, cadets take classes at the high school and at MFRI’s Western Maryland Regional Training Center. Each year, the program focus rotates between disciplines of fire, rescue and EMT. This year being rescue, MFRI instructors and coordinators of the program, Joanna Bingaman, Jimmy Sprecher and incoming instructor Brittany Heller, who is being mentored by Bingaman, were face with a new challenge of finishing the program for the academic year. Cadets were learning about topics of vehicle machinery & extrication, CPR, site operations and EMT before the pandemic. After in-person classes in the county were suspended on March 13, Bingaman, Sprecher and Heller worked diligently to resume classes in their new format. The trio soon discovered they needed to teach the EMT class with a new twist when classes returned on April 6. “We knew we had to do something to engage their interest, you can only can watch a slideshow presentation for so long,” said Bingaman. To pique their interest, Heller used a learning platform called “Kahoot’’ along with MFRI’s newest EMS testing software and created clever games such as “hot seat” where students would describe a word that was placed on the screen. “It’s been crazy, but a very exciting experience,” says Bingaman. Dyler Esler, who was a senior in the program at the time of this interview, says migrating to distance learning was a big adjustment. “Without them [Bingaman, Sprecher and Heller] I couldn’t have made it. They made so many readjustments to make sure we could be successful.” Esler, who volunteers with the Funkstown Volunteer Fire Company and Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Department, plans to attend Hagerstown Community College to pursue a career as a paramedic. Esler is one of eight cadets who graduated from the program in June. Their last day of instruction was June 8. This isn’t the first time this cadet program has risen to a challenge. In 2019, three cadets of the fire and rescue academy earned top awards in the SkillsUSA Maryland Leadership and Skills Conference Championship in the fire and rescue category.
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61ST ANNUAL MID-ATLANTIC LIFE SAFETY CONFERENCE CANCELLED In an effort to minimize the spread of the novel coronavirus, the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Life Safety Conference, scheduled for Sept. 29, 2020 will be cancelled. All refunds will be honored. Tickets purchased via the internet, phone or mail will automatically be credited. The event will not be rescheduled. Since its inception in 1959, the Mid-Atlantic Life Safety conference has welcomed fire and life safety professionals across the state for a full day of workshops on topics such as stress first-aid for firefighters and EMS personnel, community outreach and national safety initiatives. “Currently all of Maryland is going through a very difficult time,” said Mark Bilger, committee chair in a phone interview. “The committee members and I support the Governor’s decision to keep Marylanders safe. We look forward to holding the conference next year.” Bilger said in an interview that all large gatherings that had been scheduled through December at the Johns Hopkins University Physics Lab were cancelled. The MALSC joins a list of events, across the state, that were cancelled. The 2021 Mid-Atlantic Life Safety Conference will be held Sept. 28, 2021 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, MD.
INSTRUCTOR SPOTLIGHT: JOANE GULVAS Joane Gulvas has been a MFRI instructor for 10 years where she teaches EMT and management courses. Gulvas has over 27 years of experience in the safety and occupational health field. She is currently a volunteer EMT at the Charles County Medic Unit in White Plains, MD.
two-way communication. I think the students learn better if they are expected to share in the lesson rather than just listen to me drone on.
What inspired you to be an instructor? I enjoy meeting and
Fun fact about you not related to your teaching? I love
teaching new students and love to see their faces when they accomplish their objectives.
spending time with my grandchildren and traveling.
What can students expect from your class? They can expect
large number of awesome people, including students, that I get to meet, know and call friends.
the class to be fun, hands on, and they can expect to have
Most memorable teaching moment: When a student thanked me for continuing to encourage him and helping him reach his dream of becoming a paid EMT/firefighter.
Best advice to a student taking courses at MFRI: Do your best and always keep open communication between you and your instructor.
What do you enjoy/love about working for MFRI? The
WINTER 2020 PDI SYMPOSIUM CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute is soliciting proposals for our Winter Professional Development for Instructors event, the PDI Symposium, to be held December 5, 2020. At this time there is a high probability that the PDI will need to be conducted virtually, using an online platform to stream the keynote speaker and breakout sessions. The Planning Section will work with instructors who are not familiar with this format. If COVID-19 restrictions are lifted the PDI will take place at the Institute Headquarters in College Park. Attended by instructors from across the state, this is an excellent opportunity to share effective teaching practices, principles of learning, classroom management techniques
and current research in education. The requirement for this Call for Presentations, open to all MICRB instructors, is to submit a proposal of a relevant topic to be presented in a 90-minute breakout session. All submissions should be sent no later than Aug. 15 to dmay@mfri.org. Please use separate submissions for each continuing education topic you are interested in presenting. The presentation submission shall include a course description, at least 3 objectives, proposed teaching method, student participation activities, your biography and credentials. Speakers selected will be notified of their acceptance by Sept. 15. Once selected, the speaker will be contacted concerning the additional information that will be needed for the class to meet MICRB approval.
TRAINING UNDER A NEW NORMAL
Diane May, Acting Manager, Planning Section
On March 16, classes normally scheduled at the Institute’s regional training centers and headquarters came to a halt due to COVID-19 restrictions.
EMS and EMT courses quickly rolled out due to the anticipated demand from EMTs. Firefighting and management courses followed and are now online.
Under Director Cox’s advisement, the Planning Section quickly began working to resume classes in its new online format. By adapting tools such as Canvas, a learning management platform and Zoom, a video and web conferencing service, we were able to pilot two courses.
Shortly after EMS and EMT courses were up and running, a task force was formed to determine how to safely begin practical evolutions under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations. Equipment has since been implemented to screen individuals upon arrival at the regions and headquarters prior to starting practicals.
In preparation for classes to return back into rotation, instructors were trained on how to use these new tools and get acquainted with the features Zoom had to offer. In these training sessions we included methodologies to encourage student engagement in this new environment.
Although the processes have been challenging for some instructors and students, together we have worked on finding resolutions.
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NATIONAL FIRE HERITAGE CENTER ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR HALL OF LEGENDS, LEGACIES AND LEADERS The National Fire Heritage Center is now accepting nominations for the Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders (HLLL), class of 2021.
in the national or international fire service arena.
The HLLL was created to “provide individual recognition of significant contributions and distinguished service to the fire and emergency services mission.”
• A cover page (does not count towards the nomination page maximum)
Since 2010, the National Fire Heritage Center has inducted 76 individuals for their impact in the fire service. The list of inductees from Maryland includes Francis L. “Frank” Brannigan (2010), the late Director Emeritus John W. Hoglund (2011), Harry Hickey (2011), Warren Isman (2012), James C. “Robbie” Robertson (2012), Lawrence Woltz (2014), Frederick “Bob” Seibel (2016), former Director Steven Edwards (2017), Mary Marchone (2018), Theodore Jarboe (2019) and James Dalton (2020).
To nominate someone, the package must include:
• Picture (digital photos acceptable) and complete name of the nominee to include a middle initial, date of birth, current address, phone number and email address, if available. For posthumous nominations, provide the date of death and place of interment. • Current or previous fire and emergency services affiliations with dates of service.
“The HLLL is one of the most important initiatives of the National Fire Heritage Center,” said Vice President Billy Shelton in a press release by the organization. This year’s inductees will be announced at the 2021 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) International in Indianapolis, Indiana on April 19-24, 2021. According to the National Fire Heritage Center, candidates for nomination should have completed at least 25 years of service in the fire and emergency services, fire prevention or protection disciplines. Candidates should also be recognized
• Summary of fire service experience including positions held and significant elected positions held. Professional accomplishments and distinguished service, including publications, texts, and articles published. • Education, training and/or certification achievements honors and awards received. Nomination packages must be postmarked no later than Aug. 15. Forms can be submitted electronically at hampvafire@yahoo.com or mailed to the National Fire Heritage Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Submission forms are available at www.fireheritageusa.org. For additional information, contact Chairman George Morgan at (410) 247-3031 or via email at hampvafire@yahoo.com.
COX SELECTED FOR WHO’S WHO IN FIRE PROTECTION Executive Director Cox is among 24 recipients inducted into this year’s National Fire Heritage Center Who’s Who in Fire Protection. Cox who has served in the fire service for over 35 years joins a long list of fire protection personnel who are recognized for their knowledge, accomplishments and contribution to local, state or federal entities. Cox joined the Woodland Beach Fire Department in Edgewater, Maryland as a volunteer firefighter at the age of 16. He rose to become a career
firefighter at the age of 20 with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Throughout his career with Anne Arundel, Cox advanced through the ranks of becoming the department’s tenth fire chief leading a combination force of 1,400 career and volunteer personnel. Inductees’ biographical background, publications, association and awards are available on the National Fire Heritage Center’s registry. Who’s Who in Fire Protection is open to firefighters, officers and individuals who work in fire prevention, engineering, research or training disciplines. The National Fire Heritage Center is a “non-profit organization working to preserve the written history of fire in America. [The organization] supports individuals, fire departments, libraries, museums and others who wish to collect, catalog and preserve fire-related writings.” More information about Who’s Who in Fire Protection is available at http://nfhc-whoswho.org/
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MFRI’S NEW QUALITY ASSURANCE AND IMPROVEMENT OFFICE Jim Radcliffe, QA/QI Coordinator, Office of the Director When you hear the words quality assurance, quality improvement and compliance, too often we imagine punitive actions like speeding tickets or big brother watching. Unfortunately that has become the reputation of anyone taking on these responsibilities. I would like to challenge you to shift that paradigm. The purpose of compliance is to ensure we all are doing our part, including the organization, to follow rules, guidelines, policies, procedures and standards that protect the organization and our students. Quality assurance and quality improvement are meant to assess and measure our performance and determine opportunities to improve. Imagine if we approached quality assurance and quality improvement from the perspective of physicians conducting a weekly Morbidity & Mortality (M&M) conference. During the M&M, a physician presents a case of the patient that has either improved, deteriorated or expired. The remainder of the team, led by a senior physician asks questions, reviews the data and discusses ideas and shares opportunities to learn from this patient. Because we had a negative outcome does not mean that there is not opportunity for all of us to grow and improve. Have you ever showed up to teach a class and the classroom was not cleaned or there’s equipment missing from the teaching kit or trailer? Maybe the facility has issues like the heat not working, a broken projector, a missing prop, or it is out of service
and you were not informed. Or maybe a program was updated but the new slides were not made available to you prior to the class. These are all issues beyond your control that impact your ability to teach a class and are part of the quality assessment process. The Director always states, “our instructors are our greatest resource,” and you can only be effective if we the organization, MFRI, provide you with the material and resources to deliver the class as intended. The goal of compliance, quality assurance and quality improvement is to assess all aspects of the organization and apply it to our stated mission, goals, objectives, policies and procedures to ensure we are delivering the best quality product to our faculty, staff, instructors and students. When we fail, individually or as an organization, the goal is not to punish or blame but to ask why did this happen and how can we improve. Quality assurance and quality improvement ultimately is about customer service. Our customers are our faculty and staff, instructors, students, host facilities, local fire departments, various organizations, state partners and the citizens of the world who are served by those we train. We must ensure that we communicate honestly and openly with all our customers. If we make significant changes we are obligated to effectively communicate those changes and provide appropriate training. We must also ensure that facilities are suitable for class, all materials are present and in working order and all resources such as text, slides and exams are volume 50 | no. 2 | p 7
updated and provided to faculty, staff and students. If we fail or our customer is not successful we must ask ourselves why. Is this failure the result of something that we the organization did or did not do? Or is it because what was provided was inadequate and there is more that we the organization could have done to ensure success? As faculty and staff we should provide the best possible experience or service to our customers and reflect a positive image of our brand by providing instructors and students with the necessary facilities, materials and resources to be successful. As instructors our customers are not only students, but also MFRI faculty and staff. As instructors we must ask ourselves, • Am I prepared to teach my students? • Did I check to ensure the classroom, facility, resources and materials were ready to conduct the class? • Did I leave the facility better than I found it? • Did I turn in my completed paperwork in a timely manner? • Did I report any damaged or broken equipment to my supervisor? • Did I deliver the curriculum content as it was designed and intended to the students? The quality assessment teams ensure that we all provide compliant services. Through this process we can identify successes to share, shortfalls where we can improve and areas to grow and learn.
MARYLAND FIRE AND RESCUE INSTITUTE COLLEGE PARK, MD 20742
WWW.MFRI.ORG
Simulations of the Week Since March 30, MFRI’s Incident Command Simulation Center has produced weekly simulations. Current and past simulations can be found at www.mfri.org/simoftheweek