The 457th meeting of the Massachusetts Institute of Fire Department Instructors was held at the Barnstable County Fire Academy on Wednesday, June 19th, 2002, with 33 members present.

The Secretary’s report:  The secretary was not present.  Nothing to report.

The Treasurer’s report as of 06/19/2002:

June Meeting
Barnstable FF Academy 6/19/2002

Lobster Raffle & Meal Collected = $1200.00
Coffee & Donuts Cash (Randy)          -$40.00
Collection Total                                 $1160.00

Treat Catering     33 meals              $1006.50

    June Meeting Profit             $153.50
    Late Pay Owed                      $ 35.00
                                          $ 188.50 = Profit

June Newsletter Paid 6/10/2002 = $201.83

Membership = 126                                              Mailings
Paid                                                                        E-Mail = 30
        2003 -   3                                                        Home = 82                    June Newsletter   $2.12/each
        2002 - 76                                                        Work = 14
        2001 - 47 (owed $887.50)

Votes at June meeting:

(YES)    $750.00 for stickers.

(YES)    Sticker price change = 2/$3.00

(YES)    Newsletter to be printed off Website starting in September.  (Great job Scott & Mike)
              Estimated cost @ 1/2 current price

(NO)     Fund raiser.
 

Respectfully Submitted,
David M. Jardin
MIFDI Treasurer

Thank you to the membership for your support.

OLD BUSINESS:

·

NEW BUSINESS:

· There was no "new business" recorded at the June meeting on the Cape.  It has been rumored however, that a great time was had by all that attended!

COMMITTEES:
The Historical Committee - consists of Steve Perrson, Ira Hoffman, and Richard Gomes. Nothing to report.

The Bi-Law Committee - consists of Norm Aubert, C. Randall Sherman, Mort Shurtluff, Chris Kelly, Brian Ash, and John Cummings.  Nothing to Report.

Public Relations Committee  - consists of Mr. Ira Hoffman and Michael McLeieer.  Nothing to report.

MFTC UPDATE:   Steve Persson - Nothing to report.

MFA UPDATE:  Norm Aubert, Jr.  Nothing to report.

SEPTEMBER MEETING:
Peter J. Lamb, Certification-Development, Staff Services Manager, DFS/MFA, will present us with, "Fire Ground Accountability".  This will cover the past, present and future of the accountability topic.  The meeting and presentation will take place in Room 109 at DFS/MFA Stow.
A HEADCOUNT IS NEEDED BY SEPTEMBER 17th, FOR ALL MEMBERS PLANNING TO STAY FOR LUNCH.  Please call or e-mail Michael or Scott at the phone number or e-mail addresses below.
Michael McLeieer - e-mail = michael.mcLeieer@merrimacfire.com
                               phone = (978) 346-4731

Scott Maker         - e-mail = scott.maker@merrimacfire.com
                               phone = (978) 346-4731

I want to take this opportunity to welcome everyone back from the summer vacation scene.  It seems that the summer goes by too quick and the next thing you know, you are shoveling out your driveway.  I hope that the attendance will continue to grow during our monthly scheduled meetings.  My goal is to have our membership over 200 members by the end of the year.  Make sure to tell and/or bring a friend to our September MIFDI opener!  The September MIFDI meeting will be held at the Department of Fire Services Headquarters in Stow on the THIRD Wednesday instead of the FOURTH Wednesday, due to scheduling.  I felt that having the MIFDI “kickoff” meeting at the DFS/MFA, was a great way to start off the productive year.  It is great to see that our organization has strong ties with the State Fire Marshal, the Massachusetts Firefighting Academy and Mass Fire Training Council.  We will continue to support these organizations for the good of all firefighters in Massachusetts.

I am currently coordinating with Mr. Everett Pierce from the DFS/MFA for the possibility of a practical live fire-training day for our members in the November or December time frame.  I want to stimulate the interest of Fire Department Instructors to look at our organization as a vital link for knowledge and professional networking for the good of the fire service. In reflecting on what happened during that morning in September last year, I feel that we have to be more proactive in the way we do business. We need to look outside, underneath and on top of the box, because no call is a routine call anymore.  This month we have a great topic to be presented by Peter J. Lamb from the DFS/MFA Certification-Development –Staff Services Manager,  titled “Fire Ground Accountability” the components, the past, present, and where accountability is going in the future.  Peter will also instruct us on how to train our own members on this topic.  Peter is a true professional that always captivates his audience with knowledge and wit, and this meeting is a MUST.  There will be a tour of the DFS/MFA campus after lunch for any members that may be interested.

Remember, Confucius says; I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand!!!

PLEASE MAKE PHONE CALLS IN SUPPORT OF THE DFS/MFA EXPANSION AND EQUIPMENT PROJECT UPGRADE.  AGAIN, THE BILL NUMBER IS #4603, AND THE LINE ITEM NUMBER IS 8000-9012.  DON’T LET THIS CAPITOL BUDGET FAIL.

Please be safe and may Saint Florian always be there to guide you safely.  See you at Stow on the 18th.

Norm.

I would like to take a moment to thank the members of MIFDI, first of all for voting me into the position of second vice president, and secondly, for allowing Michael McLeieer and me to produce this newsletter for you every month.  I cannot tell you how proud it makes me to be associated with this group of professionals that MIFDI is comprised of.

I hope you enjoy the new format and look of the MIFDI Bulletin. Part of the reason for this change was to help save money and better control the cost of producing  and mailing it every month. However, never lose sight of the fact that it is YOUR bulletin! We want you to enjoy it and find it useful. We also want your ideas, comments and suggestions to make it better.

Starting with the next issue, in order to get the bulletin to you in a timely and consistent manner, we will be requesting  that all articles, dates and events for publication be submitted to us no later than the 5th of every month. Our goal is to have the bulletin mailed as soon as possible after the most recent meeting to make it relevant and useful to those of you that use it to plan for the next month’s meeting and events. This little publication is a great way of getting the word out to the members of our organization, but if we can’t do it in a proficient manner, it will be of little use to anyone.

This months issue is a bit sparse due to the fact that some of the people that record and submit information from the meetings were not able to attend the last gathering at the Cape. So as you can see, if it isn’t submitted to us, we can’t print it! There are blank pages in this issue we have set aside to allow room for future articles of interest.  With this in mind, hopefully we won’t have to postpone publication of anyone’s submission in the interest of “available space”.

If you have questions, suggestions or anything you want to see included in The MIFDI Bulletin, you can call us at: (978) 346-4731, e-mail us at:                  scott.maker@merrimacfire.com, post a message on the MIFDI web-site guest book page: www.mifdi.org or use regular U.S. Postal Service mail and send it to: MIFDI, P.O. Box 507, Merrimac, MA 01860-0510.

Please remember to support our advertisers and patronize their businesses whenever possible as well as our own organization by purchasing MIFDI clothing and window decals.

Again, thank you for your support and I am looking forward to working with you all in the upcoming year.

Scott.

Those of you who have been attending the monthly meetings know I have been on a little bit of a tare about firefighter deaths being caused by vehicular accidents. These involve apparatus response as well as off duty firefighters responding in personal vehicles to the station or incident scene. The leading cause of preventable fire death is from these types of incidents.

I have committed to the cause of brining this issue forward, as I believe no major impact of the annual death statistics will be seen unless there is major change in attitudes and practices of fire departments and personnel.

I just read on the Internet that the United States Fire Administration (USFA) held the first forum on the issue in Virginia. They plan to dissect this issue on multiple levels. How about we start to take immediate action to change the string of avoidable deaths to our people from needless accidents when responding and retuning?

I humbly suggest the following be done. First, when we train new and experienced personnel in our own departments, let's put the statistics right in front of them at every training session we conduct. Let's post the yearly death statistics on the wall and highlight the apparatus death column.

Next, let's talk about the problem at every professional meeting we attend. Not everyone is aware that this issue is the major event injuring and killing personnel. Let's lobby hard to our state fire academy to develop and produce various training programs for driver-operator. The academy does a great job at many things that enhance safety, why not address the one thing we have control over to stop killing firefighters?

Let's look at our standard operating procedures and our response protocols. How many responses are we making per year that we know are either nuisance calls, or not true emergencies that could be done without a code 3 response, or at normal speeds and following all laws. How many times are we sending 3 or 4 pieces instead of 1 or 2. Do we return extra apparatus as soon as we realize they are not needed?

Does our department have a mandate for the use of seat belts and restraining devices? If we do, are we really enforcing it?

Let's look at everything we do or don't do in the fire service to protect our own resources. Our people are our greatest assets. What will I do today to address the one job danger that I have control over?

Rick Gomes

This forum is an extension of the Guest Book on the MIFDI Web-site, and provides our members a way to ask questions and get answers about problems encountered in the Fire and EMS service. If you would like to reply to a question or pose your own question but have no internet capabilities, you may do so in writing to: Michael McLeieer, 1st V.P.- MIFDI, PO Box 507, Merrimac, MA 01860-0510.  Fax # (978) 346-8430.

Comments: I was a close friend to Firefighter Recruit Allan Barlow. We served together in the Air Force in Wyoming. Your “Last Alarm” segment is the only thing I can find on the internet about him. Thank you. Chris Wells.

Fire Department: Thompson Valley EMS
Rank: EMT-IV/EKG

Comments:  I can’t convey the spectrum of emotions that the slide show of September 11th sent me through. It truly touched my heart and I want to thank you for that. Bill Frazier

Fire Department: Hull Fire Department
Rank: Recruit Firefighter