The #448 meeting of the Massachusetts Institute of Fire department Instructors was held at the Lowell Fire Department Training Center – Oakland Fire House on Wednesday, September 26, 2001. This meeting was hosted by the Lowell Fire Department and Lieutenant Brian Ashe.
The topic was Inter-Agency Co-operation. There was a round table format and several members including President Norm Aubert spoke about the recent terrorism issues including weapons of mass destruction. Lt. Brian Ashe spoke about Biohazards and that turnout gear may not protect and may not be decontaminated in certain biological incidents.
Lt. Ashe provided a list of agencies and telephone numbers to contact for additional information on chemical / bio hazards:
SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
National Response Center
1-800-424-8802 or
(for chem/bio hazards & terrorist events
1-202-267-2675
National Domestic Preparedness Office
1-202-324-9025
(for civilian use)
Domestic Preparedness Chem/Bio Help line
1-410-436-4484 or
(Edgewood Ops Center – for military use)
DSN 584-4484
USAMRIID Emergency Response Line 1-888-872-7443
CDC’S Bioterrorism Preparedness 1-770-488-7100
John’s Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense
1-410-223-1667
(Civilian Biodefense Studies)
An Adobe Acrobat Reader (pdf file) version and a Palm OS Electronic version of this handbook can both be downloaded from the Internet at:
http://www.usamriid.army.mil/education/bluebook.html
Finally, members of the Critical Incident Stress team, who was deployed to NYC, shared their experiences. Team members worked 8-10 hour shifts and used masks with HEPA filters. Five or six other buildings are unstable and need to be torn down due to the damaged caused by the WTC towers collapsing.
Now is the time to review Mass Casualty Incident Drills in your community
and establish protocols. We need to be prepared when the next
incident occurs.
BUISNESS MEETING:
The Secretary’s report was not read due to the absence of the secretary.
The Treasurer’s report was not read.
Current membership: 151 Active members: 110
Associate members: 10 Retired
members: 31
Two MIFDI mailing costs for September: $
466.90
Checking balance as of 09/21/2001:
$2,693.50
Profit from June Meeting: $ 257.25
Currently, the newsletter cost @ $2.10 / month = $21.00/10 months mailings (based on last years figures). If we were to start E-mailing the newsletter, our cost would be reduced. Currently, the arrangement is to pay Mike McLeieer @ six month intervals for the cost to have a Web Page. This started with June 2001. A vote at the October meeting will be taken to possibly raise the fee of active membership and leave the retired membership @ $12.50 and the Associate membership @ $25.00.
We encourage the Associate Membership to advertise (more on advertising later).
Again our goal is to have this organization over 200 members strong by the end of this year. Please spread the word about our organization to members of the fire service and tell a friend.
OLD BUISINESS:
The MIFDI website is operational. The website address is mifdi.8m.com.
Please visit this website often for updated or last minute information.
If you are interested in receiving your newsletter via e-mail, please send
an e-mail note to 2nd Vice President Michael McLeieer, webmaster @ michael.mcLeieer@escapeinc.org
and place the word MIFDI BULLETIN E-MAIL in the subject line. Also,
if desire your name, rank, e-mail address, station address and phone number
included in the online directory being developed for the membership on
the website, please send that information to Michael as well. The
more people who receive the MIFDI BULLETIN via e-mail, the association
will spend less money in postage.
NEW BUISNESS:
President Norm Aubert will contact the Fire Marshal and ask to have a link added from the DFS website to the new MIFDI website.
We need ideas from the membership at the October meeting to take to the Fire Marshal regarding the proposal for mandatory training.
COMMITTEES:
The Historical Committee consists of Fire Captain Steve Perrson
from Cambridge, Mr. Ira Hoffman from FSP Bookstore, Deputy Rick Gomez from
Norton.
The Bi-Law Committee will consist of Fire Captain Norm Aubert
from Massport, Fire Captain Randy Sherman from Yarmouth, Mort Shurtluff,
Brockton Fire (RET), Deputy Chris Kelly from Concord, Fire Lieutant Brian
Ash from Lowell, and Deputy John Cummings from Brockton.
Public Relations Committee will consist of Mr. Ira Hoffman
and 2nd Vice President Mike McLeieer.
MFTC UPDATE: None
MFA UPDATE: None
MFA TRAINING OPORTUNITIES: The Flashover Recognition Simulator will be on the road this fall. The class will be THREE hours classroom and THREE hours practical. The class will be limited to TWENTY-FOUR students, and the selection process for location selection will be divided throughout the counties in Massachusetts. This fall there will be R.I.C. Standard hand off program offered by the DFS/MFA. November 17th and 18th 2001, there will be the 3rd FDNY “Back to Basics” Seminar in Amherst Massachusetts.
WORCESTER TRAINING OPORTUNITIES: The Worcester Fire Department will again sponsor a Firefighter Safety Seminar in October 26, 27, 28 2001 at the Worcester Centrum. (Worcester FFs Memorial 2001). All proceeds will go to FDNY.
MFTC UPDATE: None
INSTRUCTORS CORNER:
WELCOME NEW MIFDI MEMBERS:
OCTOBER MIFDI MEETING:
FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT:
Has life as we’ve known it changed forever? Will the innocence of childhood ever be the same? As fire service professionals, the tragedies of September 11, 2001, will be a grim reminder of those unthinkable acts of terrorism that took so many brother and sister firefighters, police, EMS personnel, rescue workers, and civilians. Do you find yourself now looking over your shoulder whenever you hear a loud noise in public, or eyeball a second and third exit when you are at a public assembly? Is there anything such as a ROUTINE call any more? Every time my state HAZMAT team pager has gone off since 11September 2001 I take that quick second and say could this be it. I am not paranoid, but, as a fire service professional, I think ALL of us are now looking at different ways in which we do business.
Have you as the training officer or chief officer provided your members with the appropriate Hazmat training in accordance with OSHA 1910.120, NFPA 471 & 472? Are the members proficient to respond in the First Responder Operational capacity? When was the last time that this training was provided, and did any members fall through the cracks and not receive this important training due to sickness or vacation? How much time and money have you committed in providing members of your department with terrorism training provided by the DFS/MFA or NFA? The terrible tragedies such as the ones that occurred last month hopefully will bring awareness to governing powers to fund local training in these given areas with local police and EMS.
I had a law enforcement official recently tell me “what do you know about terrorism?” and I replied “not much, properly just as much as you.” I would never claim to be a specialist or expert on terrorism, because the only terrorism training that I received was from the USAF, DFS HAZMAT at and the Fire Academy. We need to educate ourselves in matters that are new to the 21st century and utilize every fire company member knowledge or expertise to the fullest. We need to look at any specialties that members of the department may have so that we can optimize our standard of care and service for the citizens that we protect. Remember it may take twenty years to build a great department reputation, but it can be destroyed in minutes or seconds. To start building your terrorism training foundation there are THREE courses entitled “Emergency Response to Terrorism - Basic Concepts – Company Officer & EMS” delivered by the DFS/MFA or National Fire Academy. Another class that would be beneficial is “Mass Rapid Decon” that is offered by the DFS/MFA, it consists of both classroom and practical, and it demonstrates ways that a fire department can utilize common equipment for a MASS DECON. The second step would be to meet with your senior command staff and look at the current ways that your department responds to calls from minor medical emergencies to high target hazard response areas. Should you limit the amount of apparatus that is staged in front of a high hazard area such as a chemical manufacturing facility or even a US Government building. Does your department currently utilize Level I and II staging during responses? Is there an Incident Command and Accountability system now in place, and is everyone operating on the same page? Does your department know the capabilities of the 6 district Hazmat teams currently in service in the Commonwealth? Does your department have members on the state Hazmat team, and does he/she bring the knowledge so that others may benefit and learn? Remember; Confucius say; “I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand.” Let’s see what we can do in the next few months to tackle some of these questions through the power of networking, so please stayed tuned, and remember none of us are as smart as all of us.
Were you a USAF firefighter?, Have you lost contact with brothers and sisters from the past? Here’s a webpage that you can use to find out where are they now and what they are doing: http://afres.af.mil/hq/ce/FIRE/PAGES/people.htm “check it out”
I am please to see that the word of MIFDI is getting exposure in the
fire service through the MIFDI website and by word of mouth and our membership.
I am sure that the membership will continue to grow. I believe that
a strong relationship with the DFS/MFA and MFTC is something that I will
work on so that we can continue to be a vital extension and resource to
those institutions. In the coming months we will check with the DFS/MFA
and see if we can become part of the DFS link.
Until the next MIFDI meeting in Norton, be safe, and may Saint Florian
be with you.
Norm.
DRILL SCHEDULE:
OCT: NORTON
NOV: TBA
DEC: TBA
JAN: TBA