RECALL OF MEETING #470 

The 470th M.I.F.D.I. meeting was held on Wednesday, November 19th, 2003 hosted by Chelmsford Deputy Chief Mike Curran. Pierre DeRoches, Regional Manager of the New England Region for Scott Health and Safety Company, did the educational presentation along with Fire Tech & Safety of New England, distributors of Scott Air Packs.  Scott Air Packs has developed a new generation of air packs.  Scott has produced CBRN 2002 Air Packs and the NxG2 SCBA in response to NFPA 1981, (September 2002 edition).

As of March 1, 2002 all manufacturers of SCBA are required to make certain changes concerning firefighter safety.  Some of the new requirements include: Transducers, Heads-up Displays, and Universal Air Connections.  These “Next Generation” air packs are the state of the art products that will improve firefighter safety.

Also, they displayed their Base Station Monitoring System product.  The system, which utilizes G.P.S. technology, uses a transceiver to send and receive critical information between the firefighter and the base command unit.  Known as the Scott Electronic Management System (SEMS), it is the first integrated Personal Alert System with a transceiver that delivers and collects data and allows for “commander on shoulder” fire scene management.  Non-verbal communication affords swift accountability of single or multiple firefighters and provides superior firefighter safety.

2nd Vice President – next meeting will be hosted by Captain Mark Roche of the Newton Fire Dept.  The program will be on CNG vehicles and will be held at Newton Fire Station 4 with the luncheon at Guardi’s Restaurant following the meeting.  Capt. Roche said the 2004 meetings are still being planned and he welcomes any suggestions from the members.

President McLeieer will meet with Director Lamb to plan a MIFDI/MFA Conference.  It will probably be two – 1-day seminars, possibly one weekday and one weekend day.  The goal will be to increase MIFDI membership.  They will meet in Merrimac in sometime in December.

September Meeting                                             Bills paid
Checking Balance 1/1/03   = $1,221.08                 Dec 03 Newsletter  $105.00 Mike
 
 
50/50 Raffle =
Winner =
Deposit from 50/50 Raffle =
 
 

MIFDI Stickers & Pens Cost   $865.00                 MIFDI Clothing collected $ 364.00
               Collected                  $  98.00                                         purchased $ 354.00
 
 

Owed to treasurer for Mailings  $  12.80- thru Nov 2003 - includes clothing mailings
                              Labels         $  10.00 
                                                $   22.80
 

Total members = 138                                              Mailings
     Dues paid thru 2005 = 2                                     E-Mail - 39         Home - 76
     Dues paid thru 2004 = 20                                                              Work  - 23
     Dues paid thru 2003 = 103                                                                         99
     Dues paid thru 2002 = 13
 

Treasury Balance as of 12/1/2003 = Checking $      494.31
                                                            Savings   $  1,668.83
                                                            Total      $  2,163.14
 

Respectfully submitted   12/1/2003
David M. Jardin
MIFDI Treasurer
Deputy Fire Chief – Stoughton

Thank you to the membership for your support.

NEW  BUSINESS: Notice of cancellations of MIFDI meetings due to bad weather will be announced on the MIFDI web site.  It will be the same cancellation   policy as the DFS/MFA announced on WBZ etc.

MFTC UPDATE: Steve Persson  
Captain Steve Person announced that the MFTC Retreat was held on October 23 & 24, 2003 in Yarmouth.  Among the many important topics discussed were:
· Firefighter transfers while in recruit training at MFA.  The council stated they would consult with legal council on the matter.
· MIFDI member Everett Pierce, former Programs Manager and Acting MFA Director has been appointed Fire Chief of the Nantucket Fire Department.  Chief Pierce has been a longtime MIFDI member and a great supporter.  Congratulations to Everett and we wish him the best of luck.  MFA needs a new Programs Manager with Chief Pierce’s departure.  Also, MFA is looking to hire three Program Coordinators.
· MFA has stared a new program called Firefighter 1 Plus.  It is being offered in two locations in Massachusetts.  It is a 160-hour program in basic training offered to Call/ Volunteer departments with 40 students in each class.  Captain Person said he assumes FF 1+ will expand in the future.
· Four recruits dropped out of the current MFA Recruit Class # 161.  Recruit Class # 162 starts in January of 2004.
· MFA Burn Building money will be released soon.  Final design and construction phases will start by December of ’03 and are scheduled to be completed by June ’04.
· The MFA expansion project “money is on hold” according to Captain Person.  (MFA’s annual operating budget is $14.1 million).
· There is a waiting list of over 600 people for recruit training.  MFTC has established a “30 day rule”, which allows a dept. to reserve a space for only 30 days.  Only named individuals can attend.  No more “John or Jane Does” will be allowed.
· MFA is developing a new 24-hour pilot program for Fire Inspector training and is considering a 90-hour program for Inspectors as well.
· MFA Director Peter Lamb plans to reorganize it fire training districts from its current 15 districts to 5.  They will be: Metro, North, South, Central, and West. He also will introduce a new concept he calls “Training on Demand”.  The concept will hopefully end the cancellation of many MFA programs that get scheduled only to get cancelled due to lack of enrollment.  Director Lamb is considering Distance Learning and other measures in order to address the question of why firefighters and fire chiefs are not going to MFA for various types of training.  This is part of an overall attempt to be more user friendly to potential students.  Captain Person said Director Lamb has “a lot of good ideas” regarding the future of DFA/MFA.
· Captain Person regretfully announced the passing of Cambridge Fire Lieutenant Bennett who died of Hepatitis C after a needle stick in 1987.  Lt. Bennett is believed to be the only line of duty casualty known in Massachusetts from “Hep C”.  Cambridge Fire has undergone “Hep C” testing for all of its members at a cost of approximately $32,000.00 to the City of Cambridge.

MFA UPDATE: No Report

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.

The 471st M.I.F.D.I. meeting will be held again on the THIRD Wednesday, December 17, hosted by the Newton Fire Department. The meeting will take place in the training room at Newton Station 4, 195 Crafts Street, corner of Watertown Street (Rt.16).

The training session will be provided by J. Nicholas Burns, Vice President of AVSG (Alternative Vehicle Service Group). Mr. Burns will provide us with a program on CNG powered vehicles and the facilities that fuel them. There are many more of these alternative powered vehicles on the road than we are aware of and this presentation will provide us the opportunity to look at both safety features and hazards associated with these vehicles and service facilities.

SCHEDULE:
0900 Coffee & pastry, 1000 Presentation, 1130 Business meeting, 1200 Lunch (Off site)

DIRECTIONS:
From Rt.128 (I-95), Take Exit 21. Follow Rt.16 East aprox 2 miles. NOTE: after you pass the Police Station and Court House, stay in the left lane as Rt.16 bears left at that point onto Watertown Street. Stay on Watertown Street aprox 1 mile and the fire   station will be on the left. There is ample parking at the School Administration building parking lot located diagonally across from the fire house.

From the Mass Pike (I-90), Take Exit 17. Follow Washington Street West aprox 1 mile to Crafts Street (Whole Foods Market on corner). Turn right on Crafts Street to 1st traffic light and the fire station is on the corner. (See above for parking).

LUNCH:
Keeping with our annual holiday tradition, lunch will be at Yerardi's Restaurant, 418 Watertown Street, a short drive/or walk from the fire station. (This is the same location as the December 2002 meeting).

As 2003 comes to a close and we continue into 2004, I would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy & safe holiday season.  As the President of this fine organization, I am pleased to report we continue to increase our membership and thanks to our dedicated Officers, Board of Directors and members, we have had excellent speakers and programs for our members to learn from and in turn they are able to provide unique approaches to training within their own departments.

Scott & I had a very productive meeting with Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Director Mr. Peter Lamb regarding a “brainstorming session” for the upcoming training conference sponsored by MFA & MIFDI in 2004.  I will keep the membership updated as we move forward and welcome any ideas your might have for speakers or training topics you would like to see covered.

I would like to thank Larry Gurrette from Fire Tech for their presentation at the Radisson Hotel.  A “thank you” also goes out to Deputy Chief Mike Curran for assisting with the arrangements for this very informative meeting.

The December meeting will again be held in Newton, thanks to 2nd Vice President Captain Mark Roche.

Finally, we still need ideas for topics and meeting locations in 2004.  If you or your department are interested in hosting a meeting or have a speaker in mind for an interesting topic, please don’t hesitate to contact Mark, Scott or me.

Remember, this is your organization.  Please let the Officers or Board of Directors know if there is anything we can do for you.

Stay safe,

Michael

December 19, 2003, Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Recruit Class #161
Graduation Ceremony, M.F.A. Fire Station at 1:30 pm.
 
January 12, 2004, Massachusetts Firefighting Academy Recruit Class #162 begins.

January 25-28, 2004, IAFF Human Relations Conference, Santa Monica, CA

January 28-31, 2004, SPAAMFAA Meeting & Convention, Treasure Island, FL

April 26-May 1, 2004, FDIC 2004 (Fire Dept. Instructor's Conference) Indianapolis, IN - vist www.fdic.org

• Draft and send letters and other correspondence
• Recording the minutes of MIFDI meetings and submission to the MIFDI Bulletin
• Any other tasks as assigned by the Board of Directors

On the afternoon of Friday, November 14, 2003, NECN was switched on in the kitchen of the firehouse with live coverage of a massive fire in a congested neighborhood in Pawtucket R.I. As I sat there watching in amazement with my fellow firefighters, I couldn't help but feel the frustration from the challenges facing the these firefighters dealing with not only a massive fire in the large Greenhalgh Mills building, but the severe exposure to an entire neighborhood of closely packed residential structures due to the extreme high winds.

As we continued to watch these events unfold, my testosterone levels increased and I was hoping to hear the speakers open up and dispatch my company to respond and help battle this inferno. After reality kicked in I thought to myself, where does one begin to manage such a large scale incident? Are any of us prepared to handle a situation of these proportions? The bottom line is no community can do it alone and we must rely heavily upon mutual aid. But is that all there is to this, just call for a lot of help and try to contain it? We must prepare for "the big one" before it occurs.

Help was dispatched from 27 communities with a total of 300 firefighters arriving on 90 pieces of apparatus from both Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Most communities have a mutual aid running card which provides automatic movement of apparatus both to the fire and to fill in for station coverage. Once you have these out of town units, communication is a challenge. A common fireground frequency is a must for all departments to have. The technology is available to provide communication between mutual aid units and the I.C., but surprisingly, many departments lack this ability.

Is there an automatic recall system in place for off duty members? Today many firefighters carry pages and cell phones for personnel use. Simply programming phone numbers and PIN numbers into an automatic notification system or to make arraignments with an answering service to handle notifications can remove that burden from your overwhelmed dispatchers.

How are the emergency shelters in your community? In Pawtucket, 2000 residents were evacuated from their homes. Are we prepared to transport, house, provide cots and sanitary facilities for large numbers of people in short notice?  These support functions can be carried out by Red Cross volunteer's trained for this service, however, we must provide pre-designated school gymnasiums as shelters strategically located throughout the community during emergencies.

How much water can we squeeze out of the system? As we learned during our visit to the MWRA facility in October, the pumps can increase the pressure when demand requires it. A call to the MWRA Control Center can help boost pressures when the system is taxed. As for application, leave the fog nozzles on the rig. With 40-plus mile per hour winds, straight-bore nozzles will provide us with the needed penetration to help overcome the winds. Dig out the old playpipes from the closets and put them back in service. Practice skills with relay-pumping and Hydrant-Assist-Valve pumping. Use drafting capabilities when possible. Color code your hydrants and know which water mains in your community that are the strongest and weakest.

Finally, pre-plan the target hazard buildings in your districts and insist on a radio equipped firefighter to provide a fire detail at every demolition site.

Firefighter McNamara died in the line-of-duty on November 29, 2003 after being trapped in the basement during a fire in a 150 year old, 3-story, 7-family residential building. He is the first firefighter to die in the line-of-duty in Lancaster's 350 year history. Marty was 31 years old and leaves his pregnant wife and two young children. May this hero rest in peace.

The members of the Massachusetts Institute of Fire Department Instructors also offer our condolences to the family and friends of Boston Firefighter Anthony E. Strano.  Firefighter Strano, an active member of Engine Co. 50 in Charlestown, died suddenly on November 20, 2003.  May he rest in peace.

MIFDI
Attn: David Jardin, Treasurer           If you have not already done so, it's time to renew your dues.  Due Jan. 1st.
52 Willow Street
Stoughton, MA 02072-1027

*Dues are $25.00 per year for Active Members -

*$100.00 per year for Associate members (which includes a 1/4 page of advertising in the MIFDI Bulletin and on the MIFDI website).

*Retired members dues are $12.50 for one calendar year (January 1 through December 31).

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, pose your own question or submit an article for publication in the MIFDI bulletin, but have no internet capabilities, you may do so in writing to: Michael McLeieer, President - MIFDI, PO Box 507, Merrimac, MA 01860-0510.
Fax # (877) 327-4353.  Faxing or e-mailing of articles is preferred.  Please e-mail articles in MS Word format to michael.mcLeieer@merrimacfire.com

JANUARY 28th:     Waltham

FEBRUARY 25th:   Merrimac

MARCH 24th:         DFS/MFA